USA > New York > Clinton County > Plattsburgh > History of Plattsurgh, New York from its first settlement to January 1, 1876 > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Nothing unusual occurred to mark the deliberations of
49
PLATTSBURGHI --- VILLAGE.
the Board of Village Trustees, until the summer of ISI7, when it was announced that the President of the United States, Mr. Monroe, proposed visiting the village, while on a tour of inspection through the Northern States. This announcement excited the corporation officers in an unusual degree. A meeting of the trustees was called, a committee of reception appointed, an orator chosen, and a sum of money, raised by tax for the purchase of a fire- engine, and then in the hands of the Treasurer, appropri- ated to defray the expenses of the reception.
On Sunday, the 27th day of July, at noon, the Presi- dent arrived by steamboat, and was escorted to the hotel kept by Israel Green, by a company of U. S. Infantry, un- der command of Captain Newman S. Clark, Captain Sperry's company of horse and the Plattsburgh Rifles. At the hotel he was received by Reuben H. Walworth, who delivered an address in behalf of the corporation, to which the President replied. As he passed into the house the young ladies of Miss Cook's and Miss Forrence's schools strewed his path with flowers. In the evening the Presi- dent attended a party at the house of Captain Sidney Smith, of the Navy; on Sunday he attended services at the Presbyterian Church, and passed the evening at Judge DeLords.
All this is related in glowing language in the columns of the Republican. But the crowning act of the reception was reserved for Monday. At ten o'clock in the forenoon, the President started for Sackett's Harbor, under escort of Capt. Sperry's company. At two o'clock he reached a point on the road, thirteen miles distant, where a bower
: 1
%
مكة - شعرائه تن طليبح المتكررة حب الب المدحائط
50
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
had been erected, and a repast provided for his party by the citizens of the village. "The site chosen," says the Republican, " was romantic and well adapted to the oc- casion, on the margin of a brook which crossed the road, gently breaking, by its murmurs, the stillness of the sur- rounding forest."
" In such a moment," adds the writer, becoming elo- quent over the recollections of the scene, " so congenial to convivial gayety, form and ceremony have no place ; age looses its caution, philosophy itself is taken off .its guard, and the flow of soul alone triumphs." Evidently the "Clinton County Moral Society " had taken a recess for the occasion. After partaking of this collation, the President resumed his journey towards the west, the citizens returned to their homes, and the trustees watched over the village for another year without a fire-engine. The President and his escort had eaten it up, in that " shaded bower," by the " murmuring brook."
Speaking of his reception in this village, Mr. Waldo says: " In no place through his extensive tour was the President received with more undissembled tokens of re- spect than at Plattsburgh." [President's Tour, p. 250.]
Mr. Waldo refers to the collation in the woods in the following words: " Prosecuting his route towards Ogdensburgh through the majestic forests, the President's attention was suddenly arrested by an elegant collation, fitted up in a superior style by the officers of the army and the citizens of the County. He partook of it with a heart beating in unison with those of his patriotic coun- trymen by whom he was surrounded; and acknowledged
4
51
1
:
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE,
this unexpected and romantic civility with unaffected and dignified complacence [p 251].
In 1823, the village contained three hundred houses, a church, a bank, a court-house, an academy, three printing-offices, a flouring-mill, two saw-mills, a fulling- mill and clothing works, an oil-mill, two carding ma- chines, three tanneries, fifteen retail stores, and a distil- lery.
