Santa Claus was briefly blamed for a Dec. 21, 1907, fire that destroyed the eastern half of the 600 block of East Adams Street. The final damage estimate, over $137,000, made the fire the most expensive in Springfield history up to that time.
The blaze started in the Johnston-Hatcher store on the southwest corner of Seventh and Adams streets. Johnston-Hatcher sold home furnishings of all kinds, including horse-drawn buggies and carriages. It operated from 1905 until 1949.
The fire demolished five buildings on the south side of Adams –another furniture outlet, a men’s clothing store, a shoe store and a restaurant as well as the Johnston-Hatcher store itself. The blaze stopped when it reached the Bressmer department store farther west on Adams, but two hotels, a bookstore and other businesses were damaged on Seventh Street, and heat and smoke broke windows in buildings on the north side of Adams.