Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul / A Collection of Articles Written for and Published in the Daily Pioneer Press

by Frank Moore

WHEN WE RAN WITH THE OLD MACHINE.

* * * * *

Brave relics of the past are we,
Old firemen, staunch and true,
We're thinking now of days gone by
And all that we've gone through.
Thro' fire and flames we've made our way,
And danger we have seen;
We never can forget the time
When we ran with the old machine.

In numbers now we are but few,
A host have pased away,
But still we're happy, light and free,
Our spirits never decay
We often sigh for those old days
Whose memory we keep green,
Oh! there was joy for man and boy,
When we ran with the old machine.
—Gus Wiliams.

* * * * *

Instruments for extinguishing fires were introduced in various parts of Europe more than three hundred years ago. The fire laddies of that period would probably look aghast if they could see the implements in use at the present time. One of the old time machines is said to consist of a huge tank of water placed upon wheels, drawn by a large number of men, and to which was attached a small hose. When the water in the tank became exhausted it was supplied by a bucket brigade, something on the plan in use at the present time in villages not able to support an engine.

The oldest record of a fire engine in Paris was one used in the king's library in 1684, which, having but one cylinder, threw water to a great height, a result obtained by the use of an air chamber. Leather hose was introduced into Amsterdam in 1670, by two Dutchmen, and they also invented the suction pipe at about the same period. About the close of the seventeenth century an improved engine was patented in England. It was a strong cistern of oak placed upon wheels, furnished with a pump, an air chamber and a suction pipe of strong leather, through which run a spiral piece of metal. This engine was little improved until the early part of the last century.

In the United States bucket fire departments were organized in most of the cities in the early part of the last century, and hand engines, used by the old volunteer firemen, did not come into general use until about fifty years later. The New York volunteer fire department was for a long time one of the institutions of the country. When they had their annual parade the people of the surrounding towns would flock to the city and the streets would be as impassible as they are to-day when a representative of one of the royal families of Europe is placed on exhibition. At the New York state fairs during the early '50s the tournaments of the volunteer fire department of the various cities throughout the state formed one of the principal attractions. Many a melee occurred between the different organizations because they considered that they had not been properly recognized in the line of march or had not been awarded a medal for throwing a stream of water farther than other competitors.

A Berlin correspondent of the Pioneer Press many years ago, said that when an alarm of fire was sounded in the city, the members of the fire companies would put on their uniforms and report to their various engine houses. When a sufficient number had assembled to make a showing the foreman would call the roll, beer would be passed down the line, the health of the kaiser properly remembered and then they would start out in search of the fire. As a general thing the fire would be out long before they arrived upon the scene, and they would then return to their quarters, have another beer and be dismissed.

To Cincinnati belongs the credit of having introduced the first paid steam fire department in the United States, but all the other large cities rapidly followed.

* * * * *

In the fall of 1850 the town fathers of St. Paul passed an ordinance requiring the owners of all buildings, public or private, to provide and keep in good repair, substantial buckets, marked with paint the word "Fire" on one side and the owner's name on the other, subject to inspection by the fire warden and to be under his control when occasion required. The first attempt at organizing a fire brigade, was made by R.C. Knox in the fall of 1851. Mr. Knox raised a small sum of money by subscription, with which he purchased several ladders, and they were frequently brought into requisition by the little band of men whom Mr. Knox had associated with him. Mr. Knox was a man of enormous stature, and it was said he could tire out a dozen ordinary men at a fire.

* * * * *

Two public-spirited citizens of St. Paul, John McCloud and Thompson Ritchie, purchased in the East and brought to the city at their own expense the first fire engine introduced in the Northwest. Although it was a miniature affair, on numerous occasions it rendered valuable assistance in protecting the property of our pioneer merchants. Mr. Ritchie is still living, his home being in Philadelphia.

