Published by permission from the historical society.

Transcribed by Mrs. McElroys' MMS class.

Pryor & Brown’s Livery Stable, Singmaster’s barn and Hufbauer’s Feed Store were destroyed by fire June 13.

About midnight Saturday night a fire broke out in the Singmaster barn, which was occupied by H.C. Helbert’s fine horses. The fire appeared to start in about the middle stall, and was blazing fiercely when first discovered.

Charley Brown and Lindley Dakin, who sleep in a front room in the Record block nearly opposite the burned district, were the first to discover the fire. They, in company with Henry Irving and Ed Kalps, who room in the Warren building, were first at the fire. Others came almost immediately and every effort was made to get the horses out. They succeeded in getting all of Pryor & Brown’s horses, buggies and harnesses out to safety. But the fire was further advanced in the Singmaster barn so they only succeeded in getting out two horses. Two fine stallions and a valuable jack belonging to H.C. Helbert were burned. Hufbauer’s Feed Store, which was occupied by S.A. Johnson, was burned with the entire stock of four and feed.

The church bells were rung, the alarm spread rapidly and nearly all the men and boys in town were soon on the grounds to render what assistance they could in saving other buildings. It was impossible to save the three buildings that were burned, for they were so close together they were practically one building as far as the spreading fire was concerned. It required heroic efforts to save the icehouse in the rear of Buchholz block, but a liberal application of water and salt saved it. The wind, what little there was, carried the main volume of heat across the street, and for a short time before the buildings fell in, there was great danger of the wooden buildings on the opposite side of the street being burned. But an army of water bearers was on duty and succeeded in preventing any further conflagration.

The townspeople worked heroically to save the stock and prevent the spread of the firs. Dr. MacKenzie and Johnny Bush were so badly overcome by the heat that they dropped down unconscious for some time. The doctor recovered all right, but Johnny has been quite sick.

The fire evidently the work of an incendiary, as neither Herbert nor any of his men had been in the barn for several hours prior to the fire.

(Information regarding this fire was obtained from a copy of a special edition of the Mulvane record dated June 15, 1891.)