USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine, Volume II, 1875-1900 > Part 25
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1889. During the year only three buildings were destroyed; all outside the hydrant limits, as follows: -
1889, March 28. House of John Walton, on Lincolnville Avenue, with portion of its contents; loss, over $1000; partially insured; cause, a defective chimney.
1889, May 9. Slaughter-house of John Berry on the East Side of the river; loss, $500.
1889, December 4. House and stable of Israel Jones, on Vine Street; loss, $1500; insured for $1000; cause, a defective chimney.
1890. There was no fire of any magnitude within the hydrant service limits. The following buildings in the suburbs were burned: -
1890, February 7. Farm buildings, formerly the property of Luther A. Pitcher, on road from Wales Lewis Miller's to Belmont Avenue; occupied by Frank Towle; loss, about $2500; cause, the overturn of a lighted lantern in the stable.
1890, June 30. House and barn of Charles Russ, on Poor's Mills road; insured for $1000; cause, defective chimney in the ell.
1890, July 14. House and two barns of Warren H. Paul, on cross-road leading from Lincolnville Avenue, near Belmont line; loss, about $2000; partially insured; caused by a defective chimney.
1890, August 5. Dwelling house of Frank Smith, on eross-road near Gurney's Mills; partial insurance; cause, unknown.
1890, September 8. Large two-story house, ell, and stable of Andrew J. Stevens, formerly of John R. Whiting, near junction with back road to Searsport. The furniture was saved. Loss, $1800; insured, $1000; cause of fire unknown.
1890, October 7. House and barn of Frank L. French, at the Head of the Tide. The family were absent at the time, and the fire was caused by an incendiary. Loss, $800; insurance, $550.
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1890. A hook and ladder equipment, costing $550, was secured from Bangor, and manned by a company of twenty-five stalwart young men, with Levi Clay as captain.
A sale of the engine house on Spring Street, of one of the hand engines, and of the fire apparatus not needed was authorized by the City Government. Through the influence of Horatio Johnson Locke, a veteran fireman, Hydrant Engine No. 2, purchased in 1844, was retained, and it is hoped will be long preserved as a memorial of old times. (See also illustration opposite.)
1891. But three buildings were burned this year; two of which were beyond the hydrant limits.
1891, March 25. The Maine Central freight house, at the sta- tion. Including freight destroyed, the loss was $5000; supposed cause, crossing of telephone and electric wires.
1891, May 15. The interior of F. L. Mitchell's saloon in Williamson's Block, High Street, was destroyed; origin un- known.
1891, July 7. House of Captain Fred A. White, at the Upper Bridge. The furniture was partly saved. Insured for $1100. A defective chimney is supposed to have been the cause.
1891, August 18. Unoccupied house of Robert Steele, on the Searsport road. It was built in 1833.
In December, 1891, Washington Engine No. 5 was sold to a fire company at Peabody, Massachusetts, for $350. It was purchased from Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1865, and had a good record. Years ago it took the first prize for long distance water throwing, at a contest in Bucksport. The new owners named it the Union. It took first prize at Nashua in 1893, with 199 feet, 54 inches; at Essex, July 18, 1894, 186 feet, 12 inches; first at Essex, Labor Day, 1895, with 191 feet, 44 inches. And again on October 17, 1895, it took the first prize of $350 in the Boston firemen's muster of 1895. Among the prominent business men of Belfast who were firemen of the Washington Company, are the following: Captain Charles Baker, who was the first foreman, serving four years; L. D. Woodward, Samuel S. Hersey, William Williams Castle, Charles Henry Mitchell, George F. Murch, William C. Thompson, Forest Elmer Cottrell, Horatio Johnson Locke. Mr. Locke was the last foreman, serving from four to six years, and being on the force when the company disbanded.
1892, February 22. House and store of Stanley O. Gurney, at
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Gurney's Mills; loss, about $1800; partially insured. An over- heated stove in the store was the cause.
