Gothenburg: Mill on Fire

If there is one thing that's always been feared in small farming towns, it's a grain mill fire and explosion. Towns were made of wood...wood buildings and wood roofs, and fires could spread fast and furious, especially when the mill is next to a lumber yard!

With the fire in the mill well underway, townspeople band together to push the wooden railcars down the siding and out of danger. In the distance is another grain mill and elevator: take note of the open window on the top floor: this was where the panaramic photos in our first Gothenburg post were taken.

Nothing can be done to save the mill at this point, but at the far left, the stacks of lumber are being dowsed to keep embers from igniting them.

Across the Lincoln Highway from the mill, townspeople scramble to protect the wooden roofs of nearby buildings, possibly the most important being the Pabst Saloon!