Like any early town, Hatton, North Dakota, had its share of fires. In 1915 there were two – just three weeks apart. The first involved the gas lighting at a hotel that caused an explosion and fire that destroyed seven businesses and cost more than fifty thousand dollars. Those buildings included the hotel, a harness shop, a café, shoe shop and post office. The fire started in the afternoon and “raged for several hours.” Nineteen days later, Hatton’s mill burned down, with damages of seventeen thousand dollars.
The town’s next fire was more destructive. On this date in 1923, the fire gutted a whole block in Hatton except for a bank and hardware store—both of which were brick buildings. The fire started in the basement of a general store and spread quickly to the rest of the block. Fire departments from Hatton, Mayville and Northwood responded. Northwood brought water and kept the fire from spreading to businesses on neighboring blocks. Mayville had its chemical engine ready and watched to keep the fire from reaching nearby homes.
The fire was the worst Hatton had seen, leaving the block “a mass of ruins.” Thirteen businesses had burned: a clothing store, general store, a bank, two women’s hat makers, a restaurant, pool hall, confectioner’s, creamer’s and livery. The damage estimate was over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Insurance was expected to cover about half. The cause of the fire wasn’t known, but the general store’s furnace had been lit about an hour before the fire began.
Dakota Datebook by Jack Dura
Sources
Hatton, North Dakota: Diamond jubilee, 1884-1959.
Hatton Free Press, Page 1, 1923, May 10