1892, April 8. House and barn of Mrs. George W. Buekmore, on Northport Avenue, with portion of contents; fully insured; origin of fire unknown.
1893. There were no fires of any extent this year. February 22, the contents of the market of Walter L. Walker, in William- son's Block, High Street, were spoiled by fire, smoke, and water, but the building was not greatly injured. A sheriff's inquest was held, but the cause was not learned.
In April, 1893, a beginning towards an electric fire-alarm sys- tem was made by placing a box at the corner of Main and High streets, connected with a gong at Mathews Brothers mill. The fire department was increased during the year by the formation of a new hose company, Seaside No. 2, with headquarters at Perkins' Store, North High Street.
1894. Buildings of Chester E. Perkins, on cross-road from Northport Avenue to Congress Street, with most of the furniture; loss, over $3000; insured for $2000; cause, breaking of a lamp.
1894, May 3. Dwelling house on East Side of the river, occu- pied by Frank F. Jellison, and owned by Frank Billings Knowl- ton; loss, $1400; insurance, $1100. The fire caught around the ell chimney.
1894, August 15. House of Captain Simeon Ryder, on the Head of the Tide road. The barn was saved. Insured for $900; supposed cause, a defective chimney.
1894, August 17. Barn of Charles H. Waterman, on road from Poor's Mills to Belmont Corner, was struck by lightning, and burned with the house and several cows and horses; insured for $700.
1894, September 15. Residence of Captain Evander L. French, at the corner of Cedar and Park streets, and its furniture badly damaged; loss covered by insurance; supposed cause, upsetting by a dog of a kerosene lamp left burning on the table.
1894, September 27. A house on Belmont Avenue, just be- yond Alto Street, owned by W. F. Triggs. The house was unoc- cupied at the time. One family had recently moved out and another was ready to move in. The fire was of incendiary origin, without doubt, as there had been no fire in the chimneys, or, so far as known, about the premises in any way for over three days.
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1894, September 28. The $9000 clothing stock in the store of Charles O'Connell, on Main Street, was much damaged by smoke and water; cause of fire not discovered.
1894, October 31. Clothing factory of William W. Cates, on Field Street, mostly destroyed; building and machinery insured for $1200; supposed cause, a defective chimney.
1894, December 22. The house and barn of the late Hiram Emery Peirce, on Waldo Avenue, twenty-five hundred feet from the nearest hydrant, with most of the contents. A heavy wind was blowing at the time. The occupant was Frank L. Emmons. Insurance on buildings and property stored, $6900. Personal effects belonging to Mrs. Peirce, which were burned, had no insurance.
1895. During the year the department was called out for active work but once, and that was on January 6, when the egg storehouse of Charles W. Lancaster was somewhat damaged. The fire was a very stubborn one, but was well fought and the build- ing saved.
1896, January 4. Shortly after six o'clock P.M., with the ther- mometer at zero, and a gale blowing from the west, the Crosby Inn took fire in the attie. The hose belonging to the building was at once brought to bear, but no water followed. Had it flowed, the flames would have been extinguished at onee. When the alarm had brought the fire department to the scene, the flames were coming through the roof near the tower. Even then no one thought the building would be destroyed; and it would not have been but for the delay in getting water and lack of pressure to send the streams where they were wanted. The hydrants were opened with great difficulty and the water-pipes appeared to be clogged with mud. One stream when first turned on apparently contained more mud than water and barely reached the second story, while the fire was raging in the roof. In one instance peb- bles plugged the nozzle and stopped the stream. The stand-pipe was running over Saturday afternoon, an hour and a half before the fire, and was two thirds full when it had been burning an hour; hence there was no lack of water. Despite the bitter cold, hundreds were attracted to the seene and remained standing in the showers of sparks and cinders that covered everything to leeward. Once the flames enveloped the tower, and then a change of wind, with possibly the aid of a well directed stream, left it
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standing out clear again, and it began to look as if the fire might, after all, be confined to that end of the building. It was not long, however, before the flames burst forth again fiercer than ever, leaping from point to point of the tower and raining fire on the adjacent buildings. The roof of the Unitarian Church frequently ignited. The fire seemed a long time in reaching the lower stories, where men were busy saving the furniture and fixtures. The lawn and surrounding streets were covered with furniture, crockery-ware, bedding, etc. With five streams playing on the building, the fire worked steadily downward and onward until it was plain that the whole structure was doomed. By great exertions the annex, originally the Governor Crosby mansion, and the kitchen, were saved, and the western wall of the north wing remained standing, although partially burned. The hotel, including furniture, cost $48,000. There was an insurance on the building of $12,000, and on the furniture, owned by the proprie- tors, Haugh, Edwards & Co., of $6300. The original stock was valueless, and the holders of the bonded indebtedness did not realize the full amount of their claims. A sheriff's inquest ren- dered a verdict that the fire originated from some unknown cause.
