Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Monday, September 11, 2006

An Image of Fred Case's Hotel on Fifth Avenue Near 3rd Street Before it Burned in About May 1892


The image below shows a structure built in Pelhamville in about 1852 that was destroyed by fire in about May, 1892. For many years it served as a hotel and was known as "Fred Case's Hotel". Years ago, Pelham's former Town Historian William R. Montgomery wrote that in its early days the hotel was a meeting place for "peddlers and sporting men".

Montgomery says that in the early days of the hotel, Mount Vernon authorities went on a "crusade" to rid their village of peddlers. The peddlers simply moved to Fred Case's Hotel in Pelhamville. Older residents told Montgomery that it became a "common sight to see three or four men leave Fred Case's each morning in hired hacks to canvass nearby places, including Mount Vernon." According to Montgomery:

"Fred Case's hotel was well known throughout the county for the high standard it maintained in both dry and wet goods. It was at this hotel in October 1855 that Samuel J. Tilden, then a young lawyer, made several addresses. H was running for Attorney General on the ticket of the Liquor Dealers and the Constitutional Rights Party.

Fred Case's Hotel was likewise noted for its many cock fights which were conducted by the sporting element from the nearby communities. It was the destruction of the old hotel that stimulated the people of the village of Pelhamville to organize a regular fire department."


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