Cayot Dry Goods Store

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03fc8c00dkelyh.png"> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="East Side Grocery"><B><IMG SRC="0410b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id246.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Douglas Maytag Co."><B><IMG SRC="0420b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>     </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="18"><B>  </B><A HREF="id176.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa Business"><B><IMG SRC="04312120.png" border=0 width="18" height="18" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="77" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="71"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="30" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="71" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald  "</B></I><I><B>Ottawa at the Millennium</B></I><I><B>" article provided by Morgan Williams</B></I></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=94 BGCOLOR="#FF3300" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0403c5e1dvmwlb.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Ottawa High School Class of '57</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa High School Class of 57"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="christmas_on_main_street.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Main Street">Main Street</A>   |   <A HREF="franklin_co_courthouse.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Franklin Co Courthouse">Franklin Co Courthouse</A>   |   <A HREF="kfo_radio.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Radio ">Radio </A>   |   <A HREF="ogg_s.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oggs West End Grocery">Ogg's West End Grocery</A>   |   <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mom Blackies">Mom & Blackie's</A>   |   <A HREF="id201.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hoods DariTreat">Hood's Dari-Treat</A>   |   <A HREF="id197.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dunkins Dutchmaid">Dunkin's Dutchmaid</A>   |   <A HREF="id171.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="East Side Grocery">East Side Grocery</A>   |   <B>Cayot Dry Goods Store</B>   |   <A HREF="id246.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Douglas Maytag Co.">Douglas Maytag Co.</A>   |   <A HREF="id277.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Union Oil">Union Oil</A>   |   <A HREF="id280.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sinclair Oil">Sinclair Oil</A>   |   <A HREF="id233.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ransom Bennett">Ransom Bennett</A>   |   <A HREF="id264.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Old Ottawa Hamlin House">Old Ottawa Hamlin House</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Cayot Dry Goods Store</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Raging Fire in '31 Struck Cayot Dry Goods Store</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>By PAUL SHEARER </B></div> <div> Special to The Herald </div> <bR> <div> At the corner of Main and Fourth streets was the site of one of Ottawa's most costly disasters. </div> <bR> <div> The intersection happens to be the site where the Cayot Dry Goods Company stood many years ago, before it was tragically burned to the ground on Feb. 9, 1931.  The fire left two Ottawa firemen seriously injured and caused over $105,000 in damage.  The entire inventory of the store, which included various hardware and furniture goods, was lost in the blaze. </div> <bR> <div> According to documentation, the blaze was discovered around 3 a.m. by local policemen who called the fire department claiming the fire was already raging on the inside of the building.  The fire department responded to the alarm immediately, but it was already too late.  The flames began bursting through the roof, and it was already apparent that the building could not be saved. </div> <bR> <div> About 35 minutes after the fire truck arrived, an entire section of the south wall of the Cayot building unexpectedly detached and fell into the street below, hospitalizing firemen Clyde Garrett and Paul Garrison. </div> <bR> <div> The fire then began to creep over to the Kaiser Drug building.  The worry was that the fire had the potential to destroy the whole block.  Luckily, the flames were put under control before complete disaster struck. </div> <bR> <div> Ottawa citizen Ransom Bennett Jr. remembers the devastation. </div> <bR> <div> "A lot of people showed up to watch," Bennett said.  "The entire building was destroyed.  There was nothing left but a pile of bricks." </div> <bR> <div> Today, the Agler & Gaeddert accounting firm is housed in a new building that rose at the site of the historic disaster.  The building is known as the Bennett building; Ransom Bennett Jr.'s family used to own it. </div> <bR> <div> "It was probably one of the worst fires in Ottawa history to date," Bennett said. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>Reference: Ottawa Herald: </I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><A HREF="http://wire.dailynews.net/ottawa/2000/31fire.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://wire.dailynews.net/ottawa/2000/31"><I><U>http://wire.dailynews.net/ottawa/2000/31fire.html</U></I></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id233.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ransom Bennett"><I><U>Return to Ransom Bennett Article</U></I></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>