Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1909-08-19
virginia House Burned.

Virginia House Burned.
The large frame building on Washing
ton street, east of the Presbyterian
! Church, known as the Virginia House
and occupied by Mr.. and Mrs. Charles
w. Crowl, who conducted students
boarding house, was destroyed by fire
Tuesday night The fire was discovered
about midnight. Previous TO this time
number of persons smelt smoke, but no
one was able to locate il. Mr.. and Mrs.
Crowl had noticed the odor of burning,
and made an examination Of the lower
part of the house, but found nothing fur
ther until they were awakened by the
sounds in the burning room overhead.
They didn't know even then what the
trouble was until they heard the cry of
fire from the street, when they found that
the house was fiercely blazing just over
their heads. They jumped out of bed
and quickly made their escape with their
two children.
The cries of fire had aroused a number
of persons and soon the fire bell rang loud
and long, causing alarge crowdto gather.
Many willing hands helped TO carry the
furniture from the building, and most Oft
was gotten out. The flames appear to
have originated in the room occupied by
Franklin Kremer. Mr.. Kremer is tele-
graph operator at Hobbs station, on the
B. & o. Railroad. near Shenandoah juno
ton, and had left his room shortly after 6
o'clock in the evening. Evidently spark
had somehow been left, and il smoldered
for hours until the room became ablaze.
BY the time steam was gotten up in the
fire engine the upper part OF the house
was all ablaze and the flames had broken
through the roof, and the building was
doomed. The firemen worked vigor-
ously, however, and with two streams
succeeded in drowning out the blaze.
The fire seemed TO burn downward very
slowly, and though the attic and third
story were destroyed and the second floor
badly damaged, the first floor was not
greatly harmed. A shower of rain that
fell during the fire kept the sparks down
and prevented danger TO neighboring
property.
The building was owned by Franklin
and Leighton Kremer. 1t was insured
for $1,000 with the agency Of Harrison
Schley and Bro, and the insurance will
probably cover the loss. Mr.. Crowl had
his furniture protected with $500 insurance
with Miller and Athey. Neighbors cared
for the family of Mr.. Crowl, and yester-
day he moved into part OF Mrs. J. c.
Shows house on Princess street.
This house was landmark in Shep-
herdstown. II was large frame struct-
ure, filled in with brick and weather
boarded, three stories in height, and oc-
cupied a desirable site, having ample
grounds around it. II was a very old
building. Joseph S. Fleming, Esq, one
of our oldest residents, remembers il as
far back as seventy years, and it was not
new then. AT one time, a hundred years
ago, tannery was conducted there by
man named Kieffer, who owned il. Then
it came into possession Of George Fay
man, another old ShepherdStowner, who
had a hat mandatory there for years.
The copper dyeing watts may still be around
somewhere, as many persons remember
seeing them not so many years ago.
From George Fayman the property de-
scended to his children and all Of them
having left this section the property was
sold at public sale and bought by DR.. A.
S. Reynolds, who later disposed of il TO
Mrs. Mamie (Kremer) Daniels, whose
sons, Franklin and Leighton Kremer now
own the place. The writer and other
older "boys" well remember the pleasant
old house and its surroundings in years
gone by, when the apple trees were ia
nous for their wonderful fruit and when
the very prettiest girls in town lived
there. II is with regret that we have
seen the old place 90 up in smoke, for
as the years pass by we seem TO love the
old things more, perhaps because OF the
delightful memories that cling about them
and the knowledge that the joys OF child
hood can never again be duplicated.