Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-05-11
SWEPT BY
FIERCE FIRE
Most Disastrous Conflagration in
JacksonviIle's History.
OVER TWO MILES OF FLAME.
Buildings Blown Up to Prevent the
Spread of the Fire.
Six LIVES ARE REPORTED LOST.

Six LIVES ARE REPORTED LOST.
In the Present Disorganixed Condi-
tion of Affairs Ii lis Impossible to
Verify Reports-The Property Loss
Estimated at Ten to Fifteen Million
DoIlars-The City Buildings, All the
Leading Hotels and Many of the
Churches and schools Destroyed.
The most disastrous fire in the his
tory of Jacksonville, Fla, began Fri
day shortly after noon in a small fac
tory from a defective WIRE according
to the best belief, and burned for near
ly ten hours. In that time property
damage estimated from S10,000,000 to
$150O0,000 was caused.
According to the city map $50 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 We're destroyed
including hotels. theater, churches and
residences.
The casualties cannot be accurately
estimated. Six bodies have been recov-
cred.
The Times Union and Citizen esti-
mates the total property loss at Sill
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 wooden shell full of
infammable 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
A. flames had swept to The Boston store. a
huge furniture establishment belonging
to w. w. Cleveland & Son, who were
also proprietors of the Cleveland Fiber
factory. 1t leaped across Davis street
and took a 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 10 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 tire in advance of the fire
department. Soon Senator Taliaferro's
residence and then the al ioining houses
on that block were 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 M. K. church was a mass of
flames. The Opera House block fol-
lowed and then the Richards and Liv-
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, were plentiful in
this district, and as they caught on fire
one after the other tile blaze rose hun
dreds of feet high aad 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
creds of pounds of powder and a great
deal of dynamite were stored in this
building. Ten minutes passed, when
suddenly there was 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