Stables Burned

[T. Sackett]

     About five o'clock Tuesday morning flames were seen issuing from the stables on Wabash avenue, owned and occupied by Theodore F. Cox.   The alarm sounded and the fire engine was soon on the ground with many willing hands to work it, but owing to the fact that something was out of fix with the machine it failed to do very effective work.  However, it would have been impossible to have saved the stable as the fire was beyond control, so far as the stables were concerned, when first discovered.  It required hard work to save the houses across the street.  The old building just south of the Cox barn also burned.   It was owned by Crooks & Hamar.
     Four stallions and one gelding were in the stable at the time of the fire.  The stallions were removed without sustaining much injury, though one big white fellow was pretty badly scorched on the back.  The gelding was burned up.
     There were also burned up in the stables one new buggy, two carts, one buckboard, two sets of double harness, about 350 bushels of corn, some wheat and oats, about five tons of hay and straw, besides a lot of tools.
     There was an insurance of $1,000 on the property, $400 on the buildings, feed, vehicles and other contents of the stable.  The insurance was written by P.S. Hills, in the old reliable Phoenix of Hartford.
     Crooks & Hamar's loss is about $50.
     Mr. Cox, the owner of the stable was away from home, having left for the Territory a week ago yesterday, expecting to be gone ten days or two weeks.  The barn was in charge of Alex. Stewart and has been for about two months.
     The origin of the fire is a mystery.
     This fire demonstrated one thing forceably and that is that Howard is very poorly equipped for fighting flames.

      Published in Elk County Citizen on May 2, 1895   

[W. Gray]

A year later was the disastrous fire that took the side by side Welborn House hotel and former Elk County Court house doing $50,000 damage.