Firefighters of the Port Blakeley Mill
The Port Blakeley store caught fire Wednesday night, prompting a community response as the cause remains a mystery.
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 in the store of the Port Blakeley Mill Company, at Blakeley Wednesday night, nearly destroyed the building and caused great damage to the stock of merchandise, the whole loss being about $7,000. The fire was discovered about 11 o’clock by the crew of the steamer Politkofsky, which was just returning home. Instead of blowing his whistles and alarming the neighborhood, Capt. Frank Smith of the Politkofsky ran alongside the schooner Prosper, which lay directly in front of the store, and got out a hose. Millhands soon assembled and all worked with a will. The flames ran up between the double walls of the building and were not easy to check. But there was plenty of water and seven streams were turned on the flames. The cause of the fire is a mystery, and the suspicion of incendiarism is strong. There was no fire or lamp in the ship chandlery department where the fire originated.
“The cause of the fire is a mystery, and the suspicion of incendiarism is strong.”
Port Blakeley on Bainbridge Island was once a massive industrial hub centered on its mill. Today, the site is a quiet park, with its industrial ghosts long since replaced by recreational trails and waterfront homes.
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