At around ten o'clock in the evening, near the railroad depot in Rockford, Illinois, a fire broke out in an agricultural machinery factory's paint shop and quickly spread to neighboring concerns. After three hours, a stone built building slowed the flames enough for firefighters to get it under control. Scores of reapers were lost in their warehouse and other merchants had heavy losses, including 20,000 bushels of grain and hundreds of barrels of pickled cabbage. No-one was reported as seriously injured, however. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Conflagration at Rockford. Ill.," Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1865, p. 2.