Year: 1877

A Terrible Catastrophe.


On the 11th inst. the new couri
house being built at Rock ford, Win


nebago County, III. burying the work
men, some twenty-five in number in


the ruins, ten or twelve of whom mel
horrible death and all more or less
injured. A Chicago Tribune special
telegram from Rockford gives the fol
lowing description of the tragic occur
renee:


A pail has fallen over what this
morning was a happy community
The Winnebago county court house


which this morning when our citizens
commenced their days labors was the
pride of their hearts, Is now desolate
ruin, monument of criminal inoom-
petency. Some families which bade
adieu to their loved ones this morning
received their corpses tonight. disfig-
ured by the ruins from which they
were drawn by piecemeal. The build
ing was not yet under roof. The mass
i've stone oornice which preceded the
roof was to-day being put on. Just as
the keystone was being placed In the
dome of the main pavilion the brick
work between the iron and stone gave
way, and the entire dome and the in
terror walls of the structure came
crumblipg down with a crash.


THE TERRIBLE CRASH


was heard nearly a mile away. a
brief description of the structure will
aid in understanding the accident.
The style of the building is French
Venitian of the renaissance, designed
by Henry l.. Gay, of Chicago. The
contract for the building was let to
w. A. Richardson, ,ofSpringfield, who
in the spring of 1876 began work. II
has two paviliOns, and centre dome
over the front entrance. The two
pavilions rise about thirty feet above
the level of the oornice. The dome Is
l19 feet from the ground, and support
ed by the front walls on the north side
and two iron columns from 10 to i
inches in diameter on the inner side.
These columns rest upon brick wall
going up from the ground floor to the
floor Of the court room. The Walls
were about thirty feet high. and it ap-
pears were entirely inadequate to hold
the i'm mense weight ofiron pillars and
the massive masonry of the dome
which rested upon the pillars. Upon
the top of the iron columns was a
wrought iron girder, upon which was
laid the vener and brick of the dome.
1t appears that the lower brick walls
were crushed by the weight of the up
per masonry and orumbled like so
much rotten mortar bringing with 1t
the


ENTIRE INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING,
taking all the rafters, the corrugated
irOn ceiling of every room, with its
concrete filling, the iron jOists all the
scaffoldIng, all came down in one ter
rifle crash, bringing with it nearly all
the workmen who were operating up
on the top of the building. AT the
time of the accident there were from
twenty to twenty-five men at work.
The account happened at texactlY ll:30
a. M. to-day. The whole massive
stone top OF the dome fell with ter
rife crash toward State street. a man
named Timothy Flanagan, who was
lust putting in the key stone of the fin
al cOrnice jumped for the guy rope OF
the big derrick in front, but missing
his aim, fell the distance of l2O feet to
the earth and


WAS DASHED TO PIECES.


At this time but few persons were
upon the scene. The mass of human
beings, with the exception of four or
five. who jumped from the windows
fell inside the totering walls and were
buried in the debris. The whole
structure looked as though it would fall
and those assembled were appalled,
and knew not what to do. To go near
enough to secure those mangled and
bleeding in the ruins was hazardous
in the extreme, but brave men went
fearlessly to work before the dust
cleared away and commenced to ex-
tricate the dead and dying.


INDIsCRIBABLE HORROR ENsUED.


Men lay terribly mutilated beneath
these rocks, shrieking for assistance
that was only rendered at the risk OF
the bystanders' lives. One unfortu-
nate man named William Gloss, was
extricated but one of his legs was left
beneath ponderous stone. He soon
expired in great agony as he lay upon
the green sward in front of the court
house. A negro jumped from a win
dow sixty feet from the ground, and,
though badly injured will probably re-
cover. Within a few minutes after
the disaster no less than four bodies
were recovered by the almost superhu-
man efforts of the immense crowd that
quickly gathered. A Swede named
Andrew Bildahl had his head split
open. but the wound was closed and
the victim taken home and may live.


THE ANGUISH OF THE LIVING
was heartrending. The workmen's
wives and mothers were soon on the
spot. The air was filed with sobs,
moaning, and the onlooker
was sickened by the sights on every
hand.


THRILLING ESCAPES.
w. D. Richardson, contractor, and +.
E. Latham, superintendent, had mar
row and thrilling escape. They were
both on top of the dome of the build
ing before it fell and were talking OF
the probability of its falling when
they heard q crash and rushed at once
for the west wall, where they stood
when the dome went down. Had they |
been moment later both must have |
oerlshed. When the dust cleared away |
both were standing on the wall. A
cry OF fire was raised, but no fire broke
)ut.


The Greek Church and the Car.