Canton Fires

St. Lawrence Plaindealer October 19, 1943 "Fifty Years Ago"

Canton Fires: (Information in various articles is confusing on the fires so I will just try to list what I find here in order of date)

• 1840 - First Fire Department formed

• 1843 - from CFL Scrapbook:

                 

                 

                - from St. Lawrence Plaindealer June 22, 1937 -reprint from 1843 Northern Cabinet:

 

• The first is reported in a 1921 article called the "Story of Canton Fire Department" ....."This was the year of Canton's first great fire.(1848)  On the 4th of July of that year during a celebration, the explosion of a firecracker started a fire on the corner  of Court and Main Streets....." This fire may well have destroyed an earlier version of Miner Block.

 

• Then we find an article dated 1922 "Festus Tracy Named Canton"... (after Canton China)....by Luther M Tracy (his grandson)...."I remember the fire of 1858 which wiped Main Street off the map, from Court Street to the river and also the exciting times following the election of Lincoln and the breaking out of the Civil War, as Canton was a hot bed of Democracy and contained a few of the so called Copper Heads of that time.  As the Plaindealer if they have in their little archive a copy of the little 7X9 sheet put out by them the day after the fire of 1858.  It would be interesting reading to the old timers of Canton today."

  • Note: this fire in 1858  is probably really the fire of 1848. All indications from other articles is this happened ten years before Luther Tracy's memory recalls it.......

  St. Lawrence Plaindealer Oct 11, 1938:

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• From 1873/4 Child's Gazeteer - "(8) A serious fire occurred here Oct 4, 1843; another in April, 1869, burned from the corner of Main and Water streets to the postoffice, where Matthew's store now stands; and another in August, 1870, burned more than sixty stores and offices and rendered twenty-two families houseless."  

 

• The last big fire was in August 1869 which wiped out everything from Hodskins Street to Riverside Drive then called Water Street.  This fire wiped out Union Block.

Union Block was on Water Street which is now Riverside Drive - Union Block was destroyed by fire possibly set by a mentally effected employee of Gage and Gilmore in 1869.  Here is a poem written about the fire by Daniel Reynolds.  It was reprinted 100 years later by the Plaindealer in Dec 1969.

"CANTON'S BIG FIRE

On the fourteenth of August, About three o'clock, A fire had started In 1 Union Block,

Where Theodore Caldwell  His fortune was making, !In exchange for his goods Many 'stamps' he was taking.

"The devouring flame  Appeared bent on destruction, The 'brakes' were put down, In a workmanlike manner, But all to no purpose, The Block was a goner.

"The Plaindealer office Was brought to the level; It went to destruction In spite of the Devil;—

Type, paper, and presses Were consumed in a minute It fell to the cellar I With everything in it.

'"In spite of our efforts The fire still rages, I And goes for the furniture Stored up in Gage's;

When this was disposed of It took a re-action And went for the butter Of Benton & Jackson,

"From here it took shoemakers. Weavers and tailors. Tinkers and jewelers, Saddlers and nailers:

It brought them to grief In a double-quick manner,  And next made a raid On the store of Frank Tanner.

"Where the best of good whiskey And Syracuse ale, Was passed through the crowd In a laree wooden pail.

At the sight of the whiskey The boys were delighted,— Good Templars and topers For once were united!

"Harry Smith's store Was the next thing in order Where drugs might be found To cure any disorder;

He also kept candy,  And tip top cigars,  And the best of French brandy.

Put up in glass jars. At Everest's meat-shop It went like a glutton, And in less than a giffy Devoured all his mutton."

Daniel Reynolds"

 

                             Pattsburg Sentinel - August 20, 1869:

       St. Lawrence Plaindealer Aug 19, 1869:

Ogdensburg Daily Journal Aug 14, 1869:

• 1870 - First St. Mary's Church burned

• Aug 7, 1870 Great fire, half the businesses & houses of the village....

 

                          St. Lawrence Plaindealer April 21, 1870:

                  

              Ogdensburg Daily Journal, August 9, 1870:  

                St. Lawrence Plaindealer - August 11, 1870:

St. Lawrence Plaindealer August 18, 1870:

St. Lawrence Plaindealer 1940:

• 1870 - First St. Mary's Church burned

• Aug 7, 1870 Great fire, half the businesses & houses of the village....

• 1871 - another fire - Post office - wooden building on the north side of Main St

• 1873 - Miner Block fire - see:

• 1873 Catholic Church -

            St. Lawrence Plaindealer - Dec 18, 1873

• 1882 - Burning of the Union Block (this sounds like a second Union Block fire) - 3 story brick structure containing 3 stores at corner of Water (Riverside Dr) & Main.  The corner store was vacant, middle store occupied by M Theisen, as a cabinet warehouse and house furnishing store....eastern store occupied by Misses Bassett as a dressmaking shop.  The block burned to the ground" from 1921 article called "Story of Canton Fire Department".

           Ogdensburg Daily Journal March 7, 1882:

• 1891 - Feb18? Canton Lumber Company - sawmill & box factory

• 1892 - from Historic Sketches - Plaindealer - Feb 19, 1892 1st Court House Fire

• 1893 - Fire gutted the First Court House (another article says this was Feb 1892)

St. Lawrence Plaindealer:

Feb 29, 1893 & March 1, 1893

St. Lawrence Plaindealer March 23, 1893:

• 1924 - Court house burns a second time (Feb 19, 1924)

• 1924 - Fire gutted the old high school/grammar school - corner of Judson & Court Sts.

• 1915 & 1950 - Erwin House

• 1962 Town Hall

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Plaindealer:

 

Canton Commercial Advertiser January 29, 1924

St. Lawrence Plaindealer Feb 22,1888:

 

 

St. Lawrence Plaindealer 1905: