December 30, 1880 Fire On Main Street

In January 1952 Nelle Bradley prepared a paper for the Historical Society Meeting entitled, So As By Fire, about THE fire on Main Street on December 30, 1880. The entire paper can be readhere.

The entire article is six standard pages long, and therefore I’ve taken paragraphs from that paper and added photographs from the socieity’s collection to show before and after of some of the buildings. What follows are direct quotes from the paper, my notations being the captions to the pictures.

Looking at Main Street from the steeple of the Baptist Church, pre-1880.
Interlaken Historical Society photo #383

The story goes, that on the present site of the Masonic building stood a frame house occupied by Peter R. Shafer, a jeweler.

In the middle of a very cold night, 16 below zero, on the 30th of December 1880, flames were discovered coming from Mr. Shafer’s house. He had emptied hot ashes into a wooden ash barrel.

The village was without fire-fighting equipment with the exception of a small hand pump. Men, women and children carried water and did everything possible for human beings to do to stay the fire’s progress, but it continued on up the street.

The next house to catch fire was that of the Widow Carman and her two daughters, one of whom was a dressmaker. George Mosher’s harness shop burned next and then a small one-story building owned by Enoch Covert and used at that time as a meat market.

There was no stopping the fire’s advance now and it leveled the hardware store of Frank Case, a brother of C. Fred Case. Thad Rappleye’s tin shop was on the second floor of this store.

The general store of James C. Knight was next in line. It was much larger than the other stores and a porch roof, similar to the one at Minor’s hardware store, reached over the stone sidewalk.

James Knight Store, Main Street, pre-1880 fire.
Interlaken Historical Society photo #47

In a corner of this store, Jas. C. Knight & Co., established in 1860, the first banking office in Farmer. The safe he used is purported to be the one now in use in the Interlaken Post Office. [see also December 10th Ira Johnson Funeral Bill.]

On the corner of Main and Lodi Streets (now West Avenue), separated by a few feet from Knight’s store, stood the old Exchange Hotel. This hotel had been built by Jacob S. Rappleye in 1823, early in Farmer’s history.

It had thick brick walls and a balcony along the front and side extended over a flagstone porch. Good pictures of this hotel have been preserved.

Deyo's Hotel, front of James Knight's store on right.
Corner of Main Street at West Ave. pre-1880 fire.
Interlaken Historical Society photo #139.

It was thought that this brick hotel would escape destruction so people from the burning buildings brought things to the hotel for safety. One little panic stricken woman limped in with a bed pillow under each arm and her sister came carrying only a piece of underwear. The story is told of Mr. Knight that he salvaged a large cheese box but when he found it empty of cheese he was so angry he threw it back into the fire.

Wet carpets were spread on the hotel roof, but it was doomed, too, as a barrel of oil in Knight’s store, exploding, blew out the hotel windows and flames sucked in.

Hattie Taylor says that an agent from the city, spending the night there, was slow to be aroused when they shouted, “Fire.” He asked, sleepily, “What ward is it in?” He was told, “If you don't get out it will be your last ward.”

Many things were carried from the hotel to the Baptist Church yard only to fall into the hands of looters. Mr. Trusdell and several others had no insurance. Across from the hotel the residence of C. Q. Bergen (now occupied by Clarence Pell) was not reached by the fire. It was a fairly new house at this time, but let us leave our story for a while to tell of the building that originally stood on that site, facing up Lodi Street. [2017 the U S Post Office is at this location, see January 30, 1961]

But we must return to the Big Fire and we find that the hotel barn, which was also on the east side of the street, has been saved by heroic efforts of Mr. Goodrich, a school teacher, but a bolt of fire from the oil explosion in Knight’s store had shot across the street and ignited the Post office on the present site of Jack Wiggins’ service station.

The name of the Post office had been changed from Farmer to Farmer Village in 1865. It was the first real post office in the village; a little white, one-story building. On one side of a narrow aisle stood a wooden bench and beyond it a small stove. On the other side were the boxes lettered in green. John B. Avery was Postmaster for many years. It was known that D. C. Wheeler subscribed to a daily paper! Some of the mail was burned, but the letters were saved.

The hitching sheds of the hotel, also on the east side of the street, were back of George Murphy’s cobbling shop. These all burned, and then the 1815 store building that Mr. Knight had moved across the street and was occupied on the lower floor by Mon Chandler's pool room. Upstairs, A. W. Porter had a photograph gallery. A paper of 1876 speaks of his “excellent pictures.” Probably there were destroyed some pictures of the early village and its inhabitants, which we should greatly prize today.

Stone and Crise had a meat market next north, above which lived the Auten sisters. Ed Redman’s grocery store is now on that site. That, too, burned and the fire finally was stopped at the frame house now owned by Charles Wiggins, but at that time was the property of C. Q. Bergen, who had a furniture store in the front part, while in the rear was his brother Jacob's undertaking rooms and printing office. Here Jacob Bergen, my great uncle, edited for one year (1867) the Saturday Evening Journal.

C. Q. Bergen building, now bank parking lot.
Interlaken Historical Society photo #21
See also July 9 Snippet

New Year’s Day, 1881, but who on Main Street, looking on those ruins, cried, Happy New Year!

In front of the ruined hotel, still swung in the breeze the sign, Stewart House, W. D. Trusdell, Proprietor. Mrs. Trusdell had rescued all the turkeys that had been prepared for New Year’s dinner, but the contents of the cellar, the winter’s supply of vegetables, cabbages, potatoes, etc., burned and continued to smoke for six weeks.

