USA > Minnesota > Stearns County > History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 77
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William MeNeil's house, near Spunk Brook, was struck by lightning June 29 and burned. A part of the household goods were saved. Insurance $1,550.
On the night of July 19 Robert White's dwelling house at Sank Centre was burned, the contents being saved. Insurance $1,600.
Henry Fay's house, near Melrose, on the road to Sauk Centre, was burned with most of its contents August 2. Loss $3,000, partially insured.
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1878. Remeley's brewery at St. Cloud, with adjoining buildings, was burned February 25, with 2,000 bushels of barley and 800 bushels of malt. The hops, being in bales, were saved, as was a considerable part of Mr. Reme- ley's household goods. The brewery was owned by Remeley & Thierse, whose loss was about $8,000 with no insurance.
J. H. Dennis's dwelling house at Sauk Centre was demolished by fire April 4; eause, stove pipe running through the roof.
A. B. MeDonald's house at Melrose was set on fire the night of July 18 by the upsetting of a lighted lamp and destroyed, nothing being saved but some bedding and elothing.
Thomas Tollington's door, sash and blind factory at Clearwater was struck by lightning September 19 and burned.
A fire on the night of December 19 destroyed Frank Beaudreau's house in the town of Le Sauk, a part of the household goods and a quantity of grain being also lost. The fire came from a stove pipe through the roof.
1879. A fire which caught from a defective chimney in John Kray's hotel at Cold Spring destroyed that building on the evening of January 17, with most of its contents. Insurance, $2,200.
A fire in the woods in the town of Broekway April 20 burned Edward Cook's dwelling house and stables, with thirteen cords of maple wood belong- ing to H. B. Smart.
In the early morning of August 6 S. Rathbun's house, opposite Levanse- ler's planing mill, St. Cloud, was destroyed by fire, most of the contents being saved.
Parson Huntress's dwelling house at Sank Centre was destroyed by fire on the evening of December 24, most of the furniture being saved. Loss $1,000, insurance $200.
1880. An ash barrel with live coals, baek of the American Express office in St. Cloud, started a fire on the evening of January 6 which destroyed that building, a two-story frame, owned by S. Mackrell, the agent, and occupied by several tenants; S. Marlatt's drug store, in a building owned by Dr. A. E. Senkler ; and H. J. Nare's restaurant and dwelling. Fortunately the last two buildings were flanked by brick structures and the fire was gotten under control. Loss $5,250; insurance $1,050.
A fire at Clearwater April 15 destroyed the dwelling house and barn of G. B. Benson, most of the contents being saved in a damaged condition. Loss $1,500, no insurance.
William Lute's dwelling house at Brockway was destroyed by fire, with its contents, July 6. The family was absent at the time.
A dwelling house near the St. Cloud depot was burned July 7. It was owned by P. H. Waldorf and oceupied by a family named Powers.
Another of the old landmarks of St. Cloud disappeared when August 2 a large tenement house owned by C. Bridgman, opposite the upper saw mill, was burned. It was occupied by Samuel Patterson and Henry Lenhart, who saved all their household goods. The barn was one of the oldest in St. Cloud, having been ereeted in 1855 by Sydney Raymond, of Massachusetts, who had come to build the sawmill.
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A fire at Governor Gilman's handsome residence in St. Cloud August 9 damaged the building to the extent of $1,500 and contents $400, fully insured. It was with much difficulty that the house was saved from total destruction.
Mrs. Thomas Smith's dwelling house on Washington avenue, St. Cloud, rear of the Bank of St. Cloud, was destroyed by fire September 10, most of the goods being saved. The loss was $1,200, covered by insurance.
Mr. Branley's dwelling house in St. Cloud was burned October 5.
J. E. Hayward's Union flouring mill, located on Sauk river about two miles from St. Cloud, was burned during the night of December 23, together with the warehouse, 20,000 bushels of wheat and a large quantity of flour and feed. The fire is supposed to have been caused by friction. Loss on the mill and warehouse, $30,000, with $16,500 insurance; on grain $25,000, insurance $18,- 000.
