Dryden Presbyterian Church Fire
Date: December 17, 1938Location: 6 North Street, DrydenIn the afternoon of December 17th, 1938, while decorating for that evening’s Sunday mass, the pastor and two parishioners smelled smoke in the auditorium. Unbeknownst to them, overheated smoke pipes in the organ loft had started a fire that quickly spread to the attic and into the steeple. The organ and church bell, purchased in 1883 and 1831 respectively, were completely destroyed. The loss was estimated at between $10,000 and $15,000, but the historical value of the church to the community of Dryden was incalculable. The church was built in 1820, four years after Dryden’s “Church of Christ” voted to adhere to the Presbyterian denomination. Churchgoers donated small amounts of money in addition to produce, animals, and manual labor to the building of the church. One man was credited with a donation of 75 cents for half a day’s work hauling stone, and another dollar for letting the church use his horses. The church was soon rebuilt in brick instead of wood, using parts of the original building structure that had survived the fire. It continues to serve Dryden more than 200 years later. LISTEN HERE
Dryden Hotel Fire
Date: December 19, 1995Location: 42 West Main Street, DrydenAt 4:30pm on December 19th, 1995, a fire started on the roof of the Dryden Hotel. The fire traveled down the top two floors, destroying them completely. Smoke and water from the firefighting efforts caused further damage to the bar on the first floor, as well as the Dryden Barber Shop owned by well-known local hair-cutter Sylvia Short. Eight people who lived in apartments on the second floor were left homeless. This was not the first time fire caused chaos at the Dryden Hotel. The Dryden Hotel was built in 1871 on the site of the Grove Hotel, which had been destroyed by a fire in 1866. The Grove Hotel was established by Tom Lewis, who is also said to have built the first hotel on the site that later became the Dryden Springs and Sanitarium. The three-story, Italianate-style hotel was the tallest structure on West Main Street. “Many people of note” stayed in the Dryden Hotel, and the hotel was especially popular amongst people coming for the Dryden Fair. The upper floors of the hotel later became a boarding house, and then an apartment.The hotel was also the meeting place of the Spit and Whittle Club, a locally famous club for the town’s elderly, retired men to converse about politics, play cards, and relax with old friends. The club's name, "Spit and Whittle," was a joke that fit within the founding member's well-known sense of humor. Barely any of the men chewed tobacco (or “spit”), and none of them claimed any particular expertise in whittling. They were known to play practical jokes, and in their bylaws decreed that all members must be over eighty years old, have “store teeth” (dentures), and be able to spit into a cup from twenty-seven feet away. Despite their joking, they forbade drinking, gambling, and profanity at their meetings, and were remembered fondly by Dryden residents.The hotel was rebuilt and reopened, with a family restaurant and on the first floor, and apartments above.Images courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County.LISTEN HERE
Fire at the "Springs House"
Date: June 6, 1915Location: Spring House Road, DrydenIn 1840, the building that would become Dryden Springs Sanitarium was built as a hotel named the Dryden Springs House. It became known for its parties and banquets, and was known by most Drydenites as the “Springs House.” Around 1865, Dr. Samantha Nivison bought the property and founded Dryden Springs Sanitarium.Dr. Nivison was one of the first women to practice medicine in Tompkins County. Before opening a sanitarium in Dryden, she planned a sanitarium in Ithaca called Cascadilla Place. This proposed sanitarium was to be funded by Ezra Cornell. As Ezra Cornell got caught up in the planning of his new university, the costs of a sanitarium became unfeasible and Nivison abandoned the project. Ezra kept the building around as a student dormitory and multi-purpose space. Undeterred, Dr. Nivison later opened Dryden Springs Sanitarium, relying on the reputation of Dryden springs mineral water as a healting therapeutic to entice visitors. The city water, said Nivison, was toxic, and harmful to the health. City dwellers would come to “take waters” and enjoy the tranquil rural environment on extended vacations. Nivison’s venture didn’t end there- the spring water was bottled and sold by grocers and druggists across the state, and even by mail-order. The company was successful for a short period of time, but ran into financial challenges when the popularity of medicinal waters dried up.As the Springs House’s popularity waned, Nivison pivoted to open a home for the poor, and ill women and children. In 1883, she opened the “Cottage,” and took in 27 children. Two years later, tragedy struck when 21 of the children died in a measles outbreak. Their deaths were compounded by Dr. Nivison's failure to report the deaths to the civil authorities, as she was legally required to do.The newspapers had previously reported on her medical expertise with glowing positivity. After the scandal, they denounced Nivison, and questioned her status as a leading physician. It was discovered that the conditions at the Cottage were poor, and that there was not enough staff, supplies, or food to adequately care for so many sick children. The sanitarium in Dryden soon closed, and in 1906 when Dr. Nivison died, the building was sold and then sat neglected for a decade.In 1915, a fire was set on the third floor while groups of people picnicked and played on the nearby grounds. The building, made almost entirely of wood, went up in flames rapidly. The blaze drew a crowd of onlookers. The source of the fire was never investigated, but since the building had been plundered by junk collectors and was a “stomping ground” for “vagrants” and the town’s poor, the fire came as no surprise.Images courtesy of The History Center inTompkins CountyLISTEN HERE
