Great Northern Ice House Fire – Dec. 5, 1907

– In one of the largest fires known in Minot at the time, the new Great Northern Ice House which was recently completed but never used, burnt to the ground about 9:00 Sunday evening. It was not known how the fire started but a number of workers were camped out in the building and may have set the fire accidently. The building was about one half mile east of Minot Flour Mill. The fire department was called out but did little good as the fire hoses only reached about half way to the building. Eight box cars, loaded with lumber, hay and coal, were lost in the fire. Also two old cabooses used by workers as cooking cars. The fire was so hot the rails of the railroad were melted and ended up shaped like bows. This made it impossible to move rail cars to safety. The building was 375 feet long and 50 feet wide and cost over $10,000.00 to build. The loss to Great Northern was considerable as they planned to fill it with ice to supply cities between Minot and Spokane.