1881. The house on the William Kruger farm on Maine Prairie, which Mr. Kruger had obtained in the West House drawing several years before, was destroyed by fire January 5. Henry Pope had moved in with his family only two days before and lost probably all of his household goods. The fire came from a defective chimney. Loss on the house $1,200, with $800 insurance.
I. M. Noyes's blacksmith shop at St. Cloud was burned January 27; loss $1,800, insurance $1,000.
The "Curtis" house in lower St. Cloud, occupied by James Lovelace, was burned February 16.
A fire March 11 destroyed John Walleck's dwelling house about two miles from the city, in the town of St. Cloud, with most of its contents. Loss $1,200, insurance $800.
T. J. Bonham's residence in St. Cloud was burned, with its entire con- tents, in the early morning of May 10. Loss $3,000, insurance $1,600 on the house and $400 on the furniture.
A new building intended for a boarding house, in course of erection near the depot, for Philip Waldorf, was burned August 10. The fire was believed to be of incendiary origin.
A building at the corner of St. Germain street, St. Cloud, owned by N. Lahr and occupied by Dikeman's saloon, was burned October 17. Loss on building $1,500, insurance $600.
1882. Charles Bedell's dwelling house at Sauk Centre was burncd with its contents January 9.
A fire about midnight March 21 destroyed Robert Lutz's dwelling house in St. Cloud, most of the contents being saved. Cause, a defective chimney.
S. Van Valkenberg's house at Sauk Centre was destroyed by fire, with all its contents, April 28. Loss $1,000, no insurance.
At St. Cloud, May 1, Raymond & Owen's planing mill and sash and door factory was burned, with considerable finished work on the upper floor. The boiler, engine and some of the machinery were saved in tolerably good condi- tion. Loss $4,000, with no insurance.
The small depot building on the east side of the river from St. Cloud, owned by the Manitoba company, caught fire from a passing locomotive June
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25 and was burned. The telegraph instruments and other contents were saved.
A defective chimney was the cause of a fire May 6, whereby Jonathan Crosby's farm house, stable and granary in the town of Brockway were burned. Loss $1,000, insurance $300.
A large two-story frame building owned and occupied by Peter Hammerel as a store, postoffice and dwelling at Luxemburg, on the Maine Prairie road, was completely destroyed with its contents by fire May 12. The fire was caused by the explosion of a lamp. Loss on building and contents $5,500, in- surance $3,000.
J. B. Sartell's house in the town of Le Sank, with a part of its contents, was burned July 20.
The Belknap House at Fair Haven, kept by Charles Belknap, was burned on the night of August 16 with most of its contents.
A fire at Avon August 25 destroyed Clark & Waite's stave and heading mill, together with abont 8,000 sets of headings. Loss $6,000, with no in- surance.
1883. St. Cloud had a narrow eseape from a bad fire on the night of March 25, when Fred Schultz's City Hall saloon was burned. It was almost by a miracle that the rest of the block was saved. The fire came from a defective chimney.
Valentine Wetzel's meat market on Jefferson avenue, St. Cloud, occupied by Paul Smith, was burned April 2.
Joseph Oster of Maine Prairie lost his dwelling house by fire August 17. The children who were sleeping upstairs were with difficulty rescued.
During the early morning of September 4, O. Tenny's grist mill at Rock- ville was burned, being a total loss. It is supposed that the fire came from a defective flue. Loss $7,500, with $5,500 insurance.
1884. Charles McGuire's dwelling house in the town of Ashby was burned June 26, with most of its contents. Loss $1,000, insurance $275.
R. Woods & Sons' corn-drying establishment at Sauk Centre was burned with its contents July 4. Loss $3,000, no insurance.
By a fire at Eden Lake July 11 Reeves & Hoskin's sawmill was burned. This fire was believed to be incendiary.
