As U.S. involvement in WWI begins, Hannibal experiences devastating fire

This photo, taken in October 1917, shows the total devastation of the fire which consumed the Robinson Bros. Paint and Wallpaper Company on South Main Street. Steve Chou collection.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

On Oct. 17, 1917, the U.S. Army troopship USAT Antilles was torpedoed in the Bay of Biscay by a German submarine. The Antilles was hit after transporting American troops to France. It was initially reported that 16 soldiers and four men from the Navy were lost.

That same day, lightning struck back home in Hannibal, resulting in a catastrophic fire.

The lighting strike, described by witnesses as “a massive ball of fire,” hit the Robinson building, located in the 100 block of South Main Street.

Edward Beasley, a foot patrolman for the Hannibal Police Department, was stationed on Broadway, and turned in the alarm to Hannibal’s three fire stations: No. 1, located at 205 S. Fourth; No. 2, at 1634 Market; and No. 3, located at 501 Union, South Hannibal.

The front page of the Hannibal Courier-Post of Oct. 17, 1917, carried news from the Associated Press regarding the U.S. entry into the war in Europe, as well as news of the local fire:

“Lightning starts fire causing $75,000 loss … Worst blaze in years.”

The newspaper offered a lively commentary which captured the local fire’s intensity:

“Quick response from the three fire departments brought the fighters into action within a short time after the strike. Already, however, the flames were leaping high into the air and had broken through the roof. Several lines of hose were laid and, under the direction of Chief T.B. Parks, the battle with the blaze was on.”

Fire department personnel identified in the 1916 Hannibal City Directory:

Chief: T.B. Parks, headquarters 205 S. Fourth;

Drivers No. 1: Otis Niday and Wm. Lacey;

Hoseman No. 1: D.F. Mahoney, John Varney, Otto Schulten;

Driver No. 2: F.M. Gay, 1634 Market;

Hoseman No. 2: Wm. Groves, Wm. Gwinner;

Driver No. 3: Fifth and Union, S.S., Elmer Miller; hoseman, Louis Spencer; minute man, Elmer Martin; utility man, Harry Tomer.

Suffering heavy losses:

(Addresses are calculated)

Hendricks pool room, 113 S. Main, building owned by Glenn Brown, Hull, Ill.;

Avery Burch Furniture Company, 115 S. Main;

Robinson Bros. Paint and Wall Paper Company building, 117-119 S. Main;

Unique cafe, Louis Anthers, proprietor, 121 S. Main;

Windsor hotel, 123 S. Main, owned by Miss Anna McCooey;

Windsor hotel barber shop, David C. Handly, proprietor; and

Windsor bar, John O’Donnell, proprietor.

Policemen O’Day, Edward G. Beasley and Thomas E. Fitzpatrick were among the first on the scene.

The aforementioned two-story, two-store-front Robinson building was completely destroyed, with only the walls remaining. The Quincy Daily Herald reported on the day of the fire that "the Avery-Burch store was practically burned out, though some parts of the front of the store were not reached by the flames. The third floor of the Windsor Hotel was burned off and the rest of the building with its furnishings, thoroughly water soaked. Most of the damage to the cafe and the billiard hall was done by smoke and water.”

The fire served as a catalyst for the reconfiguring of the west side of the 100 block of South Main Street.

Windsor Hotel

Less than a month after the fire, rumor spread through Hannibal that Annie McCooey, owner of the Windsor Hotel, damaged by the fire, was negotiating with the Robinsons of the paint and wallpaper business to buy out their destroyed building, and expand the Windsor Hotel onto that lot.

The Hannibal Evening Courier-Post reported on Nov. 14, 1917: “Miss McCooey is the owner of the Windsor hotel building at South Main and Church streets, which joins the lots owned by Robinson Bros. The opinion prevails in the business district of the city that a large hotel, modern in every respect, will be erected on the ground.”

About seven weeks after the fire, on Dec. 3, 1917, the rumor was confirmed. Annie T. McCooey, owner of the fire-damaged Windsor Hotel, purchased the north half of Lot 1 and the south half of Lot 2 in Block 13, Hannibal, from Robinson Bros. Paint and Wall Paper Co., for $11,000. She thus expanded the hotel’s footprint to the north.

