Connecticut western news., 1901-05-09
JACKSONVILLE DEVASTATED
Fire Doe. sII.oOo,oOo worth of
Damage.

Jay SuOTtly H1ler noon Ill u Slnhll INC
tory from a defective wire, according
to the best belief, and burned for near
ly ten hours. In that time a property
damage estimated from $4,000, 600 to
SO 1000, 600 was caused.
According to the city map 80 blocks
were burned, many of them In the
heart of the business and residence sec
ton. The estimate of houses to the
block is 10; hence 1900 of them went
up in smoke. Many of the finest public
and private buildings were destroyed,
including hotels, theater, churches and
residences.
The casualties cannot be accurately
estimated. Six bodies have been recoy-
cred
The Times Union and Citizen esti-
mates the total property loss at S11,-
100000. This figure is based upon an
itemiZed statement furnished by vol
unteer committee OF citizens.
The fire started in the factory OF the
American Fiber company at the cor
ner of Davis and Union streets. The
fiber factory was a wooden shell full of
intiammable material and in a few mo-
ments was a mass of flames. The wind.
which was already blowing strong
from the southwest, seemed to be pos
sessed with a sudden fury and soon
was carrying destructive embers all
through the doomed city. the fairest
portion of which lay right in the wake
of the wind.
Some delay was experienced in get
ting an alarm. and to add to the TRACE
dy of fateful accidents the engine at
the waterworks suffered mishap, and
nothing more than ordinary pressure
could be obtained. BY this time the
flames had swept to the Boston store, a
huge furniture establishment belonging
TO w. W. Cleveland & Son, who We're
also proprietors of the Cleveland Fiber
factory. 1t leaped across Davis street
and took course right through sec
ton where block after block of frame
buildings, mostly occupied by negroes,
had been erected.
The local military companies were
called out to keep back the crowds, and
the fire department began to use dyna-
mite to blow up the houses block
from the fire and thus prevent the fire
from spreading. So fierce was the
blaze, however. and so strong had be-
come the wind that millions OF sparks
and flying burning shingles spread over
five or six blocks setting the roofs OF
the houses on fire in advance of the fire
department. Soon Senator Taliaferros
residence and then the adjoining houses
on that block We're ablaze. Desperate
efforts were made to save the Windsor
and the st. James hotels. but both
houses were quickly enveloped In
flames.
Leaping madly across the street from
the Windsor. the flames set fire to the
Sells House and then the Methodist
parsonage. A few moments later the
Trinity NJ. E. church was mass of
flames. The Opera House block fol-
lowed and then the Richards and Liy-
ingstone boarding houses. A desperate
effort was made to save the Baldwin
mansion, which was recently purchas-
| ed by the Elks for $4,000. No earthly
power could save this building, and
that entire block and the one west of it
were quickly mass OF flames. Once
| the fire got started on Main street the
closely adjoining buildings went one
after the other. Paint shops. with bar
rels of oil in stock, We're plentiful in
| this district. and as they caught on fire
| one after the other the blaze rose hun
| dreds 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. Hun
| dreds of pounds of powder and a great
| deal of dynamite We're stored in this
| building. Ten minutes passed, when
| suddenly there was a roar, and the
building collapsed like an eggshell. The
| dynamite and powder had exploded.
| The firemen at this time were working
| in great danger. Cartridges began to
| explode, and bullets began to fly
around, so the effort to fight the fire at
| this point for time had to be aban-
| doned.
This was only the start of the most
| intense part of the fire. The new Furch-
| gott building was soon ablazs. and soon
the Gardiner building was also a mass
| 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 for five blocks back was burn
ing all at once.
The city building went, the fire de-
| partment building. the armory, the
county courthouse, the clerks office
with the county records, the criminal
courthouse, the city Jail and the grad
ed schools and the Catholic church and
orphanage, 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 description.
| At $50 p. M. the fire was checked at
the intersection of Laurel and Bay
streets, where the Commercial bank Is
located, which went up in flames, the
Western Union building being just
across the street and not being DAM
aged.
| Standard oil nirfAend