|
|
|
|
|
HISTORIAN’S CORNER
|
PHELPS HISTORY
Fires & Firemen
By Don Tiffany
Fire has always been a boon and a bane to mankind. It gives us heat, light and protection from the elements and animals but it could also maim and kill. It has only been since man has banded together and lived in dwellings concentrated in villages and cities that fire has threatened his homes and property.
Fire was certainly a concern for our early settlers both from the necessity and the danger of it. Homes had to be built and fireplaces added for warmth and cooking but at the same time the hearth fires had to be constantly watched to see that the children didn't fall into them, a stray coal didn't fall onto something combustible but also, they had to be tended and banked and kept alive.
Luther Root gave the first description of a fire in Phelps. His first memory of a building destroyed by fire happened in 1822. He was about 5 years old and remembered seeing the fire from a window in his home. The building stood near what is now the intersection of Flint and Main Streets. It housed three families, one in the basement and the other two on the ground floor. A particular incident of that fire stuck in his mind. A mother, living on the ground floor, had just given birth the day before. Some men rushed in and carried her and her newborn baby out the burning building, bed and all, and took her to the house next door. This house was owned by C.E. Hobby and occupied by Isaac Dean. The Dean home would have stood approximately where the gas station was located across the street from the Old Mill Liquor Store and Hot Dog Stand parking lot. Root also recalled that the "George Allen place" was destroyed by fire the next spring. He related that the household goods were nearly all saved.
Mr. Root also told of the excitement and amusement that was furnished by the visit of the chimneysweep in the spring and fall during those early days. The fireplaces were large and well used before the days of iron stoves. The chimneys were large enough for the sweep to go up or down with no problem. Mr. Root related, "The sweep announced his presence by walking through town and singing in a loud and sonorous voice, 'Sweep-o, sweep-o, sweep the chimney from the bottom to the top!' Soon someone would engage him to clean their chimney. He would start in the fireplace and, in about a half an hour he would be seen emerging from the chimney top - and would soon be seated on the edge of the top with his legs dangling on the side of the chimney and then he would favor the throng of onlookers with a song of several verses - after which he would get down to his starting point. The sweep always made it a point to sing a song when he got to the top of the chimney which highly pleased the people, old and young alike. The sweep was almost sure to find jobs to keep him busy for a day or two and then 'he would silently fold his mantle around him and steal away' to new fields of operation."
The earliest fire company in Phelps was formed in the early 1840s and was known as Vienna Fire Co. No. 1. William Dillon was the "foreman". The company was equipped with a hand pumper called "The Torrent". Water had to be poured into it with buckets and its capacity was rather limited. This engine was in service until 1864. It was stored in the hotel barn, which was consumed with the rest of the north side of Main Street in that terrible July fire.
There is a tombstone in the Pioneer Cemetery placed in memory of Thomas C. Nolan, which reads: "To the memory of THOMAS C. NOLAND, a member of Vienna Fire Company No. 1 who died April 6, 1844, aged 25 years. This stone is erected by his surviving fellow members as a token of their respect for his excellence and worth."
This young man lost his life in running to the rake factory which was located near the Eagle Street bridge and which was destroyed early in 1844. He ran up the railroad track and, in attempting to cross a wooden trestle over Flint Creek, fell to the rocks below and broke his back. He died about seven weeks later and, having no relatives here, was buried by the firemen.
"The Yankee", a small hand-pumper, was also part of the Village fire history. This engine was brought here sometime in the 1850s by a man who wished to sell it, but without success. He arranged to store it in a barn. It was finally sold as payment for the storage and was put into service in the Village. It was never manned by a regularly organized company and was eventually dismantled.
Soon after the Village was incorporated in 1855 a proposition to raise $800 to purchase a new hand engine was voted down. This proposition was put forward by the first Village Board of Trustees: Z. Wheeler, D. Stephenson, H. Carey, A. Titus and Dr. Trisler. C.E. Hobby was the first Village Clerk. Later a proposition to raise $3,000 for the purchase of a steam fire engine was also defeated. Much trouble was to follow this shortsighted view by the citizens of Phelps!
