Goldendale Mill Reduced to Ash
A morning blaze destroyed the Beckett planing mill in Goldendale, causing thousands in damages.
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.
The buildings and machinery of the E. C. Trost planing mill plant at Goldendale, Washington, were destroyed by fire Monday. The plant is known as the Beckett mill, and the owner, E. C. Trost, discovered the fire in the boiler room. The volunteer fire department responded quickly and was able to save all the lumber in the yard. The loss is estimated at $7,000, with insurance of $3,000. Mr. Trost said that the plant would be rebuilt immediately.
“The volunteer fire department responded quickly, and was able to save all the lumber in the yard.”
Small-town mills were the lifeblood of regional economies in 1916. While timber remains central to Washington, the vulnerability of these independent operations to single catastrophic fires often marked the end of local ownership, foreshadowing the consolidation of the industry that followed.
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