Patrons of the Central Hotel in Oneonta woke to their worst possible nightmare on Sunday morning, Jan. 16, 1910. It was the pounding on their doors, hearing the verbal alarm that fire had broken out in the building around 3:15 a.m., and what followed.
Police and firefighters had arrived quickly to the corner of Dietz and Main streets that bitter cold morning. Most began battling the blaze while others hurried through the already smoky corridors of the upper floors, waking the 54 registered guests and directing them to safety. A few escaped by the main staircase, others by rope fire escapes or ladders raised from the outside. Most fled with only their nightclothes.
Oneonta had experienced some nasty fires in recent years, but this one was different, in that three people lost their lives. One was Jacob Hedinger, a hotel employee who after bravely aiding in saving lives of others was himself overcome by the heat and smoke. Firefighters were unable to reach him. Also perishing were guests George Conklin and Edwin Emerson, both of Otego.
The fire had started in the boiler room, moved quickly to near the top of the building and then worked its way down, as the owners of businesses on the ground floor had time to save what could be moved out. At that time there was a grocery of C.H. Borst, the furniture business of Packer & Sherman, the National Express office, Herrieff's Clothing and the Townsend Bros. store. Additionally, the First National Bank was on the corner of Dietz, and all books and valuables were completely protected from heat and water, inside the massive steel vault.
The block was a total loss. It was a wooden structure, with a brick veneer. It was originally built in 1873 by Alfred C. Lewis as an 80-foot square building, but was added on as the village grew.
One notable previous tenant was the post office, where Harlow Bundy was postmaster. It was here he tested a new timekeeping device for the postal workers. It was the start of the Bundy Time Recorder Co., which later moved to Binghamton, merged with other companies and became International Business Machines, now known as IBM.
What to do with the burned out block became the topic of a meeting that week between the Merchants Association and Chamber of Commerce at Municipal Hall, today's 242 Main St. One idea discussed was to make this into a public square or park. A committee was appointed to investigate and report on the idea. It was quickly abandoned, in favor of a new hotel.
Also that week, Frank Herrieff entertained about 30 people at The Oneonta Theatre on Jan. 21 for a performance of "The Man on the Box." These were residents who assisted him in removing goods from his store on the morning of the fire.
By the first week in March a large force of men were seen excavating the lot for the new building. The plans were confirmed in The Oneonta Herald of March 24.
"The plans for the building, which lately have been amended to suit the larger plot, are for a handsome five-story structure "¦ Many details are as yet incomplete "¦ which complete will cost fully $200,000."
Throughout 1910, the locals watched the progress. The Herald gave an update on Nov. 24.
"The lion's heads which this week frown down from above the fifth story walls of Oneonta's new hotel indicate that as far as the exterior is concerned the building is well toward completion.
"More than half the partitions are set on the second, third and fourth floors and it will require only a short time to complete them. The inside work in general will then go on rapidly, and it is expected that the hotel will be ready for occupancy on March 1st," The Herald reported.
The First National Bank moved to its new quarters on the ground floor on Jan. 9, 1911, and Herrieff's relocated in the block.
The final construction tally came to about $300,000, but as a Dec. 29 Herald article stated, "and the opinion of everybody who has ever casually looked the structure over, is that it was well worth the money, and reflects great credit upon the owners and on J.W. Packer, the builder."
On Monday: Harold Hager saw a lot of changes in Oneonta schools as superintendent.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is
www.oneontahistorian.com.
