A Big Blaze - October 1883

LIPPMAN, TIMMERMAN, FORT, AMBLER, STOUGH, MILLS, SHEPP, LASH, TALBOT, HAMPTON, SCHLIEP, WINTERS, OHARE

Posted By: Pat Ryan White (email)
Date: 10/5/2011 at 15:50:46

A BIG BLAZE!
NEAR HALF THE BUILDINGS ON THE EAST SIDE DESTROYED!
Lippman’s Bakery, Fort’s Meat Market and the Entire Ambler Block A Pile of Ruins!
Estimated Loss $40,000!
Insurance $25,000. Particulars of the Conflagration!

On Tuesday morning, about half past 2 o’clock, the cry of fire rang through the city. The fire originated in a stable back of Lippman’s bakery, corner of Washington and Main streets. The barn was filled with hay. When first seen the fire was raging in the northwest corner but soon spread all over the loft. Two horses and a colt belonging to Mr. Fort were in the barn and burned to death before any help arrived. The back yards of the bakery, the meat market, Mills’ grocery, the vacant room, lately occupied by Winters & O’Hare and the shoe store of H.L. Timmerman were full of sheds and boxes and wood and loose lumber and all as dry as tinder. All this was soon ablaze and the flames climbed to the third story of the rear part of the Ambler block. The cornice and roof were soon in flames. It was soon evident that the whole Ambler block must go and the two buildings between that and the corner - on the south.

These buildings all taking fire from the rear, gave time to save most of the goods and furniture in the front rooms on the lower floors. Only a few could be removed from the second floor, and scarcely any thing was saved from the Masonic Hall on the third floor. The Knights of Labor occupied the third floor over H. L. Timmerman’s shoe store and saved nothing. The fire burned for two and one-half hours, finally consuming the contents and wood work of one room after another. The last room to burn was the shoe store of H.L. Timmerman, separated only by a small wooden building from J. W. Hampton’s clothing store in the new Schliep block. As the inside work was consumed in the high and spacious Ambler block, the side and front walls fell, leaving only the corners standing.

The wind was strong from the north, sending smoke and fire brands across the street on to the Court House. The rain in the early part of the evening prevented the fire crossing the street.

One dwelling standing across the alley from the stable was burned. The fire was so high and so wide spread little could be done to stop it.

We give the following estimate of loss and insurance:

H. Ambler, loss on building $19,000. Insurance $10,000.
O.V. Stough, loss on building $3,000. Insurance $2,500.
Theo. Fort, loss on building $4,000. Insurance $3,000. Mr. Fort also lost three houses, carriage, buggy, harness, hay, oats, etc., valued at about $600, on which there was no insurance.
J.R. Lippman, loss on stock and furniture $2,000. Insurance $1,350.
Henry Timmerman, loss on building $3,000. Insurance $2,500.
Henry Mills, loss on stock $1,500. Insurance $1,200.
Cary Shepp, loss on billiard tables and fixtures $1,800. Insurance $1,200.
'Herald' office, loss $1,500, fully insured.
Thomas Lash, loss on dwelling house $1,000. Insurance $800.
Mrs. Talbot, loss on furniture $500, fully insured.

In addition to the above are the following losses on which there is no insurance:
Masonic fraternity $2,000; P. O’Connell, household goods stored over H. L. Timmerman’s shoe store, $500; Knights of Labor $200; Geo. C. Van Allen $500; Leech & Fitzgerald $100. Making a total loss of $41,100. Insurance $24,550.

[‘Free Press’, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Thursday, October 4, 1883]