News: Colby (Flour Mill Fire - 17 Jan 1889)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Bryant, Dahlke, Mykolashek, Potter, Reynolds, Tauchmann

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 1/15/2014

Originally published in the Colby Phonograph, Wednesday, January 17, 1889

Tuesday afternoon, about half past four, the Colby Flouring Mill was discovered to be on fire.

The alarm was given and a general rush of citizens went to the mill, but the inside it, or one portion of it, was a mass of flames and the whole building was filled with a dense black smoke which was pouring out of every crevice.

It was seen at a glance that with the limited means at hand nothing could be done to save the mill, through had there been a fire engine and plenty of water at hand, the mill might have been saved though the damage would have been considerable.

How the fire originated is a question, as there had been no fire in the main part of the mill, and it is pretty generally believed that is originated in the pile of feed which lay in the southeast corner.

The mill was built by Messrs, Reynolds and Bryant. Later it came into possession of O. R. Potter, who, about two years ago, sold it to Chas. Mykolashek and E. Tauchmann, under the firm name of C. Mykolashek & Co.

The mill had been built with two run of stone. The new firm put in new machinery, change it to a roller mill, putting some four thousand dollars improvements in the Mill.

Mr. Mykolashek has had charge of the mill, Mr. Tauchmann being located in Chicago.

On Monday evening Mr. Mykolashek started for Chicago to make arrangement for shipments of grain, so as to keep the mill running on full time, leaving he mill in charge of Albert Dahlke, who was to keep enough fire in the engine room to keep the water in the boiler from freezing up.