The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1900-04-20
To one Of the mostlmportant and
Useful Industries in the City
and this section ofcountry.
Clarksburg Planning Mills
A Charred Mass Of Ruins,
AS the Direful Result of the Fierc-
est Blaze Known Here in
Years. The Lossi is
Very Heavy.

AtlO.45 O'Clock Easter morning, as
thechurch bells tolled chimes beht'
ting the occasion, the big court house
bell began to ring and the people
wondered. When it began to toll loud
and violent citizens rushed forth to as
certain the cause. The alarm OF fire,
the cry that the Clarksburg Planning
mills were burning to the ground
brought Consideration to the coun'
tenances of all who appreciated that
elements deadly destruction and who
knew the Importance Of and took prize
in such an enterprise, as the planning
mills. A precipitate rush was made
to the plant, the dis.Organized tire de-
partment got in motion by the succor
of several volunteers and an immense
hostof people arrived upon the scene
There they beheld an awful spectacle
The mammoth plant was ablaze from
4opto bottom and from wall to wall
The entire interior and the huge lum.
Der piles in the yards were covered
with flames madly consuming all the
things, material with which they had
come in contact. Theatmosphere was
sleeping with heatSo intense that IL
was perilous to approach within an
hundred yards. AS soon as possible
streams of water, magnificent in force
and volume, began playing witfHall
the dexterity of the finest water works
In the state, but they had no practical
or efllcacious effect nsaving the plant,
as 1t was virtually wiped out OF exist
ence before the water could be appll'
ed. The danger threatening the build
ings In the neighborhood was SO I'M
minent, that only through hard and
constant efforts was contiagration
prevented. The cruel flames thought
to defy the art and strength of man
and did leap over to small resi-
dence belonging to Mrs. Mary Gotf and
occupied by Bob Curry, colored, and
family. This little building was but
shanty, really big pile of kindling
wood, dry and an easy victim, bat not
withstanding the violent determine
ton Of one destructive element It's
competitor in power quickly and ef-
fectually won the victory and the resi-
dence. escaped with only severe
scorching, enough, however, to have
depicted on its exterior the evidences
Of the frightful fate the attacking
enemy had in store. The winds car.
ried the glittering sparks heavenward
and toward the cardinal points. Iele-
phene and electric light poles ignited
repeatedly only to beas frequently the
object OF dashing streams of water. a
sudden flame in the lathe room OF the
company on Ferry street, 200 yards
distant. causedshy spark, created a
sensation and precipitation Of a por'
ton Of the tre.hghtet.ss TO that po..,.
LAYING gained but slight headway a
moment was sufficient to extinguish
the flame. The Osborn foundry SO
/. near seemed to invite the flames that
way.but their endeavOrs to reach that
point were successfully met by the
water brigade and the foundry was
spared, Strenuous attempts were
made to save some Of the lumber,
doors, and sashes but they proved
fruitess, and only scene of debris,
charred lumber, wrecked and ruined
machinery remains to tell the woeful
tale. The entire plant was burned in
less than As minutes, remarkably
short time, indeed, but one that indl-
Gates the magnitude Of the flames.
The origin is mere Conjecture. One
theoryi is that burning match was
thrown down outside the buildings.
Another is that the blaze was incendia-
ry. Spontaneous combustion is anoth-
err advanced. There is probability
of the correctness of any of these, The
last named is by no means to be dis
credited. Planning milf have been
caused that way, and there is scarcely
a place where conditions are more con-
duciye to spontaneous combustion.
Those conditions are Afforded by the
accumulation for years of shayings,
waste, old lumber and oils, which in
certain stages of decomposition create
a heat SO terrible that it bursts forth
into fame. When first discovered the
interior of the building was filled with
smoke, but almost instantly, flames
broke and fiared through their own
sufrocation, not weakand faint, as one
would imagine, but strong and fierce.
The plant was splendidly equipped
with modern machinery, much of 1t
almost new, with a few pieces never
used. There was q hne large stock Of