Of the buildings here referred to, none are now standing except the court-house and the flouring-mill. The distillery belonged to James Kennedy, and stood on the south shore of the river, near the outlet of the grist- mill race. Kennedy advertises to give "five quarts of whiskey for a bushel of rye or merchantable corn," or, if his customers desired, he " would take wood in payment." Platt & Belcher had three carding machines in the brick building at the west end of the dam, and Platt & Hyde conducted the business of cloth dressing in the same building. The tanneries were conducted by Stephen Averill, Daniel Noble, and Lansing Parsons. Mr. Noble
discontinued business in the fall of this year. David Kennon advertises "soal and upper leather" for sale. James Trowbridge and Shelden Lockwood were each engaged in the manufacture and sale of hats. Samuel Emery and Charles Haynes carried on the business of chair making, painting and gilding, and Joseph I. Green had a shop where he manufactured saddles and harnesses. Among the merchants were Bailey & Brinkerhoff, Mat- thew M. Standish, L. & H. Platt, C. D. & J. Backus, Cady & Anderson, James Bailey, Anselm Parsons, Wm.
52
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
H. Morgan, J. G. Freleigh, John Walworth, N. C. Platt, Samuel Hull, Samuel Lowell, and Alexander McCotter. R. C. Hoar sold boots and shoes, and "Dave " Langdon was the village cartman. Judge John Lynde was Post- Master, and had an easy time of it, if we might judge from the following notice in the Plattsburgh Republican of April 26th: "We have received no mail from the south for several days. We understand that for the future it will come but once a week." And when it did come the postage was twenty-five cents on a single letter.
Reference has already been made to the manufactur- ing establishments in the village in 1835. At that time Ephraim Buck was President of the village, William F. Haile, Heman Cady, Samuel Emery and F. L. C. Sailly were Trustees, and George M. Beckwith was Clerk. The principal merchants were Andrew Moore, Sailly & Hicks, Samuel Hinman and D. L. Fouquet, who occu- pied the stone row at the head of Bridge Street. Heman and Cyrus Cady, who occupied the south store in the brick block between Bridge Street and the public square ; Lawrence Myers, in the old wooden building on the cor- ner of River and Bridge Streets; James Bailey and Cor- nelius Halsey, on the north side of Bridge Street, between Riverand Margaret Streets; Moss Kent Platt, on thecorner of Bridge and Margaret Street; Thomas Goldsmith on the corner of Oak and Broad Street ; William H. Morgan, Hugh McMurry, and Samuel Lowell, on the east side of the river; Ephraim Buck, on Margaret, and Paul Mar- shall on River Street. Smaller establishments were also kept by Joseph Durkee, John Archy, Asa Saunders, and
٠ ٠٠
53
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
Michael Kearney. Ransom Richardson had a cabinet store, with machinery, in the old brick building at the west end of the dam. William G. Brown, Leonard Crane, and D. L. Fouquet were also cabinetmakers. There were three hotels at this time, the Village Hotel, kept by John Nichols, where the Witherell House now stands ; the Phoenix, kept by John McKce, on the present site of the Cumberland House, and Fouquet's Stage House. Amos A. Prescott was the village jeweller and book- seller, and kept an establishment on the west side of Margaret Street about half way between Bridge and Brin- kerhoff. Daniel Tenney had a hat store on River Street. In addition to these establishments, there were, in the village, six tailor shops, two bake shops, one marble shop, two butcher shops, six milliners and dressmakers, five boot and shoe stores, five blacksmiths, four wheelwrights, three tanners and curriers, four saddle and harness ma- kers, four head carpenters and joiners, six head masons, three painters, two butchers, two landscape and portrait painters, two tin shops, and two barber shops, one by Doct. Thomas, who always gave his customers the " Bos- ton touch, Sir," and the other by George Haynes, whose name, as appears from the town records, to which we have before referred, was " Sir George Provost."
Of the learned professions there were four clergymen, three physicians, and fourteen lawyers. The population of the village at this time was about 2,500.
Nearly all the buildings occupied as business estab- lishments in 1835 have since then been burned, or have been removed to make place for larger structures.
54
PLATTSBURGH -- VILLAGE.
The loss by fire alone, in the village, has exceeded one million of dollars.
In the summer of 1813, the British force, under com- mand of Col. Murray, held possession of the village for twenty-four hours, during which time they burned a block-house, the arsenal on Broad Street, the hospital buildings on the bank of the lake, two store-houses be- longing to Peter Sailly, and the store-house of Major N. Z. Platt.
