Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 October 1898 — Lowell’s Big Fire. [ARTICLE]

Lowell’s Big Fire.

The Best Pin t of the Business District Wiped Out. Our neighboring town, Lowell, had a very bad fire, last Monday. It occurred in the principal business part of town, and wiped out practically half of it. Among the buildings or firms burned were G. W. Water’s drug store; J E. Caster’s rink building, Mrs. Davis’s millinery store, Wm. Hecker’s saloon, H. Gershman’s tailor shop, the Mason’s lodge room, Ed Wheeler’s barber shop, E. J. Pixley’s jewelry store, the Lowell Record office, W. H. Hayward’s photograph gallery, G. W. Death’s hardware store, George Heileg’s restaurant and bakery, the post office, Haskin & Brannon’s hardware store, Spindler & Pletcher’s department store, besides several barns and other less important buildings. Many of these burned out firms carried large stocks. The fire -is believed to have been of incendiary origin,'as reports state that the first fire was extinguished and another started in a different part of town. The fire began about two o’clock in the morning. The citizens made the best fight they could, but had not a very heavy rain began during the fire, it is probable that many other building would have also been taken.