The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-06-15
GRANITE PLANT
BURNED FLAT
Old Wells-Lamson Property
in North End Destroyed
Last Night
ONLY STREAM CAME
IN 1,7OO FEET HOSE
Firemen Had to Hitch to the
Hydrant at Jones
Bros Plant

barre In nearly Two years ana the onl,
stoneshed blaze of any consequence her
in several years destroyed the Wells
Lamson plant, SO called, just south o
the city limits on the Montpelier ros
last night. Losses aggregating $1,000
were sustained by the Barre Saving
Bank & Trust Co., which owned tn
buildings and the equipment, the Apoll
Granite Co., lessee of the plant, and tn
New England Granite Works Co., sub
lessee which occupied one end of th'
shed. Insurance on the building anc
equipment, carried by the G. III. Pape ant
McAllister g. Kent agencies, covers ii
part the banking company's loss and il
is understood that the cutting concern;
were fairly well protected by insurance
Because of its isolation and for the
reason that only one line of hose, carry.
ing water from Jones Bros plant, a
distance of 100 feet, could be laid, the
building burned rapidly and almost from
the outset it was seen that nothing could
save it from complete destruction. As
a matter of historic interest it is to be
noted that one of the last vestiges OF
the-4old Barre academy building disap-
peared in the fire, as most of the heavy
timbers used in the structure when it
was erected 25 years ago were taken
from the schoolhouse.
nafao4iyo ,naula+f,,, e1,.,n of he
electric wires entering through the north
end of the shed is believed to have been
the cause of the fire, although there was
fire in the boiler and there is possibil-
ity that the blaze had its origin there.
The firemen, however, incline TO the
theory of the wires, as the fire WAS un-
der the north gable OF the shed when it
was discovered by w. j. Rogers soon aft
er l0:30 o'clock. Mr.. Rogers was mo.
toring home from Montpelier and as he
neared the building he saw signs of fire
just under the roof. The blaze had not
gained any headway at that time and
Mr.. Rogers thinks that he could have
extinguished it easily had circumstances
enabled him to use a ladder and gar
den hose. Realizing that no time was
ried to Jones Bros where there is an
alarm box, No. so, at the junction of
North Main street and the road leading
TO the plant. 1t was l0:40 o'clock when
he turned in the alarm, and as he glanced
around he saw flames shooting through
the roof of the doomed stoneshed.
First to respond was the auto fire
truck, followed quickly by the horse
drawn chemical apparatus and the hook
and ladder truck. BY the time the fire.
men had arrived the flames cast a bril-
liant reflection across the sky and at
first blush the firemen thought that
Jones Bros plant was burning. Others
all over the city evidently were of a
same mind and, as If from nowhere, a
crowd of nearly 1000 people gathered
along the main highway and on the hills
overlooking the plant. Automobiles and
other vehicles of every description choked
the street and for time the congestion
precluded any possibility of escape from
the gathering cars.
While the firemen were at the task of
stringing some 700 feet of hose from
the nearest hydrant the flames continued
to gain much headway. Both the motor
truck and the second chemical combina-
tion were used sdvsntsgeously in uncoil- |
ing and laying hundreds of feet of hose, |
but when the line was finally completed, |
the depreciation of pressure, due to dis |
tance friction, was so great that the |
of water was decidedly fee |
BILE. Against great odds the firemen at
tempted to wash down sections of the |
she'd least ravaged by fire, but the pres
sure was insufficient to carry heady |
stream of water into the burning area.
As the walls fell tons of valuable fin
shed granite work were revealed. The
blaze ran quickly to every corner of the
taking the Office toward the
asst, until naught but one standard of
he travelling crane remained standing.
Complications in the lighting and troll
ey service of the city were probably /
lverted by the action of the firemen in
fires that threatened two
POLES, each carrying heavy loads. Wire
Thief George II. Collamer of the Yer
mont Tel. & Tel. Co. was on the grounds
,arly and at his request Chief Gladding
lirected a detail OF men to wash down
/ pole which bears up the company's
runk line. Likewise the stream was
Ised in smothering an incipient flame
hat threatened the destruction of a
rolley pole near the transfer track. In
N probs bility none of the firemen would
ave been affected by electrical currents,
'ut Chief Gladding did not take any
hances with his men and as an added
recsution those who handled the hose
rere required TO stand on dry rubber ,
oats. .
The fire reached its height by ll:l5
clock and by midnight the building was ,
hopeless mass of ruins Members of ,
he fre department remained on duty
ntil this forenoon and spent a part of ,
he time to-day in wetting down the
uins. In
The burned plant was erected in 1892 !
v George Lamson. who purchased at
ublie auction the heavy timbers and
ther lumber salvaged when the old Barre
cademy was rszed. Mr.. Jamson trans !
orted his purchase TO North Barre and
n a site near a water power. which has
.nce been improved, he erected what
a. thought to be a large stoneshed in :
,ose davs For some years the Wells 4
amson company did business on a large
ale Afterward Charles X. Scott & Co. 4
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