Osceola, Pennsylvania Fire
May
21, 1875
The village of Osceola, in Pennsylvania, was
entirely wiped out by the recent conflagration.
Scarcely a single building now stands on the
site of the village. The residents are
rendered utterly destitute; for the fire, after
destroying their houses, swept through the woods
and fields surrounding them, destroying whatever
had been carried out by the occupants of the
houses to places of supposed safety.
Relief is being liberally forwarded to the
sufferers.
The
Athens Messenger, Athens, OH 10 Jun 1875
Tyrone, PA., May 20.--A fire broke out
at 11 o'clock this morning at the
Mashannon
Lumber Company's mills, west of Osceola.
15,000,000 feet of lumber was burned. The
wind was so strong that fire-brands two feet
long were thrown to most all parts of the town
of Osceola. Fires broke out in every
quarter. All public buildings, except the
Catholic and Methodist Churches ere destroyed.
Twelve hundred people are houseless. The
people were driven to the race course where they
were surrounded by fire from all sides. The fire
department left t 2 o'clock with their steamer
and hose carriage, but could not reach Osceola
on account of the railroad track being burned.
The road between Osceola and Powellton on either
side is one blaze of fire. The members of
the Tyrone Company fought their way through and
rendered all the assistance possible.
About two hundred houses are yet standing.
Some half dozen were burned between Osceola and
Powellton.
At Osceola the loss, about $200,000;
insurance generally very light. Up to the
latest reports no lives were lost. People
are in destitute circumstances, they having lost
their property and everything else. The
woods between Tyrone and Phillipsburg are on
fire.
Steubenville Daily Herald and News,
Steubenville, OH 21 May 1875
Tyrone, PA, May 21. -- The confusian is
very great, and the telegraph lines are so busy
that no further news of the Oceola fire can be
obtained. Hundreds of people are homeless
and destitute of clothing and provisions.
The burgess of Huntington was telegraphed this
morning for food, and clothing for the
sufferers. Relief is badly needed. A large
number of cars and many feet of trestle work on
the railroad have been destroyed, and the
shipment of coal will be delayed for at least
ten days. The total insurance reported
amounts of nearly $100,000.
Tyrone, PA., May 21.--The fire is still
raging furiously throughout the woods in the
neighborhood of Osceola Mills, Pa. About
250 homes were consumed in Osceola, and 400
families rendered homeless. Great praise
is due Mr. D. D. Wood, Train Master, at Tyrone,
who, through his heroic conduct and presence of
mind, saved a great many lives. He go a
lot of box cars, and after loading them with
men, women, and children, sent them through the
burning forest at the extremity of fast speed to
Phillipsburg. Four such trips were made,
and about 1000 people were taken to a place of
safety.
The ties on the railroad from Osceola to
Houtzdale are burned so that coal can not be
shipped for some time. Provisions have
been sent from homes in the vicinity, and a
meeting will be held to raise funds.
The heaviest losers by the Osceola fire are:
Pennsylvania railway, $65,000;
Liveright, Lingle
& Co., $30,000; Heims & Co., $30,000;
J. K.
White, $25,000, and numerous other losses
ranging from $8,000 to $20,000, and hosts of
smaller amounts.
The insurance in the Osceola mills will reach
$200,000 outside the Mosshannon land and lumber
company's mills. Moshannon mill is placed
in the Philadelphia. The insurance will
reach $300,000. Later reports say one
woman named Stoneberger was burned to death.
Decatur Daily Republican, Decatur, IL 22 May 1875
Tyrone, PA., May 22.-- Osceola is
leveled to the ground, and heaps of smoking
debris are all that is left of the houses.
Neighboring towns are sending money for the
relief of the unfortunates.
Steubenville Daily Herald and News,
Steubenville, OH 24 May 1875
The town of Osceola in the mining regions of
Pennsylvania was last week stricken
 with
fire and two hundred and fifty of its houses and
four hundred families rendered homeless.
The fire spread to the mountains surrounding it,
burning houses, timber, railroad tracks...
At one time on Friday night the town of
Phillipsburg was threatened, but owing to the
efforts of the citizens it was save from
destruction. All the brush about the place
was set on fire, which, after burning out, left
a wide area between the town and the flames.
The people from Osceola who had taken refuge at
Phillipsburg were greatly alarmed, thinking they
would be compelled to fly from their place of
refuge. The railroad bridges between
Osceola and Houtzdale which were destroyed are
being rapidly rebuilt, and it is expected that
communication will be re-established in a few
days.
The Herald And Torch Light, Hagerstown, MD, 26 May 1875
On May 20, 1875, the town
was almost wholly destroyed by fire. One and
one-half million dollars worth of property was
burned up and nearly all of the inhabitants were
rendered homeless. With the aid of
contributions by other communities and their own
energy, the people of Osceola Mills soon
recovered from the effects of this conflagration
and on the ruins left by the fire there sprang a
new town more beautiful than the old one.
Twentieth century
history of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania and
representative citizens, Chicago Ill., 1911,
page 380
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