Albia, Iowa Fire
April 2, 1904
TWO ARE DEAD FOUR ARE INJURED
ALBIA, IA., IS VISITED BY A MOST DISASTROUS
FIRE, THE WORST IN HER HISTORY-PROPERTY LOSS IS
$80,000.00.
EIGHTEEN BUSINESS MEN LOSE AS A RESULT OF THE
CONFLAGRATION - MOST OF PROPERTY IS WELL
INSURED.
The dead-
ED DOUGHERTY,
aged 70
R.H. INGRAM.
aged 70.
The injured-
Ed I Ramsey,
aged 65, about face and hands, probably fatally.
Dave Rigdon,
slightly.
Loss $80,000.00.
Albia, Iowa. April 4.- Two men were
killed, one perhaps fatally and two slightly
injured, while $80,700 worth of property was
destroyed by a fire which raged early Sunday
morning-destroying the ubsiness [sic] section of
the town located on the south side of the
square.
Eighteen business firms suffered loss by the
fire which is the second disaster of the kind to
visit Albia in the past few months. The former
fire burned the west side of the square and
preparations for re-building that section were
just being completed. The Albia fire engine
broke down and help was secured from Chariton.
The Perry Daily Chief, Perry, IA 5 Apr
1904
One of the worst of
the fires was that discovered on the night of
April 2, 1904, by
Merchant Police Officer Trimble.
Trimble was making his rounds when, passing the
Perry block, he heard the sound of crackling
glass. A window front, heated by mounting
flames, had crashed to the pavement. Trimble
sounded the alarm but the fire spread quickly
because on fire engine was at the factory and
the other in need of repairs. Before they could
take refuge, two men,
EDWARD DOUGHERY and
RICHARD H. INGHAM,
were buried in the debris of a falling brick
wall. INGHAM was identified only by the church
keys in his pockets. Three other men were
critically injured. The Chariton Fire
Department, hastily summoned, was delayed by
blocking freight trains and did not reach town
until 3 a.m. By then local "bucket brigades" had
materially checked the flames, but the west half
of the south side of the Albia square was razed
with a property loss of $100,000, of which
$75,000 was covered by insurance.
Ten days immediately following the fire of
April 2,1904, a Dean Stream Pump was brought to
Albia and set up on a concrete base in the city
fire house. It was not portable, but could throw
two streams of water with great force.
Monroe County History, Iowa 1940, page
72
Read this book on line at ancestry.com
Articles transcribed by Sherry
McClellan. Thank you, Sherry!
 Search for more information on the
Albia Fire and other disasters in the Historic Newspaper Collection on line at ancestry.com
Search
over 1000 different newspapers. Use this Free Trial
 to search for your ancestors.
Search
for your ancestors from Albia, IA among the billions of
names at ancestry.com
Find birth records, census images, immigration
lists and genealogy other databases for your
surnames. Use
this Free Trial
to search for your ancestors.
An
illustrated history of Monroe County, Iowa : a
complete civil, political, and military history
of the county
 Read
it on line at ancestry.com. Use this Free Trial
to search for your ancestors.
|
