USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Harrison > Centennial history of Harrison, Maine > Part 16
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A creditable tradition says the foregoing verses were recited at the raising of the house long owned and occu- pied by the late Timothy H. Ricker, of which Otis Carter was the builder and first landlord.
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FIRES IN HARRISON.
While Harrison has had many minor fires it has been extremely lucky in the matter of great conflagrations. Pre- vious to the great fire at the Village in May, 1907, the largest was when the Hamilton barns and outbuildings were burned on the night of August 18, 1883. These barns were situated in South Harrison, and were on the "Thomes farm," which James H. Hamilton purchased of Samuel Thomes in September, 1878. The buildings were sit- uated on the westerly side of the road, and directly opposite to the houses, and consisted of two large barns, a good sized stable, and carriage house, and extensive outbuildings containing hog-pens, workshop, corn chamber, store rooms, etc., all connected together. The "cow barn," so called, was the nearest to the road, and stood end to it. The "ox barn," connected with the westerly end of the cow barn, and faced the road, there being a large barnyard in the angle between the two. At the extreme southwesterly cor- ner of the ox barn was a large shed projecting into the field, and filled with straw and other combustible material.
Between II and 12 o'clock of the night of August 18, 1883, Mr. Hamilton was awakened from a sound sleep by the light of fire shining into his room, and springing from bed and looking out he beheld the flames rising from the shed on the back of the ox barn ,and just coming up over the roof of the barn. The ox barn was empty as far as cattle were concerned but the other barn was full, and several horses were in the stable. Hastily donning a few clothes, Hamilton and his two hired men rushed to the barn, their first thought being to save the animals. By quick work all of the cattle were freed, and turned loose into the road to wander at will, and a curious feature of the affair was that one of the hired men worked with such deliberation that he carefully hung up the tie-chains as the
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animals were released, although the fire was so close that it had driven across the roof of the ox barn, and was breaking through in the cow barn when the last animal was turned into the road. Next the horses were freed, and Hamilton turned his attention to the house, while the others were endeavoring to save what property they could from the stable and outbuildings, which were packed full. Ham- ilton was a large, powerful man, and at the start he would dash a large pail of water on the roof of the porch so strongly that it went against the chimney. By this time neighbors began to arrive in goodly numbers, and lent ready hands in securing all property possible, and striving to save the houses from the flames. Harnesses, carriages, and other property were quickly removed from the burning buildings by a part of the men, while the others organized into "bucket brigades," and worked with a will, wetting down the houses, some of them going onto the roof when it was so hot that they were obliged to shelter themselves on the back side, or keep their clothing saturated with water. No attempt was made to combat the fires in the barns, for all knew that it would be useless with the apparatus that there was to fight fire with, it being simply a plenty of water, a goodly supply of buckets and pails and willing hands to handle them. The whole lot of buildings, includ- ing some one hundred and twenty-five tons of hay soon became a seething mass of flames, and it was almost a miracle that it was not so hot as to drive the men, but with great heroism, they refused to be driven, and they were assisted by the fact that there was very little wind. The two barns, the large stable, and the long line of out- buildings with the contents, made a fire that did not burn itself out in a short time, and it was 4 A. M. before the men were able to say that the houses were safe, and take a breathing spell. The house had been partly cleared of its contents before it was decided that there was a good chance to save it, and almost as soon as it was declared to be
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safe, rain began to fall and the tired fire fighters had to turn their attention to putting the contents of the house back again to save them from being harmed by the rain. This was quickly done, and then closer investigation showed that the house was intact, save a little blistered paint, and that the chief damage on that side of the road consisted of the ruined shade trees in front of the house, which had been a material protection to it. But on the other side of the road the ruin was complete, and the whole mass of farm buildings, with one hundred and twenty-five tons of hay, and a portion of the other contents which there was no chance to remove, were in ashes, and the worst feature of the affair was that it was found upon investiga- tion that the insurance had lapsed only a few days before to the extent that the policies that were in force gave the owner only about $800, while the loss was probably not less than $7,500. One good-sized barn was left, situated some distance from the others and this was fitted up for the shelter of such stock as the owner saw fit to winter with the small amount of fodder that was left, and such as he cared to buy, and it made very comfortable quarters for the much reduced stock. Early in the next spring, work was begun on a new barn, and the result was like the final result of many fires-that it was a benefit in giving the farm much better barn room, it being all under one roof, and the barn when finished, being the largest one under one roof that was then to be found in the State, it being 156 x 50 in size, and constructed in first-class shape. The present owner, J. Howard Randall, has put in a more solid foundation, put in water driven by a wind-mill, and made other improvements, and the barn as it stands has few superiors in the State. The farm has since been sold to Pitts & Merrow, the particulars of which will be noted elsewhere. The origin of the fire was never known, but it must have been incendiary of some kind, all kinds of wild stories were afloat, but no one ever knew the truth.
