The Macomb Daily Journal reported on June 24, 1941, that a “Fire of undetermined origin gutted the Macomb Motor company building, Lafayette and Washington streets, at 6:30 o’clock last evening.” This news would not be “news” to many people in Macomb, as photographs documenting the fire shows that a large crowd turned out to witness the fire and even try to help extinguish it.
The very detailed article even related how the fire was discovered. One of the owners, James Trapp, told the paper that he had just returned from supper and a customer asked to look at a car in the used car lot to the east of the building. Shortly after two young boys ran out of the garage to inform him that the building was on fire. Rushing back to the building he found a small fire along the north wall which was where the body repair department was located.
Trapp rushed to the office to call the fire department, but had difficulty being connected. An article with the headline, “Blames fire for Long Delay in Phone Call” appeared next to the article that reported the fire. The shorter article explained that the phone lines were damaged by the fire not allowing the call to be connected. Another complication was the caller who placed the call from a neighboring building, reported the “Ford Garage was on fire” and hung up. With no address given, there was confusion as to which of the two local “Ford Garages” was on fire -the one on Lafayette Street or the one on East Jackson. It took 15 minutes for the fire department to arrive and by then the fire had spread creating a lot of smoke.
Cans of paint and oil could be heard exploding, the article continues, and flames reached 20 feet out of the west windows. The museum has images of the building on fire and they convey the magnitude of the fire. The blaze “raged for more than an hour” according to the newspaper report and Bushnell and Colchester Fire Departments were called to assist. By 10:00 that night the fireman had left the scene and the assessment of the damage could begin.
The next day the site was assessed and the damages tallied. Only one employee received minor injuries -a burn to his hand from trying to remove a burning car. The company records were undamaged and found in a fireproof safe. Workers scavenged the building for any tools they could salvage.
Mrs. Jemima Lodge, the owner of the building, is cited as carrying $9,000 of insurance on the building. The building was not a total loss with the walls still standing and most of the roof intact. The article states that the insurance money would be adequate to make the needed repairs.
Damage to the vehicles, parts, and equipment owned by the Macomb Motors company was extensive. In addition, four cars that were being serviced at the time were lost as well as eight vehicles owned by Macomb Motors. The estimated loss was thought to be around $36,000.
Another interesting point made in the article is that this fire was the largest in Macomb since the Hemp factory burned “five or six years earlier.” It also mentioned that this is the third fire that took place in the vicinity in the last ten years. The other business also being automobile-related -a tire shop and another garage.
By the end of the year, another article in the Macomb Daily Journal reported that the building was rebuilt and described as, “one of the largest private building jobs in the city…” It also describes the new construction enlarging the building to 120 ft. by 90 ft. with all but one corner of it rebuilt. As the building stands today, the building to the east with a curved roof was added as part of the 1941 rebuild. It is also clear from the photographs taken during the fire, that the northwest corner is the one mentioned in the article that was not rebuilt -the entrance, window openings, and brick detail remains the same.
The 201 South Lafayette Street building has been a longtime fixture in downtown Macomb. It has stood the test of time and much more. The building continues to see changes with updates, making it ready for the next century.
Photographs from the collection of the Westen Illinois Museum, Macomb, Illinois