Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/584

 501 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY In June, 1865, the hotel, which was the first frame building erected in Red Wing, was wholly consumed by fire. This hotel stood on the corner of Main and Bush streets and was called the "Teepetonka," owned and kept by Jacob Bennett. The fire broke out early in the morning. When first discovered the kitchen in the rear was all in flames. The furniture in the front part was nearly all saved, but the house, with several contiguous buildings, was reduced to ashes. It was through the utmost energy of our citizens that the whole row of wooden structures on the south side of Main, between Bush and Plum streets, was not consumed. The hook and ladder company did efficient work on the occasion, as also did the volunteer bucket brigade. January 15, 1880, in the evening, a building on Bush street, which had been occupied by Melntire & Sheldon as a store, was burned. The building had been unoccupied for a long time and belonged to Charles Bryant. Before the fire could be put out there was nothing left but the bare walls. Insured for $1,000. On the evening of April 9, 1882, a fire started between Main and Third streets, which, before it could be subdued, swept over and destroyed nearly half a block of buildings in the business part of Red Wing. About 8 o"clock Faster Sunday evening fire was discovered in an unused shed standing in the rear of Henry Nelson's tailor shop and adjoining Webster & Perkins' livery stable. Mr. Nel- son's foreman was in the shop and notified the men at the stable, who gave the first alarm. The shed was half filled with straw at the time, and the flames spread very rapidly. In less than fifty minutes the whole cluster of buildings was a seething mass of ruins, reaching from the Livery stable east on Third street to the blacksmith shop of Robertson & Mathews, west to Broadway, and north to Main street. Every building was destroyed with the exception of the brick block on the corner of Main and Broad- way. The large opera house, on the corner of Broadway and Third street, was the most valuable building destroyed by this fire. The original cost of this, with the lot, was $24,000. Sev- eral costly improvements had been recently added. Nothing of importance was saved of its furniture and fixtures. Insurance, $6,000. A number of families were deprived. of a home for a time* by this fire. C. P. Belin and family occupied rooms in the upper story of Webster & Perkins' livery stable. Mrs. Belin had gone to church, leaving her infant child in care of an aged invalid mother. The two were saved with difficulty. G. Easterly and Tilda Carlson, sewing girls, occupying rooms adjoining, saved their lives but lost all their effects except one sewing machine. A Mr. Bragg and family, occupying rooms over one of the build- ings on Main street, escaped with their lives, yet lost most of their