Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1898-06-20 | Page 1 | Park City Laid in Ashes Yesterday

L PARK CITY lAID IN ASHES YESTERDAY Great Camp Suffers a Loss of Over Half a Million Dollars INSURANCE WILL NOT BE MUCH OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND Lighting a Fire With Coal Oil Causes the Conflagration No Lives Lost Many Narrow Escapes A cruel fate has overtaken Park City Utahs once proud and prosperous mining town is desolate and in ruins Following the business depression of fiveyears ago came the failure of the Park City bank then there was a general gen-eral reduction in miners and millmens wanes Instead of the expected revival the misfortune came last year of the closing clos-ing down of the great Ontario and Daly mines and mills Many of the good people of the town were thus thrown out of employment and compelled to seek elesewhere for work Now all is gone and the industry of years is licked by the demon Ilame The hope for the future is small Only the resumption re-sumption of work at the Ontario and Daly and a general mining revival will A S arrant the rebuilding of the destroyed city The only mainstay the remnant of Park City now has is the employment employ-ment given by the Silver King Mining company The story f the fire is the relation of a sad chapter Seventyfive business building and a hundred happy cozy homes have gone up in smoke More than a hundred families fully 500 souls are homeless penniless and dependent upon charity for lifes necessities and without hope for the future The money loss is appalling Itwill range upwards of 600000 J whereas in more prosperous i prosper-ous times the same property was worth J double that figure The insurance is insignificantly small The aggregate is I but little more than 100000 Recently as fire insurance risks have been expiring expir-ing the companies have declined stone sto-ne saying that it was the int ntin tb retire jCrom the Park Cityttfield 4A11 of f the agencies have continued to write risks but at stiffer rates and ona basis of shrinking values The premium premi-um rates ran from C to 10 per ent per annum on the lumber buildings and their contents The rate on the brick and stone buildings was as low as 2 ½ I per cent STORY OF THE GREAT FIRE I When at 430 oclock yesterday morning morn-ing the shrill whistle of the Marsac mill sounded forth the dread fire alarm every one felt that although the town had been extremely lucky in years gone by with the fire fiend now probably was the time to fight against unequal odds for the rescue of home and property prop-erty and against a posfible total destruction de-struction of their all All mining towns that are built in gulches with a multiplicity multi-plicity of wooden buildings and narrow streets have had their great fires For a quarter of a century Park City has escaped its sweeping blaze but its doom was sealed These visions ap ptared to the townspeople as they jumped from their couches and hurried to and fro to help the volunteer fire i department speed the hose carts to the i scen of the incipient blaze on upper Main street There was an ample pressure pres-sure of water from the fire hydrants for ordinary purposes but this was an unusual the fateful hour The burn ing building was a large lumber structure I struc-ture and all around it were frame buildings dry as tinder ready to burn as fast as fury The American hotel I that was where the fire started was in a mass of flames The heat was unbearable un-bearable and the herculean efforts of the people counted for nothing From I up the canyon came a stiff breeze that added fury to the blaze A FORLORN HOPE Down the east side of Main street the fire bore swiftly and furiously taking Judge Ivers Keiths livery stable the Park Opera House and Shields Bros store Every one hoped and believed be-lieved that the towering brick walls of I the magnificent new Grand Opera House would stay the progress of the flames But it was a forlorn hope Before the terrorized people knew it I the fire had consumed the Grand Opera House and was rushing madly on down the street fanned by the breeze that was now a brisk gale The wind was not content with keeping its course I but veered both ways carrying sheets of flame backward and o the west side I of Main street and eastward to Chinatown China-town and the scores of fine cottages on I Rossie hill Now the people were panic stricken They flew for their lives before the awful tongue of flame fully 300 feet across If one side of Main street was not burning more furiously than the other it was because the wind was momentarily mo-mentarily wreaking its vengeance on the east only to return to the west with fury for its apology for apparent neglect The big Aschelm store building build-ing the Methodist the Congregational Episcopal and Mormon church edifices the Connor house the Park Record of fiEe the ostoffiee the Plfst atiohal bank building and the adjacent fireproof fire-proof structures the city hall Park City hotel stores saloons butcher shops offices restaurants residences all went up in the seeming twinkling of an eye so short was