Up in Smoke: The Southern Tier Sanitary Fair

 By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

 

The Southern Tier Sanitary Fair opened on the evening of March 14, 1864 at the newly-constructed First Presbyterian Church. The planning committee included all sorts of important figures like congressman turned soldier Alexander S. Diven, businessman and future Mark Twain father-in-law Jervis Langdon, and Rev. Thomas K. Beecher of the Park Church. The fair was supposed to take place over two weeks with events taking place in several churches and public halls across the city. It was to be the biggest and best Sanitary fair in all of Western New York. Alas, things went horribly, horribly wrong.

The United States Sanitary Commission was created in June 1861 as a charitable organization aimed at protecting the health of Union soldiers. To that end, they inspected and improved military encampments; constructed hospitals and soldiers’ homes; trained nurses; and collected and distributed aid. For more information about the Commission and their activities, check out this blog post: Southern Tier Sanitary Fair and the United States Sanitary Commission.

The first Sanitary Fair was Northwest Sanitary Fair in Chicago from October 27 to November 7, 1863. The fair featured patriotic exhibits, crafts available for purchase, concessions, big ticket auction items, and plenty of spectacle. It was incredibly successful, raising $78,682.89 in just two weeks! Soon, everyone wanted to hold one. It kicked off a wave of similar fairs in cities across the North including Cincinnati, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Baltimore, and, of course, Elmira.

The opening night of the Southern Tier Sanitary Fair featured a concert by Pier’s Brass Band, speeches by dignitaries, and a supper. Over the next several days, fairgoers got to see booths put together by charitable groups and shops from across the Twin Tiers at the Bazaar located in the First Presbyterian Church. There were fancy goods made by ladies from across Steuben, Tioga, Bradford, and Chemung counties, all of it for sale. Located in Holden Hall was the portrait gallery and cabinet of curiosities featuring artifacts from Japan, Europe, the Middle East; a Native American exhibit; taxidermy birds and animals; and captured Confederate military equipment. Concessions were provided at the New England kitchen, located in a small, temporary structure next to the church.

 

Sanitary Fair ticket

Each night the ladies from a particular town would prepare and serve a public supper. The first night, dinner was served by the ladies of Southport, followed the next day by Big Flats, then Horseheads, etc. Waitresses wore special liberty caps and red, white & blue ribbons. We have one of the ribbons at the Chemung County Historical Society, but, sadly, none of the caps. After supper, the evening entertainments would begin. They included a tableau where people acted out famous paintings; concerts; dancing; and a lecture given by Col. A.D. Streight, who had recently escaped from a Confederate prison.  One night’s entertainment was the wedding of Mr. William O. Brown and Miss Josephine Burke performed by Rev. Thomas K. Beecher with the wedding cake sold off at 25 cents per slice. The fair and evening entertainments were very well attended and quite profitable. By day three, they had already brought in $11,191.19. 

 

Ribbon worn by waitresses

Then it all went up in smoke. On the evening of March 18^th, two boys lighting the gas lamps managed to catch the evergreen garlands hanging inside the Presbyterian Church on fire. Attempts to contain the blaze failed and from there it was a mad scramble to evacuate the building. Various individuals were hurt getting people out and three eventually died. Fred Hart and Charles Hazard were attempting to flee together when they were overcome by the smoke. Hazard was pulled to safety by H.S. Brooks (who died several months later from complications due to smoke inhalation) while Fred Hart’s body was eventually found in the wreckage. M.M. Converse tripped while saving a little girl and was so severely burned he died a few days later. The newspaper accounts were filled with the horror of the event coupled with the heroism of those who risked their lives to help others and save the merchandise.

