1879 North Main Street Fire
Located on North Main Street in the Village of Broadalbin, next to the Masonic Temple
On January 29, 1879, shortly after midnight, the fire was discovered inside the building by Louis Lee. Because of the heavy smoke, he didn’t risk descending to the first floor and instead escaped the conflagration from a second floor window, sliding to the ground on an icy plank. Lee sounded the alarm by ringing the bell at the Baptist church, the closest to the building. It was custom to ring the bell at the closest church at the time to sound the alarm of fire. The wind was strong, whipping the flames through North Main Street. In less than three hours, sixteen businesses were destroyed. No lives were lost. Rebuilding began as soon as possible, with the south end buildings constructed from brick and the north end of wood.