1896, January 6. House of James Bowen, at East Belfast.
1896, March 10. Farm buildings of Clarence Wyman, at East Belfast; insured for $400.
1896, April 8. Oakum shop in McDonald & Brown's ship- yard; loss on building and contents, $600; insured.
1896, May 10. Lunch car of William Haugh, on High Street, badly damaged; insured for $350.
1896, September 9. Granite polishing works of Patrick Brogan damaged, and most of its contents ruined.
1896, October 8. Farm buildings occupied by John H. Adams, owned by Calvin Hollis Monroe.
1896, October 11. Old carding-mill at the Head of the Tide, belonging to James F. Noyes.
1896, November 17. Farm buildings of Mrs. Cordelia Brown (formerly the Luther Smith place), on the Augusta road, with most of their contents; loss on house, $2000; insured for $1000.
1896, November 24. House of Mrs. Julia A. Warren, on Northport Avenue, occupied by Mrs. Electa B. Stone, who lost most of her furniture.
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1896, November 29. The store of Charles O'Connell, on Main Street, took fire near a rear window, and, although soon extin- guished, the stock was much injured by smoke and water.
There were several changes in the Fire Department during the year 1896. The former Washington Hose Company resigned in April and a new company was organized at once. An additional company was afterwards formed with a separate set of officers, but both to be under the command of one captain. Old Hydrant Engine No. 2 was thoroughly repaired.
1897. But a single fire resulting in loss occurred during the year. On the night of April 25, the buildings on the Preston place, on Northport Avenue, were burned. The fire was discov- ered in a shed between the house and barn and spread rapidly towards both, and all the buildings with the contents were a total loss. The occupants had barely time to escape with their lives. The place was owned by Mrs. Emma J. Marshall, and was occu- pied by her and her sister, Miss Camilla Elwell. There was $1000 insurance on the buildings, but none on the personal property.
1897. At the election of city officers in March, I. T. Clough succeeded Francis Hiram Welch as chief of the Fire Department. The "Fireman's Standard " of that month contained a portrait of Mr. Welch, with a sketch of his life and of his work as a fireman.
1898, January 26. House of Frank Whitcomb, at the south end of Cedar Street. It was built in 1897, at a cost of $1100, and was insured for $800; cause of fire unknown.
1898, February 27. House and buildings of the late Captain Robert Hudson Coombs, on Northport Avenue, occupied by his son, Charles Robert Coombs, took fire from an unknown cause. The house was saved in a damaged condition.
1898, March 5. Residence of Clarence M. Knowlton, at City- point, built by the late George Brooks Ferguson at a cost of $5000. The contents were mostly saved; insurance, $3200.
1898, August 15. Story and a half house and stable of Mrs. Sarah W. Brown, on Northport Avenue; contents saved; insurance on buildings and contents, $1300; fire originated in the hayloft.
