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The little village of Lexington, seven miles south of this city, was early Sunday morning visited by a conflagration, the largest that ever occurred there.  At about half-past one fire was discovered in the second story of the building occupied by Maxwell & Shauck, as a bakery and provision store.  A general alarm was given, and all the bells in the village were rung.  The citizens all turned out and formed a bucket brigade and went to work to quell the flames.  The fire spread very quickly and, as the fire equipment of the little village was exceedingly limited, all efforts proved futile.

A telegram was sent here summoning our fire department, and they responded very quickly, but as there was no locomotive here on the B.&O. that could be used, considerable time was consumed in waiting on a north-bound freight train, and after it reached here it started for the scene with one flat car and our fire department.  They made the run of nine miles in eight minutes, which was indeed remarkably fast time.  When the department arrived there it was too late to be of much service as the whole block had been destroyed, and all our boys could do was to look after some of the surrounding buildings, which they did in a noble manner.  

All day Sunday hundreds of visitors from the surrounding towns and country visited the village, and took a look at the scene.  Everything looked bad, as scarcely anything had gotten out of the burning buildings, and the debris which smoked all day showed in what a short time so much valuable property can be laid into a worthless mass.  

LOSS AND INSURANCE

• Geo. M. and Bloomer Sowers, loss of store building, small brick and baker shop, $1,300;  insurance, $800.

• D. Bachelder, boots and shoes, loss $3,000;  insurance, $1,800, divided as $1,000 in Richland County Mutual and $800 in Wayne County Mutual.

• Thuma heirs, two-story building, loss $1,800;  insurance, $1,000 in Ashland Mutual.

• F.S. Thuma, meat market, loss $800;  insurance, $600 in Wayne County Mutual.

• Wm. Wilson, drug store, building and stock, loss $3,500;  insurance, $1,800, divided as $1,000 in Merchants' and Manufacturers' Mutual of Mansfield, $600 in Allen County Mutual and $1,000 in Ashland Mutual.

• Fleming, stable and wheat, $200;  no insurance.

• Maxwell & Shauck, bakery and provision store, loss $1,600;  insurance, $1,200.  

• Dr. G. Carey, dwelling house, office furniture and library, loss $3,000;  insurance $1,500 in Wayne County Mutual.

• Geo. Myers, barber shop, loss $400;  insurance $300.

A tramp made himself conspicuous during the fire by demoralizing every thing he could get his hands on.  He was ordered to leave the village and did so.

Emet Jacobs and Will Bissman, of Mansfield, and John Dean and Will LeFever of Bellville, viewed the scene from their wheels.

The Sowers building will be rebuilt immediately in a good substantial manner, probably of brick.

Mr. Boggs removed his books from the safe on the morning after the fire and found them uninjured, save that the covers were scorched.

No building will be placed on the Thuma lot until after the ground is sold at administrator's sale.

Mr. S.F. Thuma told a reporter that a little thing like that would not disturb him much and that he expects to continue selling meat in Fred Beverstock's building.

Mrs. S.F. Thuma was carried from her sick bed having given birth to a child two days before.  She was carried to a neighboring house and received good care from sympathetic friends.

Dr. Carey is perhaps the greatest sufferer.  In addition to the total loss of building and most of his furniture, he lost all his accounts and notes, hence has no means of making his collections.  The doctor had his residence repaired last summer at an outlay of $700, and the painting had just been finished.  He has practiced in Lexington for eighteen years and given general satisfaction.  It is his intention to rebuild as early as practicable and will continue his practice if the people stand by him in the future as they have in the past.  Mr. Carey sustained the loss of a three hundred dollar library which he prized very highly.

An efficient bucket brigade did yeoman service in cutting off the flames from the surrounding buildings, and thus probably saved the town from total destruction.

Mr. Wm. Wilson is indignant at the statement in an unreliable would-be rival that explosions occurred in his building.  His store continued no explosives, and nothing of an inflammable nature beyond a few gallons of oil.  The explosions probably occurred in the adjoining storerooms which contained a small quantity of powder.

Mr. Bloomer Sowers' face was badly scorched while he was engaged in throwing water on the brick building which was saved.  Fortunately this was the only injury sustained.

Mr. Bachelder saved two benches and a sewing machine.  His accounts are all right as ke kept them at his residence.

Mr. Wilson will likely place a new stock of drugs in Mrs. Englehart's room -- the skating rink.

All the burned out parties will resume business at once, and rebuild as early as possible.

The stereotyped charge that articles easily broken are thrown out and others carried out was exemplified by a fellow who threw out a cupboard and its contents, totally destroying them, and carrying out a bed tick.

Mr. Robert Calwell's residence opposite the burned district was set on fire three times and the roof was considerably damaged.

The roof of Miss Ida Levering's building on Short Street caught twice, but was put out.

The building designated by the figure 11 was occupied by a meat market, and a barber shop.  Three widow ladies, Mrs. Thuma, Quinn and Shafer also resided there.

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