Rosendale's
"Big Fire" of 1895 

Rosendale Village has had another costly lesson on the folly of not providing proper protection against fire. It has had many previous ones, but this last is by far the most costly, the figures running anywhere from $60,000 to $75,000, less than $25,000 of which is covered by insurance. In less than four hours on Sunday morning this tremendous amount of destruction was wrought and had there been even a moderate wind blowing the loss would have been double what it is. The fire started at about 1:30 o’clock in the barn in the rear of the old Doctor Robinson house, owned by R. & C. I Lefever, and spread steadily in both directions, leaving in ashes everything between the Main Street and the D&H Canal for a distance of about 300 yards. 

HELP FROM KINGSTON

As soon as the fire got fairly under headway and it was found that it could not be controlled by a bucket brigade, a telephone message was sent to this city [Kingston, NY] for help. Washingston steamer was gotten into readiness and a message sent to the West Shore RR asking if an engine and car could be had to take the steamer out. The answer to this message was a question: “Is the bridge in danger?” On being told that the bridge was not in danger, the West Shore people stated that it would take three hours to communicate with headquarters and get permission for an engine and car to run to Rosendale. Without further delay four horses were obtained from Smith Bros. and the steamer started for Rosendale by way of Lucas Turnpike. In just one hour and 35 minutes from the time of starting the steamer was at the scene of the fire and in 10 minutes had two streams on. It must have done the old machine good to be jolted over the rough road, for Engineer Reddick said it never worked better. A number of the members of Wiltwyck Hose, accompanied by Chief Engineer Koltz and Assistant Gakenheimer, were driven to Rosendale in a large wagon and helped to put the streams where they would do the most good. The steamer arrived at about 5:30 and stopped the fire at the Archer building. 

WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

How the fire originated in the barn is a mystery. Nobody in Rosendale seems even to have a theory. But one thing on which all are agreed is that with even the poorest kind of fire apparatus it could have been confined to the building in which it started. Even after it had spread, the church and the buildings beyond could have been saved with a single stream from a hydrant or steamer. But Rosendale had neither. There was water on both sides of the fire but no means of applying it except with pails. At the cement mill, across the canal, there was a powerful pump and plenty of hose, but the hose was used as coupling on about the mill in single lengths and could not be coupled together so as to reach across the canal. Just about the time the steamer arrived, some hose was brought from Lefever Falls and coupled together so that it reached across the canal and to the Archer building — the fire in which would probably had been put out even if the steamer had not come. 

The utter lack of fire protection seems to be the result of a deadlock between opposing parties in village politics. Over a year ago the question of building water works was agitated and a vote was taken. The proposition was voted down. Then a water company was formed and it made a contract with the village officers to supply water for fire purposes. Heavy taxpayers claimed there was a job in this contract and that the place where the water company had built its reservoir was such that no water supply would ever be obtained from it. There was a great deal of justice in their claim and the result of their agitation was that the water company was unable to float its bonds and the works never completed. But a tender of a steamer and hose was made on condition that a fire department be organized. Although this was offered free, it was refused by the water works party, which was in control of the village offices. So between the opposing forces the village got neither water works nor steamer. 

AND THE CROWD CAME

The rush of visitors who came to see the ruins was something remarkable. The departure of the steamer from this city advertised the fact that there was a big fire pretty thoroughly. Then, the telephone wires burned off shortly afterward and there was no way of learning the full extent of the damage. All sorts of wild rumors were in circulation, so that to the natural desire to see a horror that seems so strong in many people was added to the incentive of curiosity that could be gratified in no way but by a visit to Rosendale. Early in the forenoon the visitors began to arrive. They came on foot, with all manner of horses and wagons, on bicycles — and one man was seen entering the village on crutches. Anyway to get there seemed to be the motto. And they came from all directions. The farther away from the scene of the fire the news spread the larger the story was. Sheriff Schantz drove all the way up from Highland, having heard that the entire village had been destroyed from the bridge down to Sammon’s. In Rondout it was said that 40 buildings had been burned. But in the afternoon the greatest rush set in. The train from this city had seven cars full and people hanging on the steps. Fully 500 went out in this way. Along the street it was one continuous procession of wagons and bicycles, while the walks were crowded, and those parts of the ruins that had cooled slightly were fairly black with people rooting about the ashes for relics. Fully 10,000 people were in Rosendale at one time or another during the day. In the afternoon the sidewalks were so packed with men, women and children that it was almost impossible to move; the roadways were solid with vehicles from curb to curb, and it looked like a scene from an old-time country fair. 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY OBSERVATIONS

Alms Commissioner Merrihew was a conspicuous figure on the Rosendale landscape. 