* * * * *

In November, 1854, Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 was organized under provisions of the city charter. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the members agreed to turn out promptly on all occasions of fire alarms. As compensation for their services they were excused from jury duty, poll tax, work on the roads, or state military service, for the period of five years. The original constitution of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder company contained the following membership roll: Foreman, Isaac A. Banker; assistant foremen, H.B. Pearson and George F. Blake; treasurer, Richard Galloway; secretary, Robert Mason; members, Henry Buell, John W. Cathcart, Charles D. Elfelt, Edward Heenan, Thompson Ritchie, Philip Ross, Wash. M. Stees, J.W. Stevenson, Benjamin F. Irvine, R.I. Thomson, John McCloud, J.Q.A. Ward, Charles J. Williams. Of the above John McCloud is the only one living in the city at the present time. Mr. McCloud was a member of the firm of McCloud & Bro., hardware dealers, and they occupied the building on the southwest corner of Third and Cedar streets.

This was the first full-fledged fire organization in the city, and as Mr. McCloud took the initiative in forming this company he may justly be called the "Father of the Volunteer Fire Department of St. Paul."

The old hook and ladder company was one of the representative institutions of the city. From the date of its organization up to the time of the establishment of the paid fire department many of the most prominent men of the city were enrolled among its members. All of the property of the company was owned by the organization, but in 1856, having become somewhat financially embarrassed, their accounts were turned over to the city and they were thereafter under the control of the city fathers. At that time they possessed one truck, hooks and ladders, and one fire engine with hose. Washington M. Stees was made chief engineer and Charles H. Williams assistant. This scanty equipment did not prove adequate for extinguishing fires and petitions were circulated requesting the council to purchase two fire engines of the more approved pattern, and also to construct a number of cisterns in the central part of the city, so that an adequate supply of water could be readily obtained. The city fathers concluded to comply with the request of the petitioners and they accordingly purchased two double-deck hand fire engines and they arrived in the city in August, 1858. They were soon tested and pronounced satisfactory. Our citizens then congratulated themselves upon the possession of a first-class fire department and they predicted that thereafter a great fire would be a thing of the past.

One of the most irrepressible members of Pioneer Hook and Ladder company in the early days was a little red-headed Irishman by the name of A.D. Martin. He was foreman of the Daily Minnesotian office and he usually went by the name of "Johnny Martin." Now Johnny always kept his fire paraphernalia close at hand, and every time a fire bell sounded he was "Johnny on the spot." After the fire was over Johnny generally had to celebrate, and every time Johnny celebrated he would make a solemn declaration that it was his duty to kill an Irishman before he returned to work. He would accordingly provide himself with an immense Derringer and start out in quest of a subject upon whom he proposed to execute his sanguinary threat. Strange to relate he never succeeded in finding one of his unfortunate countrymen, and it generally required two or three days to restore him to his former equilibrium. If Johnny was a member of the fire department to-day he would probably discover that the task of finding one of his countrymen would not be so difficult.

* * * * *

In 1857 Hope Engine Company No. 1 was organized, and they petitioned the common council to purchase 500 feet of hose for their use. In the fall of 1858 this company was given possession of one of the new engines recently purchased and it was comfortably housed at their headquarters in an old frame building on the southwest corner of Franklin and Fourth streets, and in a short time removed to a new brick building on Third street, fronting on Washington. Michael Leroy was made the first foreman and R.C. Wiley and Joseph S. Herey were his assistants. The membership contained the names of John H. Dodge, Porteus Dodge, John E. Missen, Joseph Elfelt, Fred Whipperman, John T. Toal, J.H. Barstow, J.C. Grand, Charles Riehl, John Raguet, E. Rhodes, B. Bradley, Charles Hughes, Bird Boesch, T.F. Masterson, John J. Williams and V. Metzger. During the fall of 1858 a large number of the most prominent business men in the vicinity of Seven Corners joined the organization and continued in active membership until the arrival of the first steamer.

* * * * *

In the winter of 1857-1858 Minnehaha Engine. Company No. 2 was organized, and it was provided with an engine house near the corner of Third and Jackson streets. The first officers were H.P. Grant, foreman; M.J. O'Connor and H.B. Terwilliger, assistants; members, Harry M. Shaw, Nicholas Hendy, John B. Oliver, F.A. Cariveau, H.A. Schlick. C.D. Hadway, N. Nicuhaus, L.R. Storing, William T. Donaldson, Daniel Rohrer, J. Fletcher Williams, N. W. Kittson, Alfred Bayace, John McCauley and a number of others. The Minnehahas were a prosperous organization from the first, and their engine house was always kept open and served as a general lounging and reading-room for such of its members as had nothing particular to do.

