Garfield County Town Devastated by Early Morning Blaze
A suspected act of arson leveled the business district of Pataha City, leaving residents to flee for their lives as a fierce wind carried the flames.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Fire at 1:00 a.m. this morning destroyed the business portion of Pataha City. The principal sufferers are Harford & Son, hardware; F. Spedding and the Peoning-Bournhouser store; and Reynolds, who operated a grocery. A strong wind was blowing at the time, making it impossible to save any structures. Mr. Spedding, who roomed in the rear of the store, was almost suffocated and escaped with only his trousers and shoes. Mr. Peoning escaped in his night clothes, and S. Reynolds and his brother narrowly escaped being burned to death in their sleep. It is believed the fire was the work of an incendiary.
“A strong wind was blowing at the time, so it was impossible to save anything.”
Pataha City is a ghost town today, located in what is now Garfield County near Pomeroy. It stands as a reminder of the fragility of early Washington settlements, where a single night's fire could effectively erase a community's entire commercial existence.
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