In the month of September, 1814, while the British under Sir George Provost, occupied the north side of the Saranac, a number of buildings which afforded protection to the British troops were burned by hot shot fired from the American works. The buildings thus destroyed by fire were the Court-House, Mr. Savage's, Mr. Buck's and Mr. Goldsmith's dwelling-houses, the store and dwelling- house of Jonathan Griffin, the store and dwelling-house of Roswell Wait, and those of Mrs. Beaumont, a dwelling- house and store owned by Charles Backus, two stores of Joseph Thomas, and Mr. Power's store-fifteen buildings in all. The dwelling-house of John L. Fouquet, on the cast side of the river, was also burned this year.
The first fire within my recollection occurred on the afternoon of the 16th day of May, 1822, when the home- stead of Judge William Bailey was burned to the ground. One month later, on the night of the 16th of June, the stone grist-mill was destroyed by fire. This was sup- posed to be the work of an incendiary, for whose detec- tion rewards to the amount of $1,000 were offered by Judge Levi Platt, the owner of the mill, and by citizens
.
55
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
of the village. The mill was immediately rebuilt, and was in operation in the month of November following.
The next was the burning of the hotel of Joseph I. Green, on the corner of Margaret and Court Streets. The main portion, fronting on Margaret Street, was con- sumed. I am not able to state the precise date of this fire.
About the year 1832, the hotel of Jeremiah McCree- dy, which stood at the foot of River Street, was destroyed. This was an old-fashioned wooden building, known as the " Ark," which had long been one of the principal hotels of the village. The fire extended to and con- sumed a small dwelling-house on the cast, and a large shed and horse barn on the west side of the hotel. Dur- ing the same year, a wooden building on the south side of Bridge Street, about midway between the bridge and Mill Alley, was burned.
In the spring of 1833, a cotton factory, built by John Palmer and then occupied by Cole & Richardson, and also an old wooden building, formerly used by John Mal- lory as an oil-mill, and the old saw-mill at the west end of the dam, were destroyed. A road or causeway of the old slabs, extending from the saw-mill to the bridge, was also burned at this time. The fire extended to the west- ern abutment of the bridge, which had been filled in .with logs and pine stumps. These, having caught fire, continued to burn for several weeks.
On the 17th of May, 1836, the Court-House was for the second time destroyed. The fire caught in the shed adjoining, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The
56
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
walls of the building were not injured. The inside was rebuilt, and a stone jail erected at a total cost of about $8,000.
The store of Hugh McMurry on the corner of Bridge and Charlotte Streets, and the store of G. W. Webster, adjoining on Bridge Street, were totally de- stroyed by fire on the 11th day of July, 1841.
The grist mill was again destroyed by fire on Friday, September 2d, 1842.
On Friday evening, January 30, 1846, the Methodist Church on Court Street was burned. This fire caught from a stove pipe in the basement. The church was re- built, and dedicated on Thursday, the 12th day of No- vember, of the same year.
