Fire which broke out at the close of the morning service gutted the Presbyterian Church on N. Market St and left the commodious building a mass of wreckage, smoke and water damaging what was left undone by the flames. The congregation had been dismissed only a short time and the pastor, Rev. A.E. Powell was still in his study in the rear of the church. He heard a crackling noise and opening the door saw flames and smoke issuing from the roof of the furnace room at the southwest corner of the building. The alarm was turned in and the fire department made a quick run and soon had three leads of hose playing on the fire, which was a difficult one to fight as it was held between the asbestos roof and the metal ceiling. Finally it broke through the roof and then a portion of the ceiling fell in and set fire to the floor in the auditorium. With the aid of volunteers the firemen played water on the fire until it was finally conquered. The walls were left standing although the entire roof was burned or damaged. A large section of the ceiling and a partition wall and the floor burned. The church had recently made numerous improvements in the building. A year ago the kitchen was improved and a few months ago a room had been remodeled for a recreation room and lastly a new front with bell tower was nearly completed. The church building was well equipped and well arranged for its purposes. The fire did not reach these improvements or the pastor’s study or class rooms above but all were ruined by the smoke and water. How the fire started is undetermined. When the building was rebuilt following a previous fire a new furnace was built with a tile lining and the electric wiring was all re-laid at that time. Insurance was carried on both building and contents.

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