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Fire Destroys 100-year-old Midway Tavern-----
FIVE FLEE FLAMES IN LANDMARK
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Hostelry of Stage-Coach Days Burns to Ground at ‘Whiskeyville’
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$4,000 DAMAGE
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Family Makes Escape by Climbing From Second Story Porch
Fire early this morning destroyed one of the few remaining Lorain-co landmarks of the historic stage-coach days – the Whiskeyville Midway Tavern.
The tavern, located at the intersection of Oberlin and Telegraph-rds, eight miles south of Lorain, at daylight today was but a mound of ashes and debris. Fire of underdetermined origin started in the lower floor of the building at 3 a.m.
Harold Wallace, operator of the structure which was remodeled into a modern inn in 1916, his wife, two sons and a girl employed at the Tavern, narrowly escaped in their night clothing. They were forced to descend from a second story porch to escape with their lives, according to deputy sheriffs.
Escape Thru Window
They were all asleep in the building when the blaze was discovered, and smokes and flames cut off their exit except from a window over the porch.
Neighboring farmers and the Amherst fire department, under Ed Menz, assistant chief, fought the flames in vain. The only water available was from a well and it was pumped dry within five minutes.
The garage on the property caught fire, but was saved. Flames spread to the Kline gasoline station and general store across the road, but volunteer firemen extinguished the blaze without much damage.
The clothing and all possessions of the Wallaces, excepting a rocking chair and a small stand, were destroyed.
The Tavern was more than 100 years old and was used in the stage coach days as an over-night stop between Cleveland and Toledo.
Inn on Stage-Coach Line
Mrs. Burt Galloway, 325 North-st, Elyria is the owner of the property. She says the building was used as an inn on the Pittsburgh stage-coach line. She had it remodeled when she bought it in 1916.
Wallace, who formerly lived in Oberlin, had been operating the tavern since September, 1932.
A group of men from an ice cream firm in Bellevue had a party at the tavern last night but they had left the place a long time before the fire was discovered.
Sheriff Clarence Dick today summoned a state fire marshall to investigate the blaze. Damage was estimated at $4,000.
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Also on the same front page were some interesting items. The Nickel Plate railroad agreed to install flasher signals in Lorain at the Leavitt Road crossing; the removal of two bends in the Black River south of the Nickel Plate bridge was planned. Most interesting of all was an upcoming special election would result in the secession of the southern half of Sheffield Lake Village, eventually leading to the creation of two separate communities: Sheffield Lake and Sheffield Village.