Richland Trading Company Store Destroyed by Fire
The town's largest mercantile establishment burned to the ground early Wednesday morning in a blaze suspected to be caused by faulty electrical wiring.
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The Richland Trading company's store, the largest mercantile establishment in Richland was totally destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. The origin of the fire is unknown and the flames had made such headway before they were discovered that all efforts to save any of the stock were futile. The fire was first discovered by M. D. O'Connell, who lived next door to the store and was awakened at 4:00 a.m. by smothering smoke. He summoned help, but they were unable to enter the building. A strong wind endangered the bank and the Horn Rapids Irrigation company building across the street, but the flames were contained, though the irrigation office windows were shattered by heat. The total loss is estimated at $30,000, only partially covered by insurance. It is thought the fire may have started from a short circuit where telephone and electric light wires entered the building.
“The flames had made such headway before they were discovered that all efforts to save any of the stock were futile.”
Early 20th-century fire safety was notoriously compromised by the slapdash installation of early telephone and power grids. While the Richland Trading Company is long gone, the vulnerability of small-town commerce to singular industrial accidents remains a persistent theme in local economic history.
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