A Boston Newspaper Account of the 1881 Fire

This article about the February 17, 1881 fire in Concord was clipped from the Boston Herald and mounted in a scrapbook kept by nineteenth century journalist, writer, and Concord resident William Willder Wheildon. The piece details the financial losses of the various parties affected by the fire and how much insurance was carried by each. While the stable of the Middlesex was covered by insurance, its contents were not. However, most of the livestock housed in it had been saved, as had carriages, pungs, a wagon, and harnesses. James Jacobs, who ran the hotel at the time of the fire, sustained some personal losses.

According to the article, the fire burned so hot that the paint blistered on Friend’s drugstore across Main Street.