On This Date in Minnesota History: December 24

December 24, 1909 – Defective electric wiring is believed to have been the cause of a fire that practically destroyed Millard Hall, the medical building at the University of Minnesota, this evening. The loss will be in the neighborhood of $75,000.

The building had been occupied by the dental department for the last few months and was filled with valuable apparatus and instruments. It is the third time that the same building has been on fire, but only slight damage was done on the former occasions.

Millard Hall¹

According to the firemen, it was the lack of a sufficient water supply that caused the blaze to be so disastrous.

All of the students left a week ago for their homes to spend the Christmas holidays. Dr. C. F. Dight, one of the instructors, was the only man in the building when the fire broke out. It started between the walls on the top floor and soon shot out through the roof. He opened a window and shouted a warning to the watchman, who immediately turned in an alarm.

When the firemen arrived, the fire had gained such a headway that little could be done, as there was not enough water to drown out the flames. A new valve had been installed in one of the other buildings during the day, which was the cause of turning off the water.

The building was built in 1893 at a cost of $56,000, but several improvements have been made since. It was known as Millard Hall and more familiarly as the old medical building. Only the upper floor was used by the medical department, however, while the rest of the hall was occupied by the school of dentistry.

Among the valuable contents destroyed was the medical library destroyed was the medical library consisting of about 5,000 volumes of rare books. Instruments belonging to 200 students valued at from $50 to $300 each, teaching material and the contents of the laboratories. It is said that the dental department had a stock valued at approximately $50,000, but much of it will be salvage.

Nearly all the students had their instruments insured and their personal loss will be small. There was also insurance on the property of the state amounting to 75 percent of the valuation.

Dr. E. D. Brown is one of the heavy losers, although it is difficult to figure his loss in dollars and cents. It is believed that all of his records of original research work were destroyed.

One of the senior students, A. I. Moore, lost 150 casts, which he considered of great value.

The fire was spectacular and attracted an immense crowd, but the police kept excellent order and the firemen were not hampered in their work.

An examination of the building will be made by the fire marshal tomorrow to determine the cause of the fire. At present, no other cause than defective wiring is being considered.

A conference of the board of regents will be held tomorrow to determine how to continue the work of the dental college without interruption.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Millard Hall at ‘U’ Destroyed by Fire. Defective Wiring Given as the Cause of $75,000 Loss to State. Dental Department Is the Chief Loser—Insurance Fairly Large. Inadequate Water Supply Blamed for Seriousness of the Fire.”; Dec. 25, 1909; p. 1.

¹http://editions.lib.umn.edu/ahcarchives/2012/06/19/the-millard-halls/

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