The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1905-08-23
BIG FIRE AT EAGLE ROCK.
The Extensive Sawmill at That Place
Goes Up in Smoke.


The sawmill, and warehouse adjoining
at Eagle Rock, owned by Hyde q Doutt,
of Rldgway, were destroyed by fire on
Monday afternoon. The loss is about
$50, 600 and the insurance $4,000. That
the loss was not much greater is due to
the prompt response of Mayor A. l.. Con-
fer, of Oil City, for steamer and force OF
fire fighters and the courtesy of Superin-
tendent g. w. Beale, of the Z. r. r., who
furnished rapid transit for the steamer, a
company of 80 men and 300 feet of hose.
An hour or two later force of rs men,
with steamer and hose, arrived from
Warren.
The Derrick's account of the big blaze
follows:
Some time ago the lumber on the eX-
tensive estate of the late Il. Il. Clapp was
purchased by the Grandin Lumber Com
pany, who built railroad through the
property and erect I'd an overhead trolley
line, over which the logs were brought to
the Eagle Rock side of the river. The
company then gave contract to Hyde *
Doutt to manuiacture the logs into lum-
ber. The contractors erected one of the
finest mills in all of this section, with a
capacity of $4,000 feet of lumber per day,
and employed force of about so men.
1he mill was lighted by electricity and
equipped with every known labor saving
device. The lumber was delivered at
one part of the mill, the slabs at another
and the sawdust went near the boilers,
where it was used as fuel. About 1890
o'clock on Moudsy afternoon, when all
OF the mill force was at dinner, fire was
discovered which it is supposed origi-
mated in the sawdust piles from the boil
ers. By the time the employees reached
the mill they realized that it could not
be saved by their efforts. Mr.. Grandin
was at the seashore and Mr.. Bucklin was
in jamestown, n. Y. The Grandin
Company's superintendent got tele-
phone communication with Mr.. Bucklin
at the Humphrey house at jamestown
and was notified by Mr.. Bucklin to wire
to Warren and Oil City for fire fighting
assistance, Mr.. Bucklin also sent per-
soual message to Superintendent Beale at
Oil City asking for special tram and
arrived here on the Duquesne flyer,
making close connection for Eagle
Rock. Under the terms of the contract
from the time the logs were delivered
into the mill pond until they had been
fashioned into lumber they were the
property of Hyde & Doutt and after that
the risk of fire was all with the Grandin
Company. The Grandin Company had
more than 5000, 900 feet of lumber piled
up in the yards and there were about 20
houses occupied by mill employees, to-
gether with general store, all in close
proximity to the burning mill. The Oil
City volunteers, with Captain Daniel
Fisher as fireman of the steamer, left
here at l:20 p. m. and arrived at Eagle
Rock at l:55. In the meantime the en-
ployes of the mill and yards, together
with all of the abe-bodied residents of
the vicinity, had been engaged in carry
ing out the household goods from the
company houses and had covered the
general store, roof and sides, with
drenched blankets. There was heavy
wind blowing away from the store, the
residences and the piles of lumber, which
undoubtedly prevented the loss Of the
mill aud yards from being a total one.
Another fortunate circumstance was that
the wreck train had been sent from here
to put new trucks under a crippled car
loaded with lumber. When the fire
broke out the engine was uncoupled from
the wreck train and used in removing
some 20 or more cars from the siding
near the mill. Only one car was de-
stroyed. 1t contained slabs and was
billed for Erie, Pa. The OIL City volun-
teers got to work at once and soon had
strong stream Of water playing on the
mill and the monster lumber piles ad
joining. At 8 o'clock the special relief
train from Warren arrived and by
o'clock the danger to the surrounding
buildings and lumber was over. The
ruins of the mill and the mountains of
sswdust were smouldering, however, and
there was danger that change of wind
would cause the fire to break out afresh
and the two steamers and hose were kept
on the scene until after 8 o'clock when
the special trains were sent back to War
ren and Oil City, but not until bounti-
full supper had been served to the tired
firemen. The mill will be rebuilt at
once and it is not thought that the fire
will cause the men to be out of employ
MI nant mora Than two Or thraa wanl.s