The dresses and hats of the ladies in this postcard, indicate this photo was taken early, about 1900. Cadets from Cornwall Collegiate Institute (later CCVS) are marching South from Third towards Second Street. The tower in the centre background is the combined City Hall and Fire Hall. It was fortunate the Fire Hall was so close to the Great Fire when it began.
Using the diagram below, and the postcard above, one can see the buildings that were lost in the Great Fire of August 7, 1933. At the South end of the block, only the Post Office and Royal Bank of Canada (LH) were saved. At the North end, only Jardine’s Furniture store (which was solid brick) escaped the flames. The fire spread East across Pitt, to two buildings near Third Street (Walkers Store and the Copeland Block) and claimed half the block along the North and South sides of Third Street West, including the venerable Victoria Arena.
On the left, a small portion of the stone Post Office is visible, next is the Royal Bank and then F. W. Woolworth’s, etc. On the RH (East side of Pitt) is the King George Hotel (not visible here) followed by the Royal York Cafe. The Palace Theatre is further along the street.
Cornwall’s City Hall and Fire Hall. The Police Station was to the left of the tower. There was also a side door to the Police Station on the left (South) side of the building in the alleyway. City Hall was also housed in the building and the Fire Hall was to the right (North). The large doors were for the fire vehicles. The upstairs, was known as the Music Hall. It had a stage where many fine entertainments were given by local and visiting artists. The Farmer’s Market was behind the hall for many years. It was a tin-roofed affair that stretched as far North as Fourth Street.
A modern photo showing that the Fire Department is still located in the building, although the tower has been removed. This building was torn down and replaced with a modern City Hall and new Fire Hall.
The fire began behind Fursey’s Garage (seen collapsing in this photo). Someone, (schoolboys are suspected) started a fire along the board fence behind Cornwall Motor Sales. Flames spread rapidly into Fursey’s garage. Dr. A.W. Brown, 219 Augustus St., sounded the first alarm at noon. Storekeepers tossed goods out of their shops onto the sidewalk but soon had to leave their businesses - and goods - to the firemen and their hoses. Notice the tables upside down on the road, at right.
Firefighters and their hoses are at the front of the buildings. The photographer (at left, wearing suspenders) is using a tripod with his camera to photograph the fire. On the ground to his left, is a spare camera. The man beside the photographer has a notebook in his back pocket and is probably a reporter. The tables have been set upright and have become a leaning shelf for a young man watching the fire. Modern firefighters would be more strict with viewers standing so close to the excitement.
The day of the fire was also the August Civic Holiday, that and the fact that it was a daytime fire, kept injuries to a minimum. Large crowds gathered at Pitt & Second and Pitt & Third Streets to watch the Great Fire. Notice the trolley car stalled in the crowd. During regular business days, the streetcar rails were also used by the railway to carry goods to-and-from the canal bank storage sheds. The fire broke out on the very day Legion Branch 297 had invested most of their capital into a highly popular field and track meet. Instead of going to the meet crowds raced to the heart of Pitt Street to watch as strong winds drove the fire through the downtown.
The above photo is taken from the clock tower of the Post Office. Visible through the smoke is St. Columban’s Church on Fourth Street, two blocks away from the Post Office. There were two streams of water from the Montreal pump, one from Ottawa and 17 from the Cornwall equipment. It was a wonder that they managed to contain the fire and not lose the entire downtown. Sadly the Victoria Arena on Third Street, which had served the community from the days of Queen Victoria could not be saved. Firemen brought the blaze under control by 3:30 p.m. and returned to the station at 8 p.m. Local firemen were Chief, George Hunter, Deputy Chief Cory Moore, Fire Fighters: E. Kennedy, J. Warrington, W. Borthwick, J. Firn, A. Silmser, A. Parker, E. Wagoner, F. Taillon, W. Silmser, L. Hurley, G. Vasbinder, G. Wagoner, W.A. Milligan, Arthur Conliffe, Harry Plumley, I. Miller, A. Wilson, F. Silmser, C. Snetsinger and W. Copeland.
A short time later, only chimneys remain standing. At bottom left, firemen train hoses on the fire from the roof of the Royal Bank. Cornwall fire chief George Hunter called for, and received assistance from, both Ottawa and Montreal fire departments. Station No. 34, Montreal, sent a pumper to Cornwall. On their way, near River Beaudette they had to change a left rear tire because of a faulty inner tube. The delay was later reported as “regrettable.” However, it was the Montreal force that halted the flames at the South end of the block, thereby saving the Royal Bank, which suffered only water damage. Fire fighting equipment also came from Howard Smith Paper Mill, Canadian Cottons Limited, Beach Furniture, Ives Bedding and Courtauld’s Limited. Notice the Palace Theatre in the middle of the East side of the street. The theatre’s marquee is small and in the same style as the original on the Capitol Theatre. Flames jumped the street at the North end of the block to claim the Walker Store and the Copeland Block.
