The initial assessment of the amount of the loss as published in the Courant, which was $125,000, was based in part on the opinion of a member (or members) of the general committee, who believed that the church’s $90,000 insurance policy on the building would not cover all of the cost of the damages. The other figure given on the day of the fire, $300,000, seems overstated. Some idea of the damage, though, can be determined based on the initial cost of the building, the subsequent addition to the building, and improvements to the interior, much of which was reported by the Courant.
The first report on the insurance settlement said that it was $55,000, which included $4,000 for the furniture and $7,000 for the organ. A later report put the settlement at $56,770 and then $56,771, with the latter figure also citing an additional $4,000 for fixtures under a separate policy. For now, I’ll go with the final figure given.