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1905 Fire Takes the South Side of Main Street
Only seven years after the destructive fire of 1898 which burned the north side of Main Street, the quiet of a January night was broken by the call of fire. The millinery store of Mrs. Eastman was the site of the fire’s start. In addition to the millinery store, Dr. Maitland had his offices and the King family had their home in this building. Dr. Maitland was able to save some of his equipment but lost several valuable medical books. The others lost all in the flames, the King family narrowly escaping with their lives. The fire spread quickly even with the efforts of the fire hoses and bucket brigade.…
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BL (Bert) Miller-Druggist
BL Miller came to Spartansburg from Williamsport in Summer, 1905 having purchased the business of CH (CA) Gabriel at auction, following the failure of the Spartansburg Bank. (Gabriel was a guarantor of the bank) . He had several years of experience as a druggist and advertisements and articles indicated his success. During this time, another drug store, owned by the Rexfords, was also operating in Spartansburg. In about 1907, Miller and Rexford became partners and Miller purchased a large storefront on the southwest corner of Main and Mechanic Streets (built following the 1878 fire by the Kinneys) that had been the SpartaBargain Store. Rexford and Miller combined their businesses in…
