Fires
Updated 02/21/2021
No single catastrophic category has had a greater negative impact on the heritage of Auburn, PA than that of "Fires". Many of our historical structures have been lost to fire over the decades...some have tried to rebuild while others were permanently destroyed as a result of a conflagration. This webpage will attempt to document fires which have occurred within the Auburn-area to many of the more historically significant sites. In order the keep the list manageable, private residential structures or supplemental buildings won't be featured unless they once served a commercial or historical function.
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c. 1879 - Jefferson Charcoal Furnace
"CHARCOAL FURNACE BURNED - The charcoal furnace of John M. Kauffman, near Auburn, caught fire and was totally destroyed, together with about twenty-five tons of charcoal. The fire is supposed to have been the work of an incendiary. The damage will amount to about $1,000." - Reading Eagle, Thursday, September 18, 1879 (Editor's note: Although this news article refers to a "charcoal furnace", this structure was an iron-production furnace that was charcoal-fueled). |
c. 1880s - First actual school building
Upon deciding the town needed a dedicated structure for a school building, a two story brick building was erected in 1862 at the corner of First (Front) and Forest Streets. This structure was abandoned by the school and later served as a tie factory before eventually being consumed by fire. |
1885 - Diefenderfer's Broom Factory
In 1880 a broom factory was founded by John Diefenderfer, his son William H. Diefenderfer and co-founder William G. Faust. The "Keystone Broom Works" factory was destroyed by a fire in 1885. Rather than reopen another broom factory, the founders rebuilt a structure by 1887 and began the Auburn Knitting Mills which specialized in the manufacturing of hosiery. |
c. 1902 - The "Pest House"
In 1901, a smallpox epidemic was spreading throughout the northeastern United States. In order to combat the spread of the deadly disease, the common practice was to quarantine infected patients from the general population until the disease had run its course. Anyone surviving the quarantine after the disease was no longer a threat was then returned to the general population. Auburn was in the process of suffering its own string of deaths that year. In order to prevent the spread, the Auburn Borough inquired if the Auburn Shale Brick Company would allow them to use the abandoned and somewhat secluded log building on their property to quarantine the afflicted residents...thus making the structure into a "Pest House". The term "Pest House" was common for any structure were contagious patients of deadly diseases were quarantined and/or treated for their condition. The term is short for "Pestilence"...meaning a deadly, contagious disease. The Auburn Shale Brick Company agreed to provide the dilapidated structure to the borough for use as a "pest house" during the quarantine phase. Once the surviving patients were returned to their homes, the log structure was deliberately set ablaze and burnt to the ground as a means of ridding any lingering traces of the smallpox disease. |
09/03/1909 -
Pine Street Supplemental Schoolhouse As the scholastic population continued to grow, it quickly overflowed the capacity of the "new" school building located on Pine Street (the current VFW location). As a result in 1890, a quaint gabled wooden supplemental school building was constructed just west of the actual school building in the area which is now the VFW parking lot. This building served as a secondary school for a relatively short period of time until the structure was eventually destroyed by an arson fire set by a disgruntled student in September of 1909. |
1944 - Delaware Seamless Tube Mill
In April 1887, a hardware industry called the Auburn Bolt and Nut Works was established in a small warehouse located on Liberty Alley of Auburn. As the company expanded, they relocated across the Schuylkill River just northeast of Auburn. In 1902, the company was reorganized as the Delaware Seamless Tube Mills. The Delaware Seamless Tube Mill was considered to be one of the first factories in the United States to develop a means of creating "seamless" tubes (or pipes). Prior to their innovative technique, tubes or pipes were made from a flat rectangular piece of metal rolled into a pipe- or tube-shape and then sealed with a seam where the two edges met. The seamless "tube" was an engineering marvel. By eliminating the seam and making it a smooth bored pipe, it reduced drag on the flow of fluids through it, didn't leak at the seam, nor did the seam weaken or break. These "seamless tubes" were soon in great demand. In 1935, the company moved its operation to Brackenridge (near Pittsburgh, PA). The Delaware Seamless Tube Mill structure was vacated around 1935. In 1941, a New York based company was considering leasing the abandoned DSTM structure to use as a warehouse and operate under the name of the "Auburn Steel Company". In 1944, the main structure of what had once been the Delaware Seamless Tube Mill was devastated by a massive fire. The remnants of the building were subsequently razed. |
