The Romance of Norwalk

South Norwalk was nearly wiped out of existence May 17, 1875, by a fire which swept the business section of the city and caused damages of more than $125,000, an enormous cost in those days. Flames were discovered at 3 140 in the morning in the factory of the Lounsbury Brothers and Rock¬ well Co., shoe manufacturers, located on the site of the present store of Rogers and Stevens, South Main st. The policeman who first smelled smoke, immediately turned in an alarm which called out the South Norwalk fire department. No sooner had the latter arrived than an explosion shook the Lounsbury plant, the force of the concussion blowing out windows in stores some distance away. The men saw at once that the fire was getting out of control and so they sent a hurried call to Norwalk which hastened to dispatch two fire companies. By this time it was after four in the morning and flames had eaten through the factory of the Lounsbury company and were rapidly consuming the founda¬ tions of the structure of the Fairfield Insurance Co.’s build¬ ing, next door, north. A consultation was held and it was decided to lay a line of hose from a nearby cistern and to attempt to gain con¬ trol of the fire in that manner. All went well for awhile and the thousands of townspeople who had gathered in the excite¬ ment thought that the rest of the city was safe. They breathed sighs of relief, but they reckoned too optimistically for no sooner had the firemen succeeded in getting a good stream of water leveled at the burning buildings, than the cistern supply gave out. Frantically, the firemen jerked the hose from the cistern and dragged it to a second, some dis¬ tance away. During the intermission, the fire gained a fresh “OLD WELL /' SOUTH NORWALK 325 hold and spread to the upper stories of the Fairfield Fire Insurance Co.’s building. Here were housed the Old Well club rooms and the rooms of the City Council. Officials dashed up to the council chambers only to discover that all the valuable papers and records had gone up in smoke. Panic struck other business men whose buildings were in the vicinity. They, seeing destruction threatening their own plants, made valiant efforts to get furnishings, materials, and records, safely to the streets. Some succeeded, others failed. The fire continued to gain headway. Both the big buildings housing the Lounsbury company and the Insurance com¬ pany were razed and the flames traveled to a block of stores which were housed in a low, wooden, one story building stretching from the Insurance company building on South Main St., to the corner of Washington st. For a time it was feared that the fire. would spread to the South Norwalk steamboat dock. The flames were finally brought under control when they were checked by the south wall of the Lounsbury building, next to the present Donnelly building. The Evening Sentinel, which was then housed on the up¬ per floors of the building now occupied by Donnelly’s on South Main st., was threatened for a time but the flames spread north instead of south and so it was saved. The Lounsbury Co. suffered most in the fire, its loss being $75,- 000, only $59,000 of which was covered by insurance. The Fairfield Insurance Co. suffered a loss of $15,000, being insured for $12,000. The small stores in the long, low building on South Main to the corner of Washington sts. suffered damages from $200 to several thousands of dollars. LIBRARIES— TELEPHONES Chapter XXIX Four Libraries In Norwalk — First W as Commenced In 18y8 — Steamship uAdelphi)} Explodes in Harbor Killing Many — First Telephones In City Regarded as Fakes — Telegrams In Olden Days Used Only In Urgent Cases. A house to house canvass through the streets of Norwalk in the year 1878 resulted in a collection of more than 500 volumes and provided a nucleus for the founding of the South Norwalk Library, now on West Washington st. Pre¬ vious to this time, 30 business men had met in the council chambers, July 6, 1877 and heard General Nelson Taylor present the idea of founding a free reading room. A com¬ mittee composed of E. Hill, R. H. Golden, C. W. Doty, G. S. Kendall, and Nelson Dickerman, was named to devise a plan and execute it. Members reported November 17, 1877, recommending: first, the formation of a corporation; second, the raising of a fund for a lot and the erection of a building; third, the establishment of an income for the maintenance of the institution. / SOUTH NORWALK LIBRARY January 1, 1878, the South Norwalk Library and Free Reading room came into legal existence with General Nelson Taylor as president; E. Hill, vice president; and C. W. Knudsen, treasurer. Rev. James M. Taylor, a staunch sup¬ porter of the idea was the first librarian. Life membership in the corporation cost $4 a year. After the 500 volumes were collected under the joint direction of the librarian, John W. Scott and Nelson Dickerman, they were placed on the shelves of a small free reading room on