Sherman Fire, 1884 | Grayson County, TXGenWeb

The Sherman Fire

The Sunday Gazetteer
Sunday, April 6, 1885
pg. 3

A LADY'S FATAL BRIEF CHAT WITH ONE OF HER NEIGHBORS
How the Furious Flames Raged in Spite of the Gallant Firemen
List of Losers and Losses - Many Families Destitute

The following account of the fire at Sherman, Tuesday, is taken from the report furnished the Fort Worth Gazette:

About 9:30 o'clock a fire broke out in Sperry's row of small frame tenement houses on Jones street between Crockett and Travis. The flames started in the second room on the east end of the row, occupied by the family of Wm. Ayers. Mrs. Ayers built up a fire to prepare for ironing and stepped into an adjoining apartment to have a chat with her neighbor. When she returned, the stove pipe had fallen, and the flames were spreading through the house. She endeavored to save a few articles but met with poor success before she was forced to retire from the fast burning building. Mrs. Goodrich, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Jassenberger and Mr. King to the west and James Strain in the east end of the row were all burned out, and only saved a few articles of furniture of little value. In fact, Ayers and Strain saved nothing but the wearing apparel they had on at the time. From these buildings the flames were communicated to the Eclipse stables belonging to M.G. Hildebrand, a grocer, which was used as a store house for grain, hay, groceries and vegetables. This was soon consumed, and with it also went a 50x100 foot brick storehouse belonging to the Byers Bros. and used as a warehouse for the storage of agricultural implements and machinery. Hilderbrand's residence immediately south of the warehouse and fronting on Travis street took fire in the ell and for some time it appeared that the firemen, who were battling gallantly to subdue the flames, would arrest their progress here and save further loss, but just at the critical moment, the cistern supplying the water gave out, and before they could move to another, in the block immediately north, between Jones street and and the square, these two buildings were beyond saving, and the handsome two-story residence of Ed Moore was also on fire and could not be saved. From this the Cumberland Presbyterian Church also took fire in several places along the windows and cornices, but the firemen entered the building where they got the protection of the brick walls and saved it by this means. Just across Travis street the tall steeple of the Travis Street Methodist Church loomed up as a conspicous object for the aggressive flames that lapped nearly across the street, but by the frequent application of water from the engine this was saved and a whole block of residences east of it that could not have escaped if it had burned. While the flames were at their worst and seemed determined to cross Travis street, the county jail was threatened and the Sheriff and his deputies, with the assistance of ex-Sheriff Everheart, took all the prisoners to the yard, properly secured for removal in the event of danger to the prison.
Several slight casualties occurred, but fortunately no one was seriously injured.
John Lag---n went into one of the tenement houses to remove the goods, and the front door blew shut behind him. In an instant the room filled with stifling smoke, and the hot flames came licking through the slender partitions, scorching his hair and face pretty badly before he could grope his way to the door and get out.
R.W. Wells of the Sam Houston fire company, while removing machinery from the Byers building, was suffocated to fainting by the dense smoke and had to be dragged out by his companions. He was scorched about the face and his hair and beard burnt.
E.B. Paxson was cut on the head in Ed Moore's residence while helping to remove theh furniture, by a bucket thrown from the second story. He was stunned for a time but resumed business in a couple of hours.
The losses so far as can be ascertained are as follows:
Byers Bros., loss on building, $3,000; on stock, $8,000; well insured
Hilderbrand sustained a total loss of $4,000 and was insured on his stable $400; residence, $800, and on stock, $1,000
Ed Moore's loss, about $6,000; insurance on building, $2,000; on furniture, $1,500.
None of the other sufferers had a dollar insurance, and, as four of them are widows and poor, they are rendered almost destitute.
The fireman mad a most gallant fight to save the property, but had for the failure of their water supply, would have saved all the most valuable. They deserve great credit for their heroic work and are loudly thanked by all who witnessed their work.
Several of our charitable ladies are now canvassing the city for aid to the destitute sufferers and are meeting with a generous response.

1885 Sherman Sanborn Map