The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-05
FLAMES EAT SCHOOL HOUSE Cottage Hill SghOOl Almost
 Destroyed by Fire. CHILDREN LOSE BOOKS Building Valued. at $14,000 with $11,000 Insurance. The Fire Was Mysterious as No One Was in the Building at the
 Time and Heaters
 Were All Cold.

The Cottage Hill school, located on Her ron Street, was partially destroyed by fire between 6 and o'clock yesterday morning. As . result 365 scholars Of the public schools of Montgomery lost many of their school books and will be de- prived of their school education until other arrangements can be made.
 The Board of Education will meet to- day and definitely decide what to do in regard to taking care of the scholars who attend the school. Either afternoon ses- sions will be held in the other school buildings or temporary place will be rented. It is thought that it will require nearly three months to repair the damage done to the school house.
 The Cottage Hill school is two story brick structure with furnace room in the cellar. It was erected about seven years ago and is 6 very modern building. The school house Is heated by steam heaters.
 The fire in the furnace Is generally allowed to die out about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, an hour before school Is dis missed. Tuesday afternoon no coal was put in the furnace after l o'clock and the janitor. Richard Stoyers, remained at the building cleaning up until about dark. When he left everything was ap- parently safe. ICSteTuay O ACW kitidtCo bS- fore o'clock Stovers went to the school house to start the fire in the furnace so as to have the building heated about the time school commenced at S:S0 o'clock As he approached the building he saw great volumes of smoke and flame leap ing from the windows and the roof of the northwest corner. The family imme- diately gave the alarm and shortly the fire department arrived. The school Is situated on a high hill and in an open space. The flames spread | rapidly. Soon the roof fell in and the second story had burned. All the desks. story was burned including the books of the scholars which had been left in the ! Professor .. L. Floyd. the superinten- | dent of the City Schools, was notified and he had arrived before [. clock. Hundreds of. boys and girls with their
 school books and lunch baskets were
 skipping nerrily to school when the,
 saw it ablaze. Of course they were start | led. and they stayed at a respectful dis
 tance watching the house burn.
 The origin of the fire is unknown. Pro- | lessor Floyd says there was no ire fir 1 the furnace and no one was supposed t6 | be in the building at the time. The room
 In which the fire originated Is the farth'
 est room % from ron the furnace room n .sn1.s and l. l that the fire started near teacher desk as the desk in that room was, com Ep4Ately destroyed and the floor near tht I desk was first to burn. On the first hoo.
 the desks and books were drenched.
 Professor Floyd estimates that 1t will | require at least three months before the
 building will be ready for occupancy. HC
 says the insurance has to be adjusted
 bids advertised and contracts let and tht
 work @one will require fully that time. l He says the scholars will individually
 lose the books which had been left in | tho building, and 1t will work great l hardship on many of them.
 Professor Floyd says 1t would be very awkward to rent a temporary place, as 1 no desk, blaokboards, and other equip ments of a school room could be had
 and 1t Is possible that afternoon sessions | will be held in some of the other school
 buildings until the Cottage Hill School l ia repaired.
 The Cottage Hill School District em-
 braces that section of the city begin
 ming at the Alabama River and running | up Commerce Street to Court Square
 and thence up Montgomery Street and
 out Clayton Street to the city limits. | Three hundred and sixty-ive scholars are enrolled at this school and Miss Vir- ginia Hereford is principal.
 | The Cottage Hill School, including the | furniture. was valued at about $14000.
 The city carried $1o,O0O insurance on the