ires In & Around The Village.

Fire at Dunkirk, O. destroyed five stores and a dwelling.¹

For the Third Time Within a few Weeks, Dunkirk is Visited by a Disastrous Fire.²

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 ¹The Marion Daily Star (Marion, OH) 9 Jul 1885.
 ²The Evening Times (Lima, OH) 11 Oct 1886.

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Hotel Earle6

arle Hotel.

The Hotel Earle fire occurred in 1893. Not much is known about the Earle. Townsend Jackson was the manager in 1892. He was born about 1847 in Virginia and was married to Susan _. In 1880 he had been living in Ohio for about 10 years. Susan probably died before the 1893 fire. She and Townsend had three children with Susan; Elizabeth, Allen, and Charles Foster, all born in Ohio. Being born in Virginia and living in Ohio, could he have been an escaped slave or one who bought his freedom, or was he one of the free blacks living in Virginia at the time, later moving to Ohio?

The hotel was built of brick and, in 1900, owned by H.A. Baughman who may have been Hattie A. Baughman, wife of John Baughman, who was the postmaster of Dunkirk in 1900.¹

Townsend Jackson married a "correspondance" bride, Martha Johnson of South Bend, Indiana only one day after seeing her. They had corresponded for exactly one year previous to their marriage of August 27, 1892, the day upon which they met.². Jackson had been a private in Co. C, 12th Regt., U.S. Army (Colored) from 28 Aug 1864 until 8 Jun 1865 serving 9 months and 15 days. He had not been disabled during his service.³

Dunkirk Hotel Destroyed.

The New Hotel Earle, at Dunkirk, owned by H.A. Baughman, was completely gutted by fire this mornting. The house was crowded with guests, who narrowly escaped with their lives and lost most of their clothes. The loss will each $1200, but is convered by insurance.⁴

By 1900 Townsend Jackson was dead and a Hannah Jackson, widow, was claiming his survivor rights.⁵ After the fire of 28 Apr 1893, the hotel may not have been restored. It is unknown if Jackson was the manager at that time.

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 ¹1900 U.S. Federal Census, ed:80, Dunkirk, Blanchard Twp., Hardin Co., OH, p.3B.
 ²The Weekly News (Mansfield, OH) 1 Sep 1892, p.1, c.3.
 ³1890 Veterans Schedule, Dunkirk, Hardin Co., Ohio, sd:2, ed:135, p.2.
 ⁴Lima Times Democrat (Lima, Ohio) 28 Apr 1893.
 ⁵Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934.
 ⁶Lima Times Democrat (Lima, Ohio) 28 Apr 1893. Though assumed to be male, Baughman has not been absolutely identified as being male or female.

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Fry Livery1

no. Fry Livery.

Fire occurred on October 11, 1903 in the livery stable of Jno. Fry. The stable was located on Main street across from the Dunkirk Standard, near the center of town. It burned the barn to the ground. It also burned the nearby residence of Dr. Kehler.

Later another fire by arson burned the residence of Walter Teegardin, a farmer living one mile northeast of Dunkirk. A Walter [Teegarden] (dob: 4 Oct 1850) died April 4, 1913 in Dunkirk.

"Mr. J.M. Hutchinson of south West street owned one of the business blocks destroyed by fire in Dunkirk this morning. He estimated his loss above insurance at $1,500."

usiness Section Fire, 21 May 1903.

A massive fire destroyed most of the business section of Dunkirk on this date. Shortly after the fire, Mrs. T.D. Robb, who lived on west Market street in Lima visited her mother in Dunkirk. On the 23^rd Mr. Hutchinson settled with the insurance company.

FIRE FIEND DOES DAMAGE²

  Village of Dunkirk Wiped Up by Flames.
Loss Estimated at $100,000.
  Dunkirk, O., May 21.--Shortly after midnight, fire was discovered in the rear of Mahan & Son’s department store, and before it could be controlled business blocks and residences were destroyed to the value of $100,000. Th eheaviest losers were the Dunkirk Telephone Co., the exchange being completely destroyed; Mahan & Son’s, Lydick Bros. livery, McMillen Implement Co., and First National Bank.
  The Forest fire company was caleld [sec], and through courtesy of the Pennsylvania R.R., the run was made in six minutes, a distance of six miles.
  It is impossible at this time to ascertain the amount of insurance on destroyed property.

