A newspaper photograph of the First Baptist Church, Wiconisco, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The photo appeared as part of an article in the Lykens Standard, January 12, 1906, in which the church proudly reported that it had paid off its mortgage and the congregation was now debt free. Less than three months later, on March 16, 1906, the Lykens Standard reported the following:
The Baptist church of this place [Wiconisco] was entirely destroyed by fire on Wednesday evening.
A more detailed story can be found in the Harrisburg Telegraph of March 15, 1906:
CHURCH BURNED – WICONISCO NARROWLY ESCAPED SERIOUS FIRE
Clever Firemen from Lykens Cover Houses With Wet Carpets
Lykens, March 15 [1906] — The Wiconisco Baptist Church was destroyed by fire last evening, just a month after it was freed from debt. The loss if $5,000. A long row of houses was saved from destruction by the clever scheme of firemen from this town [Lykens] who were called to aid Wiconisco, which is less than a mile from here. The local firemen tore up the carpets from the first house of the row, and covered the roof and sides of the house with them, keeping them soaked with water. The prompt action of the firemen saved the town from what was probably the worst fire in its history.
The fire started at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. John Bateman, the janitor, had just left the building, after firing the furnace. A bucket brigade endeavored to check the fire till the two hose wagons from the place [Lykens] arrived. All efforts were then turned to the saving of adjoining property. The church was burned to the ground.
The Baptist Church has a congregation of about 800, and was one of the oldest houses of worship in the town. About a year ago it was rebuilt and rededicated. Just three weeks ago last Sunday the church was freed entirely from debt and with elaborate ceremonies the $2,000 mortgage held against it was burned.
The Baptist Church was first dedicated on New Year’s Day, 1870. On August 1, 1872, Rev. B. E. Jones, of Centralia, became pastor and served faithfully for twenty-five years. He was followed by Rev. J. E. Saul, of Lewisburg, who was pastor from May, 1898, to December, 1900. From February, 1901, Rev. T. L. Josephs served two years. During his pastorate the church was completely renovated at a cost of $2,100. The present edifice was dedicated March 3, 1902. After Rev. Josephs, Rev. C. W. Teasdale served ten months as pastor. On November 1, 1904, Rev. M. H. Jones, the present pastor, came from Cleveland, Ohio. On December 31, 1905, the congregation burned the $2,100 mortgage on the church which had been contracted nearly four years previous. The church was one of the most beautiful churches in the valley and was valued at $7,000, although very little insurance was carried on the building.
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Liberty Hose Company No. 2, Lykens, provides the following “Incident Report” on its website:
The Wiconisco First Baptist Church, located at the northwest corner of Pottsville and Spring Streets, was destroyed by fire on Wednesday, March 14, 1906. The fire started in the basement and was noticed around 5 p. m. A brisk east wind prevailed at the time and residents feared a repeat of the conflagration which struck a couple of blocks away at the knitting mill on September 27, 1904. It was impossible to save the building and all efforts were made to prevent the fire from spreading to the row of homes to the west of the church. The only thing saved from the church was the pulpit Bible. Liberty Hose Company No. 2 responded from Lykens with both service carriages. There was little that could be done, as the force of water was barely enough to push it through the nozzles. Bucket brigades were formed. The firemen took the carpets from Thomas Cole‘s residence, which was a short distance away, and placed them on the roof and sides of his home, saving it by keeping the carpets saturated with water. Superintendent Hood McKay also put a force of men at work running a line from one of the colliery pumps, which would have given sufficient force to fight a fire. But, the fire did not spread beyond the church, and work on the line was stopped as it neared the ruins. The loss of the building, furniture, organ, etc. was $7,000, which was only covered by insurance of $1,000. Rev. H. E. Hildt, pastor of the church of the Evangelical Association, offered the use of their house of worship to the Baptist congregation until their church was rebuilt.
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Less than two years later, the Baptist congregation dedicated a new building, built on the same site. See:
The new church building was of a similar design to the one that was destroyed by fire – except that the new building was built of concrete block that was manufactured in Lykens.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
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