Charles and Robert Hall, Clark Ingraham, Ella Diven, and S.C. Reynolds collectively managed to grab some $300-worth of goods from the Bazaar. Alice Blossom actually rushed back into the fire to get $70 in cash from the ice cream stand. Still, most vendors lost all their wares and the church itself was a total loss. The furniture lent by various Elmira families, all the outer wear in the cloak room, and a number of heirlooms on display in the New England Kitchen were all reduced to ash. The portrait gallery and the cabinet of curiosities in Holden Hall remained intact, but the festive mood was shattered and the rest of the planned events were cancelled. Despite the tragedy, the fair managed to raise $12,000 of the expected $15,000. 

Mourning ribbon from Fred Hart's funeral

 

The Bicentennial Bridge

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

If someone asked you where the Bicentennial Bridge in Elmira is, could you tell them? Until a short time ago, I couldn’t have. My recent research into how we celebrated the 200^th birthday of the United States 50 years ago led me to this information. On July 17, 1976, the new bridge spanning the Chemung River at Main Street was dedicated. While it was not officially part of the County’s festivities for the momentous year, the bridge was dubbed the Bicentennial Bridge.

The first Main Street bridge was chartered in 1853. The original bridge was replaced in 1873 after suffering from flood and fire damage in the 1860s. Just under 50 years later, in 1921, it was replaced once again. By the early 1960s, the bridge was again showing signs of age. The sidewalks were repaired in 1963 as they were crumbling in several spots and dangerous holes had developed. Deterioration continued into 1968 when major repairs were recommended by a private engineering firm. Some repairs were made and a 5-ton limit on vehicles was put into place.

Main Street bridge, mid-20^th century

The Flood of 1972 further damaged the 51-year-old bridge. The Army Corps of Engineers discovered weaknesses in the southern span of the bridge at that time and repairs were made to shore it up. The bridge reopened but was limited to two lanes of traffic.

View under the Main Street Bridge following the 1972 flood

Despite the repairs, in December 1974, city officials closed the Main Street Bridge as it was deemed unsafe for public use.  The piers on the south end of the bridge appeared in good condition but an inspection crew found serious damage under the floor of the bridge. The concrete had crumbled away allowing the steel supports to rust.

Early the next year, plans were in place to construct an entirely new bridge. Phase one of the project was the demolition of the existing bridge. On October 14, 1975, Dawn Webb, wife of the Elmira building superintendent, got to press the button that blew up the first of four spans of the bridge. Unfortunately, no announcement had been made that the demolition was going to take place, and the city police received over 30 concerned phone calls. No warning had been given to local residents because officials were worried that people would gather to see the demolition and possibly get injured. That was a reasonable concern. Even without official notice, people came out onto nearby rooftops to watch. Some reported bits of rubble falling near them from the explosion. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Concept drawing of the new Main Street bridge, May 8, 1975

City officials promised that the new bridge would be open by Thanksgiving 1976. Through tremendous efforts put forth by contractors and workers at all stages of construction, the bridge opened four months early on July 17, 1976. The entire $3.5 million project was completed within 19 months from initial planning and design through the completion of construction. The new bridge was ceremoniously dubbed the Bicentennial Bridge and Mayor John M. Kennedy Jr. called it an “avenue of unity joining the citizens of Elmira.”

The Bicentennial Bridge right after its opening on, July 17, 1976

The first people over the bridge represented modes of transportation from the city’s past. Teenagers Cindy Dixon of Elmira and Pamela Collins of Wellsburg crossed the bridge from the Southside to the Northside astride Pamela’s horse Lady Shamrock. Daniel J. Bednarek of Elmira and his brother Brian crossed from the Northside to the Southside inside a 1940 Nash.

The Nash and Lady Shamrock passing each other on the Bicentennial Bridge, July 17, 1976

The opening of the Bicentennial Bridge was a momentous event in a celebratory year. Local businesses used the bridge in their advertisements as a location that people readily recognized. Central Radio, for example, was “just over the Bicentennial Bridge.” But the name didn’t stick. After 1980, the “Bicentennial Bridge” no longer appeared in the local newspaper. Everyone seemed to have gone back to simply calling it the Main Street bridge. 50 years later, it’s not surprising if you’re not familiar with Elmira’s Bicentennial Bridge.