USA > Minnesota > Stearns County > History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 78
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W. H. Scruby's livery and boarding stable at St. Cloud was burned Oc- tober 3, with seven horses, besides carriages, buggies, harnesses, etc. Four of the horses were owned by Dr. Scruby and the others by different persons in the city.
The St. Cloud City Mills, owned and operated by Wesley Carter & Co., were reduced to ashes by fire on the night of November 3, 6,000 bushels of wheat besides a heavy stock of flour and feed lay in the ruins. Loss $20,000 with $10,500 insurance. A new mill, with a daily capacity of 150 barrels of flour besides feed was erected the following spring, and is the present City Mills, owned by H. C. Ervin.
New Paynesville had a disastrous fire on the night of December 2, by which the office of the Press, J. W. Campbell's bakery, Lyendecker's meat market, Clark's and Conrad's dwellings, and the Manz's Photograph gallery were burned. Loss $11,800, with only $1,900 insurance.
A fire in Hussey & Thursdale's Paint and Wagon Paper establishment in St. Cloud December 24, damaged the stock to the amount of $3,200, fully insured.
1896. Wurst Bros.' custom grist mill at New Munich was burned Jan- uary 26.
Melrose's livery owners were in hard luck during February. On the nineteenth a fire which had broken out in J. J. Hill's livery barn, near the depot, communicated to the livery and feed stable owned by William Unger and occupied by Wheeler's livery, both being destroyed, although most of the contents were saved. Five days later a fire which was believed to be incendiary burned the McGregor stables together with six out of seven horses in the build- ing, and a dwelling house adjoining. The barn was the property of B. J. Moritz. As the McGregors had opened for business only a few days before they had not taken out any insurance.
A building in St. Cloud owned by F. H. Dam, on Fifth avenue at Three and one-half street, was burned March 26. It had until a few days before been
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occupied by Swanson & Thursdae's laundry, which had been moved to a new location. Loss $2,000, insurance $1,000.
During a severe snow storm on the night of March 30 Mrs. C. F. Reed's dwelling house was burned, the family escaping with only the clothing they had on, from second story windows by means of sheets fastened together.
The C. D. Grinols house at Fair Haven, owned by J. S. Dean and occu- pied by Block, the St. Cloud and Fair Haven stage man, was burned April 1.
Edward Murray's farm house at Kimball Prairie was burned June 10.
A fire at Fair Haven June 12 destroyed C. D. Belden's general store and warehouse, with most of the contents.
A warehouse belonging to the Stevenson foundry at St. Cloud was burned July 5, most of the contents being saved.
Lynden Terrace, the handsome residence of Mrs. Julia A. A. Wood, owner of the Sauk Rapids Free Press, was destroyed by fire July 28, most of the contents being saved. Twenty-seven years ago Mrs. Wood lost by fire her home which stood on the same lots as the building now destroyed by fire.
The Haskamp elevator at Melrose, in charge of M. S. Kolb, was burned August 4, with 4,000 bushels of wheat.
A fire at New Paynesville September 24 destroyed Phillips Bros.' large warehouse near the Soo station. It had been built a year before by W. L. Phillips at a cost of $3,200 and was occupied as a machinery warehouse and grist mill. Loss $4,000, with $1,500 insurance.
E. G. Hick's farm house on Maine Prairie was burned September 23, with most of the contents.
J. Q. A. Wood's residence, one of the land-marks of Sauk Rapids, was destroyed by fire October 5, with very valuable papers. Mr. Wood himself was severely injured.
The burning of the cooper shop and warehouse at Tileston flouring mill October 8 destroyed property valued at nearly $10,000. Mrs. J. H. Owen's house, occupied by W. L. Smith, was also burned with most of the con- tents.
