| Newspaper | Wheaton Journal |
|---|---|
| Date | Friday, October 19, 1923 |
| Headline | ROARING RIVER HOTEL BURNS |
| Text | Roaring River Hotel the large ___ Hotel at the famous ... Resort eight miles southeast of Cassville was completely destroyed by fire Monday afternoon. The fire was discovered just about one o'clock by employees of the resort. The building was filled with smoke and they could not find just where the fire started, before it got under such headway and it could not be contained and by 2 o'clock the building was nothing but a pile of ashes. It is not known how the fire originated but is that to have started from a short in some of the lighting system as no fires had been built in the hotel since it closed for the season on Oct. 1. The building was a large one and contained 15 guest rooms, a large sleeping porch, a large dining room, lobby and parlors. It was practically a new building being rebuilt and enlarged about two years ago. The loss is estimated at approximately $50,000 and was only partly covered by insurance. A bucket brigade was organized by those who were still occupying ... at the resort, and the residents in that section and working under the direction of R. E. Bruner they were able by heroic work to save some of the buildings that were near the hotel. The bathhouse and laundry buildings were saved also the dancing pavilion. The loss of this building was not only a great loss to Mr. Bruner but was a loss to the people of this county and had the destruction stopped there it would not have been so bad but about 2:30 a. m. Tuesday morning the fine INN building on the hill near the hotel caught fire and was completely destroyed with all the contents. This building was about 170 feet long and contained some 28 rooms which were fitted up with a bath and lavatory and were modern in every way. We understand that Mr. and Mrs. ___ annister had been entertaining a number of their friends at their cottage Monday night and when the guests departed about midnight there were no signs of a fire at the building then and that the night watchman who was making his rounds after one o'clock saw no sign of a fire but shortly after 2 o'clock he discovered the fire and gave the alarm. While the origin of the fire is not known but we are told that Mr. Bruner said that he did not think that the building could have caught fire from the sparks of the other building and smoldered for over twelve hours before breaking out without being discovered by someone. The Roaring River hotel was one of the historic land marks of this section of the country, being built in the late forties or early fifties and was used for a mill until purchased by Mr. Bruner. Cassville Republican |
| Resource | State Historical Society of MO Microfilm |
| Submitted by | Don Warner - Deceased |
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