Gowanda, New York Plow Works Fire
September 3, 1932
FIRE DESTROYS PLOW WORKS AT GOWANDA
Machinery and Implements valued at
$150,000 lost - Factory Closed Two Years
Gowanda, Sept 3. -- The Gowanda Plow
Works was destroyed by fire that spread to
several dwellings and threatened the entire
business district of this Cattaraugus County
village.
The blaze caught the local fire department
off guard, as most of the
[illegible] were attending the Hamburg
Fair in Erie County, Friday being Firemen's Day.
As soon as the blaze was discovered orders
were sent to the fairground send every fireman
on the grounds, who was a member of any company
within in radius of 10 miles of Gowanda to the
scene.
Within 25 minutes after the blaze was
discovered, companies from Perrysburg and
Collins had arrived on the scene and were
assisting several local companies in battling
the hazardous blaze.
The plant which is owned by
Mrs. Daniel G. Keyes,
was shut down two years ago. Machinery and
implements valued at $150,000 which had been
manufactured in the plant prior to the shutdown
were stored within the building.
The estimated loss, including equipment will
reach $175,000. The fire was under control
at midday, although flames still were being
subdued in some of the nearby buildings.
A number of people drove to Gowanda from
Salamanca and witnessed the closing scenes of
the fire.
Salamanca Republican Press, Salamanca,
NY 3 Sept 1932
Firemen Called From Fair to Fight $150,000
Blaze at Gowanda
Gowanda, Sept 3-- Hastily summoned
from the Hamburg County fair firemen early today
brought under control a fire which swept through
the abandoned Gowanda plow works and for a time
threatened the business section of the town.
The blaze was confined to the plow works and
adjacent structres [sic]
and officials said the loss would
approximate $150,000. No effort was made
to save the plow works and firemen confined
their efforts to extinguishing flames in nearby
dwellings and preventing them from spreading
into the business section of the town.
The fire started while members of the local
fire brigade were participating in volunteer
firemen's day activities at the Hamburg County
fair. They were summoned through a loud
speaker system and additional aid was called in
from Perrysburg and Collins.
The plant, which was closed down two years
ago, was filled with valuable machinery and farm
equipment. Fire officials were unable to
ascertain the cause of the blaze.
Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY 3 Sept
1932
 Search
for more information on the Gowanda Fire
and other disasters in the Historic
Newspapers Collection. The number of
newspapers on line has recently doubled - search
over 1000 different newspapers. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
Search for ancestors in
Gowanda, NY among billions of names at ancestry.com. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
The New York
Times, New York, New York Read it online at ancestry.com.
Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
| 
