The Swinney Store and Cleveland Store burns at 400 N. Market. The entire Burnett building was destroyed by fire. The building housed Cleveland Auto Sales and Swinney Market and eight families lived above.
Two railroad employees going to lunch at four o’clock Wednesday morning discovered a fire in the rear of the Swinney Grocery store at 400 N. Market St. which destroyed the entire Burnett building with an estimated damage of $117,250 before it could be extinguished with the assistance of the West Frankfort and Harrisburg fire departments.
The combined force and equipment of local and visiting fire departments were necessary to prevent the fire spreading throughout the business section with an inestimable damage. Fire Chief James Swain was at the scene of the fire shortly after the alarm and he sent harried calls to all surrounding cities asking for help. Johnston City and Herrin were unable to assist because of non-standard hydrant connections.
The Aikman Building adjacent to the Burnett building was threatened by the flames and was badly damaged by water and smoke. The stock of Sanders Shoe Store was carried out when the flames threatened to reach that business house.
The fire spread from the Swinney market to the Cleveland Auto Sales Company and upward into the residence flats on the second floor where eight families lived. It was necessary for rescuers to carry some of the frightened women and children out of the building. They escaped only with night clothing before the building fell in.
The east wall of the Burnett Building fell into North Market Street covering the pavement with brick and stone. The south wall was left standing threatening the street and the Christian Church on the south. Both North Market and West Jefferson streets were closed to traffic by Fire Chief Swain. The fire was checked before it could destroy the Aikman building but the total damage ran approximately $117,250 according to the estimate of its owners.
J.H. Burnett, President of the Marion State and Savings Bank owned the building occupied by the Swinney Grocery and the Cleveland Auto Sales Company, estimated at $50,000 loss. Mr. Burnett said at the time of the fire he carried only $16,000 insurance. The building is an old landmark of the city, formerly being occupied by the Marion Opera House, the first theatre in Marion.
C.A. Swinney of Swinney’s Grocery stated that he estimated his damage at $15,000. The stock of this building was estimated at $8,500 and Mr. Swinney stated he had $7,000 in old accounts on his books. He was unable to get into his store but stated he believed his account books were destroyed by the fire. He carried $6,500 insurance on his stock.
The Cleveland Auto Sales Company suffered a heavy loss losing $25,000 or more in the fire. They recently purchased a car load of new Cleveland Automobiles and had them partly unloaded in their show rooms when the fire came. At the time of the fire they had 17 automobiles in the building and seven of these cars were new. The Cleveland Auto Sales Company is owned by Wm. T. Courtney, T.E. Simpson, and H.H. Hudgens. Their stock was partially covered by insurance but the loss was heavy. The auto machine shop at the rear of the room occupied by the Cleveland Auto Sales Company was operated by Elliott and Winters. And Elliott of this firm stated that their loss amounted to $1,000 and that they carried no insurance. $500 worth of new tools and machinery had just been installed.
The Illinois Southern Telephone Company lost their cable which ran through the alley in the rear of the building. This cut off service for a section of the city on Wednesday morning until a new cable could be installed.
On the second story of the Burnett building eight families resided in flats. Their household goods and personal belongings were a total loss as they were unable to save anything from the fire. Those who resided in flats in the Burnett building were: David Anderson, I. Brayden, Mrs. Tennie Reid, Ed Adams, Sam Sanders, Mrs. Florence Dougherty, Troy England and Mrs. Ledbetter. The loss of property in the flats was estimated at $6,000.
The damage to the Aikman building was estimated at $7,500. This building is located adjoining the Burnett building and the roof and side wall were greatly damaged. John F. Lee resided in the second story of the Aikman building and his household furniture was completely destroyed by the fire. The plaster walls of the building became wet and fell in making the damage by fire and water considerable.
The Lee Confectionary located in the first floor of the Aikman building was practically destroyed by water and smoke. Mr. Lee stated he estimated his damages to be in the neighborhood of $5,000. The Fluck building adjoining the Aikman building on the north was slightly damaged by water. The roof of the building was damaged and the interior was slightly hurt by water. Mr. Fluck stated his store, located in the first floor of the building was not damaged but that his household goods were practically ruined.
The cause of the fire is thought to have been a defect in the flue in the basement near the furnace. When first discovered the flames were running up the south-west corner of the building but were enclosed in the brick to such an extent that it was practically impossible to put them out. The assistance rendered by the visiting Fire Departments saved Marion many thousands of dollars as the entire block would have been destroyed.
The work of the Harrisburg fire department, one of the first on the scene of action was particularly commendable. Fire Chief Wm Skaggs arrived from Harrisburg with his machine truck about 25 minutes after the fire department issued the call for help and started his hose on the Aikman building. They remained until 7 am. A move is now under advisement by the Egyptian Fire Fighters Assoc. to standardize the fire equipment of Southern Illinois.
A crowd of people were standing on the sidewalk in front of the filling station on the opposite side of the street when the front of the building was seen to totter and collapse. The crowd pushed over one another in their haste to escape the flying bricks and some were caught, although several persons were struck on the legs by the hot bricks. Workmen began early Wednesday to wreck the rear and side walls of the building which were a menace to life and property.
The Christian Church, immediately south across the street was saved by streams of water played on the brick walls. The wind was fortunately in the other direction. None of the costly stained glass windows were damaged although one of the glass windows was cracked.
(BURNETT BUILDING WAS SECOND THEATRE HERE )The burning of the Burnett building Tuesday night wiped out a structure known to the older residents of the city as the “Old Opera House” for until as late as 1916 it was remodeled on the second floor and made into residence flats. E.E. Clark of the Silver King Café operated the old Opera House from 1907 to 1916 and was the first man to establish a regular performance of vaudeville and pictures in Marion.
The house at that time was being operated by C.W. Hay and performances were given by road shows and stock companies. Mr. Clark put in a projection machine and moved to that building from the Roland Theatre which he had operated during the summer of 1907 when was a new house. In 1915 Herman Whiteside and his brother-in-law named Kelley visited Mr. Clark at the theatre and asked his price for his lease and equipment. Mr. Clark, not expecting to sell, named his price and the men bought it. They operated it a short time and disposed of it to Harry Bracy who was at that time operating the Family Theatre. After running the Opera House a few months Mr. Bracy closed it and the house passed out of business as a theatre.
The Opera House was not the first theatre in the city as previous to its operation under the management of Mr. Hay there was a show house on the public square where the Ed Jeter Dry Goods Company is now located.
(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us/ )