Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1897-08-05
FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
DISASTROUS FIRE N LEVISRVRG
TUESDAY MORNING.
lie FLAMES LICK Up TnrRTrrv
BUSINESS HOUSES, INFLIcTIyC
HEAVY LOSSES UPON OUR Tow
AND BUSINESs MEN. LEWIS
BURG HOTEL, BOTH BANK BUu.D-
iNGS AND EIGHT STORES IN
Ruins. "

ht ten minutes to > o'clock Tuesday
morning, the Srd instant, the alarming
cry OF " Fire! Fire, Fire ~ rang ont
upon The still morning air, and soon
well nigh the entire population of the
town, men and women. had gathered on
Main street to fight the most disastrous
llrc known in the history of our dear
| old town. 'N'''
The fire started in the rear end of the
Greenbrier Clothing House, OH. Il.
heli, propretor,) and spreading with
wonderful rapidity the whole building
was soon in flames. The adjoining
buildings ID. r.. Thomas's Grocery
Store on the east, and the thrcc.storv
brick building of the Bank of Green
hrier on the wcst,) soon caught. and i'm
few minutes were totally DESTROYED.
From Thomas's building the flames
spread rapidly to the large thrce-story
stone Store-house of J. w. a. Ford.
which was also speedily destroyed. and
spreading north on Court street from
the Grecnbrier Bank building the fierce
flames soon reduced to ashes the build
ing of the Bank of Lewisburg and the
Law offices of John w. Arbucklc, John
w. Harris and James &. McPherson.-
BY heroic efforts John \. Prcston's Of
lice was saved though badly damaged.
The intense heat from McPherson's Of
flee set it on fire under the tin roof, but
by hard work Mr.. Preston and the for ce
with him managed to sage the build
ing.
On Main street, despite the efforts of
the water carriers, the heat from the
burning buildings on the north side fin
ally set fire to the buildings opposite
and in an incredibly short time the
Lewisburg Hotel (Joseph II. Stratton,
Proprietary Miss Fosters Store house
occupied below by w. Lake Mocre's
Drug Store and above by the onice
of Drs. Beard IL Beard, the Saddlerv
Shop of Thos. II. Pare occupied above
as the young men s Reading Room, the
Shoe Store of VIM. Grow, and the large
and handsome new Store-house recently
built on the Montgomery corner by S.
b. Mason, and occupied by II. z. Rit-
tenhouse with large and well selected
stock Of new goods were all smould-
ering heap of ruins. Strange to relate
the flames did not get beyond the Hotel
on the south of Main street, though
nothing but twelve-foot alley sepa-
rated them from the valuable property
of the late .. L. Sydenstricker, which
was saved by much hard la
Dor and many buckets Of water from
neighboring wells and cisterns. 1t was
equally strange that the Greenbrier Ho-
tel Lewis Skipper, Proprietary on the
north side and just east of Ford s Store,
with only an alley between, was not de-
stroyed. 1t was on fire several times
along the caves, but each time the
bucket brigade proved equal to the
emergency and the building was saved.
Unfortunately for the town we have
no iire-fighting apparatus and no fire or
ganization, so in this terrible emer-
gency we had to depend on the efforts
of our men and boys with buckets, wet
blankets, &c, but these rendered very
effective service IN preventing the
spread of the flames further east than
the Hotel on the south and Ford s Store
on the north side of Main street, and
beyond McPherson's Office on Conrt
street.
Early in the progress of the fire q re-
quest for aid from the Fire Company at
RonceYerte was sent to that town, but
owing to some misunderstanding of
the message at first and afterwards to
unavoidable delay in getting their force
together, the fire engine, &C., from
Ronceverte did not get to Lewisburg
until the fire had totally enveloped the
Hotel and was seriously threatening
the Sydenstricker dwelling and Drug
Store. A shout of JOY went up at their
appearance and feeling of safety crept
over the vast thrOng of workers and
on-lookers. Without the aid of the
engine the heat and tongues of flame
boiling out of the doors and windows
of the Hotel would doubtless have fired
the Sydenstricker house and then the
street would have been cleaned up any.
how as far down as j. f. Bells DR.,
Goods Store. The Company worked
manfully, put out the fire, and returned
to Ronceyerte followed by the grateful
thanks of the citizens and check fol
500 voted them by the Town Council
for their generous and timely assist
ance. Had the engine gotten here il
| time to play on the Rittenhouse Stor,
there would haye been no trouble il
saving all the houses on the south sid,
of Main street.
Real Estate Losses.
We give below our own estimate O
the real estate loss attaching to eacf
building what we regard as a fair casl
value, though they might not hav
brought quite so much if offered a
public auction
j. w. a Ford's Store, a three stor
stone building, built about the yea
1900, used for 81 years as q Courthouse
and hence one of the old landmarks O
the town-S2, 500; ID. II. Thomas
Store, two.story frame, $1,000; IL. I
Bells Store, frame, very commodiou
room, belonged to party in Balti
more,) $4,000; Bank of Greenbrier
three-story brick, $500; Bank O
Lewisburg, small two-story brick, 81
200; John w. Arbuckle's office, one
story brick, 5000; John w. Harris