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Since that fire there have been no serious ones until the great conflagration of May, 1907, which though of so recent a date as to be fresh in the minds of all, should be given a space in this history in order that there shall be a per- manent record of the most important, and most disastrous event in the history of the town.
The greater part of the business portion of Harrison Village was situated on what might be described as a square, on which were the following buildings: On the back side was the great plant of the C. S. Whitney chair factory, connected with a large saw mill, the whole filled with com- bustible material, much of it of a large value, and a big stock of sawed lumber in the yard, and also an immense pile of wood, while still further towards the mill pond was the foundry and machine shop of T. H. Ricker & Sons. Standing on the road leading to the mill nearer to the main road was the large house of Postmaster Lang, with the furniture store of C. S. Whitney directly oppo- site, and the house of Geo. Flint and Pitt's blacksmith shop between that and the street. On the front of the square was the Reform Hall with the post-office on the first floor and the Harrison Public Library on the second, the large store of F. H. Ricker, and the Jordan Block, containing the stores of J. T. Kneeland, Jordan Bros., and J. F. Allen. On the northerly side was the Baptist Church; and directly beyond and almost touching was the large Odd Fellows Block containing the Odd Fellows Hall, the drug store of C. W. Jackson, and the clothing store and undertaking rooms of W. A. Southworth; and still beyond this a small empty building formerly used as a harness store. In the center of the square was the large blacksmith shop and ma- chine shop of G. W. Roes, and just beyond and almost touch- ing it was the engine house and dry house of the chair factory establishment. The Village was without any sort of a fire engine except a small hand affair which was but lit- tle more effective than a common fire extinguisher, a small
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pump at the mill of H. H. Caswell, and another at the chair factory, which was of no avail in this fire.
At about 7.30 o'clock on the evening of May 14, 1907, fire was discovered issuing from the boiler house and dry house of the chair factory establishment situated in the center of the square, and directly connected with the other buildings of the plant. The first man to reach the burning building attempted to blow the whistle to alarm the people, but found that the cord was burned off, but the alarm was given to the people in the Village and flashed by telephone over all the surrounding country, and not only did the in- habitants of the Village quickly respond, but the people from "all the country round" came pouring into the Village, com- ing from long distances away. The first to reach the scene saw at once that there was a most serious situation before them, and that no power that was within the limits of Harri- son Village could by any possibility save any of the buildings within the limits of the four streets, except possibly the residence of Postmaster Lang, and that this was very doubt- ful. There was a plenty of water, but nothing but pails and buckets to throw it with that would reach the fire. The only thing to be done was to make the best possible fight to save the buildings beyond the immediate vicinity of the square, and the Lang house which was regarded as of vital importance in preventing the spread of the flames across the street. Mr. Caswell very quickly got his force pump in operation, and found that it would throw water over the front of the Grange Hall, and would drench the house of Ralph Burnham just beyond, he could also reach the front of the Odd Fellows building, but it would not reach the part where the fire would take from the other buildings and the stream was too small to cope success- fully with a fire that was well started. Undoubtedly the Grange Hall and Burnham's house were saved by this pump and the heroic little crew that manned the hose and stood by as long as there was any danger in that direction.