But these were trifling losses when compared with the destruction made by the memorable fire of August 10, 1849, which in four hours reduced to ashes the entire business portion of the village. When the alarm was first sounded the fire had made considerable progress in a small wooden building, on the corner of Bridge Street and Mill Alley (now Water Street), the ground floor of which was occupied by one Thornton, as a low groggery. There was but little wind at the time, and although the destruction of this building seemed inevitable, no one supposed it was the commencement of a conflagration which would consume property to the value of nearly $300,000. From this building the fire extended to one adjoining, on Bridge Street, and also to a small wooden building adjoining on Mill Alley, both of which were soon consumed. A few feet south, on Mill Alley, was a long,
57
1
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
low wooden building, owned by N. P. Gregory, and used by him as a storehouse, in which was stored a large quan- tity of wool. The roof and sides of this building were kept wet with water, brought in pails from the mill pond, and the building saved. At about half-past 12 o'clock, the fire crossed Mill Alley, and caught in an old wooden building on the opposite corner, occupied by Godso and Shinville, as a grocery and harness shop. The whole of the east side of this building was instantly in flames. From this the fire rapidly passed to the rear of R. Cot- trill's store and J. H. Mooers, drug store. No water could be procured, and it now became evident that an ex- tensive and destructive conflagration had commenced. Moss K. Platt's drug store, on the corner of Bridge and Margaret streets, and an old wooden building adjoining on Margaret street, owned and occupied by Terance Con- way, as a grocery and dwelling-house, were soon in flames. By this time a strong wind from the south was blowing, which drove the heat and flames across Bridge Street, melting the tin on the roof of a block of brick stores, owned by James Bailey, and setting the roof on fire in several places. From this block the fire divided, one line following the buildings on the west side of River Street, and the other those on the east side of Margaret Street, while at the same time the burning sparks and cinders set fire to the buildings on the south side of the Park. At two o'clock the whole square, bounded by Bridge, River and Margaret Streets and the Park, was in flames, burning furiously.
The loss on this square was as follows : on Bridge
A
58
PLATTSBURGH --- VILLAGE. 4
Street, James Bailey, dry goods; Averill & Sprague, dry goods; Fitch & Cook, hardware; William K. Dana, dry goods. On Margaret Street, Amos A. Prescott, book- seller and jeweller ; Guy Dunham, draper and merchant tailor; William H. Morgan & Son, dry goods ; William H. Hedges, dry goods; William H. Myers, dry goods ; Benedict & Buck, dry goods and boots and shoes ; L. Myers, dry goods. On the Park, Firemen's Hall, with the public library, containing about 2500 volumes ; Mrs. Green's dwelling-house, and Mrs. Winans' dwelling-house, occupied by tenants. On River Street, Mrs. Winans' dwelling ; James Conway's dwelling; Andrew Bird's grocery and dwelling, and Lemuel F. Walker's joiner shop.
While this destruction was progressing, the fire was rapidly making its way against the wind, along the east side of Margaret Street, south of Conway's. The loss here was Alfred Hartwell's clothing store, John J. Drown's shoe store and dwelling ; H. Hewitt, dry goods ; L. Coo- ley's hat store; Nichols & Lynde, wholesale grocers; Benjamin Ketchum, dry goods; Vilas & Crosby, whole- sale dry goods and tinware ; Francis McCadden, clothing and dwelling, and two buildings intended for stores, only partly completed. Several store-houses and small tene- ment buildings in the rear on Mill Alley were also burned.
The fire crossed Margaret Street, north of Bridge Street, and caught in an old building, occupied by Ami Beauchamp, as a tailor's shop. At about the same time, it also crossed south of Bridge Street, working both ways
59
PLATTSBURGH -- VILLAGE.
from these points, and extending up Church Alley for some distance. The buildings destroyed on the west side of Margaret Street, were Samuel F. Vilas's dwelling and outhouses, on the corner of Brinkerhoff Street ; A. L. & G. N. Webb's store and dwelling ; William Reed's jewelry shop and dwelling ; Cromwell's barber shop and dwelling ; J. Ricard's store and dwelling ; Goslin's barber shop, bath rooms and dwelling, and Bernard Young's store and dwelling. These were all wooden buildings. William Palmer & Co., mill store in the south end of the " stone row;" Charles H. Cady, dry goods ; William Douglass, dry goods; Charles C. Moore, dry goods ; Caleb Nichols, dwelling ; George Moore's justice office ; D. Hoag's grocery ; Beauchamp's tailor shop, and Dill's Phoenix hotel and barns. A dwelling-house on Court Street, west of the hotel, then occupied by George W. Palmer, was burned, as was also a small building on the corner of Brinkerhoff and Margaret Street, opposite Vilas's dwelling-house, then occupied as the Post Office.
