Source: Wabash Plain Dealer, October 16, 1885

BURNED TO THE GROUND
North Manchester Visited by the Devouring Element Last Sunday Night.
Seven Business Blocks and the Opera House Burned to the Ground--Loss, $23,000.

...By what means the fire originated will probably never be known. It was discovered in the one-story frame building owned by Lew Russell and occupied by Hida [Hidy] Brothers as a bakery. Adjoining on the left was J.M. Jennings's one-story brick grocery; on the east of the bakery were P.D. Young's one-story frame  building, occupied  by Boyd Thomas, of Fort Wayne, as a clothing store; Hamilton's saloon, a two-story brick building; D.T. Krisher's meat market, a story-and-a-half frame building; and Hamilton's opera house building. The latter was a large two-story brick building, the lower floor being owned by Mr. Johnson, and occupied as a livery stable.
...
Jennings and Hamilton will rebuild at once. The two frame  buildings were the oldest business rooms in the place.

Source: North Manchester Journal, October 15, 1885

FIENDISH FLAMES
Destroy Seven Business Rooms in this City Sunday Night
The Fire Engine Disabled and the People Unable to Check the Flames at First.
Wabash Telegraphed for Assistance and Promptly Responds with Her Fire Department.
An Entire Block Swept Away.
The Opera House Among the Buildings Burned.
A Loss of not Less than $25,000 Caused by the Conflagration.

The cry of "Fire" started our citizens from their beds at one o'clock Sunday night to witness the largest and most destructive conflagration this city has ever known. At the hour named the night watch discovered fire in Hidy Bros. restaurant on the south side of East Main street and when first seen it had evidently been burning some time as the flames had already communicated to the rear ends of Harrel & Johnson's barber shop, next door to the west and Thomas' clothing store, to the east. These  buildings were all old frame structures and dry as powder. The fire spread with lightning rapidity in this old fire trap and it was the work of only a few moments till they were all enveloped in flames. When our reporter arrived on the scene there were comparatively few people on the ground and they were engaged in removing the goods in the burning buildings and those adjacent.

At this time the flames could have been easily extinguished but at this juncture it was found that the fire engine was disabled and could not be used although it had been at the shop for repairs since the Tuesday preceding. an effort was made to fix it for service which was finally successful although the machinist declared it was perfectly useless. There had been several damaged flues taken out of the engine and the ones ordered to replace them had not yet arrived. Finally some men were induced to go to work on it, when it was seen to what uncontrollable magnitude the fire was spreading, and in a short time the disabled flues were plugged up and a fire built in the box. The engine worked and was taken to the cistern at the corner of Main and Market streets from which the hose had been laid and at about half past two o'clock was throwing water.

In the meantime the flames had spread rapidly and had devoured several buildings, placing the entire south side of Main street in great danger of being destroyed. The three buildings mentioned were entirely consumed; Jenning's grocery was a mass of flames; Hamilton's saloon and Krisher's meat market were burning rapidly and the flames had caught in the opera house building, the roof of which was burning briskly. Although the fire company had arrived on the ground soon after the first alarm and worked with might and main, assisted by the crowd, they seemed powerless to check the spreading conflagration. Bucket lines were formed to the river and wells near by and all attention turned toward saving buildings that had not yet been attacked by the flames. The boot and shoe store of J.F. Eichholtz was on fire in several places but was saved almost miraculously as was the frame warehouse of G.W. Eichholtz which was threatened with destruction every instant.

The engine, which was now playing on the opera house, succeeded in arresting the fire before it caught in Johnson's horse stable at the rear of the opera house but not before the entire upper story of the bui9lding and nearly all of his livery barn was destroyed. With this the flames, which were stretching eastward, were placed under control and all further damage terminated.

