Peterborough, New Hampshire

Fire & Flood during New England Hurricane

September 1938

Four Peterborough Buildings Razed by Fire, Damage Rises.

The first definite information concerning the fire and storm damage at Peterborough, one of the hardest hit communities in the state reached the Union-Leader early this afternoon when H. M. Bryant, a civil engineer, of Milton, visited the newspaper office and announced that only four buildings had been destroyed by fire instead of 15, as previously reported.

These included, he said, a large grain mill housing the Peterborough Transcript, and three adjacent business structures. There was also heavy damage from flood waters, Mr. Bryant related, adding that the total loss had been estimated at as high as $250.000.

Homes Evacuated.

He said about 20 homes along the banks of the Contoocook river had been evacuated. There were no casualties, according to Mr. Bryant.

The town was wholly without electric service and the water supply for a large section of the community had been cut off, he said. Trees were down everywhere.

Mr. Bryant said the fire started about 5 p. m. and was not brought under control until 9 o’clock. The gale made the flames extremely difficult to subdue, and Mr. Bryant was loud in his praise of the firemen who prevented what threatened for a time to become a conflagration.

The following eye witness story was written by the Union-Leader staff man who covered the disaster there yesterday, returning to this city at 3 o’clock this morning with pictures and story, and who returned to Peterborough at 6 to cover further developments.

Started in Warehouse

The conflagration started at 4:40 p. m. yesterday in the grain warehouse of the Farmers Grain company, located in the rear of the two and one-half story wooden structure that jointly houses that firm and the Transcript Printing company, owners of the building.

The wooden building adjoined the raging Contoocook river and all day rushing waters had poured through the aged walls, flooding the press rooms in the printing plant and saturating an un estimated number of tons of stored grain.

Observers taking up safe objective points on the opposite shore had watched for an hour the start of the fire. Tiny wisps of smoke seeped out from broken windows in the grain shed. Minutes would elapse before more smoke would issue, a warning of spontaneous combustion in the water-soaked grain.

Mass of Flames

Moments later flames burst forth, and the building with its gaunt square storage tower was doomed. In 20 minutes it was a raging mass of flames that leaped high in the air, flaunting their power before firemen from Milford, Wilton and Peterborough who were powerless to approach the building that was completely surrounded by the surging flood waters.

Jumping across a narrow alleyway the Taylor rooming house, another structure of similar size, was soon ablaze. From this structure 12 people had earlier in the day been evacuated, including Mrs. Wilma Wickham, 34, her son, William, 8, and Clara Gautrau, 30, who were taken across ladders joining second story windows of the Taylor building and the Transcript. Kitchen oil burners exploded dully in upper story apartments.

In quick succession the flames devoured the Robinson Motor company building, three stories high, a one and one-half empty frame dwelling owned by the Brennan estate and jumped to the Wyman building, two and one-half stories high, leveling all these buildings.

Blazing Embers Fly

Shortly after the start of the blaze a wind of gale proportions estimated by fire officials to be in excess of 50 miles per hour was accompanied by a pelting downpour. Blazing embers were carried to all parts of the community but did little damage to the already soaked dwellings and other business blocks.

The town was thrown into darkness shortly after 6 p. m. when power officials shut off all high tension lines after scores of wires were dropped across the streets by breaking trees and poles.

The only illumination was from the ghastly fire glow over the business district. It lighted anxious mothers scurrying to safety with whimpering children and frustrated fathers muttering harshly at their own sense of futility.

More than 50 persons living in the river front section along Concord street were driven from homes where furniture floated on the street floors.

Two Peterborough men, George Evans and Henry Lord, narrowly missed drowning in this section of town when their row-boat overturned as they were en route to assist stranded residents.

Among those removed to safety from this area were Mr. and Mrs. George Garnham and their two children, Gerald, 10 and Helen, 15, together with Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jenny.

Firemen from Nashua arrived shortly after 7 o’clock after a hazardous trip over Temple mountain where more than 200 giant maple, elm and oak trees had toppled across the highway. Crews of volunteers from the Milford and Wilton posts of the American Legion blazed a narrow pathway for the service vehicle, using axes and cross cut saws.

Meanwhile, in another section of the town, about one mile east near Route 101, a second fire destroyed eight buildings of a poultry farm recently established by Joseph Lobacki of Manchester. More than 12,000 chickens and hens perished with an estimated loss of $9,000, partially covered by insurance. Again, here, firemen were powerless to reach the scene with all approaches blocked by fallen trees.

Sorely in need of assistance on the west side of the river, Peterborough authorities are reported to have sought fire assistance from Keene only to learn that all roads between the towns were cut off, by a bridge washed out in Marlboro.

The Union-Leader, Manchester, NH Sept 22, 1938

Transcribed by Helen Coughlin.  Thank you, Helen!

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