Heavy Thunderstorm

James Hanlon’s Barn Burned on Sunday Morning

Guelph and Galt District Weekly Advertiser newspaper

Thursday September 22, 1898.

About twenty minutes past six on Sunday morning, thunder commenced to boom and lightning flash from a cloud travelling in a southerly direction. It was only ten minutes after the thunder commenced before the rain fell, and by that time the cloud was well past the city and there was only a slight shower. In Puslinch, however, rain fell in torrents, and people coming to early mass were fain to seek shelter at the nearest refuge on the road or turn back home.

Just before the storm came on, Mr. James Hanlon, on the Brock Road, a few miles from the city, and his son, James, started for the barn to make preparation to go to church. When about a hundred yards from the barn the rain came down so heavily that they betook themselves to an old log house. Scarcely had they done so, when, with a vivid flash of lightning, came almost simultaneously a terrific clap of thunder. They looked out to see if anything was struck and to their surprise and consternation saw the barn in a mass of flames and lightning coming out of the stable door and splintering the wheelbarrow to pieces.

Both ran to the barn. They tried to pull the staples of the door out with their fingers but they were so hot they had to desist. Then they went to the stable door and they managed to get a wagon and a democrat out and all the harness. The horse collars were shattered to splinters; lost, all the season’s crop of the 100 acres, which had just been threshed, and the hay; there were also consumed a couple of buggies, a cutting box and other implements. There were no animals in the building. However, a number of the poultry were killed and consumed in the fire.

Mr. Hanlon had insurance on the building, a large barn, of $1,000 and $500 on the contents in the Puslinch mutual. The loss will be in the neighbourhood of $2200. It is a providential thing for the Messrs. Hanlon that they took refuge in the old house, for in two minutes more they would have been in the barn and suffered the same fate.

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