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16 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, October 1, 1991 125th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE Fire spreads from Mansion House NORTH ONTARIO OBSERVER Thursday, July 24, 1884 James Baird - Editor HOT EXPERIENCE Nine months ago the village of Port Perry was without excep- tion the most energetic, enter- prising and NN village in the Province, and for its size, one of the best business centres in the Dominion. More than two-thirds of its business establishments were frame structures and liable at any moment, to be swept away by the fire fiend. There was nothing within the corporation making the slightest pretention to a fire extinguisher and conse- quently the village might be said to stand on the brink of a volca- no; but fortuantely, we had long escaped any serious conflagra- tion, and had it not been for the burning of a single building now and again, one would almost have supposed that the village was fire-proof, and people, though watchful, slept soundly in fancied security. But on the night of Sunday, the 4th of November, 1883, the sleeping inhabitants got a rude awakening by the hated clatter of the fire-bell and the startled sleepers soon discovered that the "Port Perry House" was all ablaze and as there was no means of fighting the flames, the fire-fiend soon leaped from building to building with in- creasing fury until it had pros- trated a large number of fine structures, many of them being the finest in town, and causing a dgmage between the loss of building and stocks, of about $120,000 of which less than one- half was covered by insurance. The blow was a heavy one and made the victims stager, but as no gmount of whining can recov- er spilled milk, the scorched ones went to work with a will to erect new buildings on the sites of the old. . The new structures were in various stages of advancement and people were looking hopeful- ly to a time not far distant when the ruins would be replaced with sightly structures. But again, on the morning of the fourth of July, the unwelcome but too fre- quent sound of the fire-bell is again heard, and this time the devourer had taken un-disputed The Port Perry House as is looked before the disastrous fire of 1884, was located on the north west corner of Queen and Water Street. un The Port Perry branch opened for business, with Henry, the branch's first manager, described its location on Queen Street as "the best in town". It remained open for only four years, closing in 1932 at the height of the depression. The Royal Bank reopened on November 6, 1961 at 197 Queen Street. During the next fifteen years the bank continuously expanded, increasing its staff from an initial three in 1961, to sixteen full-time and three part-time members in 1977 when the present branch was opened on the corner of Perry and Queen Streets. & ee ATES, ---- a staff of three, on August 11, 1928. B.D. ROYAL BANK 210 Queen St., Port Perry 985-7316 possession of the hotel called the "Mansion House" and from that spread with great rapidity in every direction. With alarm- ing speed and irresistable force, the hungry flames went leaping from side to side of the street, and carrying destruction in every direction. The devasta- tion was so sudden and over- whelming, that comparatively little salvage was affected and the devourer carried every- thing before it until it had laid in ashes the Ontario Bank; 3 Law Offices; 3 Doctor's Offices; 1 Broker's Office; 2 Printing Of- fices; 1 Dentist Office; 2 Photo- graph Galleries; 1 Grist Mill; 3 Cabinet Factories; 1 Carriage Factory; 2 Blacksmithing Es- tablishments; 2 Drug Stores; 3 Harness Shops; 2 Boot and Shoe Shops; 1 Marble Works 1 Livery Stable; the Masonic Lodge; the Orange Lodge; the Oddfellows Lodge; the Sons of England Lodge; the United Workmen's Lodge; the Royal Templars Lodge and the con- tents; 1 Bakery; 2 Tinsmith's Shops; 2 Hotels, 22 Stores; 12 Dwellings. The entire loss will amount to nearly $300,000 over one-half of which is covered by insurance. As we have stated above, the frightful conflagration was so bewildering in its effects and so rapid in its spread that the salvage was exceedingly light. The above devastation with the dreadful scourge by fire eight months ago, left the entire busi- ness area of Port Perry on scene of waste and ruins, and when the bright sun of the morning of the 4th of July looked down on what was yesterday a hive of busy life; enterprise and com- fort, it beheld some acres of smoking embers, ashes and ruin, with the inhabitants standing round in blank dis- may, bewailing the fearful hav- oc. The losers by the former fire were still wincing under its pressure, and not a few of the former losers are again scorched in this which adds to the severity of the stroke. A large number of young ladies, some young men and a few heads of families are for the time thrown out of employ- ment, but that will be of short duration. Where there is a will, there is always a way and he pluck and energy of the scorched ones were equal to the emergency and immediate steps were towards clearing off the rubbish and the erection of new buildings to occupy the places of those destroyed, and we are vastly mistaken in our expectations if the Port Perry of 1886 be not in every particular vastly ahead of what it has been in the past, as well for appear- ance, comfort, reliability and value. In the meantime, tempo- rary business places are spring- _ ing up in every direction, as if Please Turn to page 17 Interesting incidents Jrom fire Luckily, no human lives were lost. The foundry was on fire several times from flying brands. Mr. Courtice saved a portion of his stock of leather by hurriedly cramming it into a well close by, where it remained safe and sound. Just think of it! In less than three hours $350,000 worth of property was reduced to ashes. How many three hours will it take to replace it? Not a solitary paper be- longing to the Corporation, in- cluding this year's assessment roll, was saved. The Council will have their hands full for some time to come, as about 150 by-laws will have to be re- passed. The country for miles to the north-west, was on fire in many places by cinders blown hither and thither from the Port, and a piece of paper, one of Davenport, Jones and Com- pany's bill-heads, was found on Mr. Beare's farm, near Green- bank. Messrs, Harrington and Seymour lost a $300 horse in the Mansion House stable, Please Turn to page 17 Ya = VAN CAMP CONTRACTING LTD. PORT PERRY J * Site Development * Road Building * Sand - Gravel - Limestone * Excavating - Ponds * Bulldozing * Snow Removal - » Screened Topsoil * Quality Materials & Workmanship at reasonable prices - Serving Scugog Township for over 35 years. 985-8469