c. 1940s - Auburn Shale Brick Company
The Auburn Shale Brick Company evolved from a prior more primitive and amateur brick making enterprise possibly named the Auburn Block Company. The Auburn Shale Brick company, also commonly known as the Auburn Brick Company, and possibly the A-No.-1 Brick Company (unconfirmed at this time), was historically the most influential employer of the Auburn-area. For decades, this industry employed generations of Auburn-area residents for a total of several hundred individuals. In a brief history of the Auburn Shale Brick company, mention was made of a fire which occurred in the 1940s which damaged several of the "structures" at the plant but provided no additional details; however, the damage was repaired and the brick company continued manufacturing of bricks. |
05/16/1957 - Auburn Brick Company
"A roof of a drying room, machinery, equipment and bricks undergoing a drying process were destroyed in a $30,000 blaze at Auburn Brick Company...the blaze was caused by an overheated fan. It ignited grease to set the drying room roof afire. The blaze was discovered about 4:40 a.m. by Wayne Hollenbach, a night fireman. A huge fan was located in an adjoining unit of the drying room which held some 100,000 to 120,000 bricks being processed...Firemen from six communities confined the blaze to the drying room proper, although walls housing expensive heavy machinery were scorched. The ignited grease exploded, showering the entire area with flaming embers. Protecting wall of brick, manufactured at the Auburn plant, were credited with saving the rest of the plant and expensive machinery. Although the wooden sides of a huge dust hopper were burned, firemen played streams of water on the unit to prevent it from exploding. The heavy machinery and other equipment saved from the flames was valued by Morrison in excess of $65,000." Once again, the brick factory's damage was repaired and the company continued manufacturing of bricks. |
1957 - Dietrich's Foundry
Raphael Dietrich began operation of a foundry located northeast of Auburn circa 1953. In 1957, the Auburn-area foundry suffered a fire of undetermined origin which caused an estimated $10,000 damages. The roof, interior and much of the machinery was destroyed by the conflagration. At the height of the blaze, flames could be seen from Deer Lake (approx. 3 miles away). The firefighters experienced some difficulty in combating the blaze due to the fact that the nearest water supply suitable to fight a fire came from a small dam located nearly 200 feet from the structure. Fire apparatus emptied their booster tanks and then trucks from Auburn and Deer Lake pumped water from the dam. The foundry was repaired and continued operations. |
11/25/1971 - Auburn Knitting Mills
The textile complex once known as the Auburn Knitting Mills was located between Elm Street and Cedar Alley as well as between Second and Third Streets. The core building of the Auburn Knitting Mills factory is believed to have been initially constructed in 1887. In an undated and unidentified news article under the column titled "Auburn Shale", the following article states "Messrs. Diefenderfer and Faust, proprietors of the Auburn Knitting Mills, are excavating for the basement and foundation of a large 3 story warehouse. " In February 1918, during a phase of expansion in which the roof was being raised to add an additional story to a portion of the structure, the supports gave way and contractor A. B. Binner was trapped in the collapsed debris. Fortunately, Mr. Binner was not seriously injured. By 1971, the building had undergone at least two major renovations and expansion. However, on Thanksgiving Day (November 25th, 1971), tragedy struck again. Around 1:30 p.m. a neighboring resident, Sarah Ebling, noticed flames at the site and called in an alarm. A conflagration was sweeping through the historic wooden structure in which thirty-five people were employed. Approximately a dozen fire companies responded to battle the flames using fifteen different pieces of equipment during the inferno. Fire companies from Auburn, Deer Lake, Landingville, Orwigsburg, Port Clinton, Pottsville (both the West End Aerial truck and the Yorkville Company), Schuylkill Haven (both the Liberty and the Schuylkill Hose