Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-02-03
A 100000 fire
MlLWAUKEE'S HEADQUARTERS
FREIGHT AND PASSENGER
DEPOT, ABERDEEN
WORST FIRE in HISTORY
Property Destroyed Entails Greatest
Loss Ever Sustained BY any
South Dakota City in
States History

" lbSSA "a WE
the division headquarters, the store
house, the freight depot and the ley
passenger staten of the Mi waukee
railroad in his city, a financial loss
OF 5000, 900, and great damage to the
stock of furniture carried by the
Croker & Owen company is the re-
suit of fires in this city Monday.
Both blazes came in the forenoon, and
part of the department was called
from the Milwaukee fire to save the
furniture store.
The destruction of the railroad
property was one of the worst fires
in the history OF Aberdeen. and be-
cause of the highly inuamable ma
terial that was blazing, the depart
ment was unable to make much
progress toward getting It under
control.
The fire fighters were called to the
scene soon after a small oil heater
exploded in the freight room, and
in a very short time the fire had
spread to several cars of gasoline and
kerosene with were standing on the
house siding. 1t was not only dan
gerous but almost utterly impos-
sible for the firemen to get to
points of vantage to throw water on
the seethine building. The ker, eene
and gasoline was packed in barrels,
and every few moments one OF these
would burst, throwing the flame IN
all directions. This soon set fire to
every part of the freight house and
the building in which h h~eadquar-
ters of the road for this state are
located.
The fremen fought hard to keep
the passenger station, which sits
some seventy-five feet to the north
of the freight house, from burning,
but after the south buildings were
nearly destroyed, the statb1n TOOK
fire and was reduced to ashes In q
half hour.
The freight house and h%eadauar-
ters are old buildings and burned
readily. there being no effort at fire.
proof construction. The passenger
station, practically a new structure,
withstood the intense heat for a long
time. Though the greatest financial
loss to the company is found in the
passenger station, the loss Of records
in the office buildings will put 1t to
no end of trouble.
The passenger station. aside from
the two waiting rooms and the ticket
office, contained a small
q large baggage room, a checking
room, and offices for minor officials
of the company. h freight station
was a long narrow building, sitting
in the rear of the two story structure
used as headquarters. In the two
story Quilting were the office OF the
superintendent, working rooms for
q large corps Of clerks, n assis-
tants to the superintendent. and the
desoathers offices.
The Second Fire.
Within an hour Of the time that
the alarm was turned in for the fire
at the Milwaukee offices, a blaze was
discovered In III furniture store,
owned by the Croker & owen COM
pany. The department. exhausted
by it's work at the first blaze, put up
another hard scrap there.
The building was saved, though
the stock was badly damaged by
smoke and water. The fire was To-
Gated in the basement and the entire
structure soon filled with dense
smoke. The actual fire damage is
nominal.
Aberdeen-Before the ashes had
cooled from the fire which destroy
ed the Milwaukee passenger sta
ton and freight depot Monday,
workmen were nutting VI q tenn
porary frame structure to serve as
q ticket office and waiting room, and
the offices of the division officials OF
the road were removed to the newly
completed Advance Thresher COM
pany's building, where they will be
housed for the present. The morning
Of the fire a local paper received q
letter from President A. J.. Earling OF
the Milwaukee, stating the necessity
for a larger passenger station In Abb
erdeen. This letter, by a coincidence
arrived just IS fire was wiping o
the old station. It is supposed, from
the tenor of the presidents letter,
that the load will give the citv some
thing handsome in the way Of a pas
senger station when the burned build
ing is replaced.