File:J. E. Ashworth & Sons fire, part 1.jpg

Summary[edit]

DescriptionJ. E. Ashworth & Sons fire, part 1.jpg	English: J. E. Ashworth & Sons fire, part 1
Date	10 February 1925
Source	Times Herald of Middletown, New York
Author	AnonymousUnknown author
Other versions

Text[edit]

Think Sparks From Picker In Plant Caused Blaze In Wool. Factory of E. Ashworth & Sons Is Destroyed By Fire This Morning. Plant Once Tannery. Local and Port Jervis Firemen Unable to Reach Scene. Estimated damage of $75,000, entirely uncovered by insurance, was caused this morning when the blanket plant of the J. E. Ashworth's Sons at Westbrookville was wiped out by a fire which swept through the two buildings in a little more than an hour. The storehouse in which a good part of the completed blankets had been placed was saved due to the fact that it is of brick construction. Efforts to check the blaze were thwarted by the lack of apparatus or water, and by the fierceness with which a the fire burned. The fire departments e in this city and Port Jervis were notified, but the former did not think its apparatus could make the difficult road over Shawangunk Mountain, and the latter although an engine tried to get to the fire, arrived too late. Volunteer firefighters in Otisville, the nearest village, made a diligent search for the local apparatus, but were unable to locate it. Eight or nine men, however, armed with axes and buckets went over the mountain and did what they could. A crowd of Westbrookville people gathered, but, were unable to make any headway in fighting the blaze. The buildings were burned completely to the ground. The fire is believed to have started in the burr picker machine, which cards out the wool and makes it fluffy. This machine attains a tremendous speed. Employees of the concern believe this is where the initial spark came from the inflammable blankets and dry cloth with which the buildings were filled probably accounted for the rapidity with which they were destroyed. The plant is old, having been used as a tannery before Mr. Ashworth, Sr., purchased it some 30 years ago. It is now, or rather was, operated by the three sons of Mr. Ashworth, R. C. Ashworth, Daniel Ashworth, and Albert Ashworth, all residents of Westbrookville. The plant was situated on the Pine Kill, from which it desired all of its power. Pine woolen blankets constitute the bulk of its output, although within recent years, the Ashworth brothers have started ins manufacturing burlap and linoleum covering. Before they owned it, the buildings were run by Charles Korn, father of Charles and Julius Korn, of this city. They operated a tannery. The reason given by the owners of the factory for not having any insurance on it was that the buildings were so old and needed so many improvements that rates would have been extremely high. The fire was first noticed at 10:15 by one of the 45 workmen employed in the plant. He immediately sounded the alarm. Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting particulars concerning the disaster, as the factory had no public telephone running to it, but only a private line to Peterson's store in Otisville. The reason for there being no phone in the plant is that some years ago, the brothers had difficulty with the Orange County Telephone Company, which ended by the connections with the latter concern being severed.

Miss Jessie Ashworth, sister of the owners, is Times-Press correspondent at Westbrookville.

People[edit]

• Mr. Ashworth, Sr. (1831-1910)
  • Richard Charles Ashworth (1866-1943)
  • Daniel Gunnar Ashworth (1876-1949)
  • Albert P. Ashworth (1872-1934)

Licensing[edit]

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