the time Again and again buildings were blown up by giant powder to create a gap over which the fire would not leap but the demon only laughed at the puny effort and reached out its reddened tongue further to destroy I THE BURNED DISTRICT DESCRIBED DE-SCRIBED I At last the wind had spent its force There was little left to burn The destruction de-struction was complete When it was all over there were the blackened I smoking ruins extending from the Dudler building and the old Hirsch I man store on both sides of Main street j to Kimball Brothers livery barn and the Union Pacific depot On the east j from and including the Crescent concentrator I con-centrator anl office up to and including includ-ing Chinatown and back to Rossie hill I nothing remains but the Marsac mill I refining shops and office the latter a t frame building fronting on Main street Close to it but removed from other exposure ex-posure is the frame office building of j D C McLaughlin West of Main I street from the Crescent tramway up to within a couple of hundred feet from the Catholic church and extending back to Park avenue not a single building remains On the west side of Park avenue from the cross street extending down alongside the old Hirschman store building and running northward passed the Methodist church down to and including the splendid home of Fred W Hayt there is now nothing but blank black space The fire stopped at the residence of David Keith but from that point down northward to the Crescent tramway on the west side of Park avenue the houses are scorched and discolored from the heat At least half the houses on Rossie hill numbering about 50 and a few on the Deer valley road east of the Crescent concentrator are destroyed de-stroyed THE WIDESPREAD SUFFERING AND LOSS In all the burned district covers approximately ap-proximately 30 acres It was o compactly com-pactly built area peopled by fully 500 souls Few if any escaped with more I than what they had on their backs Houses furniture clothing food everything gone The work of destruction de-struction was so completely and quickly done that the people were compelled to seek safety in flight COAL OIL STARTED IT The cause of the fire is altogether I clothed in mystery It started in the kitchen of the Freeman House formerly former-ly the Harrington The boarding house people have been known to use coal oil to kindle the morning fire in tha kitchen stove and as frequently as they have been remonstrated with for their carelessness it appears from all the known circumstances that yesterday yester-day morning the inflammable stuff was used once too often HELP FROM SALT LAKE AND OGDEN Early In the morn it was seen that help must come from other cities Word was dispatched to Ogden and to Salt Lake for their steam fire engines and crews of fire fighters A special train over the Rio Grande Western left at 820 bearing No 2 steamer with Assistant Chief McCarthy Captain By water and Lieutenant Earl from headquarters They and the Ogden relief re-lief worked heroically but little was left for them to do but to quench the dying embers and put out a few firebrands fire-brands here and there The Salt Lake crew and engine returned shortly after midnight THE LOSSES IN DETAIL Following is a list of the property losses and losers It is as complete as can now be given and is not far from being correct The losses are conservatively conserv-atively estimated by persons well informed in-formed on Park City matters If any thing the losses are under stated The total runs up to 570000 Loses Iot yet reported and undervalued will probably prob-ably swell the total to over GOO000 Thompson Jurgenson butcher shop 1000 Building owned by Henry Newell 1000 Ketchum Fung barbers 500 American hotel Freemans300 Building owned by the Harrington sisters 1000 I Tim OKeefe cigar factory 500 1 V J Bosler dwelling 500 Judge Ivers Keith building I horses and wagons 10000 Bates Kimball druggists 3000 Center saloon Mantor building 2000 ParkOpera house r r So5o LO O F lodges 1030 Shields Bros merchants 25000 Grand Opera house 50 000 A O U W Masonic K of P and Hibernian lodges 3000 F A McCarty jeweler 3000 J M Lockhart Dr Viko and F J McLaughlin 3000 Thomas Hlmlin store 3000 fmJi Pat Fitzpatrick saloon 500 Buildlntr owned bv W Mont RVrrv 9 nn Riley Towey saloon 3000 Huddys baker 2000 C M Wilson physician 1000 Conner house 5000 Park Record 5000 Adams photographer 3000 Hurlbut drug store 6000 Building owned by Thomas Cuplt 2000 Woodruff Bros stationers 1250 Building owned by W J Wilson 1250 Postoffice 1000 H S Townsend iOoO Postoffice building 3000 Berryman Rogers 14000 Building of Margaret Rogers TOiX First National BMik and building 20000 Rocky Mountain IMl Telephone Co 5000 Frank Andrews fnature 7000 W S Sharp drug stoiC 5000 Breen Sullivan saloon 2000 P McPherson merchandise r 20000 Park City bank building 20000 Silver King Anchor Electric Light W V Rice W Mont Ferry Barton Bar-ton Wherritt offices IDOJ i John Diem saddlery and building 720Q City hall and contents lOwJO Continued on Pace 6 IPARK CI lAID IN ASHES Continued from Page 1 M I Snyder residence and