Fire caused by an over-heated furnace early Monday morning destroyed the two-story frame building owned by Roy L. Cox in the 600 block on East Main Street, one of the community’s landmarks. The blaze entirely consumed the fish market and grocery store by Cox, a restaurant owned by Mrs. Mae Stephenson and the apartments upstairs from which four families escaped with only the clothes they wore. No one was injured. The total loss was estimated at approximately $15,000. Cox said neither the building nor contents was insured. An adjacent two-story frame building owned by A.M. Thompson was saved, despite the fact that heat from the burning building was so intense that it broke windows in the Hamlett Garage across the street and scorched the front of the Travelstead barbershop adjacent to the garage. Firemen who soaked the wall of the Thompson building with water were aided by a three-foot passageway which separated the two buildings. Composition siding on the west wall of the Cox building helped protect the Thompson building which was also favored by the wind. The Add Sanders grocery store in the Thompson building escaped fire damage but was damaged by water. Fire broke through into an upstairs apartment occupied by Kenneth Edwards and his family, and ignited some clothing which was carried out of the building before it could set fire to the apartment. Families routed from second floor apartments in the Cox building were as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Murphy and five children, Mrs. Opal Hundley and two children, Mr. and Mrs. William Murphy and two children and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Simmons and three children. William Murphy is a soldier home on furlough. The fire was discovered about 6 am in a rear room of the Cox store where the hot water furnace was located. No one was in the store at the time the fire started, apparently from the furnace which had been fired a short time before by the janitor. Firemen who reached the scene while the flames were still confined to the first floor made such rapid progress in getting the flames under control, that Cox who hurried to the scene from his home a block away decided not to attempt to remove the stock and fixtures. Then the fire hose burst and before it could be replaced the flames were out of control. The building which burned was constructed in 1902 by William Manese. It was purchased by Cox in 1933 who has been in business in that neighborhood for 20 years. Although he had made improvements toward modernization since he acquired the property. Cox said the high insurance rate set on the building because of the nature of its construction had prevented his carrying insurance. The Thompson building was built the same time by Nall & Williams, who were Marion contractors around the turn of the century. Electric lines on the east side of the street were broken as a result of the fire, interrupting electric service to the southeast section of the city which the lines served.

(Extracted  from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us