The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-10-12
SERIOUS FIRE.
Hotel and Store at South Bend
Burn.
Sparks Form the Burning Store Fly
Across the Street and Destroy
the Old Landmark.

South Bend met with serious loss
early this morning in the complete de-
struction by fire of the old, three story,
frame hotel building that has long
been an object of interest and wonder
to Mankato people, and the general
store formerly owned by D. P. Davis,
but more recently the property of A.
G.. Dethier.
The fire started in the rear of the
store and was famed across the build
ing by the southeast wind until the
store was mass of flames Then the
sparks and flames leaped across the
street and ignited the big hotel build
ing, which burned like finder The
neighbors gathered around, but could
do nothing but protect the houses and
barns in the path of the falling sparks.
1t was almost two clock when Miss
Minnie Olson, who owns house back
of where the hotel stood, was awaken
ed by the smell of smoke She ascer-
tanned that the smoke came from the
store, and went to the hotel and mott
fed g. A. Hultengren, who, with his
family, had rooms there Other
neighbors began to come out, and
some of Mr.. Hultengren's household
goods were saved. The heat in the
street was too hot to allow of any
effort being made to save the hotel
building even if there had been a
water supply at hand, which there was
not
The store and stock were sold by
D. P. Davis to A. G. Dethier Sept
list, and was to have been re-opened by
the latter this week. Mr.. Davis, house
is across the bridge from the street,
and when he was awakened he saw the
flames crawling up the roof of a one
story addition twenty feet quare
which Mr.. Dethier had built the
rear of the old store building which
was two stories high. A warehouse
lower than this addition was on the
extreme rear, and it appeared as though
the flames may have come up from
that Mr.. Davis states that the fire
spread along the west side of the
single roof of the addition like a
prairie fire, and then rolled up over
the main building and swept the roof
of that part in the same way. By
the time he had dressed and reached
the store it was too late to save any
thing. although he tried to get in.
Mr.. Dethier, with his wife and boy,
had rooms in the hotel and their
household goods were entirely de-
stroyed. They are left without any
thing.
Mr.. Dethier came to South Bend
from st. Paul and to st. Paul fro m
Wisconsin. He purchased the stor e
building, lot and Mr.. Davis stock of
groceries, clothing, shoes and drugs
for 81, 500. He closed the store and had
the additions constructed, and stocked
up heavily with furniture. In fact,
the entire building was filled with
new furniture, and the stock was SO
great that two rooms in the hotel were
filled with the overflow. People won
dered why Mr.. Dethier was getting
such stock of furniture, when that
class of goods had never been carried
in South Bend before.
Mr. Dethier intended to buy stock
of groceries today, in order to open
up for business tomorrow or next day.
d. P. Davis assisted him at the hotel
until after one O'Clock this morning
in preparing a schedule of goods tc
purchase. When Mr.. Davis passed
the store ON his way home everything
seemed to be all right Shortly after.
wards freight train hauled by two
engines came up the grade from the
city, and few moments later the
fiTe broke out at the end of the store
nearest to the track, and less thar
fifty feet from it. The principal sup,
position advanced by the residents Of
South Bend as to the cause of the fire
is that sparks from the engine set the
fire. the wind being in the right di.
rection to carry the sparks to the
building and fan them into fam es.
Mr.. Davis thinks that the fire may
have started in this way, although
during the twenty years that he con.
Quoted the store sparks never set fire
to the building. Sparks have several
times started fire in the grass and
three times the bridge has been set OF
fire from this cause, and for this rea-
son Mr.. Davis was always very watch,
full The last time that the br idge
was set on fire was three weeks ago.
Mr. Dethier is at loss to account fc
the fire, unless it was started by
sparks.
Miss Olson's house caught fire from
the sparks but was saved. Sparks also
fell on Eli MITCHELL house and barn,
over the brow of the hill, but they
were saved by wa tchfulness
Mr.. Davis constructed the store
building in 1869, and conducted the
store until Sept. list, last. when he
sold out on account of i'll health.
The hotel was land mark, having
been constructed in 1878 by Thomp-
son & Cheney, who conducted it. The
building was made of native lumber,
and had strong frame work of tim
bers, which stood up this morning for
long time after the siding and roof