The two-story double frame building on Washington avenue, corner of Lake street, St. Cloud, one-half of the lower story of which was vacant, hav- ing been until a few days previous occupied by the postoffice and Montgomery's book store, while Capt. J. E. West had his living rooms upstairs, was almost totally destroyed by fire, with practically all contents, in the early morning of October 12. Bensen Bros., who occupied a part of the lower story with their grocery store, saved most of their stock, their loss being fully covered by insurance. Capt. West had $3,300 insurance on the building and $1,500 on furniture.
The original passenger station at St. Cloud, occupied since 1882 by the train dispatchers of the St. Cloud and Fergus Falls division of the Manitoba road, located near the new passenger station, was burned at an early hour on
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the morning of November 24. All the records of the office for the previous four years were destroyed.
The hotel at St. Joseph, owned by Frank Gertler, was burned November 24. The tenant, Joseph Neutzling, and his family barely eseaped with their lives.
Peter Spohn of Munson lost his house by fire November 29.
1885. A fire in St. Cloud in the early morning of April 27 destroyed Sam Levallee's eandy store and J. Kowalkowski's eigar factory, the latter building being owned by Miss DeBlum. Nothing was saved. The large barn opposite the Grand Pacific Hotel was burned the following night.
John Richter's farm house in the town of St. Cloud was burned August 19, with most of its contents.
R. L. Scott's carriage factory in St. Cloud, corner of Jefferson avenue and Morgan street, was partially burned October 15. Loss $3,000, with $1,850 insurance.
The old Washington House, near the Manitoba depot at St. Cloud, was entirely destroyed by fire November 14, but little of the contents being saved. The building was owned by M. Handrahan, whose loss was $4,000, with $3,000 insurance. Mrs. Kate Cronin, the proprietress, lost $1,500, with $1,000 insur- anee.
Peter Karel's house at Cold Spring was burned December 13.
1886. A two-story frame building on St. Germain street, St. Cloud, owned by Coates, Freeman & Cooper and oeenpied by Julius Kuek as a grocery store, was burned on the night of January 8. Loss on building $1,200, with no insur- ance ; on grocery stoek $3,500, with $2,000 insurance.
On the morning of March 14 Peter Munsinger's saloon in East St. Cloud was burned, the wet goods going with the rest.
Martin Dowling's dwelling house in St. Cloud was burned March 20, with most of its contents.
The old St. Mary's Convent buildings belonging to the Order of St. Bene- diet at St. Joseph were completely destroyed by fire April 8. These buildings, sinee the new briek convent was ereeted, had been oeeupied as a school for Indian girls and orphans, there being accommodations for sixty or seventy besides the attendant sisters. About one-third of the furniture was saved. The loss was $5,000, partially covered by insurance.
The Manitoba Company's elevator at St. Joseph was burned September 24, with 25,000 bushels of wheat. Loss $30,000.
Bertha Warwas's house in the town of Avon was burned September 30. The children who had been left alone and had in some unknown way started the fire were with difficulty reseued.
While Stephen Strach of St. Augusta was at work in the field with his wife November 11, his house caught fire and he was able to reach it just in time to reseue his children, one, a four-months-old infant, being seriously burned, as was Strach himself about the hands and face.
Julius Pappenfus's house in the town of St. Joseph, on the Pleasant lake road, was burned November 23.
Frank Arnold's fine flouring mill at the mouth of Sauk river, near St.
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Cloud, was destroyed by fire on the night of December 2, and the miller, Gustaf Kraus, barely escaped with his life, being terribly burned about the hands and face. There were about 15,000 bushels of wheat in the elevator and 200 bar- rels of flour ready for delivery. The loss on the mill was $35,000, with $15,000 insurance. There was no insurance on the grain. The mill was built in 1876, and in 1881 roller machinery had been put in, with other improvements.
1887. In the early morning of April 28 Capt. J. E. West's row of eight tenements in the western part of St. Cloud was destroyed by fire. The build- ings were all under one roof and were occupied by eight tenants, who saved practically all of their household goods. The loss on the buildings was $5,000, with $3,600 insurance.
