The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1896-05-26

Oc0an county nae q severe Visitation
from fire last week, the flames starting on
Monday. The Toms RIVER Courier tells
of their progress
The first and largest fire is supposed to
have started near Wells Mills. at least six
miles to the southwest of Waretowu. A
strong southwest wind drove the flames
before it with astonishing rapidly, and at
noon it was but short distance west of
the village. Alarmed by this. many Of
the able-bodied citizens had started out
to fight the fire, when more serious
danger menaced the very centre of the
town.
A thick growth of swamp extends from
the c. r. r. tracks near the station almost
to the main road. and directly in the rear
of the Methodist Church, John Creby's
store and j. Birjsall Jones store. At a
few minutes past IL o'clock, right after the
tC. r. R. freight hsd gone south, John
Creby, Jr., and section hand Phillips dis
covered fire in this wood along the
track. At first their efforts to extingnish
it seemed to be succeeding, but the wind
shifted and grew stronger and it got from
under their control, sweeping toward the
church and Creby's store,
Everyone then wSSneeded to save. the
buildings. Crebys barn was on fire but
was extinguished. when the danger
was at the highest at this point. flying
cinders struck the ysbingle roof of the
Hopkins house. on the other side of the
street, and soon that structure was DOOM
ed
At that hour the stoutest heart quailed.
1t seemed that the burning otel must OF
very necessity fire J! B Jones' store and
John Eiseman's dwelling, the one to the
south and the other north. Opposite
Eiseman's was Red Mems hall and two
other dwellings.
To add to the terror, branch from this
second fire had spread to the south and
attacked the Presbyterian Church, the
houses of Capt. S. D. Rulon, Mrs. Clark
Fidler, j. G. Howard and others. Had
not timely assistance arrived from Barne-
gat some of these must have gone The
! first and biggest fire. now with front of
two or three miles long. had also reached
the northern half of the village. Women
and children as well as men were using
every ounce of energy. Help was tele-
graphed for, and a special train loaded
with men from the c. R. R. car shops
was sent from Manchester, taking on an
other force at Toms River
Household and store goods in many in.
stances were set out in the street. Al
most nothing was saved from the burning
hotel, so urgent was the need to prevent
the flames from reaching other houses.
When the special train reached Ware
town, the Hopkins house was but mass
of smouldering ruins. Danger to the CEN
ire and south end of the town had been
averted, but all hands were needed to
save the houses in the north end from
the Wells Mill fire.
All Monday night and all day Tuesday
the people of Waretown were on the qui
vive, not knowing when danger might
again menace them. Another gang of
men was sent down by the c. R. r. on
Monday night and took the place Of those
who went down in the afternoon, doing
good service.
Tuesday afternoon the strong wind had
started the fire afresh and the little ham,
let of Ostroln was only saved by timely
shower which fell just as the fire bad
| 10 nd IL in
the houses.
1t is impossible to figure up the losses.
The Hopkins house was owned by Capt.
John Holmes, of Waretown, and Capt.
Amos Birdsall, of Toms River 1t was in
sured for So ,O00-said to be about half its
value. Charles Martin. the lessee, had
no insurance whatever on his furniture
and practically nothing belonging to him
was saved, not even his clothing. He
puts his loss at $4,000.
were damaged by water, and there are
great holes in the roof where burning
shingles were torn off. Fences were
burned and other damage inflicted all over
the village.
Many square miles of timber land, in
Guiding much valuable cedar, was burned
over, and cranberry boys back of the vii
lage suffered. The Tuckerton railroad
bridge over Oyster Creek was burned out
so as to be unsafe on Monday afternoon,
and many ties we're destroyed along that
road. Even the yachts in Oyster creek
were damaged by the fire.
On Tuesday. line Of fire extended
from Davenport branch over to the U. S.
dynamite works. Luckily the timber was
small and scrubby. and the workmen, to-
gether with volunteer reinforcements
taken up by Superintendent John Harrop,
kept it from crossing the creek on the
south side of the powder mill.
The Double Trouble cedar swamp was
also threatened by another FIRE. Here
again the shower of Tuesday is believed
to have come in about the right time.
Eczema, Itchy, scaly, Skin fortunes.
The simple application of ''SwAYNE's ONT
MENT' without any internal medicine, will
] cure any case OF letter, Salt Rheum, Ring