The Night Cheney Burned to the Ground
A pre-dawn fire decimated half of Cheney’s business district, leaving city officials to suspect arson as the town vowed to rise again from the ashes.
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.
CHENEY, W. T., April 19.—A fire broke out in the grocery building of J. D. Mount this morning at 3 o'clock. By the time assistance arrived the entire building was in flames. A hose was brought out, but when the pumps were set to work it was discovered that the hose was plugged with wood. The hose burst and one hour was lost in consequence. The fire obtained such headway that it spread and soon the entire block was ablaze. Before it could be gotten under control, over half of the best portion of Cheney was laid in ashes. Six solid blocks of buildings were destroyed, including five hotels, four grocery stores, two drug stores, the opera house block, and Reardon's hall, besides a lot of smaller buildings. The loss is estimated at $130,000; the insurance is about $30,000. Plans for rebuilding with stone and brick are being projected, and Cheney will rise phoenix-like from her ashes, a better and a livelier city than ever.
“A hose was brought out, but when the pumps were set to work it was discovered that the hose was plugged with wood.”
In 1889, Cheney faced a total wipeout of its downtown, mirroring the constant vulnerability of small towns to infrastructure failure—in this case, sabotaged fire hoses. Today, the town faces the modern struggle of maintaining its historic character against the pressures of regional growth and fire safety standards.
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