THE FIRES OF CARLETON PLACE
Received from Christine Spencer - [email protected]
#1
Perth
Courier, January 29, 1904
The Carleton Place Herald says:
By odds the most destructive fire which has visited Carleton Place was
that of Monday afternoon, barring the destruction of the McLaren Lumber Yard in
1880. It is a heavy blow to the
town. Three large blocks, fully
occupied by tenants yesterday at noon all blank this morning.
It was indeed a wicked fire and it was
only the Herculean efforts of the firemen who fought bravely and desperately for
five hours that the Struthers and Farmer buildings and the dwellings on the back
streets were saved. The smoke at
times was stifling, the flames were vicious yet the branch men soaked with water
and covered with ice kept faithfully at their posts and finally won the victory.
The fire originated in the Maguire block
supposedly in the large hall occupied by the I.O. Foresters and the Chosen
Friends but how is not known. The
smoke issued in dense clouds from the upper part of the building above before
the inmates below knew of any fire and then they had very little notice.
George Allan, who had rooms
above Mr. Deck’s and had only moved
in and furnished them, scarce got anything out and those on the ground floor had
but a brief time to remove what stock they could.
The brigade responded sharply to the
alarm and in a very short time two streams were played from the fire engine and
three from the force pumps at the Brown mills—five streams in all and so well
did the force pumps work that there never was any let up in the water supply
until the fire was conquered although at times the immense volume of
water seemed to have little or no effect on the flames.
The buildings destroyed were all wooden
structures, veneered in front but there were unfortunately no brick walls
between the Struthers block on the south and the Box building on the north and
the fire was fortunately kept between these walls although a desperate fight was
made for it.
The losses are:
T.C.
McGuire on building, no insurance and small loss
of stock mostly removed.
A.W.
Bell on buildings occupied by Keays, Tucker,
Muirhead, Stuart, Dolan, DeWinter, W.H. Hoper, partly insured.
Robert
McDiarmid on buildings and stock part of stock
being saved—insured
Allan
Brothers stock, boots and shoes—insured
S.A.
Dack, jeweler, insured
Ed
Keays, confectioner, insured
W.J.
Muirhead—hardware stock partly got out, insured
J.
H. Tucker, jeweler, stock mostly got out, insured
W.
H. Hooper, photographer, lost most everything
partly insured
DeWinter’s, dentist, partly insured
Bell Telephone Company, Central
Exchange—Complete loss, insured
W.B.
Stuart, drugs, stock mostly removed
J.S. Dolan, tailor, stock mostly removed
The I.O.F. and Chosen Friends lost all
their lodge furniture, regalia and fixtures
In the buildings adjoining, Mr.
Box removed his stock of boots and shoes, with heavy loss.
R. Carmichael removed his grocery stock;
J.L. Murphy his stationery stock; Dr.
McIntosh removed his household furniture and effects.
On the other side Mr. Chapman
emptied his dwelling as did also Mr.
Reid. Mr. Bangs(?) had his
things in readiness for a rapid exit in the bank building.
Taber and Company suffered
heavy losses due to water and smoke. Mr.
Struthers also lost considerable on building.
Miss Coleman, dress maker had her rooms cleared, the roof being
destroyed. Dr. de Renzy had his effects removed.
The loss is variously estimated at from
$50,000 to $85,000. The destroyed
property cannot be replaced now at the latter figure. The insurance is between $30,000 and $40,000.
#2
Perth
Courier, May 20, 1910
Lashed by a heavy gale, a fire broke out
shortly after midnight Tuesday night in the rear of the Cameron Brothers, a meat
shop in Carleton Place, spread with rapidity and before it was got under control
35 buildings were destroyed, entailing a loss of over $150,000 and nearly 100
people were left homeless.
