Fire Destroys Mill at Ball, Rapides Parish, Louisiana 
Source: The Alexandria Daily Town Talk, July 22, 1914 
Submitted by: Gaytha Thompson     

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FIRE DESTROYS MILL AT BALL  
Sweet Home Lumber Company Loses Entire Plant  Occurred Yesterday at 4 P.M.  
Damage was $90,000, Fully Covered by Insurance in the Chase & Gremillion 
Agency  Fire was Caused by a Hot Box  The Sweet Home Lumber Company sawmill, 
lumber yards, and office, located at Ball, La., on the Iron Mountain Railroad, 
eight miles north of this city, was totally destroyed by fire at 4 O'clock 
yesterday afternoon. The plant was the property of the J. F. Ball & Bro. 
Lumber company of this city. The fire was caused by a hot box of some of 
the machinery situated under the mill, which caused sparks to ignite 
inflammable material nearby. Two men who were standing within ten feet of 
where the fire originated, turned and got a couple of buckets of water, but 
before they could get to the flames, the fire had commenced burning so 
fiercely, that they were driven away by the heat. The fire spread rapidly 
from the mill proper to the lumber yards & office all of which were totally 
destroyed. The commissary, which was on the opposite side of the railroad 
tracks was not burned. A box car of lumber standing on a side track was 
destroyed and the ties of the railroad track for quite a distance were 
burned out and the steel rails twisted out of shape by the heat, on account 
of which the southbound passenger train due here at 10:30 p.m. did not arrive 
until 3 a.m. today. The damage was $90,000 and was fully covered by insurance 
int he Chase & Gremillion Agency of this city. Three million feet of lumber 
on the yards was destroyed. Mr. J. F. Ball, of this city, states that the 
mill will be rebuilt at once.