1897. The large saw mill on the east side of the Mississippi river at St. Cloud, known as the Anderson mill, was totally destroyed by fire August 8. The origin of the fire was unknown. The mill was built in 1889 by H. J. Ander- son, to replace one destroyed the year before by ligtning and for which the city gave a bonus of $10,000. The cost of the mill was about $50,000, insurance $19,000. It was owned chiefly by Foley Bros. and A. Guthrie of St. Paul, known as the St. Cloud Lumber Company. Because of litigation the mill had not been operated for two years and was not rebuilt.
1898. Peter Breitbach's house in the town of Lake George was burned January 4.
The double frame building at the corner of Fifth avenue and First street south, owned by W. B. Mitchell, and occupied by M. M. Colbert as a confec- tionery and cigar store and by Bowing Bros.' grocery store, was entirely de- stroyed by fire January 16. The occupants of the upstairs rooms, J. H. Rice and family, narrowly escaped with their lives. Bowing Bros.' loss was $2,500,
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fully insured; J. H. Rice $1,300, insurance $875; M. M. Colbert $1,200, insur- ance $600; W. B. Mitchell $1,560, covered by insurance.
Belgrade had a bad fire on the night of March 25, when T. J. Anderson's big double store and the Bank of Belgrade building were totally destroyed. The Anderson building, a large frame, contained two stores, while the bank building, two stories, just across the street, was occupied on the second floor by C. Borgerding, the president, with his family. Two clerks in the store building barely escaped with their lives. Mr. Anderson's loss was about $25,- 000, insurance $14,000; the bank's loss $3,500, insurance $1,000.
John Kiewel's store building and stock of general merchandise at Cold Spring was burned July 23. Loss on building $1,000; on stock $8,000 to $9,000; insurance, $9,000.
James F. Hall of Holdingford lost his house by fire August 9.
One of the landmarks of St. Cloud, the Great Northern freight depot, was totally destroyed with all its contents by fire December 27. The amount of freight in the building was not large, but all the records, running back to when the depot was on the east side, nearly thirty years before, were burned.
1899. Roscoe's new flouring mill was completely destroyed by fire March 1. The mill had been built by John Kiewel, at a cost of about $10,000, and was completed only the previous December. A car load of flour and some wheat were also burned. Insurance $8,600.
St. Joseph suffered a similar loss May 2, when Charles W. Maas's flouring mill went up in smoke. It had a capacity of about 100 barrels daily, and had been built by J. H. Linneman more than forty years before. Loss about $10,000, with $8,000 insurance.
A fire October 1 destroyed Captain Asa Libby's house in St. Cloud, with most of its contents. Loss $2,500, with $1,225 insurance.
By a fire which was believed to be incendiary the Catholic Church and priest's house at Spring Hill were entirely destroyed October 31. Insurance $6,000.
A fire broke out December 13 in the second story of the building at the Minnesota State Reformatory, St. Cloud, used for a boiler house, officers' din- ing room, kitchen, tailor shop and brush factory, and before it was extin- guished the building was damaged to the extent of about $10,000, while the loss on stock was about $3,000.
The dwelling house of James Dubois with a part of its contents at Mel- rose, was burned the morning of the same day.
1900. Louis Duerr, of Brockway, lost his house and contents by fire on the night of April 26.
The Sauk Centre House, the principal hotel in that city, was burned June 26. It was one of the landmarks of the place, was owned by Sprague & Harris and was valued at $8,000, with $5,000 insurance. It was conducted by C. Paris, whose loss was $5,000, with $3,800 insurance.
The Arnold Granite Company's polishing plant and granite mill at St. Cloud was destroyed by fire June 28. Loss, $8,000; insurance, $2,500.
A farm house in the town of Fair Haven, owned by J. D. Kowalkowski,
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of St. Cloud, and occupied by Vineent Wesley, was burned September 19, with all of its contents.
Christmas day witnessed the burning of the Great Northern coal doeks at St. Cloud, with 150 tons of coal. The loss was about $10,000.