The fire-damaged hotel underwent an extensive renovation. According to Hannibal Morning Journal, dated Feb. 17, 1918, the hotel had 38 rooms, including:

Twenty-five rooms equipped with hot and cold water.

Four rooms equipped with private shower baths, while other rooms had access to bath rooms located on each floor.

The building was equipped with electric lights and electric bells.

Miss McCooey invested more than $20,000 in remodeling and refurnishing the hotel.

Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Coons were hired to manage the hotel.

It reopened on Monday, Feb. 17, 1918, four months after the fire.

In the meantime, the Robinsons moved into the refurbished building previously occupied by Avery-Burch, a double store-front building located in the middle of Lot 2, Block 13. Their new address became 119 S. Main.

Early in the century

Robert (1848-1932) and Thomas Robinson (1848-1914), Irish immigrants, were painters in Hannibal as early as October 1874, when they won the bid for painting the benches in the public square, for which they were paid $3.

They were in business offering custom house signs, glazing, paper hanging and kalsomining, at 515 Broadway in 1875. By 1879, they were in business at 103 S. Main (east side of the street.)

They moved their business to the west side of S. Main Street, the north two-thirds of Lot 1, Block 13, by 1888, in a location previously occupied by a printer. Directly to the south of the Robinsons’ new location, (in 1885) was the post office.

A fire in 1893 demolished their building. At that time they built the two store-front structure, located on the south half of Lot 2 and the North half of Lot 1, Block 13, which was destroyed in the 1917 fire.

Expansion

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Thomas and Robert Robinson expanded their paint and wallpaper holdings, by entering into the furniture business.

In 1901, they occupied three consecutive store fronts, located in the south two-thirds of Lot 2, and the north one-third of Lot 1, Section 13.

In mid December, 1909, the Robinsons sold the furniture portion of their business to Mr. Cary, of Illinois. Mr. C. Henry Burch, who worked for the Robinson brothers, was to continue in his position as store manager. The furniture store occupied the building at what was known as 118 S. Main, while the paint store occupied the double building next door.

NOTE: Between 1911 and 1912, the address on South Main Street were switched: Even numbers were assigned to the east side of the street. Odd numbers were assigned to the west side of the street.

By 1912, the furniture store was known as Avery-Burch Furniture, with F.H. Avery as president; F.E. Avery, secretary and treasurer; and Charles H. Burch, vice president and manager. The store was located at 117-119 S. Main, on the west side of the street.

(After the fire, Avery-Burch Furniture relocated to 317-319 Broadway.)

Today

All of Lots 1 and 2, O.T. Block 13, are now owned by Curry Cave Properties. This includes the building that most recently housed American Decor, and the parking lot to the south. This is the  building that housed Robinson Bros. Paint and Wallpaper Company from 1918 into the 1970s. It was owned by the Robinson family until 1950.

Horse power?

Note: The responding fire vehicles may have been horse-driven. According to the Hannibal Labor Press on Aug. 4, 1960, “At the City Council meeting of Sept. 21, 1920, the fire chief was given the power to dispose of the fire horses, harnesses and equipment of fire department No. 3.

Also, “At the regular meeting of the City Council held August 1, 1921 … The Council voted to give the old fire horse known as Oscar to a local citizen, Henry Clancy.”

Note: Thomas Robinson, original co-owner of Robinson Bros. Paint and Wallpaper Co., is the great-grandfather of the author of this article, Mary Lou Montgomery.

Advertisement for Robinson Bros., furniture store, Sept. 22, 1900. Hannibal Courier-Post. newspapers.com

This illustration pulls together four Sanborn Fire Prevention maps to show how the landscape of the east side of the 100 block of South Main Street changed between 1885 and the early 1950s. Note the black lines which denote the lot numbers; lot one is at the right on each map. Calculations are approximate. The last Sanborn map was shared by Judy Cernea. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery.

George Pace, who took this photo, was the long-time owner and operator of the Windsor Hotel. Note the three-story brick addition that had been added to the rear of the building. A barber shop and a saloon typically occupied this side of the hotel building.This view of the old Windsor Hotel was taken from the northwest corner  Steve Chou collection.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com