Waseca, MN Depot Fire, Jan 1869

DEPOT BURNED. On the 17th of March, '69, the city saw its first very destructive fire. The following is the description given at the time: "About one o'clock in the morning our citizens were startled from their slumbers by the fearful cry of fire! fire!! fire!!! which rang out with dreadful clearness on the still, morning air. Flames were seen issuing from the W. & St. P. R. R. station-house, which, being of wood, was, with nearly all its contents, soon a mass of smouldering ruins. It is impossible to learn the exact origin of the fire, but it is supposed to have originated from the explosion of a kerosene lamp which was left burning on the table in the office. A large amount of freight was stored in the building - much of it belonging to merchants in Mankato and other towns to the west and southwest of us. The books and papers of the office were all destroyed. Some 2,000 bushels of wheat belonging to Troost & White, millers of Minnesota City, were consumed. The estimated loss was from $12,000.00 to $15,000.00."

The railroad company rebuilt at once, constructing what is now (1904) the C. & N.-W. freight depot. It was completed May 10th following [1869].

Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904 ; a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers, Owatonna, Minn.: Press of the Owatonna Chronicle, 1905, page 213
__________________