The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-10-19
EARLY FIRES
IN COLUMBIA
INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF TWO
LARGE CONGREGATIONS AND
THE METHODS OF FIGHT
ING FIRES.


The two disastrous fires of last
week recall some incidents of two 9th
er noted fires in Columbia's history.
The biggest fire that had then been
in Maury County was the burning of
the Eagle Hotel in the forties. This
was large frame building that stood
where Frank G. Cooks furniture store
was, where our last big fire started.
1t had just been put up by some OF the
wealthy citizens of the county and
was handsomely furnished for those
times. and under the management OF
! Mr.. P. D. Franklin was already very
popular. The fire was supposed to
have been incendiary and / don't be-
| lieve the origin was even found out.
In those good old days" there was
no fire engine here, and probably no
insurance, and the man or boy who
did not work at fire was rare indeed.
One of the bucket lines" reached to
Helms branch on Ninth street-there
was not even culvert there at that
time-and a constant stream of filled
buckets was passed up the street and
I'D the ladders, the emptied buckets
being returned down another line. To
save the drug store corner some ven
4 turesome men rolled a few kegs of
powder in the front room, the explo-
sion blew down the hotel walls, scat
tering some brands that burned a
small house or two of Sam Gains on
the northeast, but the drug store made
the first of its many fire escapes.
The other fire was the burning Of
the large stable on the northeast cor
ner of South Main and Eighth streets
in the spring of 1868. This was a Ions
one-story house with a basement, thu
I whole being used as stables, with
= large amount of hay and feed. TIT
q fire broke out about two o'clock in tn
J.. night and spread with remarkable ia
, pidity. Most of Gen. Van Davis stat
i and escort had their horses there, an
it was said to have been remarkabl
@ fine lot of animals. One of1cer press
9 ed through the smoke and brought hi
K fine bay horse to the front door, bu
r no amount of urging or driving coul
a get the horse out; he stood there
4. moment. then broke into the flame
behind him. The screaming of tn
r. horses will never be forgotten by thos
who heard it; only a few were save
al the escort alone losing siXty-hve. Wv
i, ing TO the closeness of other house
=. the carcasses could not be drenche
m with oil and burned as was the cas-
"a in the stockyard fire last week. Sue
&c of them as would bold together wei
u hauled off east of town, and then u
~ scraps were removed as best the
ID could be. some being buried on Il
of spot or the adjoining lot east. In
~ took several days, the weather D
60 ing warm. and no disinfectants he
then. made it one of the most disagree
able Jobs ever known in Columbia, D
it was accomplished as soon as pc
:. sible by Major Amos w. Warfield, az
ts ing as Post Quartermaster. This nj
too. was then believed to have De-
of incendiary origin, and in the excl
ment paroled Federal prisoner a
even some of the wounded FEEDER
soldiers in the hospital were susp'
IT ed. Years after the war. good !
III lumbia woman told on her death D
that a Maury County Union man n
ng confessed to her in confidence that
ed had fired this stable SO as to destr
a the horses of Van Dorm, the stan
,th escort. AS he moved north quite SO
It'll after. and died recently, leaving re
he tiyes here, refrain from MENTION
ast his name. DE mortuis nil n
bonum." FhANh n onA II
October Is, 1906.