The "Great" Whitewright Fire
(several articles about this fire)
June 12, 1911
Photographs taken June 16th, 1911
The bank building still standing is still standing today in 2008! |
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Dallas Morning News  |
Wichita Weekly Times, Jun 16, 1911WHITEWRIGHT LOSS NEARLY $500,000
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NEARLY SIXTY BUILDINGS AND FORTY-SEVEN BUSINESS STOCKS DESTROYED IN FIRE
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PLANS FOR REBUILDING
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Hot Debris Being Cleared Away for the Carpenters to Begin Work
By Associated PressWhitewright, Texas, June 13 -- On the still hot embers of yesterday evenings
fire the first steps in building a new Whitewright began this morning. The
debris of sixty or more burned buildings are being removed from the streets and
toppling walls are being pulled down.
Rebuilding plans were a foot even before the details of yesterday's losses
were completed. Forty-seven business firms occupying forty-three buildings
lost their entire stocks and the buildings are also a total loss. Roughly the
loss is estimated at half a million dollars. Those injured during the fire
are: J.H. Lively, who was painfully but not fatally burned, and a youth named
Shears (Sic- Sears), whose arm was broken.
Every house remaining after the fire was thrown open to shelter the homeless
and a public meeting was held to plan their care.
The fire originated in the rear of Steintien & Lively's dry goods store.
The town has only a volunteer fire department, which was handicapped by the
low water pressure, the supply having been diminished by the inrouds made by
farmers who needed water for livestock. In a short time the fire was beyond
all control and so fiercely did the conflagration rage that the merchants were
not given an opportunity to remove the imperiled stocks of goods.
An appeal was sent to the Sherman and Denison fire departments and the latter
responded with a chemical engine and 1,000 feet of hose. This assistance
reached Whitewright at 5:30 o'clock and materially aided in finally checking
the fire. The Sherman department sent a chemical engine, with hose, which
failed to arrive until the conflagation was checked.
Among the buildings destroyed were the city hall and fire station, Odd
Fellows' hall, Masonic hall and the Southwestern telephone exchange. The
entire business district was swept, the fire, buring every building on Main
street between the site of the Stientien & Lively dry goods store and the First
National bank building, the latter being saved.
Dallas Morning News - June 13,1911 page 1 edition.
Woman Describes Fire
Mrs. George Pfaeffle of Greenville Tells of Great Confusion Among the People of Whitewright.
Special to the News. Greenville, Tex., June 12-
"Mrs. George Pfaeffle of this city returned home today from Shawnee, Ok., and passed through Whitewright this afternoon while the fire there was at its height. She says the utmost confusion existed and the greater part of the town seemed to have been destroyed.
Household and store goods were piled in the streets in heaps and the people were running about in the greatest of excitement trying to save their property while flames fanned by a wind from the north, leaped as far as a block at a time and ignigted dozens of structures that soon burned.
The town was enveloped in a cloud of heavy smoke, embers were flying and vehickles and people rushed about with what goods they could take to a place of safety.
Mrs. Pfaeffle says she saw only two stores that had not been destroyed and at the time the train left many residences were in ashes, others were burning and a long string of box cars near the railroad station were about to become ignited."
June 13, 1911 Dallas Morning News
"Chicago Man Tells of Fire
At Three o'clock Monday Afternoon
Twelve or Fifteen Buildings Were Aflame and Others Gone.
Robert J. Goldsmith of Chicago passed through Whitewright Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Mr. Goldsmith said that at the time it appeared to him that twelve or fiften buildings were burning and that one entire block was already destroyed.
He said that people who got on the train at Whitewright state that the fire started about 10 o'clock in the morning and burned slowly, but that as there was no water nothing could be done to stop its progress.
Mr. Goldsmith stated while in Dallas that from the train it appeared that the entire business secion West fo the railway tracks were either burned or burning at Whitewright."
June 14, 1911
Dallas Morning News
Page 8
Aug 26, 1911 Dallas Morning News ~ page 8
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