Entirely Settled.

  J.M. Hutchinson, of 546 south West street, is home from Dunkirk where he settled with the insurance companies for his loss of property in the recent fire. He also sold the lot upon which the building was situated.³

By June 16, the town must have been back in fairly good shape, the fire department participated in the Delphos' parade along with the Fire Department and Band of Forest.

Sixty Thousand
Fire Loss.

Findlay, O., May 21—
The business portion of Dunkirk is reported on fire. The department at Kenton was summoned. The loss was $60,000.⁴

The village of Dunkirk had a disastrous fire early this morning.⁵

At an early hour Thursday morning, Dunkirk, a small station located east of here on the Pennsylvania railroad, was visited with a conflagration which threatened for a time to wipe out the entire business section of the town. The entire east side was burned and the loss will amount to something like $100,000. keiper Bros., well known in Delphos, as operators for the Penna. Co., lost their stock of furniture which was valued over $5,000.⁶

THIS AND THAT

  Crisp Items of Information From Every Clime.
Fire which swept over the business portion of Dunkirk, O., caused $100,000 loss.⁷

The business portion of Dunkirk, O., was practically wiped out by fire early Thursday. Eleven business blaocks and three residences were burned.⁸

A Big Fire at Dunkirk.

Findlay, May 21.—Fire at Dunkirk early this morning completely gutted three squares in the business section lying between the postoffice and the Pennsylvania railway. The fire is supposed to have started in Johnson’s saloon, but the cause is unknown. Most of the buildings were frame and although the burnt district includes half the business section of the village the loss will not exceed $60,000, with $25,000 insurance.⁹

WIPED OUT BY FIRE.

  Ohio Town Suffers Loss Aggregating $100,000.
Lima, Ohio, May 21—The business portion of Dunkirk, twenty-five miles east of here, was practically wiped out by fire early today. Eleven business blocks and three residences were burned and the loss is $100,000.¹⁰

DISASTROUS

  Fire Gutted Business Section of Dunkirk, Ohio
Findlay, Ohio, May 21—Fire at Dunkirk early this morning completely gutted three squares in the business section lying between the postoffice and Pennsylvania reailway. The fire is supposed to have started in Johnson’s saloon but the cause is unknown. Most of the buildings were frame and although the burnt district includes half the business section of the village, the loss will not exceed $60,000 with $25,000 insurance.¹¹

Sixty Thousand Fire Loss
Findlay, O., May 21—

  The business portion of Dunkirk is reported on fire. The department at Kenton was summoned. The loss was $60,000.¹²

BUSINESS BLOCKS
Lima, O., May 21.—  The business portion of Dunkirk, twenty-five miles east of here, was practically wiped out by fire early today. Eleven business blocks and three residences were burned. The loss is estimated at $100,000, partially covered by insurance.¹³

Ohio Village Gutted.

Lima, O., May 21.—  The business portion of Dunkirk, O., 25 miles east of here, was practically wiped out by fire. Eleven business blocks and three residences were burned. The heaviest losers were Mahon & Company, the First National bank, Lydock Brothers and the Dunkirk Telephone company. Loss estimated at $100,000, partially covered by insurance.¹⁴

Dunkirk Fire.¹⁵

(Advocate Telegram)
Findlay, Ohio, May 21—  Fire at Dunkirk this morning completely gutted three squares in the business section lying between the postoffice and the Pennsylvania railway. The fire is supposed to have started in Johnson’s saloon but the cause is unknown. Most of the buildings were frame and although the burned district includes half the business section of the village, the loss will not exceed $60,000 with $25,000 insurance.

