The fire which claimed the Ferrier Lumber Company on the north side of East Jefferson Street in Culver was spotted around 4:30 a.m. April 21, 1923. Fire departments from Knox, Plymouth, and Logansport assisted, and Culver’s inadequate water supply forced firemen to pump water from nearby Lake Maxinkuckee. Efforts were concentrated on saving the surrounding homes (one, that of Oliver Morris, was burned, though not entirely). Clark Ferrier burned his hand moving his car to safety, and two firemen were injured fighting the blaze.
“Rain Saves Culver from Flames,” proclaimed the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel of the day. Rain fell “in torrents for about 15 minutes” at around 10 a.m., enabling firefighters to gain the upper hand in the fire, which they finally pronounced likely not to spread by 11:30 a.m. The damage was estimated at around $100,000 to the lumber company, which rebuilt its central building in brick, a structure which stood at the site until the 1990s, when it was demolished and replaced with the Bayside Condominiums.
Photos provided by Craig Hopple.