1901. The general merchandise store of Fred Block, of Fair Haven, was burned the morning of January 6, entailing a loss of $5,000, with no insur- anee.
The house built at Sauk Rapids, in 1855, by George W. Sweet, one of the original townsite owners, and a landmark of the village, was burned January 14. It was occupied at the time by R. L. Coburn.
All previous records were broken February 8, when a fire which began in the West Hotel destroyed that fine building, also the three-story briek livery stable on the oposite side of Fifth avenue, owned by C. Bowman and occupied by MeDonald & O'Neil; Belden's grocery store, Kilian's buteher shop, Doyle's plumbing shop and Davis & Smerker's feed store. A number of other buildings, with their contents, were more or less damaged. The Davidson opera house was saved only by the greatest efforts on the part of the firemen. The West Hotel had been conducted by D. S. Hayward, the owner, as an auxiliary to the Grand Central Hotel, some thirty-five lodgers finding homes within its walls, all of whom were losers by the fire. The city library was in the lobby of the building, and most of the books were saved, although in a damaged condition, the loss of $1,435 being paid by the insurance companies. There was no insurance on the hotel or the fur- niture.
A fire at Eden Valley, May 23, destroyed Mrs. Burscheid's millinery store and the building occupied by the Bank of Eden Valley.
The farm house of John Pohl in the town of St. Wendell, with most of its contents, was burned June 4.
A large frame house near the Waite Park ear line, St. Cloud, was burned with all its contents August 30. Loss, $2,500; insurance, $1,400.
The village of Kimball Prairie had a costly fire September 7, which broke out in a two-story frame building known as the Depot Hotel, but which was at the time oeenpied as a dwelling by Wilder Hall and Frank Driver, destroy- ing the building and its contents. A strong wind carried the flames to the yards of the Central Lumber Company and the lumber there was burned, as was the Soo Railroad depot, the contents of which however, were re- moved. The loss was in the neighborhood of $12,000, with partial insurance.
1902. The Catholic Church at St. Anna was burned January 28. It was a frame building, costing with furniture about $3,500; with $1,000 insurance.
A fire at Sauk Centre, March 14, destroyed F. Minette's livery stable, six horses being burned to death, besides other property. Loss, $2,000, with no insurance. The Germania House stables were burned at the same time; loss, $1,000; insurance, $300.
The Clearwater flouring mill was burned June 15, supposed to have been struck by lightning. It was owned by the Merchants' National Bank of St. Cloud and valued at $10,000, with $4,500 insurance; H. L. Winterer, who had
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a lease, lost stock valued at $2,000, insured for $1,000. The mill was built thirty-five years before by H. C. Waite, of St. Cloud.
One of the most expensive fires occurring in St. Cloud in recent years was June 22, when the Leisen department store suffered a loss on building and stock of $40,000, fully covered by insurance.
A fire in the plant of the St. Cloud Manufacturing Company, on the East side, July 17, destroyed the wood-working and blacksmith shops, entail- ing a loss of $8,000, with $4,500 insurance.
Michael Bretz's farm house, near St. Cloud, was burned September 18. A fire at Eden Valley, October 3, destroyed the Journal office, the postoffice and Gasper & Hukreide's meat market, the fire originating in the latter place.
1903. The Catholic Church at Farming, was burned February 16, the parsonage being saved with much difficulty. Loss $5,000, with $3,000 insur- ance.
By the burning of James Connelly's livery stable at Sauk Centre, Febru- ary 18, seventeen horses were burned to death, two of the animals being the property of C. P. MeClure, of St. Cloud. Loss $6,000, with $1,000 insur- ance.
P. D. Christ, of the township of Fair Haven, lost his house with its con- tents by fire April 3.
The plant of the St. Cloud Crushed Granite Company was destroyed by fire May 19. Loss $10,000, with $5,300 insurance. Walter Arnold was presi- dent and O. H. Havill secretary and treasurer of the company.