Downey Honey Butter Plant Fire
Date: March 20, 2000Location: 7 Union Street, FreevilleOn March 20th, 2000, the Downey Honey Butter Plant was leveled by a fire with an unknown cause. "The Old Honey Butter factory" was housed in a wooden building constructed in 1875. Originally, the building was Lyceum Hall, a community gathering place and entertainment center. Lyceum Hall was unique in being among the first regional theaters to have staggered seating (seats on different height levels). As early as the 1880's, Lyceum Hall hosted New Year’s Eve parties with the Freeville Brass Band, and gained popularity as a dance hall and roller skating rink. Through the 1920's and 1930's, the theater featured dances, plays, lectures and hosted many performances. Many Tompkins County based groups were featured, including plays put on by the Cornell Dramatic Club, concerts by Ithaca Conservatory musical groups, and shows from the Ithaca Savage Club.In 1969, Lyceum Hall became the Downey Honey Butter Factory, owned by C. W. Sadd. The recipe for honey butter was based on the discoveries of Elton J. Dyce, a graduate student at Cornell. His work and thesis explored the controlled crystallization of honey in the 1930's. Dyce later patented the process, and Cornell University claimed the royalty rights. Some of the profits from the patent funded the Dyce Laboratory at Cornell for honeybee research. In the late 1940's, J. J. Downey leased the patent from Cornell and rented factory space in Groton to start his honey butter business, eventually moving the factory to Collegetown in the 1950's. C. W. Sadd bought Downey’s business in 1955 and rehomed the factory in Lyceum Hall in 1969. The Downey Honey Butter Plant stayed in Freeville for ten years, until it was relocated to Pennsylvania in 1979. The building subsequnetly housed several other businesses since the 1970's, including local sandwich shop Draper Egg, a tie-dye T-shirt factory, and the furniture refinishing business of GSW Vincent and Co.LISTEN HERE
Spooky Hollow
As legend has it, an old peddler would visit Ellis Hollow to sell his wares. At night, he would sleep in a farmhouse by a nearby swamp. One day, the peddler arrived to the Hollow, but he never reappeared. Villagers became concerned after several days, noticing that the peddler’s cart and horse hadn’t been moved. The whereabouts of the peddler remained unknown until a group of neighbors started clearing stumps from the swamp for a building project. One of the men in the group owned and lived in a nearby farmhouse. When the group approached a certain pine stump, the man quickly excused himself from the party. Upon pulling up the stump, the men uncovered a pile of human bones.The legend claims the community was suspicious, but didn't take further actions. It was not until many years later, on his deathbed, that the man confessed to the murder of the old peddler. His motive, he said, was the peddler’s gold.He had stolen the pouch of gold from the peddler and buried it in a hidden location. In his old age however, he had forgotten where he hid the pouch of gold, and was never able to cash in on the spoils of his murderous act. Villagers searched the swamp endlessly, digging in search of the gold, but nothing was ever found.The spirit of the peddler is said to rest uneasily. Those who have lived in the murderers farmhouse reported hearing groans from the fireplace and saw the handle of the water pump on the porch spin around untouched. A fire burned down the house decades ago, but the stories of unexplained happenings persist in Spooky Hollow.LISTEN HERE
Woolen Mill Fire
Date: April 21, 1916Sometime on the night of April 21, 1916, a fire of suspicious and “incendiary” origin started in a wool mill owned by Benjamin Rightmires. The fire migrated from the mill to the shed and ice house of Frank Mulks, and then to Mulks’ house and the post office nearby. Support was immediately requested from Ithaca, and Fire Company No. 5 was dispatched. However, due to some miscommunication, the fire engine was well on its way to Slaterville Springs before they realized they were headed in the wrong direction. The engine and firefighters arrived almost an hour after they were called. By that point, nearly two hundred Ithacans had driven to Brooktondale to help in the bucket brigade. The engine was unable to pump water from the creek, so the Ithaca firefighters joined the community effort to put out the blaze. The fire smouldered all night and into the morning in the rubble of the woolen mill.The location of Brookton's Market held the post office and a store since 1880. In the 1890's Frank Mulk became proprietor, and the Mulk family maintained the market until 1924.Images courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County.LISTEN HERE