* * * * *

Rotary Independent Company No. 1 was the third engine connected with the St. Paul fire department, but that was a private institution and was only used when there was a general alarm and on the days of the annual parade of the department. This engine was purchased from the government by John S. Prince when Fort Snelling was abandoned, and was used for the protection of the property of the mill, which was located on lower Third street.

* * * * *

By the formation of Minnehaha Engine company the city fathers thought they were possessed of quite a respectable fire department, and from that time on the annual parade of the St. Paul fire department was one of the events of the year. The first parade occurred on the 12th of September, 1859, and was participated in by the following organizations:

Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
Hope Engine Company No. 1.
Minnehaha Engine Company No. 2.
Rotary Independent Company No. 1.

These four companies numbered 175 men, and after completing their line of march were reviewed by the mayor and common council in front of the old city hall.

In 1858 the legislature passed an act requiring the sextons of the different churches to ring the church bells fifteen minutes whenever there was an alarm of fire. The uptown churches would ring their bells, the downtown churches would ring their bells, and the churches in the central part of the city would ring their bells. There was a regular banging and clanging of the bells.

"In the startled air of night,
They would scream out their afright,
Too much horrified to speak,
They could only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune."

Every one turned out when the fire bells rang. Unless the fire was of sufficient volume to be readily located, the uptown people would be seen rushing downtown, and the downtown people would be seen rushing uptown, in fact, general pandemonium prevailed until the exact location of the fire could be determined.

Whenever there was a large fire the regular firemen would soon tire of working on the brakes and they would appeal to the spectators to relieve them for a short time. As a general thing the appeal would be readily responded to, but occasionally it would be necessary for the police to impress into service a force sufficient to keep the brakes working. Any person refusing to work on the brakes was liable to arrest and fine, and it was often amusing to see the crowds disperse whenever the police were in search of a relief force.

* * * * *

Upon the breaking out of the war a large number of the firemen enlisted in the defense of the country and the ranks of the department were sadly decimated. It was during the early part of the war that the mayor of St. Paul made a speech to the firemen at the close of their annual parade in which he referred to them as being as brave if not braver than the boys at the front. The friends of the boys in blue took serious umbrage at this break of the mayor, and the press of the city and throughout the state were very indignant to think that the capital city possessed a mayor of doubtful loyalty. The excitement soon died away and the mayor was re-elected by a large majority.

* * * * *

There was not much change in the condition of the department until the arrival of the first steamer, Aug. 11, 1866. The new steamer was lodged with Hope Engine company, and an engineer and fireman appointed at a salary of $1,600 per year for the two. The boys of Hope Engine company did not like the selection of the engineer of the new steamer and took the matter so seriously that their organization was disbanded and St. Paul Hose Company No. 1 was organized, and they took charge of the new steamer. The rapid growth of the city necessitated the frequent purchase of new fire apparatus, and at the present time the St. Paul fire department has 211 paid men, 15 steamers, 4 chemicals, 8 hook and ladder companies and 122 horses.

* * * * *

The volunteer fire department had no better friend than the late Mrs. Bartlett Presley. She was the guardian angel of the fire department. No night so cold or storm so great that Mrs. Presley was not present and with her own hands provide coffee and sandwiches for the tired and hungry firemen who had been heroically battling with the flames. She was an honored guest at all entertainments with which the firemen were connected, and was always toasted and feasted by the boys at the brakes. She will ever be remembered, not only by the firemen, but by all old settlers, as one of the many noble women in St. Paul whose unostentatious deeds of charity have caused a ray of sunshine in many sad homes.

Mrs. Presley's death was deeply regretted, not only by the fire department, but by every resident of the city.

* * * * *

Among the many brilliant members of the legal fraternity in St. Paul in early times no one possessed a more enviable reputation than the Hon. Michael E. Ames. He was the very personification of punctiliousness and always displayed sublime imperturbability in exigencies of great moment. One dreary winter night his sleeping apartment in uppertown was discovered to be on fire, and in a short time the fire laddies appeared in front of his quarters and commenced operations. As soon as Mr. Ames discovered the nature of the disturbance he arose from his bed, opened the window, and with outstretched arms and in a supplicating manner, as if addressing a jury in an important case, exclaimed: "Gentlemen, if you will be kind enough to desist from operations until I arrange my toilet, I will be down." The learned counsel escaped with his toilet properly adjusted, but his apartments were soon incinerated.