1898, August 26. Four-tenement house on Congress Street, occupied by George W. Frisbee, so badly damaged as not to be worth repairing, and a new building took its place. It was erected by Albert A. Heath, and from its peculiar shape was once called "Heath's Folly."
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1898. The forces of the Fire Department this year consisted of seventy-five men, classed as follows: one chief engineer, two assistant engineers, three captains, four foremen, and sixty-five hose and ladder men. The Department responded to six alarms of fire.
1899, February 16. The most destructive fire of the year was that which consumed the John Peirce Block at the corner of Church and Franklin streets. The lower part contained three large stores, occupied, respectively, by Thomas Hauglı, restau- rant; Albert L. Edwards, billiards; and Andrew L. Knowlton, baker. The second story was occupied by the Belfast Age Pub- lishing Company. None of the occupants resumed business. The building was owned by Mr. Haugh. His loss was estimated at $5500; the Age Publishing Company at $5000; Mr. Edwards, $650; Mr. Knowlton, $500. The property was insured. An irreparable loss was the destruction of the files of the "Age" for the forty-five years it had been published. An investigation as to the cause of the fire by the municipal officers resulted in a report from cause unknown.
1899, March 24. Dwelling of Frank L. Harmon, on Cedar Street, with nearly all it contained; insurance on house and con- tents, $1300.
1899, December 14. Small house of Nathan E. Brown, on Allyn Street, almost wholly destroyed; loss, $600; partially insured.
During the year sleds for conveying fire apparatus were pro- vided.
The city purchased land on Vine Street, of Calvin Hervey, for the Seaside Hose Company, whose house was removed there, and enlarged.
1900, April 25. The Alexander house, with its furniture, on the corner of High and Commercial streets, was badly damaged by fire and water; insurance on buildings, $1800; on furniture, $700.
1900, May 26. Farm buildings of Edgar L. Smith, on Belmont Avenue, four miles out, with most of the contents; loss, $1000; no insurance.
1900, August 22. Buildings of David Crosby, on the back road to Searsport occupied by two families; uninsured.
1900, August 23. Schoolhouse in the Emery District, South .
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Belfast, which has recently been sold by the city to James P. Wight; cause, incendiary.
1900, September 19. House, ell, and barn, on cross-road near Equity Grange Hall, owned by Randall W. Ellis, of Embden, and occupied by Llewellyn P. Moore; cause, unknown; loss, $1500; partially insured.
1900, October 24. Small house in mill-yard, East Belfast, owned by Elmer Irving Rankin, and occupied by Hugh Crowley; house valued at $300; no insurance; furniture insured for $500; cause, defective chimney.
1900, December 11. Buildings of Beverly S. Staples, at City- point, partially destroyed.
1900, December 25. Buildings of J. W. McIntyre farm on Poor's Mills road, near Belmont Avenue, with contents; no insur- ance; cause, incendiary.
1900. Two large chemical fire extinguishers were introduced this year.
The public-spirited services rendered by Horace Chenery, Esq., to the Fire Department, of which he was elected a member some years ago, deserve mention. Ever since automobiles have been in general use in Belfast, he has placed at the disposal of the Department one of his cars or trucks, with instructions that it be kept constantly in readiness, night or day, to convey the firemen to the scene of danger, the instant the alarm sounds.
CHAPTER XXXVI
MASONIC INSTITUTIONS
Lodges, Council, and Chapter, 1875 - Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Phoenix Lodge - History -Timothy Chase Lodge completes a Quarter of a Century - Commandery of Knights Templar - Masonic Temple - Dedication - History of Corinthian Chapter - History of Phoenix Lodge.
I N 1875, the Masonic institutions in Belfast were the Phoenix Lodge No. 24, chartered in 1817, having 206 members; Timo- thy Chase Lodge, No. 126, organized in 1865, having 130 mem- bers; King Solomon's Council of Royal and Select Masters, No. 1, organized in 1854, having 112 members; Corinthian Royal Arch Chapter, No. 7, organized in 1848, having 104 members. All these met in Masonic Hall, which was in the third story of the High School Building on Church Street.