In May of 1864 a fire broke out in the building that occupied the site of the Gibson Block in which a large amount of property was destroyed. This was followed by a demand for better fire protection and early in July a special tax meeting was held where it was voted to spend $800 for the purchase of a hand engine and $400 for the construction of two reservoirs. The Village of Geneva had purchased a steam fire engine and offered to sell "Old Ocean", their largest and best hand pumper. BUT TIME WAS RUNNING OUT!!
Late in the evening of July 21st another fire broke out and destroyed the rest of the business block, the American Hotel, the Ross & Cooley Block and all of the buildings east to North Wayne Street where it ran out of fuel. There were no telegraph offices then so a messenger drove to Geneva for assistance. "Old Ocean" and the steam fire engine were loaded on a flat car and brought to Phelps by a freight train, arriving at 4:00 the next morning. The hand engine was unloaded but it was too late to be of much assistance. The steam fire engine was returned to Geneva.
A deal was made then and there and the Village of Phelps paid $600 for "Old Ocean". The formal transfer took place on August 11th. The deal was made by the then President of the Village, W.P. Hayward with the approval of the Village Trustees; A. Whitman, J.M. Crosby and Harvey Rice. "Old Ocean" Engine Company was organized to man the new engine. They obtained new uniforms consisting of red shirts, black trousers and white belts. This company finally passed out of existence and a new fire department was organized in 1885 consisting of the Crothers Engine Company, Crothers Hose Company (Big Six) and the Redfield Hook and Ladder Company. The hook & ladder truck was purchased at this time from Rumsey Manufacturing Company of Seneca Falls. The truck was equipped with four extinguishers and several ladders. "It was a beautiful piece of workmanship in every part and adds to the frame of the well-known establishment where it was manufactured. Redfield Hook and Ladder Company is the sign which the boys hang out and a well executed portrait of the 'Squire' ornaments the upper rail on bar on either side of the machine." (Phelps Citizen - May 21, 1885)
"Old Ocean" was a Smith-built, hand-operated pumper first purchased by the Village of Geneva. It was a very popular machine and was used not only for fighting fires but also used successfully in many firemen's tournaments. In many meets as many as 80 men were used to operate it. 20 men operated the bar on each side and then ropes were attached to each bar and 20 more men per side added their strength to the machine. It must have been of rugged construction and the rules of competitions of the time must have been very loose! As stated above, "Old Ocean" was sold to the Village of Phelps in 1864 and used intermittently for almost 40 years. While here the pumper was never as popular as it was in Geneva and was never used in tournaments. The names Myron Fuller and "Old Ocean" were always connected during the latter part of the 19th century. Myron served with the 148th NY Infantry in the Civil War. When he returned from the war he opened a pump business in the Village. He found "Old Ocean" languishing in a shed behind the hotel and cleaned it up and repaired it. After the Crothers Engine Company was formed Fuller became Captain and served for many years in that capacity. He maintained the machine during its life here and painted it several times. After water was piped to the Village, "Old Ocean" was sold to a veteran firemen's association in Hingham, Massachusetts. Several years ago Dick Rathbun tried to track the old pumper down without success so its whereabouts today remains a mystery.
Three fires that were reported at the turn of the 20th century show the advance of fire protection to that time. On September 1882 a fire broke out in the William Finch Dry Goods Store. No one had a key to the firehouse so the door was broken down to get "Old Ocean" out. Meanwhile the fire had traveled to Dr. Mudge's Drug Store on the east. (This would put Finch's store where the Astoria Restaurant is now.) The fire was successfully extinguished and the newspaper gave Myron Fuller credit for keeping "Old Ocean" in good repair. About 1900 a fire started in the rear of the W.E. Schwing Bakery in the Crothers Block. The fire damaged both the Crothers and the Edson(?) Block. It was stated that four streams of water were put on the fire and it was extinguished in about an hour. [This was after the Village had installed municipal water.] A fire was started at the T.S. Vandevort cider brandy works on Eagle Street in October 1900 by Louis Blanchard, an employee, who was filling a barrel with "highwines" when it overflowed and the liquid ran toward a lantern causing an explosion. Blanchard was severely burned. Rather than fight the fire, the owner, Vandevort, carried Blanchard from the burning building. The alarm was sounded and Edmonston Hose soon had a stream of water on the fire. Downtown companies responded also and the blaze was extinguished. Blanchard died from his burns.
To be continued...
|
|
Click On Banner For More Information
|
