1909 Tragedy: D.C. Young Store Burns To Ground
On April 27, 1909, a devastating fire destroyed the
D.C. Young General Store.
Four years later, in 1913, D.C. Young passed away.
R.C. Gleason Collection
Fire Does
Much Damage to Smethport Property
McKean County Miner
April 29, 1909
Five Main Street Buildings
Destroyed and Nine Business Places Put Out of Commission.
The Estimated Losses Are
Placed at About $45,000.
For a Time It Looked as
Though the Whole Town was Going to be Destroyed.
THE HEROIC WORK OF FIREMEN
AND CITIZENS
Was Finally Rewarded and
the Town Saved From Destruction.
THE FIRE ENGINE WAS WORTH
$100,000 TO SMETHPORT TODAY
Destroyed Buildings Belong to D. C. Young, J. A. Holder, J. F. Rooney,
Anderson & Carlson and Ghordis Oviatt—They Contained Young’s
Old Stock, Mrs. A. E. Hinman’s Millinery, Dry Goods Stock and
Household Effects, Dr. F. C. Pierce’s Dental Parlors, W. H.
Hungerford & Co.’s Liquor Store, D. H. Ouinlisk’s
Household Goods, J.
Benders’ Barber Shop, Rooney’s Meat Market, Anderson and
Carlson’s Shoe Store, Jas. Quirk’s Restaurant and Living
Rooms and
J. Pickersgill’s Store, Bakery and Living Rooms.
Smethport was visited on Tuesday by one of the most destructive and
certainly the most stubborn fire in its history. Five business buildings
and several out buildings were destroyed, entailing a loss of upwards
of $45,000.
About 10:35 fire was discovered in stairways between D. C. Young’s
and J. A. Holder’s store buildings and an alarm was turned in.
The Hose Company responded quickly but so rapid was the progress of
the fire that it was certain that several buildings were doomed, even
before the first stream was turned on the buildings.
Within twenty minutes after the alarm was given both these buildings,
which were wooden structures, were seething masses of flames and although
there were six streams of water being poured into them and on adjoining
buildings the fire had spread to John Bender’s barber shop and
from there to John F. Rooney’s meat market on the west.
About this time the large plate glass windows in the Yong store were
broken and let out a stream of which nearly reached to the park on
the other side of the street. The host attached to the hydrant across
from this store was burned until it burst and the store owned by Ghordis
Oviatt and occupied by J. W. Pickersgill caught fire and was practically
ruined before it could be quenched.
A changing southeast wind was blowing a gale and huge cinders were
being blown all over the business part of the town. Houses, stores
and barns were catching fire nearly every minute and for a time it
looked as though most of the business section of the town would be
burned to the ground. The firemen and citizens were fighting the advancing
flames like demons, but they were being forced back step by step by
the increasing heat of the flames.
Nearly every housetop within a radius of three hundred yards was being
protected by people with garden hose or buckets of water, but even
then many small fires were discovered in these buildings. Holes were
burned in the roofs of the Commercial hotel, H. W. Rubin’s residence,
Alfred Sturdvient’s residence, E. F. Richmond’s burn and
several other places on the northwest of the big fire, while Specht
& Sasse’s furniture store and The Lindholm Company’s
dry goods store on the east were afire any number of times and put
out by prompt action of the bucket brigade.
A desperate effort was made to stop the westward advance of the flames
at Anderson & Carlson’s shoe store, but so intense was the
heat that it burned right through the brick veneering while two streams
of water were being plied on the east walls, and in considerable less
an hour that, too, was a roaring furnace.
The firemen were forced back to the Kerr building which is a solid
brick but in another instant the flames were licking the wooden cornice
of that building and thick clouds of smoke were sweeping across its
roof. However this was the best chance to check the advance of the
fire and a desperate fight was made. Brave men stuck in the house
on the roof and at the ends of this building when the air around them
was like the infernal region and until their faces and ears were fairly
blistered. It was a fierce struggle and spectators hold their breaths
while the battle was being waged, but finally the Anderson & Carlson
building fell in and the fire fighters had won a glorious victory.
While this battle was going on other fire fighters were having nearly
as hot a tussle to save the residence of Thos. W. Camp and the store
building of Specht & Sasse. Everybody thought both buildings were
doomed and it was only the most heroic work that saved them. Nearly
all the windows in the front of the Camp house were broken by the
heat and its whole front was scorched to a dark brown.
The Specht & Sasse building is just across Union Street east of
the Young building and if that had got started it would have meant
a further loss of at least $50,000. This and The Lindholm Co. store
and the Mason buildings are all wooden structures, together with the
Union Telephone office and the Taylor house, and nothing could have
stopped the fire short of Wells’ brick drug store had the flames
crossed the street. Windows were broken in the Specht & Sasse
store and a curtain at one of these window was scared to a crisp,
while the heat kept the side of this building smoking a good share
of the time, but excellent work co-p-ed with unyielding perseverance
finally won out and these properties were saved.
The Anderson & Carlson building fell shortly after 11 o’clock
and this marked the first advance toward getting the fire under control.
At ll:30 nearly everyone was in despair and help was asked from Bradford.
Chief Henderson of the Bradford Fire Department got Sam Ridell and
John Hipchen; two firemen, n the noon B., R. & P. flyer with 1,000
feet of hose and then started overland in F. D. Woods’ automobile.