* * * * *

HOTEL FIRES.

* * * * *

LIST OF HOTELS DESTROYED BY FIRE DURING ST. PAUL'S EARLY HISTORY.

Daniels house, near Seven Corners.
Sintominie hotel, Sixth street.
Rice house, near Rice Park.
New England hotel, Third street
Hotel to the Wild Hunter, Jackson street.
Montreal house, Robert street.
Canada house, Robert street.
Winslow house, Seven Corners.
American house, Third street.
International hotel, Seventh and Jackson streets.
Franklin house, Marshall avenue.
Dakota house, Seven Corners.
Washington house, Seven Corners.
Cosmopolitan hotel, Third street.
Western house, Third street.
Garden City house, Fourth street.
City hotel, Fourth street.
Central house, Bench street.
Emmert house, Bench street.
St. Paul house, Bench street.
Luxemborg hotel, Franklin street.
Farmers' hotel, Fourth street.
Greenman house, Fifth street.
Mansion house, Wabasha street.
Haine's hotel, Lake Como.
Aldrich house, Lake Como.
Park Place hotel, Summit avenue.
Carpenter house, Summit avenue.
Paul Faber's hotel, Third street.

* * * * *

The first hotel fire of any importance was that of the Daniels house, located on Eagle street near Seven Corners, which occurred in 1852. The building had just been finished and furnished for occupancy. A strong wind was raging and the little band of firemen were unable to save the structure. The names of Rev. D.D. Neill, Isaac Markley, Bartlett Presley and W.M. Stees were among the firemen who assisted in saving the furniture.

* * * * *

The Sintominie hotel on the corner of Sixth and John streets, was the second hotel to receive a visit from the fire king. This hotel was constructed by the late C.W. Borup, and it was the pride of lower town. Howard Ward and E.C. Rich were preparing to open it when the fire occurred. Owing to the lack of fire protection the building was totally destroyed.

* * * * *

Early in the winter of 1856 the Rice house, commonly supposed to be the first brick building erected in St. Paul, was burned to the ground. It was three stories high, and when in process of building was considered a visionary enterprise. The building was constructed by Henry M. Rice, and he spared no expense to make it as complete as the times would allow. It was situated on Third street near Market, and in the early days was considered St. Paul's principal hotel. In its parlor and barroom the second session of the territorial legislature was held, and the supreme court of the territory also used it for several terms.

* * * * *

The Canada house and the Galena house, two small frame structures on Robert near Third, were the next hotels to be visited by the fiery element. These hotels, though small, were well patronized at the time of their destruction.

* * * * *

On the 16th of March, 1860, the most destructive fire that had ever occurred in St. Paul broke out in a small wooden building on Third street near Jackson, and though the entire fire department—three engines and one truck, manned by one hundred men—were promptly on hand, the flames rapidly got beyond their reach. Nearly all the buildings on Third street at that time from Robert to Jackson were two-story frame structures, and in their rear were small houses occupied by the owners of the stores. When the fire was at its height it was feared that the whole of lower town would be destroyed before the flames could be subdued, but by dint of superhuman effort the firemen managed to cut off the leap across Robert street and soon had the immense smouldering mass under control. Thirty-four buildings, the largest number ever destroyed in St. Paul, were in ashes. Of the two blocks which lined the north and south sides of Third street above Jackson, only three buildings were left standing, two being stone structures occupied by Beaumont & Gordon and Bidwell & Co., and the other a four-story brick building owned and occupied by A.L. Larpenteur. The New England, a two-story log house, and one of the first hotels built in St. Paul was among the ruins. The New England was a feature in St. Paul, and it was pointed out to newcomers as the first gubernatorial mansion, and in which Gov. and Mrs. Ramsey had begun housekeeping in 1849. The Empire saloon was another historic ruin, for in its main portion the first printing office of the territory had long held forth, and from it was issued the first Pioneer, April 10, 1849. The Hotel to the Wild Hunter was also destroyed at this fire.

