(1903 postcard photo, scene looking north from approx Penn Ave)
The first business property in town was a mill built in 1856 by John N. Souder along the railroad tracks between Main Street and Penn Avenue, in an open area behind what is now the Towne Restaurant. It featured a steam chopping mill which was destroyed by a fire in 1861.
This mill was rebuilt in 1884 by C.G. Barndt, who was then forced to sell it in 1885 in order to pay his creditors. It was purchased by Moses R. Shelly in 1886 for $8,000 and became a thriving business until the Feed Mill, along with 13 other buildings, suffered destruction by a great fire on May 8, 1903.
This tragedy resulted from a convergence of factors – combustible materials stored close to the railroad tracks, a spark from a passing train and ill-maintained and inadequate fire equipment.
To quote from Charles H. Price, Jr. in “Old Time Views of Telford” the story unfolds as follows:
“On the evening of May 8, 1903, a spark puffed out of the chimney of a train which was going by and fell on the roof of the Moses R. Shelly Feed Mill and started a fire. Naturally with the fire companies having such very small equipment to take care of a large fire, the flames swept through the building. At the time, Telford had only a small hand pumper, that is, a type of box on four wheels with two long bars and pump handles, one on either side. They placed the suction end of the hose into the well over at John Koon’s Hotel and pumped away.
In all, about fourteen buildings burned down that night, with about $100,000 damage: All the buildings of the Feed Mill, a three- dwelling house next to the
mill on Main Street, a livery stable in the back of the hotel, and a blacksmith shop. Although the hotel itself did not burn, the walls were very badly blistered.”
[Note: Some of the 14 buildings included a: feed store, grinding mill, cider press, coal yard, hay press, lumber yard. Also destroyed: railroad station, wheelwright shop, blacksmith shop, hotel sheds and stables and 4 private dwellings. $100,000 in 1903 is the equivalent of about $2,696,000 in 2018.]
The ‘Souderton Independent’ newspaper covered the story of the fire in its June 5, 1903 edition saying, “The volunteers and most everybody from the surrounding country and towns turned out and fought the flames as best they could with buckets, small fire pumps and hose, but this proved of little use beyond the quenching of a few small fires outside the region threatened.”
The May 28, 2003 Supplement to the ‘Souderton Independent’ celebrating Telford Fire Company’s “Century of Service” went on to quote from the ‘Souderton Independent’ July 31, 1903 article: “A fire company has been organized in West Telford with forty members. The engine is being put into great shape and the boys are enthusiastic over the prospects of substantial assistance from Councils of both boroughs (ed. Note – Telford and West Telford) and citizens.”