They didn’t waste any time, making the run of 20 miles over
the mountains in 15 minutes, but when they arrived the fire was well
under control and it was not necessary to unload the hose from the
train. Chief Henderson looked the situation over and said that the
Smethport firemen had done excellent work against big odds and he
did not think he and his men could have done any better had they been
here when the fire started.
Dr. F. C. Pierce, who had his dental parlors in the rear of the second
story of the Young building, and Miss Hallie Walker, who was having
some work done in his office, both had narrow escapes. The first intimation
either had of the fire was when Dr. Pierce heard a strange noise in
the hallway and looked out to find it all in flames. He told Miss
Walker of the conditions and she rushed down the stairs to the street,
the flames singeing her hair as she passed through them.
Dr. Pierce stopped to gather up a few of his most valuable instruments
and when he tried the stairway he saw that an attempt would mean certain
death. He returned to his rooms to wait for a ladder to be put up
by the firemen, but so rapid did the fire spread that he was driven
out a back window onto the roof of the annex where he was rescued
by the firemen.
D. H. Quinlisk, two sons and one daughter, who had apartments over
the Hungerford store, were all out of the building at the time the
fire broke out and although two of them were working less than a block
away at the time the alarm was given, neither of them could enter
their rooms when they arrived there and they lost everything they
had except the clothing they were wearing. Miss Bessie Quinlisk left
a packet book at home that morning, containing about $25, which was
lost with her other belongings.
One of the heaviest losers in this fire is Mrs. A. E. Hinman, who
conducted a millinery, ladies furnishing and dry goods store in the
Young building and had living rooms on the second floor. The stock
of goods and the household furniture were worth upward of $6,000,
and all the insurance she carried was $500. The store room filled
with smoke so quickly that it was impossible for anyone to get into
it three minutes after the alarm had sounded and therefore practically
all that was saved was some winter goods that had been packed away
in the basement.
Dr. Pierce said that a conservative estimate of his loss is $8,000
on which he carried an insurance of $1,000.
The loss to D. C. Young on his building is comparatively slight. The
building cost over $8,000 but he had offered this property for less,
so the insurance of $6,000 ,which he carried, will come nearer covering
his loss than any of the others in that block. He also lost the remainder
of his old stock, but that was not of great value.
J. A. Holder, who owned the Hungerford store and Bender’s shop,
suffered a loss of about $2,000, about half covered by insurance.
The damage to goods in Hungerford’s liquor store will not exceed
$500, but he carried no insurance. He succeeded in saving the greater
part of his barreled goods and some of the bottled goods.
The loss to D. H. Quinlisk and family is total and hard to figure
out, but it is safe to say that $1,000 would not replace their loss.
No insurance.
John F. Rooney had only a small stock of canned goods on hand but
all of his meat market tools and apparatus including cooler, meat
blocks, store furniture, etc., together with the building and ice
house were destroyed entailing a loss of upwards of $2,500, on which
he had no insurance.
Anderson & Carlson were the heaviest losers by the fire. Their
building and stock will run about $16,000 and the whole amount of
their insurance is $5,000. Practically nothing was saved from this
building.
James Quirk, who occupied the west half of the first floor of the
above named building as a restaurant and the whole of the second floor
as living rooms and lodging house, suffered a loss of about $1,000,
with no insurance. His family saved all of their valuable clothing
and musical instruments, including Mrs. Quirk’s piano.
Ghordis Oviatt, who owns the building occupied by J. W. Pickersgill
and family, sustained a loss to his building of about $800, on which
he carried an insurance of $700.
Mr. Pickersgill’s bakery and household goods were badly damaged
by fire and water but it is thought that the insurance of $1,000,
which he carried, will cover the loss.
Thos. W. Camp’s residence was damaged about $200 by fire and
water which was fully covered by insurance.
W. J. Kerr’s jewelry stock in the Chadwick building and his
household goods in his own building over the theatorium were hurriedly
removed and the hose taken through the latter to the roof. His loss
is hard to estimate but it is thought that $1,000 will cover it. He
has upwards of $2,000 in insurance.
Dr. Burg Chadwick did not remove any of the stock in his store or
his household goods although it looked as though his place would be
in ashes in a short time. His loss consists of a damaged roof and
a broken window.
The extreme heat broke one of the big plate glass windows in The Lindholm
Co.’s store and the roof was on fire several times, but $150
will cover the loss fully insured.
The damage to the Specht & Sasse building, the Commercial Hotel,
Alfred Sturdvient’s residence and Richmond’s barn is very
slight.
What caused the fire will probably always be a mystery. Many theories
are advanced and one is about as likely to be correct as another.
When the fire was discovered it was in the hallways of both the Holder
and Young buildings and as there was a space of about three feet between
these buildings it might have started in either or on the ground between
the two.
Before this fire some people seemed to think our new fire engine was
little better than an ornament, but they changed their minds when
they saw the execution it did on Tuesday. It was remarked many times
during the day that the fire engine had been the means of saving at
least $100,000 worth of property, and they did not place the estimate
a dollar too high. Without the fire engine nothing on earth could
have saved Specht & Sasse’s store, Kerr’s store and
Camp’s house. And had the fire spread to these buildings the
area of fire would have been so large that the firemen could not have
covered the ground and it is horrible to think of what the final outcome
would have been.
The only thing that would have made the fire fighting more successful
was more high pressure hose for the engine, and that we will undoubtedly
have after the next meeting of the council on Monday next. Too much
praise cannot be given the men both in and out of the hose company
who worked so hard to save the property of others.