The residence of William Davis, at St. Cloud, was burned June 27 with its contents; loss $2,500, with $1,400 insurance.
A fire at Hassel & Skumautz's paint and wall paper store, October 6, damaged the stock to the amount of $3,000, with $4,500 insurance. The dwelling was owned by John N. Bensen and the damage to it was fully cov- ered by insurance.
Fire almost totally destroyed the Atlantic Company's elevator at Kim- ball Prairie, November 4, with 1,820 bushels of wheat and 1,690 of oats, to- gether with a car on the track containing 900 bushels of rye.
1904. Math. Horsch's farm house in the town of St. Joseph, tenanted by Adam Berg, was burned January 1 with all of its contents. Loss $3,000.
During the night of a severe storm, February 1, John Richter's farm house in the town of St. Cloud, near Calvary Cemetery, was entirely con- sumed by fire, with its contents. Loss $2,000, with $700 insurance.
C. A. Reeves' general store at Kimball Prairie, was burned February 24. Loss on stock $4,500, and on building $1,500, with $3,000 insurance on the stock. The fire was supposed to have come from a defective chimney.
A fire on the night of April 13 in W. C. Jones' confectionery store, St. Cloud, damaged the stock to the amonut of $3,500 with $800 insurance. The millinery stock of Milz & Richardson, located next door, suffered to the ex- tent of $1,000, with no insurance. Both buildings were owned by John Lei- sen, Sr., whose loss was $600, fully insured.
Two adjoining houses in St. Cloud, owned by B. Haselkamp and William
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Knower, were burned June 16, the furniture being saved from the latter. The total loss was $2,500, partially insured.
The Great Northern dispatcher's office at Melrose was almost entirely destroyed by fire July 15. Only a part of the contents were saved. The fire is supposed to have caught from the sparks of a passing locomotive.
The Catholic Church at Freeport, built about five years ago, at a eost of $25,000, was burned with its contents on the night of October 19; insurance, $15,000.
Sauk Centre had two fires on the night of October 25-the office of the Standard Oil Company being destroyed, together with a team of valuable horses, loss $2,300; an hour afterwards the Farmers' Creamery was burned, entailing a loss of $5,000.
The village of Holding suffered from a serious fire December 11, when the village hotel, saloon and Joseph Winkler's blacksmith shop were totally destroyed with their contents. Loss $6,000, with $2,500 insurance.
Sauk Centre was visited by another bad fire December 12, when the United Manufacturers Company's furniture and wood-working factory, owned by James Ingram & Bro., was entirely destroyed.
1905. Fire which broke out during the afternoon of January 14, eom- pletely destroyed Lawrenee Hall, the girls' dormitory at the St. Cloud Nor- mal School. Most of the students lost all of their personal effects. The citizens of St. Cloud subseribed $2,000 for their assistance and they were given homes in families of the city. Loss, $32,000; insurance, $15,000.
John G. Weber's fine two-story brick-veneered farm house in the town of Zion was burned February 21. Most of the contents were saved except $400 in eurreney, which was in a cash box. The fire came from a defective chimney. Loss, $2,500, with $1,500 insurance.
Anton Stein's house in Holding was burned with most of its contents March 1. Loss $1,000, with $500 insurance.
The large warehouse of the Keller Manufacturing Company at Sauk Centre was destroyed by fire April 13, with several thousand dollars' worth of machinery and fine lumber.
The Great Northern depot at Clearwater was struck by lightning during a storm, June 4, and entirely destroyed. There was but little freight in it at the time.
The building of the Church of God at Eden Lake, was struck by light- ning July 17 and burned to the ground.
Fire at Sauk Centre, August 31, destroyed the plant of the Herald with the exception of the power press. Loss $1,500, insured; the building was owned by L. L. Fisher, and was worth about $1,000.