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 ¹Daily Democratic Times (Lima, OH) 11 Oct 1886
 ²The Lima Times Democrat (Lima, OH) 21 May 1903, p.5, c.4.
 ³The Lima Times Democrat (Lima, OH) 21 May 1903, p.1, c.1-4.
 ⁴ibid, 29 May 1903, p.7, c.3.
 ⁵Delphos Daily Herald (Delphos, Ohio) 21 May 1903, p.1, and The Coshocton Daily Age (Coshocton, Ohio) 21 May 1903, p.2.
 ⁵Delphos Daily Herald (Delphos, Ohio), p.4.
 ⁶ibid, 22 May 1903, p.4.
 ⁷The Cambridge Jeffersonian (Cambridge, OH) 28 May 1903, p.1.
 ⁸The Iowa Recorder (Greene, IA) 21 May 1903, p.6.
 ⁹The Mansfield News (Mansfield, OH) 21 May 1903, p.1.
¹⁰The Ottumwa Daily Courier (Ottumwa, IA) 21 May 1903, p.1.
¹¹The Sandusky Evening Star (Sandusky, OH) 21 May 1903, p.1.
¹²ibid, p.6.
¹³The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI) 21 May 1903, p.1.
¹⁴The Democrat And Standard (Coshocton, OH) 22 May 1903, p.4.
¹⁵The Newark Advocate (Newark, OH) 21 May 1903, p.1.

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unkirk Standard, 1930.

Firemen and volunteers of Dunkirk were forced to battle for more than four hours to extinguish flames which deestroyed the stock in the W.C. Augsburger store, and caused considerable loss in the Ed Ewing electrical shop and the Dunkirk Standard offices, all located in the old two story brick business building located on Main street.¹

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 ¹Lima News (Lima, OH) 5 Sep 1930, p.9, c.2.

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Red Wing House-Trailer Co.

ed Wing Trailer Co., 3 Dec 1954.

Housed in a two-story, pre Civil War building just north of Dunkirk and originally purchased by J. Adam Orth for the lumber business, the Red Wing Trailer Co. plant was destroyed by a 9 a.m. fire believed to have started in a flue of the coal furnace. Orth’s son, Jabe Orth, sold the building to Lowell Wykes. The plant was owned by George T. Kocher of Lima, Ohio. There were four regularly employed workers managed by R.E. Van Scoit. Kocher was the owner of the Kocher Lumber Co. in Lima. Chief Don Mayhorn and Dunkirk’s volunteer firemen battled the fire for over an hour. $27,000 of materials and equipment were destroyed which included the 35x80 foot building.

Five completed trailers were saved by moving them away from the fire. Included in the damage was a $15,000 trailer which had been completed and $12,000 of materials in the plant building. No people were injured. At the time of the fire, Van Scoit and the other four workers were at work when they saw flames "shooting through the ceiling. of the first floor.

The Red Wing plant was originally owned by Van Scoit who sold it to Kocher. Kocher had owned the company from only a few months. The plant had previously been owned by Van Scoit and Lee Carpenter. During and after World War II, the plant was operated by Russell & Lowell Wykes for defense work. The factory was never rebuilt though rebuilding was considered at the time of the fire.

Forest Volunteer Fire Department

unkirk Theater, c1963.

On December 19, 1963 the two-story building at the intersection of Main & Wayne streets in Dunkirk was destroyed by fire. In the building was the Grand Theater had operated for approximately 29 years, 9 under Douglas' ownership.

It had previously been a hotel. In the building with the theater was also an appliance store. Lewis Douglas, theater owner, operated the theater with his sons, Robert and William. Though undetermined at the time, electrical wiring was considered to be the cause of the fire. Firemen arrived from Dunkirk including the departments of Forest, Ada, and Kenton. Damages were estimated to be $10,000. Jones' Appliance Store lost their upper floor but managed to save some new items of merchandise.

Most sections of the building were vacant, all belonging to Richard Jones, owner of the appliance store. Disruptions occurred including the Kenton Savings Bank on the east side of the street and Humphrey’s Real Estate-Insurance. The theater was entirely destroyed but the appliance store received only smoke and water damage.

Ice covered just about everything, including the firemen, in the very low temperatures. Some of the icecycles caused by the near sub-zero temperatures can be seen in photograph 3.