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Finding that there was good protection in that direction, and that certain buildings were doomed beyond all doubt, the crowd devoted its whole power to what they regarded as the keys to the whole situation, the saving of the Lang buildings, and those of Howard L. Sampson directly op- posite the Jordan Block. Fire brigades were quickly or- ganized with buckets, pails and ladders, and went to work. The roof of the Sampson house was almost hissing hot when the men went onto it, and it is said that of the first few pails of water that were dashed over it not a drop reached the ground. It was a hot position, but the gal- lant crew was not to be driven from their position. Left to its work without opposition, the fire ran with almost incredible swiftness through the whole plant of the chair company, including the saw mill, jumped across the narrow space to the Roes machine shop, and from that to the church on one side, and the Jordan Block on the other.
In the meantime, seeing the terrible danger that menaced the whole Village, the town authorities telephoned to Bridg- ton for assistance, and after much delay, were assured that help would be sent at once, but the work of de- struction went on, and the fire rapidly spread through all the buildings on all sides of the square, except the Lang house which had so far been protected by the efforts of the "bucket brigades." In some of the stores no effort was made to remove the contents, and in others a portion were removed in a damaged condition. A part of the par- aphernalia of the Odd Fellows lodges had been rescued, and a part of the books. Pres. Chapman of the Harri- son Public Library, went heroically at work to remove the books, and succeeded in removing all but a few that could have been taken at one trip, which trip could not be taken on account of the fire breaking through the stairway as he started up. Nearly everything had been removed from the post-office, the postmaster and his level-headed wife devoting their whole attention to that regardless of their
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own home, and guarding the mail in the street until the fate of their buildings was decided. And for a time those buildings were in a most precarious position, and the cru- cial test was when the great heat from the adjoining build- ings, only a few feet away, caused fire to catch in the ex- treme peak of the gable of the stable. What was to be done? No one could throw water to that height by hand nor from any ladder that could be placed against any point of the buildings. Attempts were made to stave off the boards so that some one could reach through in the vi- cinity of the fire, but for a time when moments were of all importance they resisted all efforts. But a small crew reached the roof, and a boy from a neighboring town, a mere stripling, proved himself the hero of the occasion by creeping along the ridgepole, hanging almost by nothing and leaning out over the end where he was in great danger of falling to the ground beneath, and dashing water directly onto the flames which streamed almost into his face. The water did the work, and the building was saved, and another hero who was only a small boy, had proved himself worthy to have his name "writ high within the temple of fame."
In the meantime where was the Bridgton Fire Department and its engine? Anxious eyes were vainly watching for its appearance, for, though the gallant fire fighters were doing heroic work in confining the flames to the buildings that had been regarded as doomed from the start, no one knew what might happen, especially if the wind, which had died out at sunset, should chance to start up again. At length the engine was driven into the Village, and a stream was played on the fire to wet down the embers so that a possible rising of the wind should not cause it to break out in some other place where sparks might be driven.
The fight was over, and by midnight all serious danger of any further spread of the fire was past. The results could now be summed up, by what was seen. The whole plant of the chair company was wiped out of existence, includ-
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ing an immense stock of finished and unfinished furniture, and not a cent of insurance on the property. The earn- ings of a lifetime of one of our most enterprising and go- ahead citizens had gone so quickly that the extent of the loss could not be realized until there was time for mature reflection. The Roes blacksmith and carriage shop was destroyed together with all of its outfit of tools and ma- chinery. The Jordan Block, containing the stores of J. T. Kneeland, Jordan Bros., and J. F. Allen on the first floor, and a tenement on the second one, was totally destroyed together with all the stock of the first two mentioned stores. The old Baptist Church was in ashes, and also the fine Odd Fellows Block with their hall and the greater part of the paraphernalia, furniture and records of the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Lodges, and the stores of C. W. Jackson and W. A. Southworth, and quite a portion of their contents, F. H. Ricker's large store and a part of the stock, and