Fire discovered at 6:20 am Monday morning did damage estimated at over $5000 to the Masonic building at the corner of S. Market and Public Square. The fire originated in the paraphernalia room on the third floor and is believed to have been caused by defective wiring.
The blaze was reported almost simultaneously to fire dept. by two different persons and the firemen with a short time had it under control. The blaze was confined to the third floor but the rest of the building was damaged considerably by smoke and water. Water which soaked through the floor damaged the plastering on the second and first floors.
On the ground floor, the Marion Electric Bakery was a heavy loss, due mostly to water which rendered the use of the baking ovens impossible and damaged the stock of flour and sugar stored there. The bakery machinery was also damaged. Decorators had been working three days redecorating the interior of the rooms occupied by the bakery and all of their work was wiped out by the effects of the fire. The bakery was still supplying the customers Monday with bread baked at the Marion Bakery Co.’s new plant. Doughs which were in the ovens at the time of the fire were lost. The loss to the bakery is covered by insurance it was said Monday.
Insurance of $10,000 was carried on the building by the Masons. Smoke was the principal handicap of the firemen who answered the alarm and it was several minutes before the source of the volume of smoke was discovered.
G.W. Bayless, photographer, who occupies rooms on the second floor of the building, was in the building when the firemen arrived. He escaped down a ladder placed to his window by one of the firemen. Johnston City firemen were called and assisted with the fire.
The fire destroyed most of the regalia used by the different Masonic orders although that of the Eastern Star is believed to have escaped with less damage that the others. The building was used by the Royal and Selected Masters, Royal Arch Masons, Order of Eastern Star and Fellowship Lodge 89, I.O.O.F.
Lodge 1036 also met in the building until recently when it moved to the I.O.O.F building on W. Main St. The question of whether to repair the building or to wreck it and build a new one confronted the Masons after the fire. The burning of the third floor greatly weakened the building, it is known, although the exact extent of such damage has not been determined.
(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us/ )