THE WAUPACA POST

January 31, 1884

 

A 25,000 Dollar Blaze

 

A few minutes after 12 o’clock Saturday night, the men in charge of Baldwin & Oborn’s flouring mills found the papers in the office in a blaze.  One of them made an effort to extinguish the fire by smothering it with his coat, but it had obtained too much headway for that, and in a few minutes the office was in a blaze, the flames rushing through into the mill, through which they ran as though a train of powder had been laid, and in a few minutes the mill was a huge mass of flames, and consumed in about an hour.  The fire company was promptly on hand but could do nothing but work to save Lord Bros. mill across the channel and the tannery across the street, which they succeeded in doing by hard work.  There was stored in the mill about four thousand bushels of wheat, and two car loads of shelled corn, beside a large quantity of flour and feed.  Messrs. Baldwin & Oborn estimate the loss on stock to have been fully $6,000, on which there was $2,000 insurance.  The mill was valued at $20,000 or over.  It had lately been made into a complete roller mill, and had a capacity of over 100 barrels per day.  The total loss is about $26,000, on which there was only $5,000 insurance.  The mill will be rebuilt immediately.  Mr. Baldwin is a very heavy loser by the fire.  He has been laboring under a heavy debt for the past twelve years, acquired by building the mill after the last fire, and the blow puts him back a good many years.

            The safe of the firm was opened on Monday and all their papers and book accounts found in good condition.