Did I Do It - Springfield City Hall After the Fire Started by Monkey - G. W. Campbell - Springfield, MA - Postcard, c. 1905

 (3 1/2 x 5 1/2 In) This is an original antique G. W. Campbell postcard from the 1900s. It shows a view of, “SPRINGFIELD CITY HALL AFTER THE FIRE of January 6, 1905- “Did I do it?”, Springfield, Massachusetts.  “An exhibition was being held in the large hall. At the noon hour this hall was nearly deserted. A kerosene lamp was burning and a monkey got loose. Whether the monkey overturned the lamp and caused the fire is not certainly known. The fire was the occasion of a fine example of devotion to duty by two assistants in the office of the city clerk. Their names were Edith M. Ware and Bertha B. Fuller. They had both been pupils in Springfield schools. For the protection of the priceless records of the city, there was a great fire-proof vault. It was necessary to take out the records during the day for use, but at its close they were replaced in the vault. At the beginning of the fire the city clerk was absent. When the knowledge of the fire reached his office it had made much headw