|
|
Olmsted County Minnesota |
Floods, Fires, Train Wrecks
and other Calamities
|
|
Olmsted County Minnesota |
The house of Mr. Lynch, a farmer residing in the town of Elmira was recently destroyed by fire, together with its contents. Insured for $500. [22 Dec 1877, Minnesotian-Herald]
The granary and stable of Mr. E. A. Herning, three miles south of Eyota, was struck by lightning on Sunday of last week. A window was shattered, and a joist or scantling broken, a fragment of the latter striking a find Clydesdale stallion on the head. The animal, which is valued at about $1,500, was not seriously injured. There were about 3,000 bushels of wheat in the building which did not take fire. [04 May 1878, Minnesotian-Herald]
HOME BURNED TO GROUND
Phelps Family in Genoa awakened to find Residence in Flames
Fire Friday morning, before daybreak, destroyed the home near Genoa, occupied by Mrs. Effie Phelps and family. The members of the household were in bed when the fire broke out. The upstairs apartments were filled with smoke when they were awakened and some of them had narrow escapes from suffocation and burning. One was nearly prostrated from the effects of the harrowing experiences. Origin of the fire is unknown. Loss was total. The place is owned by S. O. Sanderson. [The Daily Post and Record, Rochester, Minnesota, April 3, 1915]
FREIGHT CAR GOES INTO DITCH UNOBSERVED
Rochester, Minn., Feb. 12 --- A remarkable story of a lost freight car is vouched for by the local officials of the Northwestern road.
A freight train arrived in this city Thursday night with one car missing and a search failed to locate it. Word was telegraphed all along the road, both east and west, and yet no trace was obtained of the missing car.
The next morning the car, which was loaded with flour, was found ditched along the main line near Olmsted station.
The conductor of the train, Mr. Stewart, made an examination of the rest of the train which had arrived in Rochester and found that where the car had been located the draw bar to the coupling had been broken. There is a steep grade near Olmsted and it is the verdict of the train crew that when the draw bar broke it dropped on the rails and under the wheels, thereby causing the car to leave on track. The car was wrenched loose and hurled a rod away and the train proceeded to Rochester.
Shortly after the engine and front part of the train arrived the rear cars rolled into the yards, impelled by their own momentum. The train men thought that the train had merely broken in two and after coupling the two parts together, the schedule was resumed without any knowledge of a car being lost.
[13 Feb 1907, Duluth News-Tribune]
