Great Fire in Ingersoll, May, 1872

’Twas on a pleasant eve in May,
Just as the sun shed its last ray,
The bell it rang, citizens to warn,
For lo! a fire appears in barn.

An ancient barn near hotel stood,
The joining buildings all were wood,
This barn a relic of the past,
There farmers’ horses were made fast.

Our once fair town is now in woe,
And we have had our Chicago,
But soon a nobler town will rise,
For our town is all enterprise.