The two upper stories of St. Raphael's Hospital at St. Cloud were de- stroyed by fire October 10. Fifty-three patients were removed in safety from the burning building. Loss adjusted and paid, $19,388.55.
1906. The dwelling house of V. R. Thoms, in Eden Lake, was burned February 11, with all its contents.
The Great Northern station at St. Joseph was destroyed by fire April 23. Considerable freight was burned but the records were saved.
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1907. The schoolhouse in District No. 97, near Sauk Centre, was de- stroyed by fire, together with its contents, including books, February 4.
A building in Sauk Rapids owned by J. Coates and occupied by L. Rob- bers for a harness shop was burned February 22. C. E. Bell, whose office was in the building, lost valuable papers and records.
Sauk Rapids suffered March 1 from one of the most disastrous fires in its history. Three brick-veneered buildings were destroyed, owned by C. A. Coburn (where the fire originated), W. A. Sherbert and August Wetzel re- spectively. Ruff & Hess oeenpied the latter building on the first floor with a saloon, living up-stairs. The total loss was given as $13,800, with $7,500 in- surance.
The home of Fred Berg, at Brooten, was burned October 12, with all its contents. Loss $1,500 with no insurance.
The Bruener block, on St. Germain street, St. Cloud, was wrecked by a fire December 21, which not only destroyed the building but with it G. Sturre's stock of merchandise and Judge Bruener's law library. The total loss was about $18,800, with $12,800 insurance.
1908. The big elevator at Clearwater, owned by the Dakota Elevator Company, was burned with its contents June 19.
J. L. Hulbert's dwelling near the reformatory, St. Cloud, with all its contents, was destroyed by fire June 24. Loss $2,500, with $600 insurance.
The flouring mill at Holding, owned by Valentine Batz, was burned July 27. Loss, $16,000, with $8,000 insurance.
1909. The Sartell flouring mill, in the township of LeSauk, was totally destroyed by fire on the night of April 17. Loss $10,000, with $7,000 insur- anee. It had been built by Joseph B. Sartell thirty-two years before, since when many improvements had been made.
Andrew Plasiak's house and barn, with most of their contents, at Opole, were burned May 10.
The handsome residence of Ferdinand Peters at Cold Spring was burned to the ground July 30. It was new and the furniture had not yet been placed. Loss, $30,000; insurance, $10,000.
A fire October 6 destroyed Sank Centre's most important industry, the plant of the Keller Manufacturing Company. The company manufactured wagons, buggies, bob-sleds and farm implements of various kinds and em- ployed about 150 men. The loss was $150,000 with $90,000 insurance. The destruction of this plant was a severe loss to Sauk Centre as the business was removed to Minneapolis.
1910. The Catholic parochial school building at Melrose was burned January 5. Loss, $5,500, covered by insurance.
Fire January 8 destroyed the Soo depot at Brooten, with the records and the greater part of the freight and express goods. Loss $10,000.
The Breen Hotel at Waite Park, owned by May A. Magnuson, of St. Clond, was burned January 11. Loss $4,000.
Louis Chirhart's saloon at Opole was burned January 20, with its con- tents ; loss, $2,000.
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Joseph Sand's blacksmith shop, with his residence at the rear, at St. Wendel, was burned January 26, with the furniture and tools.
Fire in the early morning of March 20 destroyed J. A. Lillquist's gran- ite-cutting shed in East St. Cloud, the building, machinery and contents being valued at $16,000, with $6,000 insurance.
Another St. Cloud stone shed, Jones Bros.', was destroyed by fire which occurred April 30. It was thought to have been set by tramps. The loss was $12,000, with $6,000 insurance.
Andrew Fritz's house and barn at St. Cloud was burned May 4. Loss $3,000, insurance $1,900.
The Great Northern depot at Melrose, with the records and about $2,000 worth of freight, was burned June 7.
The bridge over Crow river at Paynesville was burned June 21, even the piling being ruined.
