The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1899-02-16
Disastrous Fire.
The John Peirce Block and The Belfast
Age Office Totally Destroyed, together
with Restaurant, Billiard Hall and
Bakery.

| in this city since the burning of the Crosby
| Inn was on Monday night, when the Peirce
| block, with all its contents, including The
Belfast Age newspaper Office, was destroyed.
About quarter before twelve o'clock a
young man who on Main street a
fire up the street and at once rang the alarm.
| The police rang in their boxes few minutes
before, Mr.. Frisbee being on Miller street
and Mr.. Jipson in the rear Of Woodcock's
| store The officers aud Others went to the
| hire and found the entire roof of the John
| Pelrce block at the corner OF Church and
| Franklin Streets in flames, and few min
utes later the roof fell The tremen were
promptly on hand, but owing to the buster
| ing snow storm and deep drifts it was thought
better to take the hose to the scene by haul
ing them by hand than to try to get the sleds
through the snow. In a few minutes several
streams from the hydrants We're on the fire
and on the adjoining buidings-the Sal
mond house on the south and Mrs. r.. f.
Peirce's residence on the west. Both houses
were very close to the burning building, but
| the brick walls of the block stood, forming
some protection to them. The water froze
it struck the buildings and they were
saved with no damage The Unitarian
church and Mrs. C. NJ. Washburn's 8 residence
were near by, to leeward but did not take
| fire, and the high wind carried cinders even
across Congress street below Miller street.
The fire was at first confined to the Age
office. which occupied all the building on
and above the second floor, but later the
| floor gave way over the bakery of A. l..
| Knowton and the billiard room of A. L. Ed
wards, and the machinery, safe, etc in that
part of the building fell through. The safe
| contained the books, subscription list, etc.
1t was got out and taken to the basement of
| the City Drug Store, where it was opened
| Tuesday afternoon by DR.. G. P. Lombard
and w. FL. Quimby, and the books and
papers found in good condition. The en-
glne, boiler, the newspaper press and one job
press were over Thomas Haugh 8 restaurant
and did not fall through. The newspaper
| press directly over the partition be-
tween Haugh and Edwards places and
| when the fire was extnguished it stood at
dangerous angle. Nothing was saved from
| any part of the building except a small
quantity of canned goods, pickles, etc, from
the bakery.
| The building was owned by Thomas
| Haugh and was valued by the assessors at
$1,000 1t was built in 1852 by the late John
and David Peirce and until the Hayford
| block was built in 1868 contained the largest
and best public hall in the city. The build
| ing was 55 by so feet, two stories high and
was very substantially built. In 1884 r. f.
! Perce, the owner, remodeled the hail,
which up to that time was known as Peirces
Hall, and renamed it Perce's Paror Thea
| tire, In 1892 the Leon Sarsaparlla Co. eas-
ed the hail and fitted it up for patent med
| icine laboratory. In 1896 the Age Publish
ing Co. took lease of the premises, fitted
them up for a publication office, and have
since occupied them as such.
The lower ii 1or contained three large
stores. The most southerly one has been
occupied generally as a restaurant, and at the
time of the fire was occupied as such by the
| owner. The middle store has had various
uses since the block was built for some
years past being billiard hall, operated by
| A l.. Edwards. The northerly store was
occupied for many years by John Peirce a
hardware store, and after his death by his
son Robert f. Perce as a variety store.
Since the death of the latter it has had
number of occupants, the last being Andrew
| l.. Knowlton, baker.
The Belfast Age loses its entire plant,
which was 'ery complete for weekly news
| paper and job Office in a city the size of Bel
fast. They had i've presses, Cranston
newspaper press, Kennedy folder, d Kidder
pony cylinder press, half medium Univer-
SAL a quarto Prouty, and eight medium
Pearl, besides a Burgess proof press, San
born paper cutter and other accessories of a
we'll equipped office. The power was a
steam boiler and horizontal engine of 5
horse power. The composing room was
unusually we'll equipped.
The Age established in 1854 a Re
publican campaign paper, and was called
the Progressive Age, the first publisher be-
ing I. J. Burgess. William NJ Rust soon
after became the proprietor and continued
to publish it until his death, which occurred
in 1888 In 1876 the Age became a Green
back paper and a few years later Democratic.
After the death of Mr.. Rust it was sold to
M. p. Pendleton, and subsequently, in De-
cember, 1893 The Belfast Age Publishing
Co. was formed and bought the business.
Frank 1. Wilson then became editor and has
continued in that position since. Mr.. Pen
dleton consolidated the Progressive Age
and the Belfast City Press using the plant
of the latter and changing the name to The
Belfast Age. The Age Publishing Co. great
ly enlarged the job Office and added the
material of the office of the late Ross E.
Shute. The Age was first published at No.
45 Main street, but moved in 1862 to No. 30
Church street, now The Journal building,
which Office it occupied until 1873, when it
was moved to the McClintock block, at the
corner of Main and High streets. When
Mr.. Pendleton bought the City Press he
moved to the Office of that paper, and the
Age remained there until it was removed to
the Peirce block in 1896
The insurance held by the owner and
occupants of the block is as follows:
Thomas Haugh, building. ............. SIS 800
SGOCk 0UO
Age Publishing Observation-Disclosures. 5000
! nEc