* * * * *

In the fall of 1862 the Winslow house, located at Seven Corners, was entirely destroyed by fire. A defective stovepipe in the cupola caused the fire, and it spread so rapidly that it was beyond the control of the firemen when they arrived upon the scene. A few pieces of furniture, badly damaged, was all that was saved of this once popular hotel. The Winslow was a four-story brick building, and with the exception of the Fuller house the largest hotel in the city. The hotel was constructed in 1854 by the late J.M. Winslow. Mr. Winslow was one of the most ingenious hotel constructors in the West. In some peculiar manner he was enabled to commence the construction of a building without any capital, but when the building was completed he not only had the building, but a bank account that indicated that he was a financier as well as a builder. The proprietors of the Winslow were arrested for incendarism, but after a preliminary examination were discharged.

* * * * *

The American house, on the corner of Third and Exchange streets, was one of the landmarks of the city for a good many years. It was built in 1849, and the territorial politicians generally selected this hotel as their headquarters. Although it was of very peculiar architecture, the interior fittings were of a modern character. On a stormy night in the month of December, 1863, an alarm of fire was sent in from this hotel, but before the fire department reached the locality the fire was beyond their control. The weather was bitter cold, and the water would be frozen almost as soon as it left the hose. Finding their efforts fruitless to save the building, the firemen turned their attention to saving the guests. There were some very narrow escapes, but no accidents of a very serious nature. As usual, thieves were present and succeeded in carrying off a large amount of jewelry and wearing apparel belonging to the guests.

* * * * *

In the year of 1856 Mackubin & Edgerton erected a fine three-story brick building on the corner of Third and Franklin streets. It was occupied by them as a banking house for a long time. The business center having been moved further down the street, they were compelled to seek quarters on Bridge Square. After the bank moved out of this building it was leased to Bechtner & Kottman, and was by them remodeled into a hotel on the European plan at an expense of about $20,000. It was named the Cosmopolitan hotel, and was well patronized. When the alarm of fire was given it was full of lodgers, many of whom lost all they possessed. The Linden theatrical company, which was playing at the Athenaeum, was among the heavy sufferers. At this fire a large number of frame buildings on the opposite side of the street were destroyed.

When the Cosmopolitan hotel burned the walls of the old building were left standing, and although they were pronounced dangerous by the city authorities, had not been demolished. Dr. Schell, one of the best known physicians of the city, occupied a little frame building near the hotel, and he severely denounced the city authorities for their lax enforcement of the law. One night at 10 o'clock the city was visited by a terrific windstorm, and suddenly a loud crash was heard in the vicinity of the doctor's office. A portion of the walls of the hotel had fallen and the little building occupied by the doctor had been crushed in. The fire alarm was turned on and the fire laddies were soon on the spot. No one supposed the doctor was alive, but after the firemen had been at work a short time they could hear the voice of the doctor from underneath the rubbish. In very vigorous English, which the doctor knew so well how to use, he roundly upbraided the fire department for not being more expeditious in extricating him from his perilous position. After the doctor had been taken out of the ruins It was found that he had not been seriously injured, and in the course of a few weeks was able to resume practice.

* * * * *

During the winter of 1868 the Emmert house, situated on Bench street near Wabasha, was destroyed by fire. The Emmert house was built in territorial times by Fred Emmert, who for some time kept a hotel and boarding house at that place. It had not been used for hotel purposes for some time, but was occupied by a colored family and used as a boarding-house for colored people. While the flames were rapidly consuming the old building the discovery was made that a man and his wife were sick in one of the rooms with smallpox. The crowd of onlookers fled in terror, and they would have been burned alive had not two courageous firemen carried them out of the building. It was an unusually cold night and the colored people were dumped into the middle of the street and there allowed to remain. They were provided with clothing and some of the more venturesome even built a fire for them, but no one would volunteer to take them to a place of shelter. About 10 o'clock on the following day the late W.L. Wilson learned of the unfortunate situation of the two colored people, and he immediately procured a vehicle and took them to a place of safety, and also saw that they were thereafter properly cared for.