On Church Alley, south side, a dwelling-house of B. Young ; Ransom N. Richardson's wagon shop ; Tierney's blacksmith shop; Roberts' blacksmith shop, and Trom- bly's blacksmith shop, were burned, and a small wooden building, occupied by Felix Tero was torn down. On the north side the loss was Baker's wagon shop, the old Durand house, occupied by tenants, and several other sınall buildings and barns. The offices of the Plattsburgh Republican and of the Clinton County Whig, were de- stroyed, besides several offices and shops in the second story of the buildings consumed. The progress of the
60
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
fire was arrested, on the south, by a row of stone stores, and on Church Alley by pulling down the Tero house. In other directions it seemed to exhaust itself.
The fine brick residence of M. K. Platt, on the corner of Macdonough and Macomb Street, was burned on the 18th of March, I854.
In August, 1856, a fire destroyed a block of four stores, on Margaret street, opposite Brinkerhoff, one owned by D. S. McMasters, one by Harvey Hewitt, and two by 1 Francis McCadden.
On the 16th December, 1861, a fire occurred, which consumed all the buildings on Bridge and River Streets, from the Bridge to the John Wells brick building, lately owned by O. A. Keyes, except the old Parsons store, on the corner of those streets, then occupied by G. W. Hor- nick, as a furniture store. The fire was discovered about 3 o'clock in the morning, in the basement of the store then occupied by George N. Webb, and burned three buildings owned by J. D. Warren, Mrs. Ricord's block of two stores, Paul Marshall's block of four stores, and build- ings owned by Charles Barnard, John Duval, Andrew Borde, James Griffin, and Francis Senecal.
On Friday, the 29th day of May, 1863, there was an- other fire which consumed the old Cady homestead, at the corner of Margaret and Broad Streets, then occupied by Mr. Wolcott; the old Standish store, on the corner of Oak and Broad Streets, then occupied by George W. Day as a carpenter's shop, and a dwelling house on Broad Street, between these two, owned by Doct. Edward Kane.
1
F
₹
PLATTSBURGH --- VILLAGE.
June 6th, 1864, Fouquet's Hotel, on the east side of the river, was entirely destroyed by fire.
The Gas Works were burned Saturday morning, De- cember 23d, 1865, together with the lumber sheds of Baker Brothers, adjoining. The loss was estimated at $6000.
On Wednesday, the 21st day of August, 1867, another large and destructive conflagration occurred, which again reduced to ashes the greater portion of the business part of the village. The fire king passed over almost the same territory destroyed in August, 1849. The fire was first discovered in the horse shed of the Presbyterian Church, and spread with great rapidity to the Church and the adjoining buildings. The Presbyterian Church was consumed, with most of its valuable furniture and the communion service. From there, the fire extend- ed west, consuming 3 houses owned by John Wilson; B. D. Clapp's dwelling on Oak Street, and N. Nusbaum's; two houses of WVm. H. Morgan, on the corner of Oak Street and Church Alley ; also the following property on that alley; L. M. Cooley's house; Henry H. Story's house ; a large tenement house of M. K. Platt's, occupied by five families; Peter Malloy, Robert Turner and Wil- liam Dixon's houses ; a house occupied by Felix Tero, and houses occupied by Mr. Marvin, Paul Carroll, and Paul Montville, and two houses belonging to Caleb Nichol's estate; Joseph Tero's carriage shop; the blacksmith shops of Cramer, Ryan and Gonya & Roberts; Major Dolan's saloon and residence, owned by E. M. Crosby, Learment & Stave's livery stables, and Dennis Tormey's
62
PLATTSBURGH -- VILLAGE.
shoe shop. On Brinckerhoff Street -- two buildings in process of construction, east of the Presbyterian Church, owned by David Hooey and Francis McCadden, and also Wm. Bell's marble shop. On the west side of Margaret Street-Blake's block, near the corner of Brinkerhoff Street, occupied by M. Holcomb's hat and cap store, J. E. Morrison, drug store, and Sowles & Edwards, hardware store; William D. Morgan's store, Joseph Shiff's market, C. A. Cook's hardware store, Bernard Young's store and residence, E. Hathaway's clothing store, Edwards & Co.'s store, Breed's boot and shoe store and Wm. Reed's jewel- ry store in the same room, Balch's drug store, Levy's boot and shoe store, and James Griffin's saloon and resi- dence. Here George Moore's office was partly torn down and the further progress of the fire in this direction ar- rested.
