Municipal Bill Approved And Signed By Fire Chief W. J. Allen Following The Great Fires Of 1896.

Publication: October 1, 1897, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Two printed sheets, unevenly aligned and pasted together along the upper edge. 7-1/4" x 8-1/2" overall; individual sheets approximately 7" x 8-1/2". The printed billhead of the City Scavenger, Fairley-Lampman Block, Telephone 37, records a charge of $25.00 for "1 Month's hauling from Fire Station & Jail." Approved and signed by W. J. Allen, Chief of the Fire Department. The accompanying City of Cripple Creek municipal accounting voucher bears manuscript entries, black-ink signatures, Finance Committee approval in pencil, and Paid by Warrant No. 909.

On April 25 and 29, 1896, two devastating fires swept through Cripple Creek, Colorado, destroying much of the town's business district and leaving thousands homeless. According to Marshall Sprague's "Money Mountain: The Story of Cripple Creek Gold," Fire Chief W. J. Allen was in command during both fires. When the first fire broke out, Allen fired three shots from his revolver to summon the volunteer firefighters. Four days later, when a second fire broke out, he repeated the same signal.

Following the fires, the city established a paid fire department, adopted stricter building regulations and rebuilt much of its business district in brick and stone. Allen was elected chief of the paid department at a salary of $100 per month, with eleven paid firefighters assigned to three fire stations. Horses were acquired and $3,000 worth of protective equipment was ordered.

Dated seventeen months after the fires, the present document bears the signature of the chief who summoned Cripple Creek's volunteer firefighters during both disasters. His approval of an ordinary municipal expense, together with the accompanying accounting voucher, provides a record of the reorganized fire department's operations as the city continued its recovery.

Two horizontal folds and two sets of evenly spaced hole punches, else very good.