office 5000 Joe Cornelius store 1000 Fares Richardson secondhand store 2000 A H Fuelling bakery 2000 Fuelng Richardson undertaker 2000 Mrs Anderson millinery 500 Crescent office 5000 Utah Coal company 1000 Crescent Concentrator 25000 Six dwellings on Heber road GOOO Chinatown 5000 Fifty dwellings on Rossie hill 50000 I THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN Crescent house M H Hennessey 2000 1 Mrs J J McPhee store building 1500 i A L Dahlgren residence 1500 Walter Willcocks store building 2000 W H Roy groceries and building 9000 Frank Richardson building 2000 Ein C Williamson I drugs and building l r build-ing 6000 F C Thompson saloon and building build-ing saoon buid20 Mrs Walden building 1000 JosephRobinson dwelling 300 J T Kescel building 1000 Julius Frankel clothing 10000 David Keith building 1000 Thomas Lowry restaurant 2000 William Bennett building 2000 Wiseman buildings two 3000 L E Hubbard jeweler 6000 R H Walters cigar store 1000 Peter Clark saloon 1000 Henry Fares building 1000 Pacific Express company 1000 Mrs Henry Fares millinery 2000 Dr E P Le Compte 1000 Henry Shields building and office 2000 Joe Oliner 500 M S Aschcim Mercantile company stock and building 75000 J P Theriot butcher building 2COO buiding 2CO Office saloon 1000 C A Tewksbury hardware and building 5000 Silver King restaurant 1000 E D Button Co butchers and building 2000 W J Wabel feed store 4000 Paul Bros tinners 1000 400 restaurant 5 400 saloon 1000 Pierces barn 2000 I 20 Thomas Cupit building and office 1000 I Joseph Fares secondhand store 1000 I Park City hotel 10000 1 i The Resort saloon 1000 Mrs Franklins building 1000 MacCarmoc Co blacksmiths 5 John Harwood residence 1000 Seven residences south of Mr Har woods 5000 W Mont Ferry residence 2000 Mrs A B Emery residence 2000 L D S church 4000 40 John Shields residence 2000 Congregational church 5000 Three dwelng south of Congregational Congrega-tional church 2000 Episcopal church 4000 Mrs Pope dwelling 1000 F W Hoyt residence 2000 H W Deighton residence 1000 Mrs David Keith residence 1000 Walter Willcocks residence lOCO Fred Simon dwelling 800 I J T Kescel residence 1500 M E church 2000 S L Roddon dwelling 2000 C B Blanchard dwelling 1000 Two dwellings north of Blanch ards 2000 20 Total J570000 To whch add losses not yet reported re-ported or possibly estimated 30000 I Making complete loss JGOOOOO THE INSURANCE FIGURES The insurance written br the Salt Lake agencies probably represents a third of the whole amount of only about 100000 in risks carried by the losers A large proportion was written by the Park City agencies of J H I Deming Fred W Hayt and Barton Wheritt The detailed amounts can not b known for several days but I from the best obtainable information there is probably not more than Z20 000 of insurance in addition to the figures herewith given and those reported I ported by The Heralds Park City correspondent amounting in all to 82 I 973 Many of the companies declined to renew their risks in the mining town and several of the losers a known through pressure of hard times t have made no effort to renew their insurance with other companies The number of lapsed policies is very large The only insurance written by the Salt Lake fire agencies is by W S Ferris Co Hugh Anderson Co and W E Smedley Co The risks carried by Ferris Co are the following insured with the National of Hartford and the Springfield Spring-field of Massachusetts Mrs Hellen Franklin saloon stock and fixtures 83303 W W Rose saloon stock and fixtures 1000 Thompson Jergersen building 1 000 Mrs Mary E Mantor building 2 000 Thomas Cupit dwelling 400r Ascheim Mercantile companys warehouse ware-house 2000 Total 723333 Hugh Anderson Co had 24750 insurance in-surance on the stock building and fixtures of the Ascheim Mercantile company placed as follows 3500 on stock with the London company Fire mens Fund 2250 on stok Alliance company 4000 on stock North British i Brit-ish Mercantile 1500 on stock I North B M 500 on furniture and fixtures Bremen 1500 fxture Hamburg on stock Scottish 1000 on stock Pennsylvania 2250 on stock North I B 11 3000 on building Scottish 1000 on building Firemans Fund 1750 on building and furniture Aetna 2500 on building The agency of Hugh Anderson Co had 1700 insurance on C A Tewks burys business 500 with the Aetna company on the building and 1200 on the stock with the London cqmpany W E Smedley Co carried 3000 on the Park City hotel owned by George Hall distributed as follows 1000 with the Manchester company on building 1250 with the Lancashire company on building and 750 on furniture furni-ture with the Providence company ACCOUNT FROM PARK CITY The Heralds correspondent at Park City sends the following Park City June 20Fire wiped out the business district and a large part of the residence portion of Park City this morning The fire started in the restaurant and hotel owned by the Harrington sisters and occupied by Harry Freeman who runs the hotel The fire ha gained such headway before its discovery that the exact is discover origin will never be known John I Doyle and Alex Dunn occupied rooms on the