At 4:15 in the morning of April 27, 1903, a railroad call boy, James J. Butler, was walking along Evelyn Street in Rutland. That’s when he saw the flames. Young Butler raced to the corner of Merchants Row and Center Street and pulled box 47 to sound the alarm.

Firefighters could see flames nearly 80 feet high as soon as they came out of Station One’s door. The fire would cause an estimated $50,000 in damage, gutting the Odd Fellows and Cramton Blocks on Merchants Row.

It took several hours to bring the fire under control, and two firefighters were injured. Faulty wiring was believed to have started the blaze.

Image courtesy Rutland in Retrospect edited by Robert E. West. And a special thanks to the Rutland Historical Society for all their assistance.