Fire in the Village of Gilboa: 1890
THE 1890 FIRE
In the late 19th century, Gilboa village was a large flourishing business hub with considerable industry, retail, crafts, lodging, and professionals. Area people headed there for shopping, entertainment, visiting and services.
In the early Sunday morning hours of May 4, 1890, a catastrophic fire engulfed the entire business section of Gilboa village — 25 buildings, other outbuildings and their contents were destroyed. Surprisingly, no lives were lost and only minor injuries reported.
The business section on lower Main Street included the Gilboa House, the Methodist Episcopal church, Masonic Hall, town, law, and medical offices, restaurants, hardware, multiple dry goods and grocery stores, harness shops, tin shops, blacksmiths, a barber shop, billiard parlor, post office, furniture shop, undertaker, dwelling houses and the print shop for the Gilboa Monitor.
Discovered by Lute Hildreth, the fire started either in A.G. Baldwin’s 50-year-old Arcade building across the street from the Gilboa House livery or the Snyder blacksmith shop north of it and quickly spread south down and across Main Street. With no fire department, villagers awakened by the old church bell desperately fought the blaze with a bucket brigade — a line of people passing buckets of water toward the fire. But it was a trickle against the raging inferno. The fire was headed toward the residential sections of town when Dr. J.T. Benham suggested that they use dynamite to stop it. They put dynamite under the Reed store,
M.D. Spencer’s shop and home, and Ira Travell’s dwelling. Jane Jones’ home in between was also sacrificed bringing the fire to a stop at the dwellings of Alonzo Stryker on the east side of Main and Travell’s on the west.
Nearly two thousand people visited a village in ashes in the days following the fire. After their initial shock, villagers of Gilboa and their nearby town neighbors stepped right in to rebuild – bigger, safer, and better. Rebuilding took many years since most buildings were underinsured.
Despite their devastation, narrow escape and escalating insurance rates, it was 12 years before a major upgrade to the village public water system was approved and for town leadership to formally propose a vote (women were excluded) to purchase firefighting equipment and impose hydrant rents for leasing public water within the new fire district.
GILBOA MUSEUM OPEN
12 TO 4 Saturday and Sundays
Memorial Day to Columbus Day.
MUSEUM TOURS-ON-CALL
(607) 588-6894 to set up a tour.
Map for the Gilboa Museum.
September, 2024
• Wednesday, 9/18 at 6: Bobby Curious
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After Bobby and refreshments, we will discuss the purchase of the museum property, plans for the addition under construction, and the near-total renovation of the 2024 exhibits. We will also cover next month’s annual meeting, changes to the by-laws, and status of our upcoming board elections.
• Thursday, 09/19, a lunchtime visit by the Mountaintop Seniors, with Museum resource people at each area display.
• Saturday, 9/21, 10 a.m.:
GILBOA NATURALIST PROGRAM
EASY ACCESS!
REGISTER TO ATTEND
(607) 437 7132
kristen.wyckoff@yahoo.com
A field trip to Cairo quarry. The oldest fossil forest in the world, hosted by Dr. Chuck Ver Straeton, Geologist from the NY State Museum.
We will also be shown geological outcroppings in the area.
MEET at Gilboa Museum to depart at 10:00 for Cairo
OR meet at the Cairo Highway Department garage, 755 Route 145, Cairo, NY at 10:40 am.
For information call Kristen Wyckoff at (607) 437 7132 or email her at kristen.wyckoff@yahoo.com
• Saturday, 9/28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Amy Silberkleit print-making workshop
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October, 2024
• Wednesday, 10/16, 6 p.m.:
Annual Meeting of Gilboa Historical Society & election of board members.
• Saturday, 10/19/ 1 p.m. Bob & Johanna Titus talk about the geologic basis of Catskill Mountains art
November, 2024
• Sunday, 11/17, 11 a.m.:
Holiday Boutique at Gilboa Museum.
• Wednesday, 11/20, 6 p.m.: General program TBA.
December, 2024
• Wednesday, 12/11, 6 p.m.:
Raffle and Bottle Auction and a pot luck dinner.
The Board of Gilboa Historical Society meets at 1:00 p.m. on the 4th Wednesday of each month.
Unlinked pages are under construction.√
GHS Facebook page
GilboaMuseum
Gilboa Museum Gift Shop
Gilboa Historical Society
GHS History (Founders, Early Supporters, First Decade, Expansion, Our 21stC)
GHS Activities
GHS Facilities
GHS — Who We Are
Publications and Podcasts
Gilboa Fossils and the Devonian ecology
Gilboa Fossils, a site of the Gilboa Historical Society.
Nicholas J. Juried History Center
Gilboa Village (under construction)
Gilboa Reservoir (under construction)
Communications between you and the Society is key to your enjoyment and our success.
You can type out your information on this form, save it to your desktop, and email it or print it out and send it to the Society (PO Box 52, Gilboa, NY 12076)
Our annual membership is based on an anniversary date established when we process your check. A renewal would simply add 12 months to the projected expiration date, while lapsed memberships are seen as new ones without penalty for the lapse.
Member benefits
- All GHS Newsletters and mailings.
- Gift shop discounts of 10% on all sales.
For donations, please use the QR code
