Fire At Whitewright | Grayson County, TXGenWeb

June 18, 1897
Whitewright, Texas

FIRE AT WHITEWRIGHT
Five Brick Buildings Destroyed with a Loss of $56,625 and Seven Persons Hurt

Whitewright, Grayson Co., Tex., June 18 - At 2 o'clock this morning fire was discovered in the brick business block on Grand avenue.
The fire originated in the Ellis cafe building and in a few minutes it was under headway in this and the 2 houses on either side. The wide street prevented it from going further west, but it continued traveling east until 5 buildings were burned to the ground, and 3 or 4 more considerably damaged.
Men, women and boys worked heroically, carrying water in buckets. Lines of men were formed from the streets and on ladders to the top of the building, along which thousands of buckets of water were hurriedly poured, and when the fire reached the thick, solid wall of the Yates building it was got under control and the flames extinguished.
Sherman, Denison and probably other neighboring cities were wired asking them to come to the city's rescue.
The origin of the fire is unknown, but is supposed to have caught from a defective flue in the cafe kitchen.
Total loss estimated at $56, 625; total insurance estimated $34, 070.
The value of buildings, stocks, fixtures and insurance on same is as follows: The amount of insurance being approximately correct, as it was given from memory and not from policies.

Lively & Stone, dry goods and clothing; building owned by R.M. Lively; house and fixtures valued at $2000; insurance $1500; stock, $14,000, insured for $10,500; nothing saved
George B. Lindsey & Co., Elite cafe; building owned by Benton McMillin and valued at $3500, insured for $2500; stock valued at $2500, insured for $3000; insured for $1000; nothing saved
C.W. Melson, hardware; building owned by Benton McMillin and valued at $3500, insured for $2500; stock valued at $3500; insured for $2170
William Payne, grocer; building owned by William Payne, W.L. Binkley and Mrs. J.A. Worden and valued at $3000, insured $1500; stock and fixtures valued at $2000; insured for $1200; nothing saved
Burgher & Rutledge, hardware & implements; building owned by Dr. R. May and valued at $5000; insured for $3500; stock valued at $6000, insured for $4500; 12 buggies saved
Mrs. Kate E, Burgher's finely furnished insurance office in the May building, valued at $1000, and on which there was no insurance, was a total loss
Dyer & Jones, druggists, damage to stock in moving, estimated, $1000
A.J. Badgett, restaurant, damages in moving stock, estimated $1000
Planters bank, broken windows, $75
Womack, Fain and May Co., broken windows and damange, $100
Damage to Yates building, $1000
Damage to Womack building, $750
Two Smith buildings, $400
Moore & Biggers, The Fair and others have sustained slight damanges.

A partial list of the insurance andnames of companies are as follows:
Benton McMillin, insurance on building, Phoenix, $3500, loss $3500
Lively & Stone, insurance on building, Penn Fire, $2500; on stock, Commerical Union, $1500; on stock, American Central $2900
C.W. Melsen, stock, Penn FIre, $670; American Central $1000
Payne & Binkley, building, Phoenix of London, $1650
William Payne, stock, Aetna, $1500; Penn Fire $1050; total loss $55

The following parties were hurt during the fire:
H.C. Willis, seriously overheated but he will recover
George B. Lindsley, overheated and is in a serious condition, but will recover
J.L. Cantrell, fell from building and considerably bruised
M.G. Gankins, foot hurt
H.B. Johnson, arm sprained
J.W> Ashley, arm fractured
Dick Norman, cut on head by falling bucket