South Main st., 326 LIBRARIES— TELEPHONES 3*1 supported by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. The little reading room prospered. Small gifts were made, benefit affairs were given. Friends and supporters of the library were not idle, using their time to make plans for a library building and grounds. A lot was purchased on lower Washington st., in 1880 for $1,200. In March 1885, it was voted to build according to plans submitted by General Taylor, T. I. Raymond and Christian Swartz, a committee of three. It was about this time that the W. C. T. U. reading room closed and so the library books had to be stored for six months in the basement of the South Norwalk Baptist church. Due to the fact that some difficulty was experienced in the raising of the money, the building planned did not materialize. Instead, a plain three story business block was erected. On the first floor was a store to which was annexed a one story addition fitted up for the library and reading room. A tenant was found who took the store at $200 a year, “with the agreement to fur¬ nish light and heat and to take care of the room and books, which solved the question of attendance.” The remainder of the building was rented to other tenants. This building, 108 Washington st., now houses the Fox Cycle and Hard¬ ware Co. Here was an institution started without a dollar of capital or a single book, grown after a few years, into a corporation owning property worth about $9,000 with its liabilities well in hand and its running expenses provided for. The building was formally opened September 30, 1885. In 1890, the library and reading room were made free and the property transferred to the city, the gift from the library directors being accepted by the city December 9, 1890. A tax of 1-4 mill annually amounting to about $1,300 to $1,800 was laid for its support. In 1900 a bequest was made to the library of the interest of $1,000 ’by Robert H. Rowan, a life member of the old corporation. This appears to be the only large money gift in the history of the library. The first board of directors of the reorganized library in¬ cluded: Col. Leslie Smith, A. Blanchard, W. B Reed, T. I. 328 ROMANCE OF NORWALK Raymond, C. F. Hallock, R. H. Golden, Charles Adams, G. S. North and J. J. Cavanagh. C. F. Hallock was elected first president and Angeline Scott, librarian, dating from January 3, 1891. A. Blanchard became president in 1895. Miss Scott served 15 years as librarian until 1905 when she resigned in order to be married. The next three librarians were: Miss Frances Pelton, Middletown, 1905; Miss Flor¬ ence L. Stoddard, Salem, Mass., 1906; Miss Abigail Farren, New Haven, 1907. Early in 1908 Miss Farren urged the library hoard to apply to the Carnegie Foundation for a new library building. George North, chairman of the library committee gave Miss Farren permission to write to the Carnegie Committee. Miss Eva C. Goeppinger, formerly of Ravenna, Ohio, a pupil of Miss Farren’s and assistant librarian in the South Norwalk Library from 1909 to 1924, was given permission to write to her Cousin Adolph Groetzinger of Pittsburgh, a mem¬ ber of the Carnegie Committee. Through the efforts of both librarians, according to the friends of each, the South Norwalk Library received a grant of $20,000 for a building. In return, the city was to agree to provide a suita¬ ble site for the building and to maintain the library at a cost of not less than $2,000 a year. An option was secured on a piece of property, corner of North Main and Pine sts. in 1908 but the proposition died. It was revived in 19 1 1 and a site secured on the corner of Washington and Frank¬ lin sts. The property was purchased and in March, 1913, the new building, the present library, was completed. Many gifts were received then and in future years, a partial list being given in the appendix. Mrs. Agnes Blanchard became librarian in December 1908, serving until October, 1926, when she resigned be¬ cause of illness. Miss Ella C. Lindeberg was appointed in December, 1926, and she is still serving. Well liked, she has rendered the library invaluable service by starting a col¬ lection of children’s books, duplicates of the best books writ¬ ten for children, keeping the books apart from the regular Horse Car On West Avenue In such a conveyance, one of several operated by the Norwalk Horse Railway or “Red Line”, did the residents ride 60 years ago. Early South Norwalk Library This library in the year 1885 was housed in a business block, 108 Wash¬ ington street. The store, 1929, housed the Fox Cycle and Hardware Co. LIBRARIES— TELEPHONES 329 library shelves, as a reference collection for the use of par¬ ents and teachers. The present board of directors includes H011. John H. Light, president; William P. Ward, vice- president; J. Frederick McMahon, secretary; Burgis D. Jennings, treasurer; Charles B. Miller, Joseph Davis, Fran¬ cis H. Northrop and Charles J. Taylor. NORWALK ' LIBRARY