A fire in Bennett's drug store at Sauk Centre May 2, damaged the stock to the extent of $4,000, with $3,500 insurance; loss on building $1,000, covered by insurance.
1888. Gogan's academy at Sauk Centre burned March 21, the fire catch- ing from a stove. Loss $10,000, fully insured.
The large coal slied in the Manitoba railroad yards at St. Cloud was burned on the morning of April 24, with 2,450 tons of coal and five box cars. Loss $17,000, fully insured.
An incendiary fire on the night of June 1 destroyed the large barn on Albert Smith's farm at East St. Cloud. Besides the buildings five horses, three cows, sheep, machinery, etc., were burned. Loss, $3,000, insurance $1,200.
C. Bridgman's dwelling house in lower St. Cloud was burned June 4, with a considerable part of its contents, the unoccupied "McIntyre" building ad- joining being also destroyed. Mr. Bridgman's loss was $7,000, with $3,900 insurance.
On the evening of November 18 the Manitoba station at Albany caught fire and was burned with its contents-freight, books, tickets, all being con- sumed.
A fire on the evening of November 23 at Stevenson Bros. & Co.'s foundry in St. Cloud destroyed a part of the building and greatly damaged others. The loss, including machinery and patterns, was $12,000, with $3,700 insur- ancc.
1889. F. E. Levanseler's Novelty wood works at St. Cloud was destroyed by fire on the night of January 22. Loss $10,000, with no insurance.
St. Cloud suffered a severe loss March 30 in the burning of both the new and old elevators of the Northwestern Elevator Co., each having a ca- pacity of about 30,000 bushels and located near the round house. The slides were opened and some 25,000 bushels of wheat were let out and saved, although in a damaged condition. The loss was about $35,000.
B. W. Staples's house in St. Cloud was burned April 14, the furniture being saved.
A dwelling house in St. Cloud owned by J. Woll and occupied by O. G. Clark was burned June 8. The children were with difficulty rescued and the fire left the family practically destitute.
The grain elevator at Richmond was totally destroyed by fire July 24.
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It had been purchased only about a week before by Ahmann, Ladner & Lom- mel and contained 6,000 bushels of grain. Total loss about $10,000, with $1,500 insurance.
An eighty-barrel flouring mill and a sawmill at Holding owned by V. Batz were both destroyed by fire October 6. Some of the machinery was saved. Mr. Batz's loss was about $7,000. The flouring mill was leased by Pallansch & Schauble, whose loss was about $1,200 in flour, grain, feed, etc. There was no insurance. The flouring mill was rebuilt at once, with 100 barrel capacity.
A St. Cloud landmark passed away when Edwin Capple's house and barn were burned October 10. The house was among the first built in St. Cloud. Most of the contents were burned. Loss $2,500, insurance $1,100.
A dwelling on St. Germain street, St. Cloud, owned by D. S. Hayward and occupied by E. Mark as an auction store was burned November 7. Mark's loss was $5,000 with $2,000 insurance.
1890. Twenty-one imported Clydesdale mares were burned to death April 18 in a fire which destroyed a large barn on N. P. Clarke's farm in the town of Brockway. The loss on horses was $25,000, with $10,000 insurance : $3,500 on the barn, with $1,050 insurance.
H. J. Anderson's sawmill at St. Cloud, which had been completed the previous fall, was struck by lightning on the night of August 7 and completely destroyed. Loss $60,000, with $39,000 insurance.
1891. Blood's broom factory at St. Cloud was burned February 9, 1891. The Phoenix Iron Works building at St. Cloud, occupied by the Fibre- ware Works, was burned March 13. The total loss on building and machinery was $31,250, with $20,500 insurance.
