Rose Bros. burned out department store, Dec. 25, 1906
Source: Manistique Pioneer Tribune, December 28, 1906, p. 1.
Barring the fire of 1893, Manistique was visited by the most destructive fire in its history last Tuesday afternoon in the destruction of Rose Bros. magnificent business block with its entire contents as well as the possessions of the numerous tenants occupying the flats above.
The loss is roughly estimated at $75,000 of which Mr. Rose’s share is $70,000.
The fire had its inception in the furnace room, and was not discovered until 2 o’clock owing to the fact that the store was closed at noon for the day. Mr. Pease, one of the tenants in the flat above the store discovered smoke issuing from the room occupied by E. W. Angell, and notified Mr. F. W. Dowker who also lived on the same floor. The Angell apartments were opened and it was ascertained that the smoke was coming from the store room. Judge Knox, another tenant, turned in an alarm. When the department reached the scene the store room was filled with dense smoke, making it impossible for the firemen to reach the cause of the trouble.
Several persons gained access to the basement and saw a blaze over the furnace shortly after the alarm had been sounded.
The department flooded the first floor with thousands of gallons of water hoping that it would be the means of reaching the seat of trouble. There efforts here were of no avail.
The smoke increased in density and had not the doors been opened to give it egress an explosion of superheated smoke and the rapid combustion of the building would have resulted. The apartments over the store became quickly untenable but no one for a moment realized that the building was doomed, and very little was done toward saving their effects by the tenants. Friends of Messrs Barton and Angell, who were absent from the city, with keen foresight, braved the smoke and saved their effects.
Shortly after six o’clock the flames reached the interior areaway leading to the stock room above and simultaneously burst out of the roof at several places. It was then conceded by all that the building was doomed and the firemen devoted their attention in saving the buildings in close proximity. Immense quantities of water were thrown along the north wall thereby subduing the flames to such an extent that some of the stock on that side of the store was afterward recovered uninjured and Dr. Husband’s apartment and office fixtures were but partially consumed.
While there appeared to be much misdirected effort the firemen all worked hard, but there is general regret that the building could not have been saved.
The building in question, the largest and handsomest business block in the city, was erected in 1903 at a cost of more than $25,000 and had a frontage of sixty feet on Cedar street, a depth of 125 feet on Oak, and an elevation of thirty-eight. It was admirably planned and arranged.
Access was gained from Cedar street through an entrance fifteen feet in width. Another entrance from the Oak street side gave access to the grocery department. The main floor was utilized as follows: Clothing and furnishings along the north side; shoe deparment, center; dry goods department south side. The cloak and fur department was at the rear of the shoe department, while the greater portion of the rear was occupied by the grocery department. The vault for the preservation of books, papers, etc., the private office and toilet rooms were located in the rear north side of the building. Above there was the work room and the cashier’s desk. The second floor was divided into eleven suites of rooms, all arranged so that each suite had a room facing the street. A large store room where surplus stock was kept was also located in the second floor and it and the corridors where lighted by skylights.
The building was formally opened for business of October 3rd 1903. It supplanted a building of equal size that was erected in 1900 and was destroyed by fire early in January, 1903. At that time Mr. Rose lost at least $20,000 more than his insurance, and his loss last Tuesday aggregates nearly that much.
He had a very heavy stock of goods and had received several consignments of spring goods that were on the floor at the time of the fire. Among them were fifteen cases of shoes.
As Mr. Rose had intended returning to the store during the afternoon of the day in question, the outer door of the vault was left open, also a snug sum in the cash drawer. Geo. J. Nicholson, attempted to find it but was unable to do so being unfamiliar with the location. Chas. Holliday one of the clerks located it later and recovered it with its contents intact before the building burst into flames.
Some of the grocery stock and other goods were removed from the warehouse at the rear of the store and since the fire a quantity of the clothing stock which was kept in chests were found in fairly good condition. These were moved to the vacant store building in the First National bank block and will be disposed of in some manner later.
Among the tenant owners occupying the flat above, Probate Judge Knox, Geo. Boldus and F. W. Dowker were the heaviest losers. Messrs. Dowker and Boldus carried no insurance. Mr. Knox had a very extensive law library upon which he had but $500 insurance. He also had a mahogany book case 150 years old—an heirloom, also a mahogany center table valuable for its antiquity for which he had been offered $200 upon several occasions. His collection of specimens and curios were also highly prized. Mrs. Knox’s grand piano worth nearly $1,000 was also burned.
Mrs. Dowker lost all of her jewelry, as well as all of the furniture and clothing in their two suites of rooms.
D. Rahl was the last one to traverse the hall on the second floor. When it was apparent that the building was doomed he made an effort to reach the apartment of his father-in-law, Floyd Bostwick, with a view of saving its contents. The smoke was so dense that he was compelled to hurry toward the window at the west end of the corridor in order to save his life and gave up the attempt.
The $55,000 was divided as follows: $22,000 on the building; $30,000 on the stock and $3,000 on furniture.
Messrs. Angell, Bostwick, Husband and Crane each carried $400 insurance while Mr. Knox had $1,000–$500 on the piano and $500 on his library.
Rose Bros., and the tenants carried a total of $57,600 insurance, of which the former carried $55,000 and the latter $2,600. The insurance on the Rose building and stock was divided between the agencies of the First National Bank, the Manistique Bank and Edmund Ashford as follows: First National Bank; on building $7,000 and on stock $5,000. Manistique Bank: on building $15,000, on stock $18,000; and on furniture $3,000. Ashford agency: on stock $7,000.