1913-08-19-sc-p1-c1-reardan-suffers-big-blaze
August 19, 1913 Spokane Daily Chronicle Page 1 Column 1:
Hotel, Jewelry Store, Livery Stable and Other Buildings Are in Ruins.
Fire which started this morning from an unknown cause in the livery stable of Travis Brothers at Reardan, 24 miles west of Spokane, destroyed, with one exception, every building in the block bounded by Broadway, Lake and Maple streets and the Northern Pacific right of way.
The loss is variously estimated at $20,000 to $25,000.
The blaze was first discovered at 4:20. The town was quickly awakened and a large crowd of men and boys was soon fighting the flames to keep them from spreading to other blocks.
No persons were injured, but three horses and two mules were burned.
The losses are partly covered by insurance in nearly every instance.
Those Who Lose.
The livery stable was owned by O. B. Gates and was used by Travis Bros. The latter also owned the other livery barn which was the only building in the block to escape the blaze. It was in the stable which burned that the animals lost their lives.
South of the livery stable was a two-story building owned by George Farwell and occupied by a Japanese restaurant,
North of the livery stable in the following order were buildings owned by Mr. Switzer.
Two-story building occupied by Thomas Lavell's barber shop with lodging house on second floor.
One-story building, occupied by A. D. Luntsford's saloon,
One-story building occupied by J. B. Byrd's jewelry store.
Two-story building occupied by the Reardan hotel, managed by George Bursell, who moved into the place July 1.
North of the Switzer buildings was the one-story structure owned by Pe- ter Tramm and occupied by the West Crescent Farmers’ Telephone company.
Fought to Save Warehouses.
These buildings were a total loss, but in most cases portions of furniture and fixtures were saved. The fire fighters devoted much of their energies to protecting the warehouses of the Puget Sound and the Tacoma Warehouse companies.
“I do not believe the total loss will run over $15,000 at the outside,” said E. E. Noble, cashier,of the Reardan State bank. “The buildings were all old structures and while I have no reason for reckoning the loss down, I do not believe it will exceed that amount. In most cases, there was some insurance.”
