The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1901-05-07


totally destroyed. This is Id solid
blocks Of residences. For the same
distance Ashley and Church streets
have both been completely blotted
out. When the fire reached Bridge
street in it's eastward course it on
veloped in flames three blocks, Du-
val, Monroe and the north side Of
Adams, burning up that entire sec.
tion of the city and running ii blocks
to the Duval street bridge. How
much further in that direction the
city is burned it is impossible to
learn, the street being impassible,
but it is feared that st. Luke's hos.
pltal was burned, report reaching
the city that the Presbyterian church
in East Jacksonville is ablaze. If
this is correct tho fire must have
extended five blocks further east.
The conhagration has caused as far
as is definitely known a distance Of
two and half miles by half mile
wide.
When the fire reached Julia street
it was roaring furnace without any
prospect Of being put under control.
The local military companies were
called out to keep back the crowds
and the fire. department began to
use dynamite to blow up the houses
block away from the fire and thus
prevont tho fire from spreading. So
| fierce was the blaze, however, and 80
strong had become tho wind that
millions of sparks and flying burn
ing shingles spread over five or six
blocks, setting the roofs of the houses
on fire in advance of the department..
Soon Senator Teliaferro's residence,
then the adjoining houses on that
block wore ablaze and in spite of all
efforts to save the Windsor and the
st. James hotel both houses we're
quickly enveloped in flames. For
about an hour the guests in the
Windsor had been busily packing
their trunks and went away load.
ed with trunks and grips, some
unfortunately to the United States
hotel, but most to Riverside.
Leaping madly across the street
from the Windsor, the Sells house
caught fire, and then the Methodist
parsonage, and in q few minutes tho
Trinity Nj. %. church was mass of
flames. The opera house block fol-
lowed, and the Richards and Living
stone boarding houses. A desperate
effort was made to save tho Baldwin
mansion, which was recently pur-
chased by the Elks for $18,O00
No earthly power could save this
building, and that entire block and
the one west was quickly a mass of
flames. Once the fire got started on
Main street, the closely adjoining
buildings went one after the other.
Paint shops with barrels of oil were
plentiful IN that district, and as they
caught fire one after the other the
blazes arose hundreds Of feet high,
and quickly set the other buildings
across the street on fire.
Then the Hubbard hardware store
caught, and the people scattered
when they saw what had happened.
Hundreds of pounds of powder and
great deal Of dynamite was stored
in this building. Ten minutes
passed, when suddenly there was q
roar, and the building collapsed like
an eggshell. The dynamite and the
powder had exploded. Here again
there was much danger for the fro
mon. Cartridges began to explode
and bullets began to fly around, and
the effort to fight the fire at this
point had for q time to be aban-
doned. This was only the start Of
the most into nse part Of the fire.
The Furchgott building was soon
ablaze, and then quickly the Gardi-
ner building was also a mass of
flames. Down tho street the fire
spread with rapidity, and the entire
section of Bay street from Market to
Main street, and extending for five
blocks back, was burning all at once.
The city building went, the fire
department building, the ermory,
the county court house, the clerks
office, with the county records,