Four pianos, owned by Messrs. Sammons, Schwartzmann, Whipple and Polley, were destroyed. 

R. & C. I. Lefever’s safe stood on a specially built foundation and therefore did not fall down. 

Paul Cabel rode out to the fire on his bicycle and did good service while there, as he always does. 

The melted metal from the church bell was broken up into fragments and carried off by relic hunters. 

The wall of the old Robinson house, which was built of concrete, and a couple of chimneys were the only things left standing. 

Many were the suggestions made about putting out the fire in an immense pile of coal by people who knew nothing of the impossibility of such a task. 

Frank Huben is regarded by the Kingston firemen with great favor for having piloted them so safely to a place where they could get so acceptable a dinner. 

There was no service in the Baptist Church in the forenoon. Pastor Chipp had worked too hard at the fire to preach, and besides it would have been hard to get an audience. 

Free rum incident to the burning of the Sammons hotel proved very demoralizing along about 6 o’clock in the morning but the possessors of the jugs soon betook themselves to secluded spots and peace reigned. 

Many of those whose property was destroyed or in danger complain bitterly of the lack of help, while hundreds were standing idly looking on. It was impossible to even hire some of these people to do anything. 

In the "Rosendale War," along in the [eighteen] seventies, a number of state rifles were stored at the Sammons place. Nobody ever called for them and they were put in an outbuilding and forgotten until yesterday, when some curiosity seekers rummaging through the ashes found the metal work and appropriated the bayonets as mementoes of the fire. 

During the fire there was considerable looting, Abram Sammons having over 10,000 cigars stolen, and many other people losing considerable property. The Austrians are said to have done the stealing. 

ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGES

The burned territory comprised the most valuable part of the business district of the village and includes, counting everything, as shown by an insurance map, 27 buildings. The principal of these, enumerated in the order in which they stood when going up the village street, were as follows: 

• Blackship shop owned by Rufus Lefever. Stood back from the street. Shop unoccupied. Rooms in second story occupied by William Hafford. 

  Office building owned by A. Sammons and occupied by Harford Davis and Morgan Coutant, dealers in lumber. 

  Ice house, shed, stables, etc., owned by Abram Sammons. Samuel Gilmore, colored, lived in the rooms over the shed. 

  The Sammons hotel, owned by Abram Sammons. 

  Brick blacksmith and wagonmaker shop in the rear of the hotel, owned by Sammons and occupied by C. TenHagen, blacksmith, and James Woolsey, wagonmaker. 

  Residence and store owned by R. & C. I. Lefever. Residence occupied by the families of Issac Carman, Sr., and Mrs. William Sammons. 

  Lumber yard and sheds, coal sheds, store house, etc., owned by R. & C. I. Lefever and occupied by them. 

  Stone house formerly owned by Dr. Lorenzo Robinson, owned by J. Fred Schwartzmann. Barn in the rear in which the fire started. 

  Parsonage of the Reformed Church, occupied by Rev. William Coombe. 

  The Reformed Church, with lecture room attached. 

  Store and dwelling owned and occupied by R. L. Polley. Boot and shoe store on first floor. 

  The old A. J. Snyder store building, owned by Mrs. Hiram Snyder. One store occupied by F. L. Whipple as dry goods store and the other occupied by William H. Cornell as a grocery. Dwelling apartments above occupied by John Gue and Frank Smith. Apartments for two more families were vacant. 

  The brick building owned and occupied by R. A. Archer as a store and residence adjoined the frame building last named. Further than this the fire did not extend. The roof of this building is nearly burned off and the interior badly wrecked by fire and water, especially in the upper story. The building is apparently damaged to the extent of about $1,000, besides the damage to contents. 

