The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-01-26
DAVIS CITY FIRE SWEPT
Five Business Buildings were Burucd
Last Wednesday Night the loss
Exceeding SIS; 900.

Our neighboring town of Davis
City was again visited by a very
destructive fire last Wednesday
night, which destroyed five build
ings in the business section of the
town, the total loss being over $751;
600 with insurance of less than half
of the loss.
The fire started in the L. Bason
general store on the east side of
Bridge street, and was discovered a
few minutes before IL o'clock by
Ovid Shoemaker, who was sitting in
| the telephone Office and noticed the
light shining through the, windows.
The alarm was given at once, but
the whole interior of the Bason store
was seething mass of flames, the
building being steel covered one
and the flames did not break
through until the building was near
ly ready to fall in. The stock car
ried by Bason was worth $4,000 to
$4,000 and he carried insurance of
1000, but we understand there is
some question as to whether $4,000
of the insurance was in force. The
building was owned by Thomas
Rains, and was worth $4,000, being
insured for $4,000. There was
nothing saved from the Bason stock,
and it is said that some goods from
his stock were found in the alley
at the rear of the store, which had
evidently been dropped by some one,
and it is apparent that the fire was
started by an incendiary or thieves
who first looted the store and then
set fire to the building either to
cover the robbery or by accident.
South of the Bason store there
was small building occupied by l..
A. Brown as an Office, and nothing
was saved from it, Mr.. Brown lost
all his Office furniture, books and
papers and it is hard to place a mon
ey estimate on his loss, but it will be
$500 to $4O0, and he had no in
surance. The building was owned
by Isaac Toney and was worth about
$500, and he had no insurance.
Adjoining this building was the
grocery and racket store of E. s.
| Grimes, who also owned the build
ing. Just a few goods were saved
| from his stock, not to exceed 5000
worth. His stock was worth about
$4,000 and the building $1,000, and
he carried no insurance on either
building or stock, 80 his loss is a
hard one. =, -, -s.-,:-s Z, : :: 2
The next building to the south
was owned by Isaac Toney and oc-
cupied by J. H. Farris as an imple-
ment store. He carried stock
worth $4,000 to $500, and but a
small part Of it was saved from the
fire. He has $500 insurance. The
building was worth about 5000 and
Mr.. Toney had no insurance.
Then the blacksmith shop of Dick
Scott was licked up by the flames,
but he. got out most of his tools
before the shop burned and his loss
will be about 800, with no insur-
ance. The building was owned by
Isaac Toney and his loss is $500,
with no insurance.
A vacant lot stood between the
blacksmith shop and the next build
ing to the south, and the vigorous
fight put by the men who had
reached the scene was successful in
stopping the fire at this point.
Across the wide street to the west
from the Bason store the heat was
so intense that the big plate glass
in l. N. Jeffries' was burned out, and
his loss will be $500, with no in
surance. The front of the postof-
fee building and the front of DR..
Wales Office were also scorched and
fell in, the damage on each being
about $50, but DR.. Wales who own
ed the buildings is fully insured.
This fire following on the heels
Of the one which destroyed a num-
Der of buildings on the west side of
the street only short time ago, is
hard rap on Davis City, and makes
the business section look pretty rag
ged, but we hope that new brick
buildings will soon replace the
burned structures and Davis City
will be the winner IN the end, al
though the loss is pretty hard on
them at this time.