The San Francisco call., 1899-10-19
NOTHING LEFT
Of THE LARGE
DINGEE PLACE
FernWood Is Wiped
Out by Fire.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,

sos Broadway, Oct Is.
When Mr.. and Mrs. w. J. Dingee arrive
from the East on Saturday they will find
their princely home, Fernwood, q mass OF
ashes, out Of which are now standing
three chimney stacks. Probably q couple
Of hundred thousand dollars has been ex-
pended by Mr.. Dingee on this palatial
home and its contents, for he has been
for many years a collector of rare pictures
and ornaments.
A short time ago two valuable paintings
were removed to the vault in Mr.. Din
gees Office, and these are all that remain
of the collection Of years,
This morning about l o'clock some OF
Mr.. Dingee's employees, who sleep on the
premises, returned home from a dance
and retired. noticing nothing unusual.
Shortly afterward Robert Armstrong,
who represents Mr.. Dingee during his alb
sence, discovered that the house was in
flames, but no one is able TO tell how long
il had been burning before the discovery
was made. Armstrong says he does
not believe seven minutes elapsed
after he discovered the flames before the
ruin OF III place was complete. The build
ing was & Ihree-stOry structure and con-
tanned nineteen rooms. As an example
OF the luxury with which me place was
furnished II may be InenuoAeu LliIf - q
new ceiling for the library OF pouShvu
mahogany was recently put INTO the place
which cost $500 in New \ AOrk exclusive OF
the labor necessary TO have II put IN
and elaborately furnished. Some OF the
sleeping rooms had cost over S5JJU, ana all
through the house were expensive ORR
entail furnishings ana cosby arIcleS from
almost every country under the sun.
AS soon Is the tre was discovered the
half dozen men who are employed on the
place pressed into service all the garden
hose that could be found, but the blaze
was SO fierce and had such good start
that the effect Of the water hardly eX-
tended the time necessary to reduce the
mansion 10 ruins. The few little streams
that were played on the flames We're
turned into steam before they reached
The fire.
Fernwood was originally the property
of Colonel Jack Hays, and it came into
the possession of Mr., Dingee about eleven
years ago. Since that time Mr.. Dingee
has expended a pr1ncely fortune upon it,
and surrounding 1t are several magnifi-
cent COnSerVatOrieS, miniature lakes and
beautiful fountains. The home was fitted
with d complete electric plant, which fur
uished hundreds of lights to the house,
grounds and outhOuses. There was not
in California more magnificent home
than Fernwood, although there are many
larger.
No one is able to give a reason for the
IRE. Mr.. Armstrong, before retiring,
about 10 O'Clock last night. saw that all
the doors and windows were locked and
that there was no light in the house eX-
cept the single gas jet in his room. No
suspicious persons mad been seen proving
around the grounds. and the only theory
hitherto advanced is that some Of the
electric light wires must have started a
blaze. There were no hydrants near the
house, and Armstrong says that Mr.. Din
gee had ordered some, but they had not
Vet been put I'm place. When Armstrong
heard the cracking Of the fire he awoke
and thought some one was breaking into
the house. When he opened the door of
his room he was greeted by smoke and
flame and although hand fire extin-
guisher was but five feet away he could
not reach It without endangering his life
and even then it could have rendered nc
service. The telephone was destroyed be
fore II could be used to send to Oakland
for help. and although the glare could be
seen IN the sky. not until Coachman Den
mis- rode into town was it known which ot
the few large residences in the hills had
been destroyed.
The INSURANCE on Mr.: Dingee.s mouse
the Royal Exchange, the Royal, the I'm
perial and the Sun.