Cape
Vincent
FIRES & DISASTERS
Cape Vincent has suffered from fires of
which the following have been recalled: a store, hotel, and barns, built
many years ago by Mr. Joseph Cross, on the corner of Gouvelle and James
street; a sew- and grist-mill at the foot of Gouvelle street, belonging to
Theophilus Peugnet; the foundry of Mr. John Forsyth, in 1861; the railroad
woodhouse and a large quantity of wood; the elevator on the 20th
of September, 1863; the steam "Watertown," September 9, 1865,
when one life was lost; six or seven buildings cornering on Broadway and
Market street and running east and west, in the forenoon of February 7,
1866; the shingle-mill at the foot of Broadway, November the 22nd,
of the same year; a most distressing accident, fifteen or eighteen years
ago at Kent's Creek when a block-house was completely destroyed by fire,
and a poor family by the name of Grimshaw were burned with it beyond
recognition; and more sad than even this and all other disasters combined,
contrasted with which the loss of property bears no comparison, the
burning of the "Wisconsin" off the shore of the Grenadier island
during the night of May 21, 1867. Last year (1875) large stacks of gain
belonging to Mr. Albert Rice, of St. Lawrence, amounting to $13,000 were
totally consumed by fire, which was caused by the friction of some portion
of the machine engaged in thrashing the grain at the time. When the
elevator was burned 36,000 bushels of grain were in the bins, only half of
which was insured. A dwelling-house was saved from the flames a few years
ago by incessant snow-balling. An upper-cabin steamer named the
"Ocean Wave" was burned near the Ducks in 1853, and twenty-three
lives were lost.
(Jefferson
County History, by L. H. Everts, 1878 - Transcribed by Holice
B.Young. Original HTML by Debbie
Axtman) top
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