An earlier glimpse of Pitt Street looking south towards the River. On the right is the Post Office and on the left the dormer windows of the King George Hotel can be seen. To the right of the post office is the red-brick Royal Bank building which was saved. All of the other buildings on the West side of the block were destroyed, including the Glengarry Block with the striped awning.
A man with dog is seen perched on some lumber to stay out of the water at the back of the buildings. To his right is a burned-out delivery truck. The spray of the hoses on Pitt Street can be seen beyond the truck. Above the man’s hat, second-floor porches show where people had homes upstairs over the stores. The following day, Cornwall’s Kinsmen Club reported 36 families were homeless and of these 15 had nothing left except the clothes they were wearing that lunch hour. Thirty one businesses along Pitt Street (West side), ten business places, five dwellings and the Victoria Arena, on Third Street as well as an apartment block and store on Pitt Street (East side) were lost at a loss of $243,855 of which only $135,900 were covered by insurance. It took years for Legion Branch 297 to overcome the losses of the track and field day ruined by the downtown fire.
Rebuilding the block, during the depression of the 1930s, took considerable time. The new buildings were modern but not nearly as attractive as the ones they replaced.
This “longshot” gives an overview of the rebuilt streetscape. Many of these postcards lack the trolley lines and electrical wires that filled the view. The wires were removed by the postcard publishers who also replaced the sky with something brighter and cheerier.
An interesting view of post -1933 that includes the East side of Pitt Street. Kyte’s Stationers holds its usual place.
Cornwall’s Court House and jail opened in 1833. Cornwall’s first newspaper, “The Cornwall Observer” was founded in the same year. Notice the water fountain for horses, at left. There were several such fountains in the downtown area including the post office and the corner of Fourth & Pitt. Another postcard shows a similar fountain on Second Street in front of the old post office. In March 1834 Cornwall was incorporated as a town and was, for the first time, separate from the township government. It became a separate riding for the provincial legislature.
The white clapboard house next to the Court House no longer exists. Also, to the left of the court house, was the Windsor Hotel - which burned to the ground about 1890 - as shown in the postcard below.
The Windsor Hotel was situated on Water Street beside the Court House (which still stands at NW corner of Pitt & Water Streets). The artist has sketched a bit of the court house to the right to show its proximity.
Located on the East side of Pitt Street between First & Second Streets (where the Bank of Montreal is located today) the Rossmore House was erected by J. George Ross in 1878. Ross had previously operated the Palace Hotel in Morrisburg before coming to the Ottawa Hotel in Cornwall. George and his son John E. Ross operated the Rossmore House as Cornwall’s leading hotel. The Rossmore sported marble floors, several fireplaces and chandeliers (either gas or electric depending on which source of light happened to be working at the time). It had four parlors, a large dining room with seating for 200 and a commodious bar - all built around a light shaft in the centre of the building. The 62 bedrooms were richly carpeted. There were 10 sample rooms for commercial travelers to display their wares. The rear annex of the hotel extended onto Second Street East. Notice the women sitting in the open window on the second floor. The large store windows to the right were, at one time, part of a pharmacy.
April 29, 1910, was the night Halley’s Comet was expected to appear in the heavens. Mr. Birchard, a teacher at Cornwall Collegiate Institute (the earlier name for CCVS) lived at the Rossmore. Birchard had stationed himself at a window of the second floor of the Rossmore about 2 a.m. to watch for the comet. A short time later, John E. Ross, the night clerk, in his customary rounds encountered Birchard and they had a short conversation.
Birchard had watched about an hour for the comet when he noticed a wisp of smoke, which he first thought was outside. A moment later he was attracted to the centre of the building and the light shaft there. Birchard was immediately aware that the building was on fire. John Ross became aware of the fire about the same time and together the men attempted to use a hose which was located on that floor, but they soon realized it was a lost cause and began knocking on doors to rouse the tenants and guests. In spite of all the firemen’s efforts, the building was leveled. Loss was estimated at $125,000 or about $3.5 M today.
Twelve people died in the fire. They were C.C. Gray, manager of Ives Bedding, his wife and two small children who lived at the hotel; an elderly invalid, Mrs. W.Taylor Archibald who lived on the lower floor; Mrs. John Goeller; B. Fielding and C. Gagne, both bankers who lived at the Rossmore; Mary and Jane White, two waitresses; Willie Hulme, a waiter and Ernest Buller, the bell boy.
Cornwall was not to have another fine Hotel until the Cornwallis Hotel was built.