The handsome Zion Presbyterian Church
was totally destroyed and among the residences completely wrecked was that of
the late Jas. Gillies, which was one
of the finest in town. The drill
hall, curling rink, Masonic hall and other structures that ranked among the best
in town are completely demolished
The blow is the hardest that has ever
been dealt the enterprising Junction Town and the people are stunned by the
disaster. The only fortunate
feature is that no lives were lost and no one was injured.
It is estimated that there was not more
than $80,000 insurance so the sufferers will have to bear a very heavy personal
loss.
It was shortly after midnight when the
town was aroused by the wild clanging of church bells. The volunteer fire brigade members knew the signal and Chief
William McIlquham and his men jumped into their fire fighting harness and
were soon on the streets.
The fire had been discovered at the rear
of the building at the corner of Bridge and Albert Streets in the heart of the
town. This building was occupied by
Cameron Brothers and W.
Singleton & Son and there is considerable doubt as to which side of the
premises the fire originated. However,
it is generally believed that the fire started from a box stove at the back of
the meat shop.
The wind was blowing like a hurricane
and the flames leapt to the adjoining buildings with lightening speed.
Half clad men and women and children rushed out of their homes as the fire caught the houses in its grasp.
Every able bodied townsman became a fire
fighter and Mayor Cram was one of the hardest workers.
The 2 fire engines were placed at the Mississippi River and they did good
work but were insufficient to cope with the conflagration.
The fire rushed down Albert Street and caught on the brick building
occupied upstairs by the Freemason lodge and downstairs by the Salvation Army.
From this building it leapt to near by
buildings and then caught on the steeple of the Zion Church.
The firemen worked valiantly to save the edifice but their efforts were
futile for the stream would not reach the blaze.
The flames soon enveloped the whole church and then huge arms of fire
were stretched out for more prey.
Blazing timbers as big as a barrel were
carried hundreds of yards by the gale and new fires sprang up everywhere.
A message was flashed to the neighboring
town of Almonte for assistance and it was readily given.
Carleton Place had assisted Almonte several years ago when the town of
the woolen mills was attacked by fire and the Almonters remembered this and got
up in the middle of the night to get aid to the other town.
A freight town happened to be passing
through Almonte and it was stopped. The
locomotive was attached to two freight cars and the Almonte fire engine and
other fire fighting equipment were loaded on these and the run to Carleton Place
was made in record time.
As the fire approached the armories Sgt.
Major Collins of the 42nd Regiment whose headquarters was the
drill hall, repeatedly entered the building and carried out rifles and other
equipment. Before he had completed
his work the building which was a frame structure, took fire and the hissing of
exploding bullets could be heard as he emerged from the building hall on his
last trip. Many
rifles, uniforms and other equipment were destroyed.
The equipment was to have been handed out to the members of the company
this week.
Members of the Methodist Church formed a bucket brigade around the church and the parsonage of Rev. A. Wilkinson and succeeded in saving both buildings.
There were many narrow escapes from
falling walls and tottering telephone poles.
The heat became so intense with three solid blocks burning that the
crowds had to retreat before the fiery blast.
A heavy downpour of rain came about 2:00
when the fire had been under way for about two hours and this storm helped to
fire fighters in their work.
The embankment of the C.P.R. tracks kept
the fire back and had it not been for this barrier it is thought that the
greater portion of this town would have been reduced to ashes.
The fire was raging so fiercely around the railway that two trains were
held back until the flames subsided.
It was after 4:00 Wednesday morning
before the fire had spent is course and the hundreds of exhausted men who had
formed a circle around the burning area and who had been continually forced
further and further back by the encroaching flames were able to get to their
houses. A score who were left
without a place to lay their heads were given shelter by more fortunate
townspeople whose homes had escaped.
So quickly had the fire spread that few
people were able to save any of their household effects.
Many were without fire insurance and will be in destitute circumstances
for a while.
With daylight Wednesday morning the full
extent of the conflagration could be seen for the first time. The entire block
bounded by Beckwith, Albert, Judson, and Franklin Streets was in a heap of
ruins. Where frame buildings stood
in many cases nothing but a huge pile of ashes was left. The destruction was not confined to this block but the whole
neighborhood was touched by the fire.
