Whitney Reflections

A tribute to the early settlers of a western Nebraska village

The Chadron Journal

Friday, December 16, 1927 - Volume XLIV, No.  13, Page 1

WHITNEY HAS DISASTROUS NIGHT FIRE

Flames Work Havoc With Business District - Six Stores Burn

One of the most ravaging fires ever recorded in Dawes County occurred late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning of this week when nearly all of the business section of the town of Whitney burned to the ground, causing loss and damage  totalling  nearly  twenty  thousand dollars.  Discovered About 11 O’clock  First discovery of the fire was made about 11:00 o’clock and at that time the flames had made such headway that the bucket brigade of the town was unable to cope with it.  The fire is said to have started in the general merchandise store of B. D. Austin and is thought to have originated from a bad flue.  The night was unusually cold and it is thought that the fire  in  the  stove  became  so  hot  that  the  supposedly weak flue  set   the  building  on fire. Water Supply Fails  Chadron was first notified of the disastrous fire about 11:30 and several carloads of Chadron men drove to Whitney immediately to assist in any way possible.  By the time these men arrived the flames had gained such a start that, due to the lack of fire fighting equipment, it was not possible to do more than check it slightly.  The wires were all burned off and the lights and power destroyed, shutting off the water supply.      Chadron Men Rewire  G. A. Buettner of the local telephone company and William R. Scott, W. L. Russell and August Johnson of the Western Public Service Company were among the first of the Chadron men to arrive at the scene of the fire.  They succeeded in wiring around the fire and restoring the water supply, enabling the fire fighters to get water onto the flames.        Flames Work Havoc  The fire worked havoc with the little town, burning completley all the buildings on the west side of the business street, except the bank which was damaged to quite an extent.  Six buildings were totally destroyed.  They were the B. D. Austin general merchandise store, the restaurant, the confectionary store, Nance and Grant store, barber shop and house, and the P. J. Cartwright home.  The fire raged until after three o’clock Thursday morning.      Big Property Loss  The approximate total loss caused by the fire is placed at $20,000.00 and it is reported that the property was covered by insurance for about half that amount.  A crowd of nearly five hundred people gathered in Whitney during the fire.  Many went from Chadron and Crawford and a large crowd gathered from the surrounding country side.  Among those who went from Chadron were the above mentioned men and Bob Sturdevant, Joe Lichty and Roy McNees who took a carload of men over.  Much credit must be given to the Chadron electricians who hurried to Whitney at the first call and succeeded in rewiring the town and furnishing light, power and water.  Had it not been for the assistance of these men, the fire might have resulted in a conflagration that would have consumed the entire town.