At a meeting of Phoenix Lodge, October 9, 1882, a remarkable feature was the presence of every living past-master, fourteen in number, the oldest being Daniel Haraden, who presided in 1846. In 1891, a history of the lodge was prepared by Jeremiah D. Parker. A public commemoration of its seventy-fifth anniver- sary took place at the Opera House, March 8, 1892, at which a history, by Russell Glover Dyer, and a necrology, by George Edwin Johnson, were read. Both papers appeared in the "Repub- lican Journal" of that week.
On May 3, 1890, Timothy Chase Lodge observed its twenty- fifth anniversary by public exercises at the Opera House.
The neighboring lodges met with the Belfast brethren in Dis- triet Convention, February 10, 1898.
Palestine Commandery, No. 14, Knights Templar, was organ- ized in Belfast June 8, 1882. There were then about a dozen resident Sir Knights. The following September, it entertained Dunlap Commandery of Bath, which again came in June, 1889. In July, 1889, the Lewiston Commandery were guests, as were Claremont Commandery of Rockland, and De Valois Comman- dery of Vinalhaven, in September, 1891. Their visits were marked by imposing street parades and various festivities.
The Masonic Library Association was organized January 6,
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MASONIC TEMPLE. ERECTED 1878
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1869, with George Washington Burgess as president, and Robert Emery as librarian.
The partial destruction of Masonic Hall, by an accidental fire on the evening of May 24, 1875, induced a movement for more spacious accommodations, which resulted in the incorporation, by the Legislature of 1876, of the Masonic Temple Association of Belfast, for the purpose of procuring a lot and erecting a Masonic building thereon. Early the next year, sufficient subscriptions warranted the purchase of the lot at the corner of Main and High streets, for $7500, and in June, ground for the foundation of the present Masonic Temple was broken. The building was com- pleted in 1878. It is 832 feet long on High Street, and 54 feet wide on Main Street. It is three stories high, surmounted by a mansard roof, and has a tower at the northwest corner. The ma- terial is brick, with freestone trimmings. The whole structure is supplied with water, steam, and gas. There are three stores on High Street, first occupied by Charles Henry Mitchell, confec- tioner; Cyrus R. Davis, groceries, and Carle & Mansfield, dry goods dealers. The adjoining corner store, having entrances on both streets, was taken by Horace Eugene McDonald, jeweler; and that below on Main Street by Ferguson & Rackliff, milliners. The second story was devoted to offices, and the third and fourth to the Masonic Fraternity, whose hall proper, at the south end, is 462 by 402 feet, and 21} feet high. George M. Harding was the architect of the building, and Israel Wood Parker the builder. Charles Henry Bray was master of the brickwork. The cost of the structure, including the land, was about $35,000. On the 4th of July, 1879, the building was dedicated by the Grand Lodge of Maine, on which occasion ten thousand visitors were in the city. An account of the building and dedication of the Temple may be found in chapter XL, on Celebrations and Observances.
A sixteen-column Masonic supplement, giving a description of the edifice and of the celebration, was published by the "Repub- lican Journal."
In 1880, a "History of Corinthian Chapter," comprising eighty octavo pages, written by Russell Glover Dyer, and from the press of George Washington Burgess, was published. It contains details concerning Masonic Temple and its dedication, with an engraving.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST
The "History of Phoenix Lodge, from 1817 to 1863," both inclusive, by John L. Locke, published in 1863, was reprinted in 1900. In connection with it was its subsequent history to the last-named year, including a necrology; the whole forming a pamphlet of one hundred and twelve pages.
CHAPTER XXXVII
ODD FELLOWS
Belfast Lodge revived - Odd Fellows' Association - Waldo Lodge formed - Difficulties between the two Lodges - Uniformed Degree Camp - Penob- scot Encampment-Canton Pallas-Celebration of Anniversaries-Dedica- tion of Odd Fellows' Hall -Odd Fellows' Block - Memorial Day - Visiting Brethren from abroad - Lodge of Daughters of Rebekah - Decoration of Graves - Roll of Deceased Members.
