The Caddo Herald
December 5, 1924
Horses and Mules Perish in Flames
Just before 2 o’clock Wednesday morning the big sale barn of J. H. Cossart was discovered on fire by Marshal Sullivan, and the alarm given.
It was too late to save the structure, but adjoining houses were saved. The barn contained about thirty horses and mules and a large amount of feed. Six autos, belonging to tourists who were stopping there, also were consumed.
A dozen horses and mules perished in the flames. The others ran out, but were so badly injured that they were killed later. Twenty-nine head were lost. Next morning it was a ghastly sight to look upon these charred and swollen bodies.
The barn contained 1500 bushels of corn, 400 bushels of oats, 36 tons of cottonseed, 41 tons of hay, $1,700 worth of new harness, a large quantity of farm implements; the loss of these and the mules and horses being estimated at $22,000.
W.L. Lowery and family of five; V.L. Rice and family of four; T.S. Brantley and family of six; and Mr. and Mrs. James Suggs, all of Celina, Oklahoma, were camped in the wagon yard with their six Fords in the barn. They barely escaped with their lives, saving only their night clothes. They estimate their loss at $10,000. These people were traveling south and had stopped overnight here.
Mr. Cossart says the barn will be rebuilt on the highway in Caddo, and will be for tourists and mule and horse trading purposes. The new building will be built of concrete and steel, costing not less than $25,000 and not more than $50,000, making it one of the finest structures in Oklahoma. It will be built at once according to Mr. Cossart.
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