The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1901-12-20

\ The lively oil metropolis Of the
4 county, Salem, had terrible vista
4 tion last Saturday night. An awful
contilgration laid the heart OF the place
in ashes, burning nifty tnree business en-
d houses and making thirty famliles ana
4 many Others homeless ca a.;n,,
estimate places the number driven
from, t,heir homes at about 200. The
aa1reoate loss will reach in the neigh
borbood Of 100000 and the insurance
4 is less than one fourth of that amount.
\ ,rhe fire is believed to have origin
| ated in the printing Office OF the Salem
Eynress. though it may have started
in The rear OF r. W. Kinney s. Com
nany's store. 1t was discovered about
1910 o'clock from Bumgardner's oar
n her shop and was under h,g heaoway
In the printing office before any one
arrived upon the scene. me alarm
was quickly given and the. ntlre pnpu-
lation of the town turned OUT on'y 10
esput up a hopeless hsnl aea, , .n,s
4 soon in ashes and it took but few
minntes for the n. Ii. Davis building
to be laid waste. ~
The blaza then lrapcd across the
street; to the Clete Randolph grocery
and consumed thu building with ter
rihIe ferocity, That building was
scarcely afjre before the Elder hotel
was abiaZe aud the guests had TO lice
for their lives. Then the new NJ. II.
Davis building just purchased by >
Broad water was at the mercy ot the
flames and proved mere mnrSei LOT
their appetite. 1t was soon eaten up.
In this building on the thlrd sGofy
! was The Masonic lodge. Inc minute
l hooks were saved. All else went up ~
sn,nlse Butler Brothers news stand
down The line toward the depot was
nexr, mn easy prey. Then Bumgard-
ner,s barber shop was burned and
Metcalf's bakery. ~ -,
Il The brick walls OF the w. Broad
Alwater building and the Salem bank
y cnnld not resist the terrible heat and
4 the flames sped on in their destructive
career. leaving only crumbled orick
walls TO show the path OF their curse.
They leaped into the Ford building
and The brilliancy Of the skies was
again revived. Then they turne1
their attention toCarskadons grocery
and almost in the twinkling OF an eye
ii was no more. Silas Ffttro's hand.
some building was next and it went
the way of the rest. The inmates of
house OF ill-fame in that section
were driven from their resort. Par
rishis drug store was destroyed at that
noint too, and some saloons. The north
vest wind, blowing fierce gale, drove
the flames on toward the B. & o de-
not and all the many business houses
N in that square were soon smouldering
\ heaps of ashes. The big supply houses
I we're completely destroyed, but con-
siderable vacant space at that point
land the heroism stopped the flames at
the National Supply house, after II
had been greatly damaged.
This section alone was more than
l any town the size of Salem or even
larger could afford tolose and we would
rladly stop there, but 1t becomes our
Daiuful duty to retrace our steps and
% across the railroad track to follow
inthe wake of flames. We turn our
hacks upon an appalling scene and look
! atanother equally hnrrifying spectacle
Proud OF its proves the deadlits st ele
sfi1ent ambitiously adds to its domain
and flashes across the railroad track to
i the Reymapn storage house, which
y soon becomes a matter OF history. The
Names defied Judge Mason's tnjunc.
'pn. Lyons livery is next: Several
* Jrses were stamping in their stalls
ftiRhtened at the fate that seemed
tnSSwait them, but all were gotten out
B SEPT one. which persisted. The town
~ Ssup and mayors council. whera
Justice has been dispensed and wisdom
displayed in the towns legislation,
was next to succumb. All records
were burned except the docket that
was stolen some months ago. Leonard's
big carriage works came next. The
Dire sped onward down along the rail-
road track with rapidity and did not
lose It's momentum until many
other business houses and residences
were burned In that section. The
iudIcinus use of blanketsa and dexterous
application OF water on the front wal
81 A. j. WatSnn's elegant new resi-
dence stepped the flames in that Tree