On May 8, 1889 the coal sheds belonging to the Illinois Central, located just east of their tracks south of Route 24 where the El Paso Elevator Co. plant and office is today, caught fire. The flames were fed by 1,500 tons of coal and fanned by a high south wind which carried rolling coal smoke and sparks far to the north. The home of the railroad agent west of the tracks caught fire and burned quickly. It was El Paso's first depot, the scene of Lincoln, Cobden and McClellan's visits. The freight houses and offices 200 feet north burned, and the Campbell House diagonally across the tracks caught fire and was damaged, but escaped destruction. The fire jumped Front Street and burned the Summit House, built by James H. Wathen where Janssen's grocery is now located. Then H. Saltzberger's grocery and S. D. Patton's barn, across the alley, burned. Flaming shingles carried in the high wind set fire to the residence of Christian Geiger, several blocks north at the corner of Cherry and Fourth Streets, and by the time it was discovered it had such headway the residence was destroyed.

In less than a year after this disaster, another bad fire on April 30, 1890, destroyed three of the town's "firsts". The original elevator of George W. Fridley, owned in 1890 by David Evans, caught fire and burned. It set fire to the Thomas McClellan and David Hibbs homes across the street, first two in El Paso, the McClellan house at 195 West Front then being owned by Mrs. Caroline Bayne, whose husband purchased it very shortly after it was completed. That day's fire loss was estimated at nearly $10,000.

Another major fire struck the west end of Block 41 on August 15, 1893, eleven business buildings being destroyed, with others damaged. This was the first time our firemen were able to halt a major fire; they checked it and saved the east end of this business block. Places destroyed included: J. A. Tarman and James Hendron, two buildings each; M. E. Cazelet, two buildings and his grocery stock; Peter Thometz, bakery, the Newton Estate building; C. M. Parmalee, meat market; James Cannon, harness and saddlery; Alvin Hodgson, flour and feed; Willis Klug, furniture; H. Kreidler, building and buggy shop; F. L. Kyser's barn; C. M. Westcott, building damaged and Louis Kurtz, damaged grocery stock.

Before the city water system was extended many business houses had large cisterns or tanks filled with water to provide fire protection. While helpful, they were inadequate, and the stagnant water together with pigs raised in pens along the rear of the stores, made a trip down the alley more of an odorous jaunt than it is today although there is still room for much improvement. P. L. Haas recalls that he frequently was assigned to pump water from the tank to cool the pigs on hot summer days.

The fire which broke out in the basement of the Tegtmeyer store July 19, 1894 caused a loss of $250,000 and for a time threatened the entire town. Every building in Block 42 burned to the ground with the

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