The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-11-29
FACTORY BURNED
IN WILMINGTON
Big Plant of Ludngton Woodenware Co. in Ruins
Loss from SI5O,OOO to SI75,OOO About 10
Hands Out of Employment Fire Started in Boil
er Room Company viii Rebuild

The entire plant of the Ludington
Woodenware Co at Wilmington, in
cluding buildings, finished stock and
machinery, excepting the 45O-horsepow
er Corliss engine and the three big
boilers, was totally destroyed by fire
shortly after midnight yesterday
morning. The loss is between $4,000
and $175,000 but the property was
fairly well insured.
The fire started in the boiler room
during the temporary absence of the
watchman who was on duty there and
spread into the mill by means of the
automatic carrier which conveyed waste
for fuel from the mill to the boiler
room. The efforts of the firemen were
unavailing in preventing the spread
of the flames throughout the entire
plant. In two hours the buildings were
d mass of smouldering ruins.
Plans were begun Immediately TO
rebuild. Officers of the company said
yesterday that they expected the com
pany would start Immediately the ac-
tual work of reconstructing the plant.
The Ludington Woodenware Co. came
to Wilmington in 1914 from Ludington,
Mich, where a similar plant had been
operated for some years. They found
conditions in and about Wilmington
suitable to their needs and began the
work of constructing a modern plant
for the production of wooden clothes
| pins, wooden trays such as grocers use
for handling lard. etc, and other small
wooden articles The buildings were Of
concrete and wire lath exterior and
were considered by insurance compa-
nies as one of the safest manufacturing
plant risks in the United States, it is
said.
The saw and veneer mill was 90 feet
by 122, two stories high. the clothespin
| factory was 45 feet by 130, three
stories in height, and the kiln house
was 10 feet by % and 80 feet high
The engine room was p feet by 40
the machine shop SO feet by 80, and the
waterhouse As feet by 100.
The actual operation of the plant
was started last June and it had beer
running to capacity steadily since then
or as near capacity as it was possible
to with the help obtainable. Twelve
SETS Of clothespin machines turned out
GOA, 800 pins daily and TO dish machine.
produced 400, 900 wooden dishes an,
trays daily.
|
Brown the village sawmill and chair
stock and laths were turned out there
The company was shipping FIVE car
loads of finished goods each week anC
doing a monthly business of abou
I$15,OO0. About 10 hands were employ
ed. one-third of whom were women an,
girls.
The officers of the company are
President, H. B. Smith of Ludington
Mich, who is in Florida for his health
vice president, George E. Tripp O
Wilmington; secretary, Clarence B
Kelland of Wilmington; treasurer an,
manager, Howard B. Smith of Whining
ton.
Two watehmen were on duty ever,
night at the plant, one of them in TIL
boiler and engine house and the othe
in the mill buildings proper. The mil
watchman was seated within 90 fec
of the boiler room eating his luncheon
and the watchman in the boiler hous
was absent for a few minutes, whe
the flames broke out
The two men sounded an alarm an