LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio Acouple of weeks ago, I wrote about the early water lines in LeRoy. Here is some more information from an article that I wrote in October 1991. In 1875, a pipe was laid across the Main Street bridge to supply water to a hydrant on Trigon Park. The water was to be pumped by the steam powered pumps of the Prentice Mill on Mill Street (the former LeRoy Mill). The newspaper reported: “The trial of the machinery a few days ago satisfied every beholder that the great squirt gun just finished can flood the highest building in the village and at the same time drown every insurance agent in town and have four hydrants left to squirt every man who can, but won’t pay their debts.” So, for twenty years, Prentice was able to supply water when needed. Prentice charged $400 a year to “be on call” in case of fire. Suddenly, he decided to charge $1000. The Village fathers balked. Prentice threatened to shut off the water. The village fathers met on November 4th and decided they would lease a steam pump from the American Fire Company of Seneca Falls until a new pumping station would be readied. It would cost $20 a week to lease the steamer and on November 11 it arrived. The next day they fired up the steamer and reached a head of steam in 18 minutes, but they couldn’t get water into the boiler. They tried a couple of days later and discovered that the flues were defective. An expert from Seneca Falls arrived and fixed the steamer. They fired it up again and brought it up to 110 pounds of pressure. Apparently, there were still problems because according to the LeRoy Gazette on November 25th another steamer had to be brought to LeRoy. By now, the Village building on Bank Street was filled with fire equipment. According to the newspaper there were “two hose carts, (one is still around); the Babcock Chemical engine, (which is still around somewhere), the Hook and Ladder, (which was around a few years ago) and the Protective wagon and the new Silsby steamer.” The next day, Prentice shut off the power to the water pumps at the mill and the “public was earnestly requested to take every precaution and avert fires.” Almost a month later the fire departments were put to the test when a fire broke out in the cooper shop. (Not sure where it was located.) The Hooks arrived first and commenced to tear down the burning timbers. They were followed by the Chemicals who worked on saving the building next door. (The Chemical wagon was like a giant chemical fire extinguisher.) The new steamer arrived but there was confusion as to where they could draft water. Finally, water from the Salt Company was used and the steamer worked efficiently with 70 pounds of pressure. By January 13, of 1897, the new water works was in operation. I assume that as soon as the safety of the village was assured, the village fathers wasted no time in sending the Silsby back to Seneca Falls. A month later, the new water system was used for the first time when the W. Matthews Malting Company on Church Street went up in flames. It’s hard to imagine fighting fires before there were water lines in town. It certainly was a time when fire departments were known as cellar savers. The most important piece of equipment was the “protectives wagon.” The job of the protectives was to run into the burning building and carry out furniture and goods, and protect them from being stolen or damaged. It was mandatory that each house provide water buckets to form a bucket brigade. The buckets had to be marked so they could be returned after the fire. The number of buckets was determined by the number of chimneys in a house. There had to be two lines in the bucket brigade. One to take filled water buckets to the fire, and the other to bring empty buckets back to the source of water. It was often futile. The “thrower” had to be close to the fire and often would change places with another person. LeRoy also had a hand pumper, and the job of the bucket brigade was to fill the tank of the pumper. In 1855, the north side of Main Street caught fire. The newspaper reported “the men and boys under the direction of Engineer Barber, set up a bucket brigade from the creek near the bridge”. The buckets filled the tub of the hand pumper positioned near the fire. The men worked furiously on the wooden sweeps to pump water on the fire. For a while it was feared that the flames would leap Mill Street to the building known as the Dock (where the Post Office is today.) Two houses were destroyed on Bacon Street. Twenty-six businesses were destroyed.Within a year, everything had been rebuilt, including the Washington Block, which still stands on the north side of Main Street. Water Pressure