the Re- form Club Hall, and a few of the library books. The whole story can be summed up in a sentence: Good judges es- timated that the total loss was at least $75,000, and the insurance paid to all parties was less than $20,000, so that the actual loss was over $55,000, to say nothing of that which would be suffered from the interruption of the busi- ness of the various firms, and the men who were, for a time at least, thrown out of employment. As has well been said it was a staggering blow to the village, and some even went so far as to predict that it was the end of its pros- perity. But such ones did not count on the pluck and en- ergy of our business men, for plans for rebuilding were being made before the ashes of the ruins were cold, and they were plans that were not air castles, but were real and tangible as the new buildings now in evidence give ample proof. As the senior partner in the dry goods firm of Jordan Bros had recently secured a position as travel- ing salesman it was decided that it was not advisable to start into business again, but the other traders secured
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temporary quarters, and were in position to serve customers before the end of a week, and in a very short space of time had made arrangements for better quarters than those which had been destroyed. The proprietor of the chair factory was the first man to begin work of rebuilding, though on a much smaller scale for the present. The chair factory plant is conspicuous by its absence, yet the whole site is not vacant. Mr. Whitney has erected a substantial two story mill where he manufactures a novel product, wooden boot heels, as well as doing a general business in long lumber. It is the hope, perhaps not unfounded either, that this smaller establishment is but the forerunner of that larger factory that shall give employment to the same num- ber of men as worked for Mr. Whitney in the years before. The building of Charles W. Jackson is next approached. It is a substantial two story structure which Mr. Jackson occupies for a drug store and a dwelling. The store is a model in all its appurtenances. Its fixtures and fittings throughout are such as would do credit to any city, and the genial Mr. Jackson on a recent day met the writer with not a trace of care to suggest that he was other than most prosperous in his new and sumptuous quarters. At the upper extremity of the square is Mr. F. H. Ricker's new building. Like Mr. Jackson's it is both a store (gro- cery) and dwelling. Mr. Ricker's former store was con- venient, but his present one combines all that made the first desirable and innumerable improvements suggested to the builder by his many years in active business. At a glance it will be seen that in the instances quoted thus far, the village of Harrison profited rather than suffered, at least in the housing of two of its merchants.
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
CHAPTER VIII.
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SECRET SOCIETIES.
ODD FELLOWS AND REBEKAHS.
S EVERAL fraternal and beneficiary organizations have existed in Harrison since its corporation, all of which have been "secret" to a greater or less extent. Only a few have ever gained a permanent foothold, but the underlying principle has always been popular with our people, there having been but very few of our prominent citizens who have not at some time been connected with one or more of these associations, either in this, or in neighboring towns. The war that has at times been made upon all "secret soci- eties" by a very small minority has had but very little to do with the demise of any society of this kind in this vicinity. Indeed an attack of this kind is very apt to increase the membership of any organization that it seeks to destroy.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal benevolent order that has a strong organization at this place, and has been very popular hereabouts for many years, al- though a lodge has not had a continuous existence here. The first lodge to be established here was Harrison Lodge, No. 20, which was instituted here on October 3, 1844, with thirty-five charter members, as follows:
CHARTER MEMBERS OF HARRISON LODGE, No. 20, I. O. O. F. Francis Blake,
Cyril Pearl, Jacob Hazen,
Algernon S. Howe,
Thomas H. Mead, Samuel Riggs,
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Reuben Ingalls,
Amos P. Foster,
Hiram Cushman,
Obededom Brown,
C. C. W. Sampson,
Benjamin K. Carsley,
Alanson M. Thomes,
Robert H. Libby,
Marshall Thomes,
William T. Kilborn,
Stephen T. Whitney,
Thomas F. Perley,
Samuel Scribner,
George Hall,
Benjamin Clark,
Joseph W. Dresser,
Benjamin Walker,
John W. Fowler,
William W. Cross,
Albion Dennett,
Samuel Andrews, 2nd,
Washington Bray,
Lewis Brigham,
Charles T. Howe,
George F. Foster,
Abner F. Knights,
Robert Johnson,
Calvin F. Brigham,
Nathan Hilton, Jr.
This Lodge had various troubles, financially and other- wise, and it became necessary to surrender their charter, which was done in 1849, or 1850. But the principles of the Order had obtained a hold here which could not be broken by the surrender of a charter, and many of our citizens subsequently joined the Cumberland Lodge at Bridg- ton.