The fire crossed Margaret Street, south of Bridge Street, and burned on the east side of Margaret Street, R. O. Bar- ber's grocery store, John Percy's grocery store, S. F. Vilas's wholesale dry goods store, F. Palmer & Co., grocery and feed store, Nichols, Lynde & Co., wholesale grocery store, Weaver & Hall's grocery store, J. H. Cottrill's clothing store, J. J. Drown's boot and shoe store, Tilley's book store, Rothschild & Co., dry goods store, and H. W. Cady & Co., drug store. On south side Bridge Street-Noel Bessett's harness shop, H. W. Guibord's grocery store, Mrs. Mc- Cann's hotel, John P. Smith's and Archers' market and residence, S. W. Gregory & Co., office-also their store- house on Water Street. Noel's tavern on Water Street was also consumed.
63
PLATTSBURGH -- VILLAGE.
The names above, are of those who occupied the ground floor of the buildings destroyed on Margaret and Bridge Streets. In the upper stories there were many offices, among which I will name the law offices of Beck- with & Dobie, Geo. L. Clark, Wm. R. Jones, M. Desmond, and Weed & Dickinson. The offices of Doct. E. M. Lyon, Doct. Wolff, and Doct. Nichols, and of C. Halsey : Howard's and Averill's photographic galleries,-Doctor Bixby's and Doctor Howard's dental rooms,-the Masonic Hall, with all its furniture, -- the Library of the Young Men's Association, --- J. W. Tuttle's job printing office and A. G. Carver's printing office.
The editor of the " Plattsburgh Sentinel" prepared and published an estimate of the loss of each individual, of which the following is the aggregate : Markets, $1,550; hardware, $59,000 ; printing offices, $7.300; dentists, $954 ; law offices, libraries, &c., $5,200 ; physicians, $5,639 ; boots and shoes, $16,500 ; saloons, $7,600 ; druggists, $10,000; photograph galleries. $10,000 ; clothing, $10,250 ; harness makers, $800 ; dry goods, groceries, &c., $102,750; mis- cellaneous, $28,912 : real estate, $192,893 ; loss by re- moval, exposure, and theft, $11,013 ; grand total, $.169,861. The amount of insurance is stated at $241,625, divided among 24 companies, in very unequal proportions, how- ever.
The next fire occurred on Sunday evening, the 27th day of December, 1868, when the United States Hotel was totally consumed. This was followed, one month later, January 26, 1869, by the burning of Scheier's and Meron's brick stores, on Margaret Street. Three weeks
64
PLATTSBURGH-VILLAGE.
after this fire, on the 16th day of February, two stores in Bailey's brick block, on Bridge Street, were burned, with nearly all their contents. This fire was discovered about half past three o'clock in the morning, in Monash's cloth- ing store. The adjoining store in the block, occupied by L. Cooley & Son, as a hat and cap store, and by Wm. Reed, temporarily, as a jeweller's store, was flooded with water and the building considerably damaged. On the 22d day of May, following, another fire destroyed the store owned by Nichols & Lynde, on Margaret St., direct- ly opposite the buildings of Scheier and Meron, destroyed the December previous. This store was occupied by Hymen Brothers.
At 11 o'clock of the night of March 2, 1870, a fire was discovered in the basement of a building on the north side of Bridge Street, near the west end of the Bridge, owned by D. S. Holcomb and occupied by Burdo & Lan- more, as a saloon, which, with a store adjoining in the same block, owned by Bernard Young, and occupied by J. J. Drown, as a boot and shoe store, were burned.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.