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1905 Fire Takes the South Side of Main Street
Only seven years after the destructive fire of 1898 which burned the north side of Main Street, the quiet of a January night was broken by the call of fire. The millinery store of Mrs. Eastman was the site of the fire’s start. In addition to the millinery store, Dr. Maitland had his offices and the King family had their home in this building. Dr. Maitland was able to save some of his equipment but lost several valuable medical books. The others lost all in the flames, the King family narrowly escaping with their lives. The fire spread quickly even with the efforts of the fire hoses and bucket brigade.…
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1898 Fire on the Northeast End of Main Street
Twenty years after the 1878 fire that destroyed both sides of Main Street, the alarm of “Fire!” was sounded at 2 AM on June 13, 1898. I am sure that there were folks whose memories returned to that earlier cry with a sense of dread. The fire began in a storage building connected to Reno Drug Store at the Northeast end of Main Street. Reno Drug Advertisement Items When discovered, the townspeople quickly began to organize to contain the fire. Some went to the Town Hall to retrieve the only piece of fire equipment in town, a hand-operated pump, and found that there was lumber piled in the way that…
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1892 Dam Burst and Flood
On June 5th, 1892, the abundance of rain that had fallen on Spartansburg and the nearby areas proved to be too much for the earthen dam at Eldred and Thompson Mill. While Spartansburg suffered some from the rains and flood waters, the devastation and loss of life on down the river in Titusville and Oil City made this flood only second to the Johnstown Flood of 1889. There are multiple historical reports of the dam burst and flooding available. From the Crawford County Historical Society From the National Weather Service Since I was not present at the event, I have located some news reports from the days immediately after to…
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1885 Dam Burst and Flood
Heavy rains that had been falling for several days and an especially heavy storm and possible water spout north of town in the early morning hours of August 24, 1885 caused the dam at Eldred and Thompson mill to burst. A man named Frank Babcock was on his way to work at 4 AM and noticed the unexpected amount of water under the bridge. He hurried to let people know about the dam burst which allowed the community to witness and to work to contain what water they could. According to the news article from the August 25 Titusville Herald, several bridges were destroyed and property losses were listed. The…
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The 1878 Fire Burns Main Street Businesses
Spartansburg has suffered three major fires in the town business district. The first fire occurred in 1878 and destroyed homes and businesses on both side of Main Street. The downtown of Spartansburg had been growing and many businesses and residences above stores had been built. Among those businesses was Jacobs and Goldman Dry Goods store. Grocers, hardware dealers, shoe stores, a hotel, drug stores, milliners and doctors lost buildings in the fire. The fire was suspicious to folks in town from the beginning and it later proved that their instincts were correct. The sound of “Fire!” was heard and the alarm given just after midnight on March 7, 1878. Fire…
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Patrick Run-Early Settlers and Murder
PLEASE NOTE: This post is a brief overview of the lives of Patrick and Hugh Fitzpatrick. For a more detailed study of their lives and deaths, check out the book Patrick’s Run by James McQuiston. The Fitzpatrick’s came from Ireland to settle on a tract of land acquired from the Holland and North America Land Company (Between Tract 286 and 398) Their stories are tales of hardship and demonstration of how unfair life can seem. Patrick was the father and he had been a seaman on Lake Erie before locating in Sparta Township. When the War of 1812 found its way to Erie and Commodore Perry, Patrick was sought out…
