Columbian Fire, July 9, 1912

Photos Courtesy of Alan and Marilyn Hutchinson Unless Otherwise Noted

Even if the water system had not failed, water pressure from the reservoir on Sunrise Mountain would not have been sufficient to reach the roof system as seen in this photo. Note the fire consuming the State Education Buildings on the right.

Fire Starts in Haller Store

The Columbian Fire as recalled by Grant Mitchell (twelve years old a the time)

The Columbian Fire is believed to have begun in the Haller Store (current location of Guzzle). The store closed at 1:00 so employees and the Haller family could attend the funeral of Mrs. Louis Benedict, proprietor of the basket shop next door to the photostudio (current location of Landmark Society). At 1:15, Joseph Rothschild, the Columbian barber, noticed smoke in the store. Unable to open the locked door, he rushed to the chapel and began ringing the bell. At first, the alarm was ignored in the belief that it was ringing for the funeral.

View of St. Lawrence Avenue from the Four Corners with the Columbian on the left. Photo Courtesy of Dana Hellings.

No Water System to Fight the Conflagration

Remains of the Reservoir can be found along the Rock Ridges Nature Trail. Photo Courtesy of T.I. Park Museum

Even after a response was org-anized, it was discovered that the reservoir on top of Sunrise Mountain had been emptied for cleaning and repair. No water was available for suppressing the fire. A strong wind from the west pushed the fire quickly eastward. Wooden sidewalks also served as little fuses between the cottages.

Wind pushed the fire to the east side of the Park. Photo Courtesy of Linda Gibson

The Columbian was nothing but a pile of rubble within a half hour of when it started burning. It was reported that embers of wood landed as far away as Rockport, seven miles downriver. Several nearby fire departments did respond with pumpers and men, but it was over an hour before they arrived, and over an hour after that before the pumps had built enough pressure. All the while, the fire was spreading eastward. The wind died down late in the afternoon, and the fire was remarkably under control by 5:30. Still, over 100 structures were destroyed and over 500 people displaced.

Wooden sidewalks (left) were common on the Park at the time of the Columbian (Note Haller Store at current location of the Guzzle).
Photo Courtesy of T.I. Park Museum.

The steamer *Newsboy* was commandeered at a dock in Clayton to tow a barge with a steam pumper and hose carts.

Close up of Pumper and stern of the Newsboy.

Hose Cart on unidentified street. Photo Courtesy of the Linda Gibson Collection.

The corner steps of the Columbian was the site of many photographs. This picture shows the Perch River Band circa 1895.
Photo Courtesy of the T.I. Park Museum.

The Aftermath

The remains of the Columbian looking at the former corner entrance. Note the sidewalk on the left, the same as today, veering out around the former porch. The kitchen area, built of brick as a fire prevention measure, is in the background on the right.

Even if the water system hadn’t failed at the source, it still would have been insufficient to fight the fire. This hydrant, near the grand entrance corner steps, can also be seen in the photo above.

Howard Haller, proprietor of the general store, retrieves valuabes and cash from a his safe which was survived the fire in the store (left). Despite the destruction, life must have returned to normal quickly, as several pictures exist of people on the tennis courts with the destruction behind them. In this case, the stone remains of the kitchen with the Wellesley Hotel further in the background.

Myths and the Stories We Tell

Many myths can surround historic events. The Columbian Fire is no different. For instance, more than two cottages within the “Burn Area” survived. Two large cottages on Dominion near the current Butterfly Cottage also survived. The close-ups below show a ladder as part of an effort to remove valuables. On the right, the closeness of the fire is evident in the ruins of a neighbor in about the current location of the Butterfly Cottage.

Another story is that the owners of these cottages paid off fireman to keep water on their cottages. The photographic evidence does not support this. More likely, the direction of the wind pushed the fire to the cottages behind them. It was over two hours before any fire departments arrived. If anything, they watered down these houses in a (successful) effort to save the only two remaining cottages in the area.

Corner of Central and Coast showing the other two surviving cottages. The Wellesley Hotel is in the distance. Photo Courtesy of Dana Hellings.

Part of the lore of the Columbian Fire surrounds the Iron Cottage. Built by 1880, the Iron Cottage is literally built of corrugated metal siding attached to an interior wooden frame. The interior is generally unfinished — you can see the backside of the metal siding. This metal fire wall likely protected the cottage (and the house next door) from the fire, though location, in the head of the wind, may have played a role as well.

The focus of these pictures is what is now known as The House Next Door. The Iron Cottage is on the left — note the rock that still sits on the corner of United States and Coast Avenue East. Look closely, and you will see that the house next door to The House Next Door. The back was destroyed, a picture of which can be found on page 136 of 100 Years and Then Some.

More Photos of the Destruction

View from the second-story porch of the Wellesley Hotel looking east. The remains of the Columbian are on the right. Current location of the Guzzle is on the left. The stone Wells Island Light and Heat building (now a cottage) on United States is on the left. Photo Courtesy of T.I. Park Museum.

The chapel bell, rung only a few hours earlier as an alarm for the fire, sits atop the ruins with the Wells Island Light and Heat Building on the left.

Still smoldering ruins from the Columbian Fire as seen from Coast Avenue East. The roof of the Wellesley Hotel can be seen on the left through the haze.

View of Columbian Ruins from vicinity of United States and Dominion.

View of Columbian Ruins from Rainbow Street looking across the current green toward the Main Dock.

Wilted tree near Columbian Ruins. Skeleton of the kitchen area can be seen on the right.

Appears to be the smoldering remains of the Haller Store with the Wells Island Light and Heat Building on United States on the right. Perspective may be making it difficult to identify location of buildings on the left.

Area along Coast Avenue East with remains of a cottage on the right.

Foundation Remains of the Columbian Hotel.

Woman with parasol walks past remains of still smoldering Columbian Hotel.

Remains of Columbian from area of corner steps entrance.

Remains of a chimney in the vicinity of Central Avenue between Oak and Rainbow. The Wellesley Hotel can be seen in the distance toward the left.