Nine people die when buildings in St. Joseph, Missouri business district suddenly collapse then burn

In St. Joseph, Missouri, at two o'clock in the afternoon, a year-old block of four-story brick buildings in the business district suddenly collapsed.  Much of the brickwork fell on and crushed a wood-frame building next door.  The ruins then took fire and were completely destroyed. Nine people, mostly two families who lived in the building next door died in the collapse and fire that followed. Damages to the businesses involved totaled around $150,000.  (By John OSborne)  
Source Citation
"The Catastrophe at St. Joseph," New York Times, July 16, 1860. 
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Crime/Disasters
    How to Cite This Page: "Nine people die when buildings in St. Joseph, Missouri business district suddenly collapse then burn," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/32514.