About this time the Wabash fire department, which had been telegraphed for at the start, arrived on a special train over the C.W. & M. Their engine was placed on the dock at the river near Ulrey's mill and soon two streams were playing on the fiery mass of ruins. The Wabash department received word shortly after one o'clock but did not get started from that city until 2:25 owing to a combination of circumstances. The company had to be called together and the engine which brought the train over had to be filled with water and steam got up, all of which occupied considerable time. When they did get started the trip was made in twenty-five minutes including two stops for railroad crossings and one to take water. Although too late to be of much advantage, yet had our engine not been fitted for service the Wabash department would have been of incalculable service to the town. Had the fire continued with as great fury as when the steamer began to play on it a much larger portion of the city would be in ruins today. The party returned to Wabash at four o'clock Monday morning.

Nearly the entire population of the town was gathered in the street around the scene of the fire and a more excited crowd we have never witnessed than it was before the fire was under control. The streets presented a singularly picturesque appearance as lighted up by the bright glare of the flames. Piles of goods, furniture, and other articles rescued from the burning store rooms were scattered about. The night was made as bright as noonday and the heat was so intense that people could hardly pass through the street in front of the fire. A large plate glass in front of Ginther's drug store and one in Russell's saloon, on the opposite side of the street, were cracked by the heat. By five o'clock Monday morning everything was out of danger and the worn-out mass of people sought their homes for a short rest before viewing the ruins in the morning.

On Monday morning Main street presented a desolate appearance. Blackened walls and smoldering ruins greeted the eye where once stood a solid block of seven business rooms among which was one of the finest in the city--the opera house. Part of the walls of the brick buildings had fallen down and the ground was strewn with brick and mortar and covered with charred timbers which were still smoking. A disagreeable odor was emitted from the burning debris and the air was filled with smoke. People viewed the scene with saddened countenances. The damage is a great one and is not only a private loss but a public calamity, especially the opera house.

The loss has been variously estimated from $20,000 to $30,000 and is distributed as follows, as near as we have been able to get it from the parties:

David Hamilton, the heaviest loser, about $10,000 on opera house, saloon and fixtures. Mr. Hamilton had about $6,000 invested in the opera house. All the scenery and chairs were removed before the flames reached them. The greater portion of the stock and fixtures in his saloon was saved but some loss and damage was occasioned by the removal. One billiard table, the beer cooler and some other goods were destroyed with the building. The opera house was a brick structure, while the saloon was part brick and part frame. The walls of the opera house are not damaged and can be rebuilt upon, without danger to the building. He had no insurance.

J.M. Jennings is probably the next heaviest loser, and estimates his loss at $5,000. His building was also part brick and part frame. The larger portion of his stock was removed more or less damaged, but a large amount of stock was consumed with the building. He has as yet been unable to tell just how much. He was insured in the Hartford, and Liverpool, London & Globe Companies, for $2,000, half of which was on the building and half on the contents.

Lew Russell, who owned the two frame buildings occupied by Hidy Brother's restaurant and Harrel & Johnson's barber shop, loses $2,000 with no insurance.

C.D. Johnson's loss on his livery barn which was on the ground floor of the opera house building will amount to $1,200. No insurance.

Hidy Brothers, in the building in which the fire originated, claim a loss of $600. But little of their stock was saved from the flames. Will Hidy lost most of his clothing. Their loss is fully covered by insurance policies in the Frankfort and Phoenix companies for $800.

Peter D. Young owned the frame building occupied by B.L. Thomas' clothing house, and sustains a loss of $1,000, with $600 insurance in the German-American company.

D.T. Krisher, owner of the frame building between Hamilton's saloon and the opera house, and to which he had a meat market, loses $500, with no insurance. Nearly all the contents was removed.

Harrel & Johnson, barbers, claim a loss of $50 on fixtures burned and destroyed in removal. They saved nearly everything.

There are several other small losses that cannot be estimated. B.L. Thomas saved his clothing stock entire, though no doubt a small loss is occasioned. Dan Sheller, clerk for Jennings, lost a $65 horn. Buck Sullivan, Al Scott and Steve Oakley, boarders at Hidy's restaurant, escaped from the burning building with little or no clothing. George Fatsinger, baker for the same firm, also lost nearly all of his personal effects.

