Fire Destroys Thirteen

 Getting back to the history of Sheldon, an interesting memory appeared in a recent Fargo Forum article dated May 8, 1897.

... ... ...

Town in Ashes

The Town of Sheldon Is Wiped Out by the Fire Fiend at an Early Hour This Morning.

Thirteen Buildings Go Up in Smoke - Covered with Very Little Insurance - It Is Not Known How the Fire Originated - Most of the Buildings Will Probably Be Rebuilt.

Sheldon, May 8. - About 1 or 1:30 this morning fire broke out in the Froling grocery store here, or rather the fire was discovered at that time.

We have no fire department and the buildings were nearly all wooden structures and the flames soon licked everything clean from the state bank building to the meat market.

Thirteen buildings were burned, including grocery store where fire started, the State Bank building, billiard hall, jewelry store, shoe store, Charles Temm's hardware store, Goodman and Grange's meat market, restauranc building, Enterprise office, A.B. Rudd's general store.

The fire only lasted two hours and it was impossible under the circumstances to do anything to stay the progress of the flames. It is not known how the fire started. Some of those who were burned out are already talking of rebuilding, but some of the buildings will not be replaced.

The insurance was very high and the amount of protection carried was very small. The total loss is put at between $20,000 and $25,000 with only $6,000 in insurance. Only a small proportion of the contents of the buildings were saved.

See less