A fire on the night of February 14 destroyed the McClure & Searle block in St. Cloud, the loss on the building being $19,000, with $15,700 insurance. The tenants who suffercd were J. S. Rogers, loss $3,000, insurance $2,600; George R. Clark & Co., loss $722, fully paid; B. F. Carter, loss $1,871, fully paid; Page & Smith, loss $3,000, insurance $1,000; McClure & Whitney, loss $5,000, insurance $2,500; Taylor, Calhoun & Rhodes, loss $5,000, no insurance ; J. E. C. Robinson, loss $200; J. J. Boobar, $125; A. G. Whitney, $200; City of St. Cloud $3,000, no insurance.
J. A. Linscott's wood-working factory at St. Cloud was burned September 5, with a large amount of lumber and material. Loss $15,620, insurance $4,800.
A fire December 7 destroyed the Eagle hotel and N. P. Kraemer's saloon at St. Cloud. The hotel building was owned by Mrs. Catherine Hennemann and occupied by Peter Spaniol. Loss $4,000 with $1,000 insurance. Mr. Spa- niol's loss was $1,800 with $450 insurance; Mr. Kraemer's loss was about $5,000, with $3,000 insurance.
A fire on the night of December 26 burned Hussey & Thursdale's wall paper store and paint shop in St. Cloud, a part of the contents being saved but in a badly damaged condition. Loss $7,000, insurance $4,500.
1892. By a fire in Marx & Wire's cigar factory at St. Cloud March 3 the stock was damaged to the amount of $2,308, which was adjusted and paid by the insurance companies.
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A fine dwelling house occupied by J. P. Hammerel at St. Cloud was burned with its contents March 19. The loss was $7,000, with $5,000 insurance.
A fire in East St. Cloud April 14 destroyed Henry Brauch's dwelling house valued at $3,000.
The DuBois flouring mill at Sauk Centre, with the small elevator beside it, was totally destroyed July 21. The mill had belonged to the McClure estate, from which it had been purchased by Dr. DuBois, who had sold it only a short time before the fire for $32,000. The total loss was about $40,000, with $23,000 insurance.
A farm house at Maine Prairie owned by C. Bridgman of St. Cloud, and occupied by Frank Willing was burned December 23. Loss $1,500, insurance $1,025.
1893. H. J. Bliler's grocery store at Fair Haven, in which was the post- office, was burned on the night of January 23, nothing being saved.
A two-story frame house in St. Cloud, owned by Fred Pfaff and occupied by J. H. Burrows, was burned May 4. Loss on house $1,100 with $850 insur- ance, and on contents $800, with $600 insurance.
The Chapel of the Sacred Heart on Calvary Hill, St. Cloud, the property of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, was burned May 22. It was clearly the work of an incendiary. The loss was about $3,000, with $1,800 in- surance.
A fire in the early morning of August 2 destroyed C. Bridgman's sawmill at St. Cloud, entailing a loss of $20,000 without a dollar's insurance and throw- ing some fifty men out of employment. This mill was supplied with the ma- chinery designed for a government mill at Breckenridge to be erected by George F. Brott. The machinery was scattered along the road all the way from St. Paul to Breckenridge and in 1858 was purchased by E. M. Tobey and this mill built. When Mr. Bridgman's mill, located a short distance above it, was burned a few years later, he bought this one which he had run continu- ously since then. It was not rebuilt.
St. Cloud had another bad fire on the night of August 21, by which the pulp mill and paper mill were both burned. The loss was approximately $40,000, with only $17,475 insurance. Neither mill was rebuilt.
During a thunder storm on the night of September 20 the creamery at Fair Haven was struck by lightning and burned. It had been built by a stock company and afterward purchased by H. Baldwin.
The large general store owned by Wenck & Co. at St. Martin was burned September 23. The building, a two-story frame, was valued at $3,000 and the stock at $15,000.
B. Pirz lost his house and granary in the town of Wakefield September 23 by fire. The buildings and contents were valued at $1,600, with $800 in- surance.