A careful estimate of the losses on buildings, exclusive of stock and contents, made with the aid of a citizen of Rosendale thoroughly acquainted with the burned buildings and their values, is as follows: 

• $ 500. Rufus Lefever, blacksmith shop $10,000. Abram Sammons $ 6,000. R. & C. I. Lefever $ 7,000. Reformed Church and parsonage $ 4,000. Hiram Snyder $ 1,000. R. A. Archer 

  The heaviest losers are Abram Sammons and R. & C. I. Lefever, the stock and fixtures in both places being almost a total loss. Excepting the horses and wagons, some bedding and some furniture on the first floor, nothing was saved from the Sammons property. From Lefever’s store a small amount of goods was saved, but their stock of coal, lumber and feed is almost a total loss. Some lumber lying outside, near the canal, was not burned, but contents of the sheds were all destroyed. About $1,800 worth of coal, weighing 450 tons, on which there was no insurance caught fire and is still burning, with no hope of saving any part of it. The loss of the Lefevers on stock is from $20,000 to $25,000, making their total loss from $26,000 to $31,000. 

  The Reformed Church had recently been practically rebuilt and was in excellent condition. There was a mortgage of about $2,000 and a floating debt of about $1,000 more. This entirely displaces the insurance on the building, leaving the congregation nothing but the lot and the insurance on the parsonage, which is $1,500. Most of the more valuable articles of furniture in the parsonage were saved. Rev. Mr. Coombe was not at home at the time of the fire. He had been away on his vacation and with his father-in-law, Dr. Lamores, had just returned to Highland from a trip to Washington. He arrived in Rosendale yesterday. 

  J. F. Schwartzmann, who lived in the Robinson house, lost all his furniture, including a piano and other valuable articles. R. L. Polley saved considerable of his stock. The household goods of Frank Smith and John Gue, who lived in the upper part of the Snyder building, were about all destroyed. The stock in the stores of Whipple and Cornell, in the lower part of the same building, is a total loss. 

The insurance, as far as can be learned, is as follows: 

• Abram Sammons, about $5,000, which is just enough to cover a mortgage held by one of the banks. 

  John Gue, $250. 

  W. H. Cornell, $700 on goods worth over $1,500. 

  F. L. Whipple, $2,500. 

  Reformed Church, $3,000 on church and $1,500 on parsonage. 

  R. & C. I. Lefever, $16,000 on building and stock. 

  J. F. Schwartzmann, $500. 

  Frank Smith, $250. 

  The partial loss by Mr. Archer is covered by insurance. 

None of the property destroyed was insured for anything like its full value. This is due to extremely high rates demanded by insurance companies, rates ranging from 2.5 to 8.5 per cent. The merchants who carried insurance on their stock were paying the latter figure for one year policies. 

On Saturday at noon the policy for $1,500 on Mr. Polley’s property expired. About two weeks ago Mr. Sammons allowed a policy of $3,500 on his property to expire. In addition to the ordinary stock carried by Mr. Sammons he had received only a few days ago 960 bushels of oats. 

Had there been the slightest wind blowing in that direction the row of buildings on the opposite side of the street would certainly have been destroyed. As it was, only the hardest work saved them and the fronts are all more or less damaged. Opposite the burned buildings and separated from them by a street only about 30 feet wide, are a frame building owned by Sammons and occupied by Daniel Hafford; a brick building owned by Sammons and occupied by Molloy and Quinn as a furniture store and undertaking rooms; a dwelling house owned by the estate of Abram Keator and occupied by Jacob Kelder and William Vandermark; L. O. Bowen’s meat market; Mrs. Storm Haines’ residence; C. Veeder’s drug store; Dr. Hayden’s residence; Henry Duym’s residence; a house owned by Henry Duym and occupied by W. H. Cornell and Alexander Keator, Jr.; Wood’s bakery and Dr. Keator’s office; and James B. Elting’s residence. 

The large glass fronts of the furniture store and drug store are destroyed by the heat and the siding on Mrs. Haines’ residence is badly scorched. On some of the older houses, which had received numerous coatings of paint, the paint had melted and run down. All of these houses were badly scorched and had to be kept constantly wet while the fire across the street was burning. The heat was so intense that is was necessary for those who did this work to keep their clothing constantly saturated with water in order to prevent it from catching fire. Several of them had blistered hands and faces as a result of exposure to the heat.