The happiest man in Carleton Place was Mr.
G. Leslie. The fire burned
right up to the wall of his hardware establishment but through the efforts of
the firemen it was saved. The
building with the stock is valued at $30,000 and it was said there was not a
cent of fire insurance on it.
John
Fraser, formerly of Perth, an employee of the
Mississippi Hotel, was roused by Mr. C.
Fanning after the fire had caught on his house. Fraser rushed out with two young children in his arms and
likely had he not been roused a fatality might have occurred.
The great velocity of the wind is
evidenced by the fact that a big ember was carried into the air a mile out into
the country and set fire to the barns of a farmer H. Morphy. The barns
were destroyed.
The greatest loss was the Zion
Presbyterian Church. It was valued
at $35,000. It was a substantial
stone edifice nicely furnished inside and contained a valuable pipe organ. Only last year the church was remodeled at the cost of
$18,000. The church was insured for
$15,000. (Note:
see article below on the history of this church.)
The manse of Rev. Mr. Scott near the Zion Church was also destroyed.
Great sympathy is felt for the pastor who is left, after thirty years
service in this town, without either church or manse.
Rev. Mr. Monds, pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church,
suffered the loss of his manse but the church was saved.
The Gillies
residence was valued at $25,000 and was partly insured.
The loss to Singleton and Son is estimated at $10,000 of which $3,000 is covered
by insurance.
Finlay
McEwen, the postmaster, lost his residence which
was worth $7,000 and was insured for over $3,000.
E.T.
Wilkie, Civil Engineer, lost his dwelling which
was valued at $5,000. A house owned
by his mother Mrs. W.W. Wilkie and
occupied by Dr. Howard, was
destroyed. Dr. Howard left only a
few days ago on a trip to New York.
The tower of Bates and Innes, Woolen Mill, caught fire several times but the
employees remained on watch and quenched the blaze each time.
The building where the fire originated
was owned by William Comerie who is
now engaged in railway work at Chapleau.
Other persons whose buildings were
destroyed are: Jas. Walters, David Thompson, Stephen Stanzel, J. Fraser, John
McFarlane, John McDonald, E.A. Wilson, Mrs. Steele, John Gordon, Gilbert Gordon,
Mrs. White, Samuel Dunfield, Francis Gallagher, Mrs. Code, W.H. Hamilton, Peter
McDonald, J. McLeod, and Edgar Bradford of Ottawa.
The dwelling of Samuel Torrance who is now at Elk Lake City, was totally wrecked.
Mrs. Torrance joined her husband last week and the home was vacant.
Business is practically suspended in
Carleton Place and the townsmen have started to work clearing up the streets.
Poles and telegraph wires were down everywhere and telephone and
telegraph connection was partly broken off.
A telegraph operator secured a barrel and made connections with the
broken wires and established a temporary office outside in the center of the
burned area.
Follow up article in a June, 1910 issue
of the Perth Courier:
A revised list of the losses in the big fire at Carleton Place are about as follows:
(Transcriber’s note, “value” refers to the value of the loss)
Zion Presbyterian Church, value $40,000, insurance $16,000
Zion Presbyterian Manse, value $2,000, insurance $2,000
St. Andrew’s Manse, value $3,000, insurance $1,000
Masonic Hall and Regalia, value $4,000, insurance $3,200
Heber(?) Singleton, value $10,000, insurance $3,300
Finlay McEwen, value 48,000, insurance $3,425
Mrs. Alexander Steele, value $2,100, insurance $1,100
Mrs. James Gillies, value $15,000, insurance $11,000
John Gordon, value $1,500, insurance $1,000
S. Danfield, value $1,000
F. Gallagher, value $1,500, insurance $1,000
Miss A. Cameron, value $1,200
John McDonald, value $7,000, insurance $1,500
Peter McDonald, value $2,500
Estate of Donald McNab, value $1,700
Armories, value $5,000
James Walters, value $1,000
R.F. Gordon, value $1,000
Residence of W. H. Hamilton, owned by Mrs. A. Code, $1,300
House owned by Edward Bradford of Ottawa, $1,500
Herbert Murphy, value $1,000
Singleton Block, value $4,000, insurance $1,500
A Cameron butcher shop value $2,000, insurance $800
E.T. Wilkie (2 houses) value $9,000, insurance $5,500
John McFarlane, value $2,000
Curling Rink, value $3,000, insurance $1,000
G.N.W. Telegraph Co., value $1,000
S. Torrance, value $300
Bates and Innes, value $500, insurance
$250
Carleton
Place Herald, Feb. 24, 1903
An article ran in this paper concerning
a dinner given in honor of the pastor, Rev. A.A. Scott, of Zion Church.