second floor and were the first Ito I-to discover the fire which seemed to I come from the rooms above the kitchen I was 430 oclock when Patrolman II Waldens pistol rang out and the cry J of fire echoed through the canyon and the hoarse whistle of the Marsac mill proclaimed what proved to be the sa dest news this town ha ever heard At this hour few people were on the street and before the fire department reached the spot the building was in a sheet of flames So intense was the heat that it was impossible to bring the streams of water to bear effectively effective-ly Fire spread in both directions until i un-til it reached the Dudler building on the south and the Crescent concentrator concen-trator on the north taking all the buildings on both sides of Main street The Dudler building Welsh Driscoll Bucks and Hirschmans stores were the only buildings left standing at the upper end of Main street Kimball Bros livery stable and the buildings of the J3 Kimball estate were saved The Park City bank Shields Bros the I First National bank Berryman Rogers the Ascheim Mercantile com panys buildings and the Grand Opera House were totally destroyed The residence portion of what is called Rossie hill was about onehalf destroyed All dwelling houses on Park avenue between Dr Gregors residence on the south and David Keiths on the north on the west side of the street and every one on the east side were burned to the ground and only one church the Catholic remains re-mains standing The fire department was unable to check the flames by use of hose and called on the miners to blow up the buildings with giant powder pow-der This saved the lower end of town The Marsac mill was barely saved by the employees who used the companys hose to good advantage I is thought that the vaults in both banks will save books and valuables Engines of the Ogden and the Salt Lake fire departments arrived this morning and assisted in i quenching the I smouldering remains of Main street Many people are homeless and those who were prosperous and Independent yesterday are without homes and destitute des-titute today Many narrowly escaped with their lives saving nothing but the clothes on their backs Not a hotel restaurant drug store barber shop or office remains The postoffice now occupies oc-cupies a dwelling house No one was badly hurt although several were severely burned and cut The losses with no Insurance are a follows Judge Ivers Keith teaming contractors I con-tractors of the Silver King Mining company 10000 I E C Williamson drug stone 100 60 j V H Roy General merchandise 9000 Frank Andrews furniture store 7000 Thomas Lowery restaurant 4C03 Bates Kimball drug store 3000 V J Bosiei cigar factory 2000 < F A McCarty jeweler 3030 W E Huddard jeweler 6000 I Those who lost buildings and stock carrying some insurance were I Value Ins RIley Towey saloon 3000 1800 J Frankel Co clothing 10000 3000 P McPherson dry goods 20000 8000 M S Ascheim Mercantile t Co general merchandise 24000 26750 1 First National bank 12000 8000 i Park City bank building 20003 10000 i Berryman Rogers general I merchandise 14000 900 Grand Opera house 50000 5000 M D Hurlbut 8000 1500 Facts concerning smaller losses are not obtainable at this time EXCITEMENT IN OGDEN The conflagration at Park City I caused tremendous excitement in Ogden Og-den yesterday writes The Heralds I correspondent at Ogden from the time the very first news came to this city IA I brief bulletin was posted on The I I Herald board at about 8 oclock and I the board was soon surrounded by j anxious crowds waiting for details The first news was contained in the dispatch dis-patch received a little after 7 oclock t by Chief Orson Riser at the fire sta tion I was from Chief J Berry of Park City and read Send us some help to put out fire here The city is i burning Immediately the chief detailed Assistant As-sistant Chief Hewitt and Engineer Moore to take the big steamer to Park City and it was soon at the depot There was some trouble in getting the big vehicle up onto the flatcar and in securing It for its long ride but by the time the regular train for the east pulled out at 810 the special was ready Engineer GilDin was at the throttle and John Phalen Ja conductor The flatcar and caboose struck out following follow-ing close behind the passenger train Chief Riser then tried to send a message mes-sage to Park City to notify the chief to have horses at the depot but the service was for the time interfered with and the telephone office burnt out As the further details came in i became be-came aDDarent that the city was doomed There are many Park City people in Ogdenpeople with homes in the mining min-ing town and who expected to go back as soon as times should liven up a bit To these the stories on the bulletin board told of the destruction of home or business and in some cases suggested that some of their loved ones were in danger Not even the most exciting war news has stirred the Ogden people as did the brief bulletins of yesterday To one young widow in particular the news told of the destruction of all the property prop-erty she possessed Eearly In