The Zenner home in the village of Luxemburg, the largest in the village, was destroyed by fire August 26. Loss, $2,000; insurance, $700.
Benolken & Theisen's machine shop, at Holdingford, was burned to the ground, October 11, the machinery and other contents being removed. Loss $5,000, with partial insurance.
The D. C. Abeles Clothing Company, St. Cloud, suffered a loss of $25,000 by a fire in the early morning of September 8.
A fire in East St. Cloud on the night of November 30, destroyed a house owned by John Carey and occupied by Mrs. John Connelly and family.
1911. The house, barn and some outbuildings on the old Fowler farm, about a mile south of St. Cloud, on the St. Augusta road, were destroyed by fire March 20. They were among the landmarks of that locality and were unoccupied at the time.
Arthur C. Cooper's farm house on the St. Joseph road, just outside the city limits, was burned April 25, with most of its contents. Loss, $4,500, with $1,500 insurance on the house and $2,800 on the furniture.
A fire resulting from a defective chimney totally destroyed the eight- room school building at Paynesville, May 12. Loss $12,000, with $8,000 in- surance on building and $3,000 on furniture.
The creamery at Holdingford, owned by Bridgman & Russell, of Duluth, and operated by Harry Gordhamer, was burned August 30. It was after- wards purchased and rebuilt by a company of farmers.
1912. A fire at Paynesville January 4 destroyed the building occupied by the First State Bank, entailing a loss of $4,000. F. Tolman's law offices on the second floor were burned, including a valuable library. A handsome building was erected to take the place of the one destroyed.
The National elevator at Melrose, the property of the Van Dusen com- pany, was burned January 11 and was a total loss. It had not been in use for two years and the cause of the fire was unknown.
The house, barn and other outbuildings belonging to A. Rowe, the dairy- man, a short distance east of St. Cloud, on the Duelm road, were burned May 30, with seven head of horses. The cows were in the pasture and so escaped.
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1913. The Davidson Opera House at St. Cloud was destroyed by fire on the night of February 5. Nothing was left but the shell. The owner, E. T. Davidson, promptly announced his intention to replace the burned building with another which should be in every way a better opera house.
The house occupied by Philip Zenner, on the McClure farm on the Pleas- ant lake road, was burned June 16, most of the contents being saved.
The store at St. Wendel was burned to the ground July 2. The building was owned by the estate of the late P. J. Callahan, and the stock in the store by Charles Philipsck, being valued at $4,000, with an insurance of $2,000. A saloon in one part of the building was also burned.
A vacant hotel building with barn and adjacent sheds at Rockville, the property of Peter Hansen, was burned August 18.
A fire October 14, destroyed the buildings occupied by the stone-crushing plant at the J. G. Hilder quarry, East St. Cloud.
Paynesville was a sufferer from another bad fire which occurred Octo- ber 31. It started in the Paynesville Implement Co.'s shop, next taking a two-story dwelling house, then Jarabek's store building and contents, ending with Thwels' garage and barns. The total loss was $12,300, with $8,300 in- surance.
D. C. Neely's general store at Fair Haven with its contents was destroyed by fire November 6.
An east-bound Northern Pacific freight train ran into another standing on the main line at Sartell at midnight of November 17. Fourteen box cars loaded with merchandise were burned. The engineer, C. E. Hilton, was badly scalded by the escaping steam.
1914. The large general store building at Cold Spring, owned by the Maurin estate, with the entire contents, was destroyed by fire in the early morning of January 30. The loss was about $50,000, covered by insurance.
A fire at St. Cloud, February 6, destroyed the Leisen block, occupied by the New Clothes store, Hammond's billiard hall and a number of professional offices. The building was practically ruined and the contents were almost totally destroyed. It was afterwards rebuilt in improved shape.
The residence of Mrs. Frances Groten, living near Sartell, with its con- tents, was burned March 6, by the explosion of an air-tight stovc.
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