Putnam patriot., 1915-01-08
$lO,OOO FIRE
Mathewson Place Destroyed Sunday
 Morning
Boarders Leave Hurridly. Cattle Barn
 Saved by Using Dynamite

A fire that started from a chimney totally destroyed the large, old-fash- ] toned, two-and- a half-story house, horse stable and shed at the Elinor B. Mathewson farm in Pomfret early l Sunday morning. There were about dozen boarders, including number of children, who were gotten out quickly and without panic owing to the cool ness of Miss Mathewson. Some of the boarders were scantily clothed but all took their personal effects with them and went to the greenhouse which was warm and comfortable and only a made comfortable in studio on the grounds. The loss is estimated at S10,000 fully covered by insurance.
 Saturday evening about 6 o'clock the chimney caught fire and apparent ly burned itself out. There were no signs of fire when the occupants of the house went to bed but an odor of smoke was noticeable which was thought to come from the effects of the first fire of the early evening and no one thought much about it.
 About o'clock Sunday morning Miss Munger of New Haven, one of the boarders, was awakened and saw smoke in her room and soon discover ed fire breaking through near the chimney on the third story. Others awoke about the same time owing to the smoke and soon all of the occu- pants were awakened. Miss Mathew son kept extremely cool and allayed all fears and prevented any panic or excitement seeing that everyone got out as quickly as possible. One little baby was taken out rolled up in thick blanket. All the children and boarders found warm place in the greenhouses.
 Meanwhile the fire was gaining headway and help was summoned by telephone from all of the surrounding country. Attention was given to say. ing the personal property and most everything on the lower story was say ed including some old-fashioned farni- ture of value. A crowd soon gathered and ali went willingly to work. The only means of fighting the fire was by bucket brigades. Wagons were used to draw water from a ipond near by where a hole was cut through the ice. The fire gained rapidly. It soon broke through the roof and it was not long before it was apparent that the beauti- ful old house was doomed. Attention was then given to saving the large cattle barn. The buildings constitute an almost continuous string. Pierre Myers of South Woodstock dynamited the shed between the house and the horse stable and this helped in checking the flames. The cattle barn was saved by hard work and it was we'll filled with hay.
 Miss Mathewson has successfully conducted the farm for a number of years. She has thirty head of blooded stock and furnishes milk for the Pom- fret School. She has many boarders from the city during the summer months and in recent years the house is generally well filled all the year round Miss Mathewson received many expressions of sympathy during the day for her loss.
 Miss Mathewson has announced ,her intention to rebuild in the near future. After the fire Miss Louise Grosvenor took in Mir. Dellafield's family and the rest of the boarders stayed with Miss Stevens and Miss Boult.
 MT. Benjamin sGrosvenor offered to open one of his cottages for Miss Ma thewson and she has taken the Mathew son house on the corner and went. to house keeping there on Wednesday, taking all her family with her.
 T.