But in the minds of some villagers, plans were already forming. Mr. Sessions, of Cleveland, Ohio, the father-in-law of Frank Case, was in town, having been called here by the illness of his daughter. Evidently, he was a man of vision and quick action. He learned that the owner of the hotel was Nina Kraft, of Syracuse, and he directed Frank Case to telegraph her immediately to ask for an option on the hotel lot. It was secured and the following day a village lawyer was sent to Mrs. Kraft to close the deal.

On that site, as soon as possible, Frank Case began to erect a brick building for his hardware store. Later, C. Fred Case and H. H. Rappleye conducted the store for a number of years. The present owner is Don Hanford and it is still a hardware store.

Built in early 1881 following the fire of 1880
Interlaken Historical Society photo #12

When this building was being erected, John B. Peterson got the idea of having a store next to Case’s so they arranged for a party wall between the stores and Mr. Peterson continued the block with a grocery and shoe store. That part is now a show room for Hanford's electrical appliances.

James C. Knight continued the brick block, intending it for his general store, but he died that next summer, and C. Q. Bergen moved his furniture store there. It is now the Wickes’ Drug Store, and carved in the stone entrance is the date 1881. The tread of many feet across that threshold had worn down the carving so recently Charles Wickes had the date recut.

The 1881 date was carved in such a way that it can be read as you enter the store or leave.
Photo by the author.

Mr. Knight added a shallower building on the north with the idea of housing the Bank of O. G. and D. C. Wheeler, but they chose the location where now is the theatre, and Knight’s building was later extended beyond its original 40-foot depth to accommodate the tailor shop of Ed and Joe Foote. It is now the Red and White Store.

This block was further extended to become the Covert Saddlery Works, which, at first, was two stories high, but later a third story was added. Starting in a small way on the east side of the street and doing only hand work, Enoch Covert and his brother Jim, enlarged their business and in the new building, the Saddlery Works became a thriving concern. Until the automobile crowded the horse from the road, it had a wide market for its goods, shipping to Nova Scotia, Germany and Australia, and one special order was filled for the Czar of Russia, Charles Teed personally doing the finishing work on it.

Covert Saddlery Block, 1952 Crane feed and display rooms.
photo taken before the wooden structure to the north was built

Originally, the stone sidewalk in front of the whole length of this block was roofed over.

The Carmen women rebuilt next. Theirs was a frame house which since has had several additions and is now the liquor stare.

Carmen family home 1890s, later Wiggins, Emmons and Overslaugh
The Covert Saddlery on left and Masonic Hall on right
Interlaken Historical Society photo #1567

About 1889, a blacksmith shop occupied the lot where the fire had started, but that happily, was replaced in 1893 by the Masonic building, the main floor of which is the H. C. Peterson Dry Goods Store.

Early photo of the Masonic Hall Association building
Meeting rooms on the second floor and retail space on the first floor.
See May 30 Snippet for dedication of the meeting rooms
Interlaken Historical Society photo #2033

On the east side of the street, ideas had been taking form also. Mr. Trusdell had purchased the land where the Post office had stood and where now is the Wiggins’ Service Station. Mr. Trusdell moved back the old hotel barn and built the Robinson House, again naming it according to custom, for a Mr. Robinson.

It was a three-story building with mansard roof and had upper and lower porches along the front. John King was the builder. He also built the Catholic Church.

Hotel Robinson
Interlaken Historical Society photo #720

Then, on a bitter cold, day in February 1939, it, too, burned to the ground, and

Jack Wiggins’ Service Station takes its place.

1941 Wiggins Gas Station
2017 Quik Fill shops
Interlaken Historical Society photo #1505

Meanwhile, masons were at work erecting a building north of the Robinson House, the exterior of this brick block being similar to the one across the street, but a wooden porch ran the length of the building, the porch and stone sidewalk being roofed over.

It is said that it was financed by Sam Stone and John Bainbridge.

In the north half, Sam Stone and Adam Crise continued their meat market. The smaller part of the south half was taken by George Mosher for a harness shop, while to the storage space between these two, A. C. Peterson transferred his dry goods business from his residence on Seneca Street. Later, Mr. Peterson bought this store and the wall between his and the Mosher store, was removed to accommodate Mr. Peterson’s growing business. A central stairway led to living quarters on either side of the second floor and where, for a while, the Petersons lived and where Howard C. Peterson came into the world.

Sam Stone's Meat Market on the left, Peterson's Dry Goods on the right.
1952 Redman's grocery stone, Hurlbut Caskets and Bill Jay Shoe Store
Interlaken Historical Society photo #332

And so, we arrive back at the old Bergen building that has stood for no-one-knows, how long. It was a wagon shop in 1842 and has a number of times barely escaped destruction by fires from the north and from the south and is now owned by Charles Wiggins.

Ca 1900 photo from the steeple of the Baptist Church
Left side, roof lines of the new brick buildings.
Right side, the Robinson Hotel, Peterson and Stone building
Behind the trees the Bergen building. Top the "new" Goodman hotel.
Interlaken Historical Society photo #1189

The public, in general, was, as is often the case, a gainer by the fire, for from its ashes rose a neater village, but let us hope that further improvement in the appearance of the village will come by planned construction or remodeling and not so by fire.

Dewitt’s Diary, Saturday, December 30, 1972

Temperature 32, cloudy, rain predicted.

Worked in the wood after filling the grain bin with wheat for the chickens this morning.

Around the house playing lazy this afternoon.

Warming up to 40 tonight. Snow mostly gone.

Corn picking mostly at a standstill. Too wet and not froze enough. Many ears of my corn moldy inside the ear.

Took Tim out for coon, got one in the east woods at Lantos. Could not get Tim to come in at 11 o’clock so left him out. Got up at 4 and he was barking in the old Miller wood down east, so went down there at 4:30 and shot another.

Snow gone, strong south wind and 52 at 5:30 this morning (Sunday).