By Sterling McGinn
On March 2, 1925, part of Newberry’s business district was devastated by one of the most disastrous fires in Luce County history.
Five buildings on the west side of the 200 block of Newberry Avenue—stores with offices and apartments on the second level—were destroyed, leaving several of Newberry’s leading business nothing but chimneys, rubble, and blackened walls.
Fear that fire could wipe out the entire town had long burdened the minds of early Newberry residents. With all wood-frame structures built with cedar roofs and the use of wood stoves and kerosene lamps, a fire could start at any time.
Newberry was founded in 1882, and by 1925, many of the area’s landmarks and residences were destroyed by fire. Thanks to the dedication and speed of the Newberry Fire Department, no fire had yet destroyed an entire village block. But a major fire was inevitable.
In the early morning hours of March 2, the members of the Newberry Fire Department would be heading to the scene of the largest fire they had ever been called to and were not expecting the challenges that would arise.
The fire was discovered around 5:30 a.m. in either the Richardson and Palmer Candy Store, or the Soo 5 and 10 cent store. The alarm was immediately turned in.
Four out of the five buildings destroyed were made of wood. The building on the corner of Newberry Avenue and West John Street was built of stucco construction and was occupied by Leighton’s Clothing Store, with Claude Leighton’s residence upstairs.
Flames spread rapidly in the Richardson and Palmer Candy Store and the Soo 5 and 10, which were near to the north end of the block. From there, the fire spread to Richardson’s Shoe Store and A. H. Sherman’s Drug Store, then finally to Leighton’s.
The second floor of the Soo 5 and 10 contained the offices and living quarters Dr. A. M. Edling, chiropractor. Edling and his wife narrowly escaped the fire. The offices of Dr. R. E. L. Gibson, D. N. Mcleod, a local lumberman, and E. C. Underwood were located above Sherman’s Drug Store.
Just getting water on the fire proved to be a great challenge.
At the time, the firefighting equipment, which was all non-motorized, was stored in the back portion of the Newberry Community Building. The hoses were rolled up on carts that were pulled by the firefighters. Pumps and other firefighting apparatus were also on a cart.
Once at the scene, the effort to gain control of the blaze was hampered by the fact that two out of the three nearest fire hydrants were frozen.
According to the report from the Newberry News of March 6, 1925, “The valves on two hydrants nearest the burning buildings were found to be frozen and it was necessary to thaw them with hot water before they could be opened.”
Once the hydrants were thawed, firefighters found no water pressure. The packing in the recently installed water pump operated by oil engines at the Newberry Water and Light plant had blown out, requiring a complete shutdown.
Due to the nature of the emergency, crews were forced to open the valve between the village water mains and the Newberry Charcoal Iron Company’s system. But they still couldn’t give the needed pressure. An electric pump at the Tahquamenon River was installed to bring up the water pressure.
While firefighters used the polluted water from the Charcoal Iron Company, steam from the old system was generated at the Water and Light Plant and the pump was put back into commission so the village could supply the needed water. The Charcoal Iron Company system was turned off. Because water from the river and the Charcoal Iron Company went through the system, residents had to boil their drinking water until the system could be flushed.
The Newberry News reported that a double roof on the Leighton building also hampered firefighters’ effort to contain the blaze. “The fire gained a footing between the two roofs, where it was difficult to get at, and ate its way steadily downward until the entire building was enveloped.”
Though there was no injuries or deaths from the fire, A. H. Sherman had a close call while trying to save merchandise from his drug store. A safe from the second story of his building came crashing through the floor, landing only a couple feet from him. His stopped trying to save items and fled the building.
A total of 10 streams of water were put on the blaze and firefighters worked throughout the day and into the evening. The scene was still smoldering at night.
The Bohn and Perry Drug Store (later McNab Drug Co.) was the only brick building on the block. Its thick firewall prevented the blaze from spreading to the north and saved the remainder of the block, which contained more wood buildings.
Above the drug store, at the Perry and Spinks Hospital, smoke and water damage was prevalent but the area wasn’t severely damaged. Patients in the hospital were removed for their safety.
The Newberry post office was also located in the Bohn and Perry building. For precaution, Postmaster Palmer removed all mail and supplies until the fire was out.
The loss, which was estimated at $100,000, was partially covered by insurance. Except for a portion of Leighton’s merchandise, which had been moved to the Newberry Hotel (later the Falls Hotel) the four other store owners lost all their merchandise.
The cause of the fire was never determined, though a defective stove pipe was suspected to be at fault.
The Sault News reported that the City of Sault Ste Marie was sad to learn of the devastating fire, but congratulated the community for its plan to rebuild immediately.
The March 13, 1925, issue of the Newberry News informed readers that the burned section would be rebuilt with buildings of brick or cement. In a little over a week, crews began demolishing the remaining walls and hauling away the debris.
While waiting for their new stores to be constructed, three of the merchants set up shop in various locations along the east side of Newberry Avenue with a limited amount of merchandise.
At the end of March 1925, the excavation for the basement of A. H. Sherman’s new building was complete.
In April, the Foster Construction Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin won the contract to construct the two other new buildings on the block.
Construction moved rapidly throughout the summer and spring of 1925, and by late August, store owners began moving into the new buildings. Richardson Shoe Store moved into their new building in early October.
The new buildings, which consisted of three instead of the original five, will turn 100 years old later this summer. Those buildings housed the former People’s Drug Store, the old Pines store, and S & J Sports before they moved to their current locations.
