Early North Olean Hotels Destroyed by Fire

City Exchange Hotel, photo taken 1910
NEWBOLD HOUSE—1852-1855
(Located on the same site as the Exchange Hotel) This was the first hotel to be built at Olean Station (North Olean) and it was completed and newly furnished around September of 1852. The hotel was but a few steps from the depot and an old hand by the name of Samuel Eastry was the proprietor. Business was good at the hotel and it offered weary travelers meals for twenty-five cents. The price for boarding there was seventy-five cents and for lodging was twelve and one-half cents. A plus for the travelers was that the best of stages left the hotel daily for all parts of the country.
Eastry had charge of the hotel until about May of 1853, at which time Sharpstein and Moore leased and took possession of it until October of 1853. The following compliment was written about them, “Everyone we assume knows Levi Moore—one of the cleverest and best hearted fellows in Christendom, and just the man to our notion to succeed in the capacity of “mine host” of the Newbold House. Mr. Sharpstein has for the last two years been connected with the Haight Hotel, Elmira and necessarily brings to his new position, the right sort of qualifications and will make the Newbold House second to no other hotel in Western New York. No friend or acquaintance of “Eli’s” or “Dicks” will pass that way without giving them a Call.”
When Sharpstein and Moore left the Newbold House in October of 1853, Eli B. Nicols and Chaunce H. Titus succeeded them as the new proprietors. Eli and Chaunce spared no pains in giving entire satisfaction to all those who sojourned with them at the Newbold House.
The Newbold House had been a haven for travelers until on a Saturday morning on June 30, 1855 when this fine structure was destroyed by fire. The fire was supposed to have originated in the ironing room, which had been heated up the previous day. Since the fire had made considerable progress before it was discovered, all effort to stop the fire’s progress or to remove the furniture was useless. Only a small portion of the furniture and clothing in the building was saved.
THE RAILROAD HOUSE—1856-1881(Located on the same site as the Newbold House) This hotel was also a prominent hotel in North Olean of which Adolph Spreter was the proprietor of in 1869. On a Sunday morning in February of 1882, at about half past two in the morning, a fire was seen creeping stealthily from the corner of the woodshed that was adjoining next to the side of the Railroad House. It took only a few minutes after the alarm was sounded for the men, women and children, who were dressed only in nightclothes, to leave their beds and gather in the street. They had hastily gathered what clothes they could and were vainly trying to get dressed.
The whistle of the refinery had blown and several minutes later the bell in the town tower summoned the fire companies to action. The Acme Hose quickly on hand but with only one length of hose on their carriage were not able to do much. They did go to the refinery and barrel works and borrowed all the hose to be found, and laid a line from the refinery pump to the scene of the fire, a distance of about 800 feet. In a few minutes they had a stream of water on the fire, which by this time had gained considerable headway. The Citizens Hose came to the scene as well as the Luther Hose, the Fountains and the Pioneer “ hooks”. The Citizens’ Hose by “pooling” their hoses with the Luther’s Hose made a connection with a string of hose already laid part way from the Chemical Works pump. They succeeded in obtaining a stream of water where it would do the most good although it was too late to save the hotel, which was totally consumed by fire.
The contents of the building were nearly all saved. The building belonged to Jack Weiss and was worth about $1,800. The fire originated in the woodshed, but just how it started was a mystery. In the corner, where the blaze was first seen, a barrel of kerosene oil was located, and next to that was an ash barrel that was badly burned. The theory of many was that the fire started in the ash barrel and spread to the drippings from the oil barrel. Some others theorized that the fire was incendiary in nature.
THE CITY EXCHANGE HOTEL-1882
STILL IN EXISTENCETHE CITY EXCHANGE HOTEL was built in 1882 by Jack Weiss, the former owner of the Railroad House. On three different occasions it was threatened by fire. The hotel was slightly damaged by a fire in October of 1886 that had destroyed the Spreter House located nearby. In October of 1893 when a disastrous fire destroyed three business blocks in North Olean, the Exchange Hotel was slightly damaged by the heat that destroyed David Fehan’s Store, which was located about 35 feet to the south on Union Street. What saved the hotel was the diligence of many men who used wet carpets and quilts to put the flames out.
Once again on June 30, 1936, fire threatened the hotel. The blaze originated in the basement beneath the restaurant and taproom of the building, which was constructed of brick and veneer. The studding, dry with age, provided a six-inch flue for the flames, which ate rapidly upward in the outside walls of the building to break out in the casings of the second and third floor windows. The fire also ate through the floor of the taproom, but its spread to the main portion of the building was prevented as the firemen brought their lines into play.
At this time in history, Mrs. Frank Dunlavey of Bolivar was the owner of the building and Ignatius Piechota operated the taproom.
THE SPRETER HOUSE----1880-1886THE SPRETER HOUSE ( about where Piechota’s store was located on Pine Street) was built in 1880 by Mrs. Catherine Zimmerman Spreter. It was a two story wooden structure opposite the old Erie Depot. On October 25, 1886, shortly after eleven o’clock on a Saturday night a alarm of fire was sounded. The location of the fire was in the Sixth Ward. The fire companies responded promptly, and hurried to the scene of the fire. The Spreter House was doomed to destruction and there was no hope of saving it, even from the moment the fire was discovered. To get water it was necessary to connect with the refinery hydrant, about a distance of fifteen hundred feet. This was done by combining the hose of the different companies, the hose being passed through a culvert under the rails of the B.N.Y.& P. track. In the meantime many of the firemen had formed a bucket brigade and were doing an excellent job protecting the City Exchange Hotel and the dwelling of Mrs. Spreter. The water for this purpose was obtained from the railroad company’s hydrant through the Luther Hose Company’s hose, the pressure being so slight that nothing could be accomplished any other way. Hard work by the bucket brigade and the good stream from the refinery enabled the firemen to save the buildings that were threatened. The Spreter House and the main barn were entirely consumed, together with the fixtures of the hotel.
The fire was clearly the work of an arsonist, and was started in the front stairway of the building, gaining headway with great speed. About half a dozen different persons claimed to have the honor of discovering the fire. One story that was circulated is that a stranger entered the City Exchange Hotel and asked the proprietor, “Who owns that house over there?” Upon being informed that Mrs. Spreter was the owner, he said, “Well it is all on fire inside. I kicked the door in, but couldn’t rouse anybody.”

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By: Eileen McCartan Smith, Olean, NY All rights reserved.

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