Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-05-04
LOSS, s10,00o,o00 AND S15,0OO,00O
Fire RACES for 10 Hours--130 City
Blocks Swept AWay--Some Loss
Of 10000 Homeless.

itip.ng nnauip acres the street from
the Windsor. the flames set fire to the
Sells !iGuae and then the Methodist
parsonage a few minutes later the
Trinity NJ. +. chruch was mass OF
flames. The Opera House block follow
ed. and the Richards * Livingstone
boarding houses. \ desperate effort
was made q save the Baldwin man
sion, which was recently purchas ed by
the i?lks for $500 No earthly power
could save this building and that en-
tire block and the one west Of il was
quickly n mass Of flames
once the fire got started on Main
ctr1ct. the closely adjoining buildings
Went one :fter the other. Paint shops
with barrels Of oil in stock We're plen-
tiful in this district and as they caught
fire one after another the blaze rose
hundreds Of feet high and quickly set
Tho other buildings across the street on
fire.
Then the Hubbard hardware stors
caught and the people scattered when
they saw what had happened. Hun
dreds of pounds of powder and a great
deal of dynamite We're stored in this
building Ten minutes passed, when
building collapsed like an egg shell.
The dynamite and powder had exrlod-
ed. The firemen at this time We're
working in great danger. Cartridges
began to explode and bullets began to
fly around so the effort to fight the fire
ut this point for time had to be aban-
doned.
This was only the start of the most
intense part of the fire. The new
Furchgott building was soon ablaZe
and soon the Gardiner building was
mars of flames Down the street the
fire spread with rapidity and in a short
time the entire section of Bay street
from Market to Main street and eX-
tending five blocks back. was burning
at once.
The city building went. the fire de-
par,ment building. the armory. the
county court house, the clerks office
with the county records. the criminal
court house. the city Jail and the
graded schools and the Catholic church
and O:phanage. st. Johns Episcopal
church and the convent. Almost the
entire city of magnificent buildings
was burned up in less than four hours.
The scene was one that beggars de-
scriptiOn.
At $50 p. NJ the fire was checked at
the intersection of Laurel and Bay
street. where the Commercial Bank
went up in flames. The Western Union
building just across the street. was NJ
damaged.
Among the prominent hotels burned
were the St James. the United States.
the Placide and the Windsor.
1t is impossible at this hour to aScer-
tain the losses. but it is said by insur-
ance agents that it will be between
Sc 600 900 and IS. coo, 600. Six lives are re-
ported lost in the conflagratiOn. The
mayor has called meeting OF the city
counsel for tomorrow to consider ways
and means for relieving sufferers.
The following story is from spec
;al correspondent who left Jacksonville.
early in the evening. and at time
when the excitement was at its helght:
Yulee. Fla May 3.-Millions of dol
lars worth of property have gone up
in smoke and 10000 people have been
made homeless as the result OF a nre
in Jacksonville, today. The entire bus-
mess section of Jacksonville is in ash
es and numerous lives have been lost.
caused by tie displacement of bit OF
innocent looking wire which accident
ally got into the shredding machine Of
the American Fibre Co.. at the corner
of Davis and Union streets.
The fire started between II and
o'clock p. NJ. and owing to this fact
los s Of life Will be comparatively small.
The fibre factory was Il wooden shell
full Of infiammable material and in n
few minutes was a mass of flames The
wind seemed to be possessed with a
sudden fury and soon was carrying
embers through the doom |
ed city. The flames swept to the Bos-
ton store, huge furniture establish !
ment belonging to w. w. Cleveland L.
Son. who were also prOprietors of the |
fibre factory.
IF leaped across Davis street and |
took a course right through section
If block after block of frame buildings. !
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