THE charter of the lodge of Odd Fellows established in Belfast in 1844, having been surrendered thirteen years later, no organization existed in Belfast until August 4, 1875, when Belfast Lodge, No. 41 with six members was formed, and held meetings in the Allyn Block on Main Street. Their numbers soon outgrew the lodge room, and on the 26th of April, 1876, the hall in the fourth story of City Block, which had been elaborately fitted up, was dedicated in the presence of a large delegation of brethren from abroad. A voluntary association, with a capital of $2000, called Odd Fellows' Association, was formed at that time for the purpose of furnishing the hall.
In April, 1878, the membership of the Belfast Lodge having increased to one hundred and fifteen, a second lodge, called the Waldo Lodge, was instituted, occupying the same hall, and starting with sixty members. The ceremony was public.
In 1879, difficulties between the two Lodges caused much · public interest and excitement, and the contention over the pos- session of City Hall, in which the exercises of the order had been previously held, nearly resulted in bloodshed. By reason of the ensuing disagreements, Belfast Lodge, No. 41, the oldest existing lodge between Augusta and Bangor, was disbanded; and Waldo Lodge, No. 12 resumed possession of the hall in July, 1883. Details of this controversy may be found in a volume of three hundred and fifty pages, containing also several newspaper accounts, with wood-cut engraving of the affray; and in the "Proceedings" of the Grand and Sovereign Lodges. Some of the stockholders of the Odd Fellows' Association afterwards com- menced proceedings in equity to recover their share of the hall
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furnishings, but were defeated. (See the case of Robbins against Waldo Lodge, Maine Reports, volume 78, page 565.)
A uniformed Degree Camp was instituted November 22, 1883.
Penobscot Encampment, No. 25, was instituted August 7, 1877.
Canton Pallas, No. 4, Patriarchs Militant, with twenty-five charter members, was formed April 7, 1886. Its first officers were Frank A. Follett, captain; George A. Hutchins, lieutenant; Aubrey G. Spencer, ensign; William Melvin Thayer, clerk.
The sixty fifth anniversary of the order was observed April 25, 1884, and an address delivered by Russell Glover Dyer, which appeared in the "Progressive Age" of May 8.
1884, September 9. Penobscot Encampment gave a reception and ball to Kearsarge Encampment of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
1888, April 27. Waldo Lodge, No. 12, celebrated its tenth anniversary, in which brethren from abroad participated.
1889, September 3. Waldo Lodge dedicated its hall in Odd Fellows' Block. The Grand Lodge of Maine was present and per- formed the impressive ceremony. Cantons from Bangor, Rock- land, Vinalhaven, and Waterville were present, with lodges from Rockland, Vinalhaven, Camden, Castine, Winterport, Searsport, and Unity. The parade was one of the largest and best ever seen in Belfast, and included five hundred men. There were six bands in the line, including the Patriarch Militant Band of Boston, which gave a concert in the square in front of the Post- Office. A banquet took place in the Coliseum, followed by a concert and ball in the evening at the Opera House.
The Odd Fellows' Block, on Main Street, Belfast, erected in 1888-89 at a cost of $33,000, including the land, covers the site of the old American House. It is the largest block in the city, being sixty feet on the front, one hundred and four feet deep, and four stories high. The material is brick. The lower story contains two stores, occupied since their completion by A. A. Howes & Co., and George William Burkett. On the second story are offices of lawyers and physicians, and all above is occupied by the several organizations of Odd Fellows. Besides the large hall, is a smaller one, used for concerts and dancing. The building contains all modern improvements, water, steam heat, and electricity. The architect was W. E. Mansur, and the builder W. N. Sawyer, both of Bangor. J. H. Howes has succeeded G. W. Burkett (1912).
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