Glen’s Falls in the Apostrophe Era — Newspaper loses ‘little all’ in Great Fire
This is the latest in an occasional series of posts based on local 19th century news reports before Glen’s Falls dropped the apostrophe from its name.
A devastating fire swept through Glen’s Falls on May 31, 1864, destroying 112 commercial buildings and homes.
The fire, which became known locally as “The First Great Fire,” destroyed the presses but did not stop the reporting of news, or the political bantering, at The Glen’s Falls Republican weekly newspaper.
“The fatigue of both body and mind in accomplishing this result has been very great,” the Republican editorialized on June 28, 1864, when operations had returned to almost normal.
“In less than twenty-four hours after the unhappy event we had published an Extra, containing a full and quite authentic account of the fire, with the various of losses, insurance, etc.,” the Republican editorialized. “Forty-eight hours without sleep or rest we labored.”
The paper was published temporarily from the plant of the Sandy Hill Herald, in the village now known as Hudson Falls.
Management of the Republican was determined to rebuild promptly.
“Scarcely had the embers of our burning office cooled when we hastened to New York immediately and purchased type, presses, cases, racks, stones and all the paraphernalia required for a printing office. These were shipped without delay, and now, in the fourth week after the fire, we are, although not as good as new, running our own machine and printing with our own type on our own press.”
Readers at the time may have had difficulty juxtaposing the quick outlay of cash with the editor’s frequent crying of poverty over previous years.
The paper might have had insurance, or might have had good credit.
Or Democratic political backers might have chipped in to keep the party’s unofficial organ going.
(The Glen’s Falls Republican, a Democratic aligned paper, took its name before the founding of the Republican Party.)
Indeed, the Republican continued its partisan rhetoric in writing elsewhere in the June 28 issue about the re-nomination of Abraham Lincoln at the recent Republican National Convention.
“To us the announcement, although anticipated, was startling. Startling that a hundred or a thousand men with intelligent minds and a modicum of brains could so far forget their self respect, their manhood and the traditions and glories of our once happy country as to deliberately perpetrate so monstrous a fraud upon the American people.”
The paper might have been assisted in rebuilding by a fund set up for fire victims.
“The generous citizens of Albany sent during the past week $2,600 (the equivalent of $42,520 in 2019) to the village for the relief of sufferers of the recent fire,” the Republican reported in a separate June 28, 1864 report. “The sum, with that subscribed at Troy and Washington, and private donations, swells the the amount to a large purse, which judiciously distributed, will do much towards infusing new life and energy in those who lost their ‘little alls’ on the memorable 31st of May 1864.”
The fire did not purge the Republican of its racist tone.
“Thursday the President of the United States so far disgraced his exalted position as to invite a negro servant to ride in his own carriage from the Capitol to the President’s home,” the Republican reported elsewhere in the June 28 issue.
Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series.