Companies) and Summit Station were hampered in their efforts due to the wind and cold temperatures. The last fire company to depart the scene left eight-and-one-half hours after the alarm had been sounded. A minor re-ignition at approximately 8:00 a.m. the following morning resulted in the Auburn Fire Company to return to the scene until the blaze was finally extinguished. The fire was suspected to have started at the point where the electrical power lines entered the building. At one point a bystander noticed the paint on an exterior gasoline pump beginning to blister from the heat and a responding fire company had to redirect its attentions to dousing the pump with water in order to cool its temperature before another disaster might occur. Due to the intensity and duration of the blaze, the existing wooden structure was totally destroyed. Impressively, a year and two months after the tragedy, the Auburn Knitting Mills had demolished & razed the burnt remnants of the mill and had finished construction of a brand new brick & mortar structure to replace the original factory. All of the displaced employees resulting from the fire were offered re-employment. In 1975, the mill was sold to John Hester. Sadly, like so very many textile industries across America, the Auburn Knitting Mills days of production were limited. Over the decades the owners had built a successful business from scratch, had expanded and employed dozens of Auburn-area residents, had survived a roof collapse and had arose from the ashes of a tragic fire like an industrial Phoenix only to eventually succumb to the cruel effects of international economics due to the Textile Industry being farmed out to other countries. For a brief period of time, the structures were used by an "A. J. Boyd Wood Products", a company called "L' Art De La Mode", and a rather controversial outfit called "Tijan Leather" before falling into commercial disuse. The building is still present and is primarily used for storage. |
12/26/1983 - Auburn High School
This modern and spacious building was constructed in 1931 just east of Fifth Street between Pearson Street and Orchard Street. For over fifty years this structure served the community until it was destroyed by fire in 1983 and subsequently demolished. The Auburn Borough Building was erected on this same site. At this time, a decision was made to incorporate Auburn students into the Blue Mountain School District rather than rebuild the school. This was the final educational institution built and utilized in the town of Auburn, PA. |
07/25/1996 - Artistic Knitting Mills
The Artistic Knitting Mill was located in a sturdy two story brick factory which was once located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Front and Washington Streets in Auburn. The cornerstone of the building indicates that the Artistic Knitting Mill began production at this location in 1922. The Auburn Manufacturing Company operated from the same brick factory previously inhabited by the Artistic Knitting Mill. Subsequent occupants of this factory building included "Movie-Stars of PA, Inc.", "Gem Undergarments", and "Jyll Industries". Decades after the Artistic Knitting Mill was built, the building was used by someone with the surname of "Womer". Residents have referred to his industry as a "rag warehouse" in which he manufactured rags but the actual name of that business and the exact nature of his product is unclear. On July 25, 1996, a massive fire consumed the structure, fueled in part by the rags within the building, resulting in its demise. The ruined shell of the building was subsequently razed for safety purposes. An empty lot is now present where the building once was located. |
2005 - Eckert's Boarding House
Eckert's Boarding House was located at 124 Market Street, Auburn, PA. The lot originally hosted a shoe shop which was abandoned and subsequently demolished when the business relocated. Irvin Eckert purchased the empty lot circa 1928 for $2,500. He then had a solid three story brick structure constructed for his wife and eight children at the cost of $15,353.67. A portion of this structure he used as a boarding house to supplement their income by renting or leasing the rooms to guests and providing them with meals. Several years later, Irvin opened "Eckert's Cafe" on this site, a small eatery as well as a butcher shop. After Eckert’s departure, Gary Geschwindt operated a funeral home within this building for several years. Once the commercial interests were no longer present, the structure became long-term rental apartments. Unfortunately, the building experienced a devastating accidental fire in 2005 and became inhabitable. The ruins were then demolished for safety reasons. |
07/17/2006 -
