The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-09
STERLING WOODS
 HOME IS BURNED
Was Situated on Summit of
 Red Mountain.
WITNESSED BY THOUSANDS
Was at One Time a Dancing Pavilion Connected With Birmingham By a Dummy Llne-Will Be Re-
 placed With stone House.

The residence of Sterling A. Wood, sit- uated on the summit of Red mountain, was entirely destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon about o'clock. Although Mir. Wood and family have lived in the house for about five years, it Is better known as the Red mountain pavilion, as 1t was originally built as summer resort.
 Most of the household goods on the first floor were saved from the flames but some valuable rugs and carpets and other things which were packed away on the second floor for the summer were lost, among them being a handsome Persian rug valued at $500.
 Partial Insurance.
 MT. Wood stated that the house Is valued at ss5oo and that he carried about S15OO insurance on 1t. The household goods were insured for enough to cover the loss Mrs. Wood and their SIX children went to Biloxi Miss. last Friday, where they have taken a cottage for the summer MT. Wood went down with them, but re- turned Monday and spent Monday and Tuesday night at his home on the noun tain.
 Defective Flue.
 The fire seems to have caught from defective kitchen fiue. There was no one in the house at the time 1t caught fire. The blaze was first seen on the roof of the kitchen by some negroes who were in the house of MT. Woods cook south I.1I.. fro. north made the fire burn very slowly.
 They notified Will Mcfarland, who had a force of men at work near by digging ore, and he at once took them to the house and put about twenty of them to work carrying out goods.
 Someone on South Highlands who saw the fire telephoned MT. Wood, who was at his office on First avenue, but he did not arrive on the scene until the whole house was in flames.
 Thousands Saw the Fire.
 On account of the prominent location of the house the fire was visible from almost every part of the city, and thou sands of spectators witnessed 1t. The building Was 50x1OO feet in size, was con- structed entirely of wood and made an immense blaze. If the fire had been at night 1t would probably have been visible for fifty or sixty miles up and down the valley.
 There were about twelve or fifteen pa- tent fire extlnguishers in the house at the time of the burning but it seems that their use was not understood by the men and little was accomplished with them. The house was at the mercy of the flames from the start, for 1t was inaccessible to the city fire department, and the altitude Is so great that there Is no water supply whatever. Water for domestic use Is all carried from a spring about POO yards down the mountain.
 Will Rebuild With Stone.
 MT. Wood still maintains that he has the finest location for home in Jefferson county. and that he will replace the burned building with a handsome stone residence.
 Work will probably not begin on the new structure, however, until all the iron ore Is mined away from the premises. Will Mcfarland & Go. have the contract for taking it out. While the work was In progress Mrs. Wood and the children intended to remain in Biloxi
 Quite a History.
 The old pavilion had quite an interest ing history. MT. Wood and Capt Norman Webb owned forty acres of land on the mountain, and In 1890 they leased a part of 1t to the South Birmingham Land com pany of which William Berney was pres ident, upon which to build dancing pa- vilion and summer resort. The building which burned yesterday was erected dur ing that year.
 The company built dummy line from the city up to the pavilion, and the place proved very popular for two summers and seemed to pay well. Just before the panic. however, traffic began to fall of, and the company ultimately lost about 10000 on the venture.
 MT. Wood and Captain Webb released them from the lease, and in 1897 Mir. Wood got possession of the house and began to fix 1t up as residence, spending about $25O0 in repairs.
 The pavilion was built very substan- tially to withstand the high winds on the mountain and had double hardwood floors throughout. It was of course a familiar sight on it's great eminence and practi- cally everyone who has ever visited the city has seen it.
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