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<DIV><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Bluefield Daily Telegraph<BR>August 8,
1909</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=5>PRACTICALLY WIPED OFF THE MAP</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=5>All of Little Town of Devon East of Ritter Lumber
Yards Burned</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=4>TWO HOTELS AMONG THE BUILDINGS
DESTROYED</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=4>Norfolk and Western Station Also Prey of Flames
but Freight and Records of Company Were Saved</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>-----</DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>FIFTH DISASTROUS FIRE IN HISTORY OF THE
VILLAGE</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left> Devon, eighty-two miles west of Bluefield,
was practically wiped off the map by a fire which started at 10:30 yesterday
morning, according to advices which have been received here, with a loss of over
$10,000. The fire originated in the Wohlford Hotel from an unknown
cause. The fire fighting apparatus was crude, and the flames spread
rapidly to the neighboring buildings. The entire block in which the hotel
was located was destroyed. Among the buildings were two stores, a
restaurant, a barber shop and the St. Charles Hotel. The Norfolk and
Western station and the agent's house also went up in smoke, entailing a loss of
$2,500, fully covered by insurance.</DIV>
<DIV align=left> Practically all the town east of the Ritter
lumber yards was burned. Much of the household goods was carried out, but
was damaged very seriously by water. All of the freight in the Norfolk and
Western station and the records of the company were saved. The Ritter
Lumber Company used its small engine to place cars back of the station and into
these were loaded the freight and express matter from the burning station.
The company brought the engine crew from the lower Elk planing mills down and
the men assisted very materially in fighting the fire. After the crews
arrived the flames were checked where the Big Sandy & Cumberland tracks pass
through the town. The Ritter people themselves suffered no loss.
This is one of the few fires at Devon in which the Ritters have not lost
heavily, and this is not the first time in which the town has suffered from
conflagrations. The fact of the matter is that five other disastrous fires
are recorded in Devon's history, and each one was almost a total destruction of
the village.</DIV>
<DIV align=left> The last fire which visited Devon was about
eighteen months ago, and this consumed the main part of the town.</DIV>
<DIV align=left> The Norfolk and Western station was destroyed
[<EM>in the last fire</EM>], but within forth-eight hours the company had a new
station built and was occupying it. In the present instance carpenter
crews and building material were hurried to Devon, and the officials at the
division office in Bluefield say that the end of forty-eight hours will see a
new station standing in the place of the old one.</DIV>
<DIV align=left> It is difficult to estimate the loss from the
information at hand, but it is conservatively stated that the loss will exceed
$10,000. Most of the property, it is understood, was insured, and the
buildings are to be replaced in a short time.</DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=left>[<EM>The article mentioned that Ritter Lumber Co. used its
small engine to place cars back of the station and that items from the
burning station were placed into the cars. </EM><EM>The W. M. Ritter
Lumber Company's Big Sandy & Cumberland RR at Devon was narrow gauge,
so I wonder if it were the narrow gauge cars that the engine placed back of the
station. Certainly the station front faced the N&W line, so it is
possible that the narrow gauge track was at the back of the station and freight
normally was transferred between the two railroads through the
station.</EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM></EM> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM>Out of curiosity I checked the list of Shay
locomotives on the Website shaylocomotives.com and found four Shay's listed for
the W. M. Ritter Company's Big Sandy and Cumberland RR at
Devon. Also, the book, The Climax Locomotive, lists Ritter with four
Climax locomotive at Devon. On related note, I was surprised to see that
the W. M. Ritter Lumber Co. had owned some 64 Shays and 17 Climax locomotives in
six states.</EM>]</DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Script size=6>Gordon
Hamilton</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>