* * * * *

On the site of the old postoffice on the corner of Wabasha and Fifth streets stood the Mansion house, a three-story frame building erected by Nicholas Pottgieser in early days at an expense of $12,000. It was a very popular resort and for many years the weary traveler there received a hearty welcome.

A very exciting event occurred at this house during the summer of 1866. A man by the name of Hawkes, a guest at the hotel, accidentally shot and instantly killed his young and beautiful wife. He was arrested and tried for murder, but after a long and sensational trial was acquited.

* * * * *

The greatest hotel fire in the history of St. Paul occurred on the night of Feb. 3, 1869. The International hotel (formerly the Fuller house) was situated on the northeast corner of Seventh and Jackson streets, and was erected by A.G. Fuller in 1856. It was built of brick and was five stories high. It cost when completed, about $110,000. For years it had been the best hotel in the West. William H. Seward and the distinguished party that accompanied him made this hotel their headquarters during their famous trip to the West in 1860. Gen. Pope and Gen. Sibley had their headquarters in this building, and from here emanated all the orders relating to the war against the rebellious Sioux. In 1861 the property came into the possession of Samuel Mayall, and he changed the name of it from Fuller house to International hotel. Col. E.C. Belote, who had formerly been the landlord of the Merchants, was the manager of the hotel. The fire broke out in the basement, it was supposed from a lamp in the laundry. The night was intensely cold, a strong gale blowing from the northwest. Not a soul could be seen upon the street. Within this great structure more than two hundred guests were wrapped in silent slumber. To rescue them from their perilous position was the problem that required instant action on the part of the firemen and the hotel authorities. The legislature was then in session, and many of the members were among the guests who crowded the hotel. A porter was the first to notice the blaze, and he threw a pail water upon it, but with the result that it made no impression upon the flames. The fire continued to extend, and the smoke became very dense and spread into the halls, filling them completely, rendering breathing almost an impossibility. In the meantime the alarm had been given throughout the house, and the guests, both male and female, came rushing out of the rooms in their night Clothes. The broad halls of the hotel were soon filled with a crowd of people who hardly knew which way to go in order to find their way to the street. The servant girls succeeded in getting out first, and made their way to the snow-covered streets without sufficient clothing to protect their persons, and most of them were without shoes. While the people were escaping from the building the fire was making furious and rapid progress. From the laundry the smoke issued into every portion of the building. There was no nook or corner that the flames did not penetrate. The interior of the building burned with great rapidity until the fire had eaten out the eastern and southern rooms, when the walls began to give indications of falling. The upper portion of them waved back and forth in response to a strong wind, which filled the night air with cinders. At last different portions of the walls fell, thus giving the flames an opportunity to sweep from the lower portions of the building. Great gusts, which seemed to almost lift the upper floors, swept through the broken walls. High up over the building the flames climbed, carrying with them sparks and cinders, and in come instances large pieces of timber. All that saved the lower part of the city from fiery destruction was the fact that a solid bed of snow a foot deep lay upon the roofs of all the buildings. During all this time there was comparative quiet, notwithstanding the fact that the fire gradually extended across Jackson street and also across Seventh street. Besides the hotel, six or eight other buildings were also on fire, four of which were destroyed. Women and men were to be seen hurrying out of the burning buildings in their night clothes, furniture was thrown into the street, costly pianos, richly upholstered furniture, valuable pictures and a great many other expensive articles were dropped in the snow in a helter-skelter manner. Although nearly every room in the hotel was occupied and rumors flew thick and fast that many of the guests were still in their rooms, fortunately no lives were lost and no one was injured. The coolest person in the building was a young man by the name of Pete O'Brien, the night watchman. When he heard of the fire he comprehended in a moment the danger of a panic among over two hundred people who were locked in sleep, unconscious of danger. He went from room to room and from floor to floor, telling them of the danger, but assuring them all that they had plenty of time to escape. He apparently took command of the excited guests and issued orders like a general on the field of battle. To his presence of mind and coolness many of the guests were indebted for their escape from a frightful death. The fire department worked hard and did good service. The city had no waterworks at that time, but relied for water entirely upon cisterns located in different parts of the city. When the cisterns became dry it was necessary to place the steamer at the river and pump water through over two thousand feet of hose.

