The Rablin House in the City of Grand Rapids Burned Saturday Morning

H.H. Compton, a Prominent Business Man of the City Severely Injured by the Falling Cornice

THE GREATEST FLOOD EVER KNOWN ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER!

The Business Portion of the City of Grand Rapids a Complete Wreck

Surnames: BIRON, BODETTE, CLARKE, CLOSUIT, COLE, COMPTON, DESERT, EDWARDS, FERGUSON, GORDON, HUNTINGTON, INGRAHAM, KLINE, LaFEBVRE, LaMADELINE, LORD, LYON, MARTINI, MEEHAN, MILLER, NEEVES, PETERSON, RABLIN, SCOTT, SPAFFORD, WARREN, WINKLE

At about 3 o'clock in the morning of the 12th, guests sleeping in the Rablin House were awakened by the falling in of portions of the roof. The alarm of fire was promptly given, but before an engine could be got to work, the roof and whole upper portion of the building were in flames, and though the firemen gallantly fought the destructive element, their efforts were of no avail. The guests had all been awakened, and had hastily secured their luggage and personal effects. Slowly, but surely the fire worked its way down. In trying to save some of the furniture from the burning building, H. H. Compton, a prominent business man of the city, was struck upon the head by the falling cornice. He has lain unconscious and near death's door ever since, but at the present writing, there are indications of returning reason, and hopes are entertained of his recovery.

The Rablin House was a large, three-story wooden structure, built in 1871 by John Rablin at a cost of about $18,000, and in the panic of 1873, passed into the possession of E. Jaffrey & Co., of New York.

Under the present depreciation of real estate values, the property was considered worth about $8,000. The building was insured for $4,500.

The house was occupied and run by B. E. Clarke, who loses about $1,000 on furniture, fully covered by insurance.

The fire was evidently the work of an incendiary, and the crime is one of such magnitude, that the proper authorities fail to do their duty to the public unless prompt action is taken to discover the criminal.

On Saturday last, the Wisconsin River, which for a few days had been falling, commenced to rise, and the rise was so rapid that by six o'clock Sunday morning the water was running through Main Street in the City of Grand Rapids. All day Sunday the water rose with fearful rapidity, and the "Island" portion of Grand Rapids, where all the business houses of the city are situated, was completely surrounded. The water rushed with impetuous and irresistable force across and through the main streets of the city. Logs, floodwood, uprooted trees and floating timbers gaining terrible momentum on their mad rush over the rapids, were hurled with destructive force against the buildings on the river side of the street. The citizens had received warning Saturday morning by telegram from Wausau, and other points on the river above here, of the coming flood. Sunday morning found them without preparation to meet it, or their property secured, but as the advance of the coming water reached here, cables were attached to the endangered building, and lines of men and boys were formed across Main Street, waist deep in the water, and such articles of property as could be passed from hand to hand, were in that manner carried to places of safety. The water continued to rise all day Sunday and did not commence ot abate until Monday morning, and had risen to within six inches of the lower chords of the Wood County Bridge.

The rush of the mighty torrent on Sunday afternoon, was a scene never to be forgotten by the hundreds of people who viewed it from the higher grounds adjacent, fascinated and spell-bound by the grandeur of this destructive master of the lives and property of men.

At about 3 o'clock Sunday morning, Geo. A. Ferguson went into the rear part of his hardware store to remove some goods therein, to a place of safety. In an instant, and without warning, that part of the building was separated from the main part and carried into the swift current of the river, and down against the bridge, when it was crushed to pieces. Mr. Ferguson was carried away with the building and drowned.

His loss is considered by all as the greatest calamity of the flood. He was a fair-dealing, gentlemanly business man, who entered into the hardware business in Grand Rapids years ago, and had gained the respect of all.

We are unable to give the aggregate of losses to owners of real property and to individuals, but [microfilmed original was torn]:

J. E. Ingraham & Co's building is badly wrecked. The buildings occupied by H. W. Lord as a harness shop, and by Geo. A. Ferguson as a hardware store, are a complete wreck. Jos. Closuit's saloon building has been moved from its foundation, and somewhat damaged.

Spafford & Cole have about one-half of their building left. The other half started for St. Louis with a cargo of boots and shoes, and general groceries, worth about $3,000. Miss M. Gordon's building has gone down into the cellar. Mr. Huntington's building has been partially undermined. E. T. Bodette's shoe shop started down the river, but brought up against the Kline block, which was also badly damaged.

Other buildings were badly damaged. Among the sufferers are Nie Winkle, M. C. Warren, W. S. Miller, H. Martini, R. W. Lyon, and the Neeves' estate.

Main Street of Grand Rapids is a complete wreck, and filled with logs and driftwood.

Fears were entertained for the safety of the Wood County Bridge on Sunday, but the structure still stands with but slight damage to the sidewalk on the upper side.

The damage done to the streets and private property in the City of Centralia, by reason of the recent flood, is insignificant as compared with the devastation of our neighboring city. A few hundred dollars will repair all such damages. Mr. Peterson's blacksmith shop was carried away. Loss about $100. Mr. Jos. Lamadeline's woodpile and shed shared the same fate. Loss about $75.

The repairs needed on Front Street are estimated at about $150; the bridge at Hurleyville at $100. Mr. H. Lafebvre's corner lot has been partially washed away, but a judicious out-lay on his part of a few hudred dollars will build a good, substantial pier in the slough, and prevent a reoccurrence of similar accidents.

So much for our good people's common sense of not erecting business shanties, on imaginary lots suspended in the air, and over the waters of the treacherous Wisconse.

Scott & Edwards mill has been somewhat damaged, and was saved from total destruction only by the prompt action of the proprietors and united labor of the entire crew. Messrs. Scott & Edwards loss of logs on the river, amount to about 8,000,000 feet.

Biron's mill was saved but is badly damaged. About 1,500,000 feet of logs are "jammed" against the mill. The loss of logs to the Biron estate is considerable, but we are unable to state the number of feet. Several small buildings, situated near the river bank, were carried away.

Several buildings were carried off and some logs lost.

The cities of Stevens Point and wausau suffer but slight damage.

At Mosinee, the boarding house, blacksmith shop, sawed lumber and logs of Joseph Desert were all carried away and Mr. Desert's loss is estimated at $50,000.

The farmers of Saratoga and Port Edwards, in Wood County, Armenia in Juneau County, and New Rome, in Adams County, suffer considerable losses of crops and fences.

About fifty feet of the embankment on the G. B. & M. R. R. east of the depot building in Grand Rapids has been carried away, and the Centralia approach to the Railroad bridge, over the Wisconsin River, is badly damaged.

The Wisconsin Valley Railroad from Centralia north is completely blockaded, and we are informed that it will be thirty days before trains will be able to get through to Jenny [now Merrill, in Lincoln Co. WI].

The flood at its maximum height on Monday morning was several feet higher than the flood of 1866, and at least one foot higher than the great flood of 1847, and the highest water in the Wisconsin River known to the oldest inhabitant.

News reached us Monday of the death by drowning of a locomotive engineer on the Wisconsin Central Railroad, who left Junction City on his way to Stevens Point, to see his wife at her death-bed. The unfortunate man in attempting to cross on some rails and ties, at a "wash-out," about half-way between the Junction and Stevens Point, was carried away in the torrent never to re-appear.