Later on it became evident that there were many in Har- rison who would join a lodge there, but would not go to Bridgton on account of the distance. Finally the matter of dividing the Cumberland Lodge and organizing another lodge at Harrison was talked of, and took tangible form in 1888. Cumberland Lodge had become so large and rich that the taking away of the members who wished to go into a lodge here would not make a serious inroad upon its numbers and the withdrawal of the funds which would naturally go with these members would be hardly missed from the treasury. Nearly every member who resided in Harrison or Otisfield favored the project, and a canvass showed that quite a number who were regarded as de- sirable members were ready to join a lodge at Harrison
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soon after it was instituted. The movement was generally regarded as one that would eventually benefit the Order more than the existence of the Cumberland Lodge alone could do, and arrangements were soon made for the di- vision.
As soon as the matter was regarded as settled an arrange- ment was made with Mr. A. K. Morse for the renting of the hall in the upper part of the new building which he was about to erect, and immediately after the organization the hall was rented for a term of ten years, and the lodge continued to rent it of him until his death.
The hall being completed and furnished, the Grand Of- ficers were summoned. The Lodge was instituted on the evening of March 14, 1889, the following Grand Officers being present :- Grand Master, Henry C. Bagley; Deputy Grand Master, Alfred S. Kimball; Grand Secretary, Josh- ua Davis; Grand Marshal, George D. Loring. A large delegation from Cumberland Lodge was also present.
CHARTER MEMBERS.
James P. Lown,
Alvin P. Ricker,
George S. Pitts,
Charles E. Dawes,
John Walker,
Albert F. Davis,
Nathaniel H. Seavey,
Joseph H. Purington,
Alanson Dawes,
George S. Marr,
Frank Nevers,
Herbert O. Kneeland, Almore Haskell,
Albert S. Pitts,
David Kneeland,
Benjamin S. Skillings,
William H. Allen,
Theodore M. Tolman,
Albert F. Chute,
Thomas P. Sampson,
George W. Roes,
Charles N. Harmon,
William H. Foster,
Charles L. Walker,
Henry L. Purington,
Ira A. Kneeland,
Edward Bray,
Frank A. Chute,
George Wilbur,
Edward K. Whitney,
Marshall Jordan,
Charles S. Whitney,
J. W. Weston.
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Seven more members subsequently withdrew from Cum- berland Lodge, making forty (40) in all.
The following were the officers of the new Lodge:
Noble Grand - James P. Lown. Vice Grand - Nathaniel H. Seavey. Recording Secretary - George S. Pitts. Permanent Secretary - Charles L. Walker. Treasurer - Alvin P. Ricker.
Warden - Frank Nevers. Conductor - William H. Foster.
Chaplain - Edward Bray. Inside Guardian - George Wilbur.
Outside Guardian - Ira A. Kneeland.
After the transaction of the necessary business, includ- ing the election and installation of the officers, David E. Caswell, Alphonso Moulton, Adelbert C. Buck, and Harry H. Emery were duly initiated into the rights and mysteries of Odd Fellowship. George E. Tarbox and Abel C. Hinds were initiated on March 29th. Dr. H. H. Cole and Charles C. Doughty had received the initiatory degree at Bridgton previous to the formation of the new Lodge, but took cards of withdrawal and joined the new organization which was known as Harrison Lodge, No. 41. This made a class of eight that took the first degree on April 5th, and the other degrees on April 12th and 19th.
The sum of $20 for each member granted card of with- drawal had been voted by Cumberland Lodge, giving the Lodge the sum of $800 from this source alone. Of course a large sum had to be paid for the necessary furniture and outfit, but the first report of the Treasurer showed a sur- plus of $121.45, and each report up to the time of the great fire of May 14, 1907, showed an increase in the value of the property of the Lodge.
In 1902, the Lodge bought the building in which the hall was situated, and later made large additions to it in
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the shape of a large banquet hall on the third floor, addi- tional ante-rooms on the second floor, and more rooms for stores on the first floor. It was one of the best buildings in the village, furnishing plenty of room for three stores on the ground floor, and good quarters for the Lodge, and also for the Rebekah Lodge, on the second and third floors.
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