The origin of the fire is a mystery, and although there are many stories afloat about it, the truth can not be reached at this time. It is evident that it started inside the kitchen, or the back end of the building, and had gained considerable headway before discovered. Will Hidy and the boarders disclaim any knowledge of how it started. There was fire in the stove in the kitchen early in the evening, but the report that they were cooking oysters at midnight is denied. Night watchman Dice was the first one to discover the fire, and he says that when he first saw it he thought the smoke and light was from the bake shop, as they have been accustomed to bake at that time of night. However he investigated and found the building was on fire, when he tried to arouse those inside after which he ran to the fire bell and sounded the alarm.  By the time the parties, mentioned above, who slept in the restaurant, were aroused, the fire was so close upon them that they had to make their escape through the front windows and over the awning without waiting to gather up their personal effects. When first seen the fire could easily have been put out and would have been confined to only one or two buildings at the most, had the fire engine been in shape for working, but like the old story of the the horse shoe nail, a whole block was destroyed for the want of a fire engine in time.

As is always the case there is a disposition to throw the blame onto some one and in this case it takes the form of a personal censure of every one connected with the management of the fire engine for not having it in shape for fighting a fire at all times, and especially for having it partly torn to pieces for nearly a week. No doubt there is some one to blame for all this. In fact it amounts to a criminal negligence on the part of those who had the engine in charge. Possibly it is the Town Board; possibly the chief engineer or the man who had the repairing of the engine in charge. There are so many connected with it, and all claim perfect innocence and good intentions, that it is hard to locate the condemnation where it properly belongs. It cannot be denied that the engine was in a shape that it could not be used and had been so for several days; also that if it had been ready for service that the damage would have been small as compared with what it is. The fire engine is a machine for public safety, and should be in readiness for use at any and all times, but nevertheless it, like all other pieces of machinery, will get out of repair. Yet these repairs when needed should be made so expeditiously that there should not be a day go by but what it could be used. Another class of men  censure the machinists strongly for not going to work at the first alarm and putting it in shape for work as was done later. These men evidently believed that it could not be fixed at the time, but as the old saying is that necessity is the mother invention, the exigency of the time provided the means by which it was patched up for the time being, though by no means was made good. Experience proved that it performed the service demanded of it, but it might have become useless in five minutes; and in the condition it was then it was dangerous to those who worked with it. A lesson has been learned, although it is a dear one, and such a state of affairs will not likely happen again soon. In the heat of excitement many harsh words of condemnation were uttered, which we believe will be toned down or retracted after the cool reflection of sober thought. The loss occasioned by the fire and contingent circumstances is a heavy one, but under the situation it could not be avoided.

A few hours has wrought many changes. There has been seven buildings burned to the ground, part of the ground changed hands and new buildings begun on the site of the fire before the smoke had died away from the embers. Lew Russell sold the ground owned by himself in the burned district to three men, Monday morning. Milt Jennings bought eight feet of it. P.D. Young three feet, and Jesse Tyler a lot of twenty-two feet. Jennings let the contract for a new brick store room and work was begun clearing up the debris, preparatory for a new building, before the brick cooled off. D. Hamilton also began work on two brick rooms the same day, and it is likely that both Young and Tyler will put up new brick rooms on their ground this fall. The opera house building will be partially repaired this fall and it is likely that a new year will witness a solid brick block in the place of the old buildings, which will be the finest in town. What the cost of the new rooms will be can  not be said at present, as the owners themselves have not determined on that point. While a very disastrous thing for the town, yet indirectly it will have its advantages in the shape of better, larger and safer buildings. it is to be hoped that the place will never be visited by such a fire again, although there are several places in the city that are as dangerous as the one just destroyed.

EMBERS

The engine burst a section of hose.

The repairs for the fire engine arrived by express Monday morning.

The fire department did excellent work, and deserves much praise.

It is safe to say that the engine will never be out of repair as long at one time hereafter.