Tobey Tavern Fire
Date: February 20, 1938The Nathaniel Tobey Tavern was built around 1808 and was a popular stopping points for stagecoaches on the Catskill Turnpike. Nathaniel Tobey, the proprietor of the tavern, helped establish the township and government of Caroline (originally known as Tobey Town) in April 1811. Tobey was selected as the first assessor and first commissioner of highways. Caroline had several of these stagecoach taverns built in the early 1800s, which included the Bush Tavern, where the township was established. The Catskill Turnpike became a state public highway in 1804 and was one of the primary means of travel across New York State for half a century before the introduction of the railroad. The Turnpike played an important role in developing towns like Caroline in Central New York. On February 20th, 1938, a fire started in the building, which housed a family by the name Murray. The fire destroyed the entire house and all the furnishings inside, but luckily, a coating of snow on nearby houses prevented the flames from spreading. LISTEN HERE
Fountain House Fire
Date: November 19, 1916Location: 2743 Slaterville RoadThe Fountain House was one of Slaterville Springs’ three popular hotels in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that advertised the healing powers of the nearby mineral springs. It was regarded as a destination for the regions most elite and wealthy visitors. Slaterville Springs offered clients the opportunity to show off their horses and wardrobes to their peers, while relaxing in the peaceful beauty of the town. Stays were built around drinking and bathing in the spring’s waters to cure ailments and stress. Fountain House was built in 1872 by the Hornbrook brothers, and went through several owners until, on November 19th, 1916, the hotel went up in flames. Reports disagree on the cause of the fire. Some say it was an explosion of a gas lamp, and others blamed a group of children lighting fire to a pile of leaves. Regardless of the cause, the fire was incredibly destructive and the building unsalvageable. In addition to having curative powers, the spring waters also had the bizarre property of permanently coloring glassware a unique, iridescent amber color. This artistic fluke was discovered by accident by the Middaugh family, whose farm had one of these mysterious springs. They discovered that placing glassware in a stream of running mineral water would cause the glass to change color. The change would be lighter or darker depending on the season, and how long the glass was submerged. The Middaugh family made a business of ambering glasswares, and sold their products to tourists visiting the Fountain House and other spas. Smaller quantities sold in Rothschild’s Department Store, and other local markets. Years later Clarence and Janet Stephens, out of their house built on the site of the former Fountain House, started their own business making and selling water ambered glass out of the building site of the former Fountain House. Images courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County.LISTEN HERE
Dusenberry Homestead
Date: May 28, 1936Early in the morning on May 28th, 1936, the Dusenberry homestead in Dusenberry Hollow was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The home had been built around 1830 by Henry L. Dusenberry, one of the earliest white settlers in the area, and Dusenberry Hollow’s namesake. Henry Dusenberry had been given his land between Catskill turnpike and Bridle Road as compensation for his military service. He built his first home as a log cabin, and later, built the house that would stand for a hundred years. The house was full of valuable antiques, a few of which were saved by volunteers who fought the blaze. Henry's grandson Zina Dusenberry had been confined to his bed the night the fire broke out, likely due to illness, but escaped with the help of a sister-in-law, who was staying at the home.Zina Dusenberry, was the last descendent to bear the Dusenberry name, and perhaps the most well-liked and remembered member of one of Dryden’s pioneer families.LISTEN HERE
Dryden Central School Fire
Date: February 2, 1954Location: 36 Union Street, DrydenIn 1954 Dryden Central School suffered a fire that destroyed eight classrooms and the cafeteria. The fire appeared to start on the roof, and spread through the attic and the third floor. The alarm was raised fairly quickly, and the Dryden Fire Company reported to the scene. Unfortunately, the cold New York winters froze the nearby fire hydrants which hampered relief efforts. Despite this difficulty, the town and newspaper praised the fire company under the direction of Fire Chief Fitts, for their skill in putting out the fire and saving what they could.The schoolhouse, which was originally called the Union Free School District building, was built in 1910, with an addition to the building constructed in 1938. Some musical instruments and school records were saved from the fire. In June of 1954, plans for rebuilding the school were approved by the State Education Department and the building was rebuilt into a high school.LISTEN HERE