the morn Ing a message came frpm Andy Rosen baum to friends here saying that his j I store was burning and the city in great danger At about U oclock a second message came saying that his store was destroyed his residence on fire and the city nearly destroyed About 3 oclock Grand Recorder David Thorburn of the A O U W telegraphed to the deputy grand master I at Park City asking if there was anything any-thing the order could do to assist or I relieve suffering in Park City At 350 a telephone connection was established with the city and fuller details of the catastrophe camein 1 STRAY FIREBRANDS Secretary Whitney of the Home Fire Insurance company last night stated that his company does not lose a dollar by the fire The Home has often been solicited to write risks in the Park I but the officials were always afraid of i it town and hadnt a single policy in the t i J H Deming assistant cashier of the First National bank with H S Townsend Town-send and others is over in Strawberry valley on a fishing rUng A messenger messen-ger has been hurried after him as fast as a relay of horses can make speed The vaults of the bank are secure and no fear is expressed as to the safety of the money and valuable papers I Sam J Kenyon cashier of the First National bank drove up Parleys canyon can-yon yesterday to the scene of the ruins Superintendent R C Chambers of the tao and Daly I drove to Park City as soon a the news of the fire reached town Mr Chambers who has i been as a father to the camp feels keenly the blow of this conflagration aside from any financial loss on his part He is looking after the interests of the Ontario and Daly companies and the Ascheim Mercantile company and giving what assistance he can to the sufferers The Marsac mill was on fire three or four times but as the company has separate and excellent water pressure and good hose facilities the mill shops office and refinery were saved by the hard work of the employees The Ontario mill was not reached by the flames so that Mr Chambers loss lays in the destruction of the Ascheim Mercantile companys business and some dwellings about town D C McLaughlin the chief party in interest in the Townsite company a heavy owner in residence property went up to the burning camp Sunday morning and returned in the evening He said i was utterly impossible to get at the amount of insurance carried through local agents in the Park a everything was burned up Mr McLaughlin Mc-Laughlin owns business houses and residences all over town including the whole of Chinatown His loss will be very heavy I was unexplainable to him how the fire switched around his frame office and proceeded to devour the Diem building and city hal both brick structures The escape of his office saves him his law library and many valuable papers Telephone connections were broken a soon as the fire consumed the First National bank building where the exchange I ex-change was located and had not yet been restored up to a late hour this I I morning The telephone line to the Rio Grande depot is intact Telegraph I communication via the Union Pacific was not broken and the wire was kept I hot all day sending messages to and from the PaIrs PaI-rs H L Raddon accompanied by her mother Mrs Harper and children I arrived on the Rio Grande train last evening Their homewas burned and they escaped with only what clothing they wore Mrs Harper arose from a sick bed Mr Raddon is part owner in the Park Record which plant was entirely consumed so that his loss is total i About lod Salt Lake and Park City people went out to the Rio Grande train last evening to meet friends and obtain news of the illfated camp The passengers on alighting were eagerly questioned as to the true state of the fire and when they impressed the real facts i seemed almost impossible to grasp the extent of the calamity Ev gasp ery one hoped that the reports were exaggerated but In this they were sadly disappointed Thomas Timlin who runs a confectionery con-fectionery north of the Grand Opera house was among the first to see the fire having been alarmed by a police mans cry of fire He hurried to the American house where the fire originated origi-nated and worked to subdue the blaze which coulu not be confined to the starting place While no lives are reported lost there were many hairbreadth escapes and numerous heroic rescues Misses Julia and Lily Burlin who are in F L charg of the telephone exchange were attempting to secure some pictures from the telephone roms when the roof caved in and they were nearly suffocated but they were bravely rescued by Walter Phillips and another an-other hero One of the ladies is reported ported to have been unconscious when brought out but she quickly recovered Whe the American hotel the place where the fire started was wrapped inflames in-flames it was discovered that one of the lady lodgers was asleep in her room John Coughlin broke in the door and rescued hera brave act which was loudly applauded John Shields who was confined to his bed with illness was hurriedly carried on a couch from his burning home to the residence of his brother Charles Shields