Geo. W. Hubler Shoe Company The building which once contained the original portion of the Geo. W. Hubler Shoe Company was constructed in November of 1914 by the Auburn Board of Trade. This building was occupied by George W. Hubler's shoe company in March of 1915. The founder, George W. Hubler, had been involved in the manufacturing of shoes since 1889. George W. Hubler married Carrie L. Beck Hubler on March 25, 1894. The couple had a son George H. Hubler. Mr. Hubler purchased the building from the Auburn Board of Trade by 1918. The Geo. W. Hubler Shoe Company began production of the manufacturing of children's, misses' and infant welt shoes. Mr. Hubler retired circa 1945 and a new corporation was formed under the name of Hubler Shoes, Inc. After the Hubler Shoes, Inc. company closed, an outfit called "Windsor Knitting Mill, Inc." utilized the building. At some point, the group known as "Auburn Apparel" might have also used the building before relocating to another site adjacent to Route 895, but that is currently unconfirmed. Then, the structure sat vacant for a number of years. Early Monday morning on July 17, 2006, at approximately 2:00 a.m., an eleven year old girl named Amanda Dietrich was watching television when she noticed flames in the vacant factory building adjacent to her home. She awoke her family and the apartment building located at 427 Bear Creek Street in which they lived was quickly evacuated. Young Amanda is hailed as a hero for her actions as the fire destroyed not only the factory but the apartment building as well. The fire caused an estimated $1,250,000 in damage and was considered the largest fire in the area in the past twenty-five years. Although the small brick structure at the northern end of the complex was saved, the majority of the factory building and the apartment building were a total loss and subsequently were demolished. |
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07/17/2006 - Lyric Theatre
The same conflagration which destroyed the historic Hubler Shoe Factory building also destroyed the apartment building adjacent to the structure. That apartment building, mentioned in the quoted news article below, had once housed the only indoor theatre in the town of Auburn, the Lyric Theatre. The Lyric originally showed silent movies with piano accompaniment or had "actors" behind sheets making sound effects or inserting dialogue as needed. "Early Monday morning on July 17, 2006, at approximately 2:00 a.m., an eleven year old girl named Amanda Dietrich was watching television when she noticed flames in the vacant factory building adjacent to her home. She awoke her family and the apartment building located at 427 Bear Creek Street in which they lived was quickly evacuated. Young Amanda is hailed as a hero for her actions as the fire destroyed not only the factory but the apartment building as well. The fire caused an estimated $1,250,000 in damage and was considered the largest fire in the area in the past twenty-five years. Although the small brick structure at the northern end of the complex was saved, the majority of the factory building and the apartment building were a total loss and subsequently were demolished." |
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07/10/2007 -
Flander's Precisionaire Factory Prior to Flander's Precisionaire Factory, a Griffith Ladder factory was operating from this warehouse structure located on the approximate site of the old Delaware Seamless Tube Mill which had burnt in the 1940s and was razed. Precisionaire was operating from this building with over one hundred employees hired when disaster struct in July of 2007. Here are the excerpts from a news article: "A 31-year-old Auburn man who admitted setting three fires that caused more than $1.3 million damage, including a blaze Sept. 20 at Precisionaire Industries Inc., was arrested Tuesday, state police in Schuylkill County said. John M. Yerusavage, a former employee of Precisionaire, admitted setting the fire in the loading dock area at the air filter plant at 2033 Market St. in Auburn, troopers said. It caused more than $1 million damage. He also admitted setting a fire Sept. 22 at the Red Hill Game Association private club and one Sept. 14 at a garage on Route 895 in Wayne Township. Police did not give a motive for the arsons. The fire at Precisionaire destroyed the plant and idled 135 employees. The facility is owned by Flanders Corp., St. Petersburg, Fla. No one was injured in the fires, troopers said. Yerusavage is charged with arson, burglary, criminal mischief, prowling at night and related offenses. He was arraigned before Orwigsburg District Judge James R. Ferrier, who committed him to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail." The company failed to reopen this site after the fire. |