The band lost its best instrument by Dan Shellers' "B bass" being destroyed in the flames.

The new fire bell which was put in place on the tower built for it, last week, did good service in arousing the people from their slumbers.

At one time Eichholtz's shoe store was threatened with destruction. The windows and stairway on the east side were burned away, but hard work kept the flames from reaching the inside.

The usual number of "funny stories," after the style of that antique chestnut about the man with the mirror and feather bed told in the days of yore, has been perpetrated on the public.

Many wild rumors are flying over the country greatly exaggerating the amount of loss. The above is a faithful account and gives the amount of property destroyed as near as can be determined.

The fire has awakened some of our business men to the danger of having too many frame sheds behind their stores. E.A. Ebbinghous and H. Mills tore away their frame warehouses Monday afternoon.

Harrel & Johnson rented the basement under Ebbinghous' book store, and opened their barber shop in it Monday. They are now ready for business and invited all their old customers to come and see them at their new stand.

Stephen Haines was in Buffalo, N.Y. at the time the fire occurred, and says he was almost paralyzed when he read in a city paper that five blocks had burned and the fire was still spreading. He was considerably relieved when he reached home.

Had Krisher's frame building been torn away before fire had reached it, the opera house could have been saved. The Hook and Ladder Company began leveling it at one time but were persuaded to desist by the crowd until too late to do anything.

Marcus Harter and Wm. Woods have been appointed inspectors by the Town Board to examine all flues and chimneys in the business part of town. They can be seen casting their official eyes up the chimneys and determining on their safety or unsafety as the case may be.

The loss of the opera house leaves the town without a public hall of any kind and may be looked upon as a public calamity. Mr. Hamilton, we understand, does not intend to rebuild it for some time, possibly not at all, but it is reported that the walls will be reroofed, a floor laid and the building turned into a skating rink the coming winter. We hope Mr. Hamilton will conclude to reconstruct it for an opera house, but such a thing cannot reasonably be expected, as the hall has never paid over two per cent on the investment since it was built. All dates are canceled.

H.F. Harris and Geo. C. Bacon, of the Wabash Plain Dealer, came over with the fire company from that place to see the fire and gather particulars for their enterprising paper. Mr. Harris is also special correspondent for Indianapolis papers. The JOURNAL acknowledges a pleasant call from them Monday morning, as they did not return 'till the regular train.

It was a narrow escape for Johnson's barn and was mainly through his own efforts that the building was saved. In fact it was a close call for a larger portion of town. Large pieces of charred shingles were carried as far west as the railroads by the wind. Those who had frame buildings nearby kept the roof wet and averted a more dreadful disaster.

This is the second time that the Wabash fire department has been summoned to the aid of the town. The first time was when the American House burned, three years ago. Each time Wabash has responded promptly and did good service. If that city should every be in need of assistance this place can be relied upon to furnish all that is in its power.

We regret to learn that some parties so far forgot themselves as to express delight at the destruction of Mr. Hamilton's saloon and opera house. We hope such is not the case; and if it is, it was the utterance of some prejudiced person and not the sentiments of the community. No one should wish to see another's property destroyed. We have heard nothing but universal expressions of regret at the loss, and especially at the destruction of the opera house.

...J.M. Jennings wishes to thank the fire company and the public generally who helped to rescue his goods from the burning building on the occasion of the fire. He also urgently requests every one indebted to him to settle their accounts at once if possible as he is in a most pressing need of money at this time, a fact that every one will recognize. He will open his grocery in the Cowgill store room next week and by a week from today hopes to be able to supply his customers from that point. This week he will solicit orders on the street and deliver the goods in his wagon from his residence where that portion saved from the flames is now stored. All his old customers are invited to call on him in the Cowgill room next week and he will fill all orders as though nothing had happened.

...Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Johnson wish us to thank the public for valuable assistance on the night of the fire and we will take the responsibility of thanking the people and the fire companies for their work, on behalf of the public and those to whom they rendered assistance on that memorable night.