I thought maybe this would be a good place to present the information
contained in this article on the history of this church, as obviously from the
above, it was a great loss to the community when it burned down some years after
this article ran.
The congregation was established in
1868. At a meeting of the
Presbytery held in Almonte, a requisition was received to which was attached 120
signatures, asking the Presbytery to constitute then a separate charge. In
Perth, at a later meeting of the same Presbytery, (for at that time all this
territory was covered by the Ottawa Presbytery), held on May 6, 1868, the
request was granted and Zion congregation was established, being one of three
– Black’s Corners, Ashton and Carleton Place – under one pastorate.
The present church was built in 1869, when Rev.
John McKinnon was pastor. (transcriber’s note, see article following this
one.) Rev. James Carswell became
the second pastor, but resigned this church in 1874, remaining in Beckwith some
time longer. The congregation was
without a pastor for over three years, when Rev. Scott was called and inducted on Feb. 21, 1878, and the
congregation not only became self sustaining during all these years but has made
for itself a record in generosity for contributing to the many schemes of the
church, and contributions for some years past being almost equal to that for
sustenance. The first session
consisted of Messrs. Duncan Cram, Peter
Cram, John Graham, Archibald McArthur and James McLean, all deceased.
The session when Mr. Scott took charge were Archibald
McArthur, James McLean, John Graham, Isaac Cram(?) and James Moffatt.
The latter is the only one still in office. Mr. Cram, though still living, is now out of the
jurisdiction. Rev. Alexander
Armstrong Scott, M.A., was born near Woodstock May 9, 1846(?).
His parents were Michael and Jane (Armstrong) Scott, natives of Langhome,
Scotland. Mr. Scott received his
education in East Zorrs and in Woodstock Collegiate Institute after which he
taught school for two years. He
took a course in Toronto University, graduating in 1874 with a B.A.
Afterwards he attended Knox College for three years, graduating in
Theology in 1877. He was ordained
by the Presbytery of Ottawa on the occasion of his induction here(?) 25 years
ago and has administered successfully to the spiritual wants of the people
since. He was married in November of the same year.
When Mr. Scott took charge there were 85(?) names on the rolls.
During his pastorate he has added 777 but deaths and removals have made
serious inroads and the present membership stands at 420.
No less than 186 marriages have been celebrated—Mr. and Mrs. John
Brown, who were guests at the table of honor last evening being the first couple
he united in marriage. Baptisms
have been administered to 448 children and 10,000 pastoral calls have been made.
Carleton
Place Herald, March 3, 1903
In the historical sketch of Zion Church printed last week, an error occurred, although the information was gleaned from the most reliable sources in good faith. We stated that the first pastor of the congregation was Rev. Mr. McKinnon. This was an error. It appears from the records that the congregation was organized when Mr. Carswell was pastor at Ashton and Black’s Corners and was organized as a third congregation under him. It was three years after the organization of the congregation before they had their church opened and three years later Mr. Carswell resigned. Rev. Mr. Scott was called three and a half years later and so he is really the only pastor the church has ever called.
Posted: 8 September, 2005.