Among the guests at the hotel at the time of the fire were Gen. C.C.
Andrews, Judge Lochren, Capt. H.A. Castle, Gen. W.G. Le Duc, Selah
Chamberlain, Gov. Armstrong and wife, Charles A. Gilman and wife,
Dr. W.W. Mayo, I.W. Webb, Dr. Charles N. Hewitt, M.H. Dunnell, Judge
Thomas Wilson and more than two hundred others.

* * * * *

The Park Place hotel on the corner of Summit avenue and St. Peter street, was at one time one of of the swell hotels of the city. It was a frame building, four stories high and nicely situated. The proprietors of it intended it should be a family hotel, but it did not meet with the success anticipated, and when, on the 19th of May, 1878, it was burned to the ground it was unoccupied. The fire was thought to be the work of incendiaries. The loss was about $20,000, partially insured. Four firemen were quite seriously injured at this fire, but all recovered.

* * * * *

The Carpenter house, on the corner of Summit avenue and Ramsey street, was built by Warren Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter was a man of colossal ideas, and from the picturesque location of his hotel, overlooking the city, he could see millions of tourists flocking to his hostelry. The panic of 1857, soon followed by the great Civil war, put a quietus on immigration, and left him stranded high on the beach. Mr. Carpenter's dream of millions were far from being realized, and when on the 26th of January, 1879, the hotel was burned to the ground, it had for some time previous passed beyond his control.

* * * * *

At one time there were three flourishing hotels on Bench street. The average citizen of to-day does not know that such a street ever existed. The Central house, on the corner of Bench and Minnesota streets, was the first hotel of any pretension built in the city, and it was one of the last to be burned. The first session of the territorial legislature of Minnesota was held in the dining room of this old hotel building, and for a number of years the hotel did a thriving business. As the city grew it was made over into a large boarding house, and before the war Mrs. Corbett was manager of the place. It was afterward kept by Mrs. Ferguson, George Pulford and Ben Ferris, the latter being in possession of it when it was destroyed by fire. The building was burned In August, 1873.

* * * * *

A hotel that was very popular for some time was the Greenman house, situated on the corner of Fifth and St. Peter streets, the site of the Windsor hotel. It was a three-story frame structure and was built in the early seventies. Mr. Greenman kept the hotel for some time, and then sold it to John Summers, who was the owner of it when it was burned.

* * * * *

The Merchants is the only one of the old hotels still existing, and that only in name, as the original structure was torn down to make room for the present building many years ago.

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Aside from the hotel fires one of the most appalling calamities that ever occurred at a fire in St. Paul took place in May, 1870, when the old Concert Hall building on Third street, near Market, was destroyed. Concert Hall was built by the late J.W. McClung in 1857, and the hall in the basement was one of the largest in the city. The building was three stories high in front and six or seven on the river side. It was located about twenty-five feet back from the sidewalk. Under the sidewalk all kinds of inflamable material was stored and it was from here that the fire was first noticed. In an incredibly short time flames reached the top of the building, thus making escape almost impossible. On the river side of the building on the top floor two brothers, Charles and August Mueller, had a tailor shop. The fire spread so rapidly that the building was completely enveloped in flames before they even thought their lives were endangered. In front of them was a seething mass of flames and the distance to the ground on the river side was so great that a leap from the window meant almost certain death. They could be plainly seen frantically calling for help. There was no possible way to reach them. Finally Charles Mueller jumped out on the window sill and made a leap for life, and an instant later he was followed by his brother. The bewildered spectators did not suppose for a moment that either could live. They were too much horrified to speak, but when it was over and they were lifted into beds provided for them doctors were called and recovery was pronounced possible. After months of suffering both recovered. August Mueller is still living in the city. A lady by the name of McClellan, who had a dressmaking establishment in the building, was burned to death and it was several days before her body was recovered.

The following named men have been chiefs of the St. Paul fire department:

Wash M. Stees,
Chas. H. Williams,
J.C.A. Pickett,
W.T. Donaldson,
J.B. Irvine,
J.E. Missen,
Luther H. Eddy,
B. Rodick,
M.B. Farrell,
J.C. Prendergast,
Bartlett Presley,
Frank Brewer,
R.O. Strong,
John T. Black,
Hart N. Cook,
John Jackson.