The explosion of a kerosene lamp caused the destruction of William Sta- ples's dwelling house at St. Cloud, October 21. A son, Jacob Staples, escaped by jumping from a second story window. Loss $1,500, with $600 insurance.
John DeLeo's barber shop and tobacco store on St. Germain street, St. Cloud, were burned November 14. Loss $1,900, with $1,750 insurance.
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A fire at Maine Prairie November 21 burned Nicholas Ketter's house with all its contents. Loss $1,200, with $650 insurance.
A fire in the Mitchell-Metzroth block, St. Cloud, December 5, damaged the building slightly and the grocery stock of Eberhardt & Co. to the extent of $5,000.
Early in the morning of December 12, with the mercury 20 degrees below zero, George Latmer's house at Paynesville was burned with most of its con- tents.
A large dwelling house at Fair Haven owned by the Cooper estate and `occupied by C. W. King was burned December 12.
The large building located on the St. Joseph road, between the Cooper and Waite farm houses and known formerly as the Half-way House, was burned December 16, together with the barns and outbuildings in which were forty sheep, three hundred chickens and turkeys, two horses, two cows, wagons, etc. The sheep were liberated but rushed back and were burned. The house was owned by Charles T. Schmid and occupied by J. Kowalkowski. The total loss was $5,000 with $3,100 insurance.
1894. A fire at Albany January 25 totally destroyed Joseph Aner's fur- niture store, with not only the stock but his household goods, as he occupied the upper story with his family. The building was owned by George M. Schae- fer, whose loss was $1,500, with $500 insurance; Mr. Aner's loss was $2,000, insurance $1,000.
Henry A. Statia, of the town of Holding, lost his house with all its con- tents by fire February 14. Cause, children playing with matches.
W. S. Bartholomew's sawmill at Avon was burned on the night of Feb- ruary 25, with machinery, belts and all. Loss over $5,000, with no insurance. The mill had been used in sawing hardwood lumber and there were enough logs in the yard to last until July.
Albany suffered a severe loss May 7 in the burning of Fred P. Hecklin's flouring mill at that place. It was built in 1889 at a cost of $15,000; insurance $8,000.
Edward E. Bain's dwelling house in St. Cloud was burned September 16, loss $1,700, insurance $1,100.
A large house and store belonging to Nic Hemmisch at Farming was burned to the ground November 13.
The feed mill in East St. Cloud owned by J. P. Wilson and operated by J. A. Linscott was burned December 12. Loss $6,500, with no insurance.
1895. A fire in the D. S. Hayward block on St. Germain St., St. Cloud, January 23, damaged the building to the extent of $4,000, and the loss of the tenant, Charles T. Schmid, meat market, was $2,500, both fully covered by insurance.
A large building at Fair Haven, owned by Carl Kimball and occupied by Frank Goodspeed and W. A. Dhart, was burned February 1. Most of the contents were saved.
Berg & Jochem's brewery at Sauk Rapids was totally destroyed by fire February 16. Loss $10,000, with no insurance.
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The old brick building on the corner of Seventh avenue and First street south, which was built for an opera house by the St. Cloud Opera House Com- pany in 1880, was destroyed by fire February 19. The loss was total. The building cost from $10,000 to $12,000, but had been offered for sale for $6,000; insurance $4,000.
A defective flue was responsible for the burning of the A. C. Thurber's store at Kimball, March 16. Loss $2,500, fully insured.
A fire in the Kerr block, St. Cloud, on the evening of March 18 damaged the building to the extent of $8,000 fully covered by insurance. R. C. Junk & Company were the principal sufferers, their stock of dry goods being prac- tically ruined. To cover the loss of over $30,000, they had but $12,000 insur- ance. The losses of the other tenants were small. Germania Hall, on the third floor, was occupied by a dancing class, but all escaped uninjured.
For the second time in six months the feed mill at East St. Cloud was burned during the night of May 23.
A fire at Hennessey Bros. & Cox's quarry near St. Cloud August 11, burned the engine house, tools, etc., causing a loss of over $4,000.
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