More on the History of the Pelham Bridge Hotel that Burned Down on October 28, 1882

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On the evening of Tuesday, October 13, 1874, the Democrat delegates of the First Assembly District were in their places ready to begin their annual convention at Pelham Bridge Hotel to nominate a candidate for member of Assembly to represent the district during the upcoming year.  Though the Pelham Bridge Hotel was lovely and convenient, there was the annoyance of the notorious hotel bar that was the scene of so many fights and shocking incidents.  That night, it turned out, there was another such incident.

 The convention was called to order and two men were nominated to serve as Chair of the meeting.  That was as far as the meeting got.  "[S]everal outsiders who were under the influence of bad liquor" began heckling and interfering with the meeting.  Pelham Bridge Hotel was "far away from the protection of any police."  Thus, the delegates rose to resist the disturbance and "a regular melee ensued."  It seemed like something out of an old western as a fight broke out in the saloon and cowboys began fighting each other and smashing all the furniture in sight, finally drawing their revolvers on each other.

According to one account:  "Furniture and other articles were smashed, revolvers were drawn, and a hasty retreat through the windows was resorted to by many."  Having the edge in numbers, the delegates finally "overpowered and subdued" the "outsiders" so that the convention could proceed.

It was just another evening in the life of the little Pelham Bridge Hotel.

I have written about the hotel before.  See Mon., Aug. 01, 2016:  Pelham Bridge Hotel Used by Col. Delancey Astor Kane's Pelham Coach Burned Down in 1882.  Today's Historic Pelham article provides additional information regarding the history of the once-famous (some would say infamous) Pelham Bridge Hotel.  

By the time of the melee during the Democrats' annual convention at Pelham Bridge Hotel in 1874, the hotel had become a popular location for political meetings.  It offered not only a convenient location, but also the sustenance of strong drink to fuel spirited political debates. 

The Pelham Bridge Hotel was built in about the early 1850s.  It stood on the side of the road at the southern end of Pelham Bridge.  By 1882, the hotel complex included two buildings, one on each side of the road at the southern end of the bridge.

The first proprietor of the Pelham Bridge Hotel was a man named Larry Fowler.  Fowler was succeeded by George P. Arcularius who ran the hotel for a number of years.  In 1880, the owner of the hotel property offered it for lease to a new proprietor.  That new proprietor was Robert S. Spurge who operated the hotel until it burned down on October 28, 1882. 


Spurge reinvigorated the aging hotel.  He repaired it and furnished it lavishly.  He arranged for Colonel Delancey Kane to stop his Pelham "Tally Ho" coach at the hotel on its way from the Hotel Brunswick in New York City to New Rochelle (its terminus in 1881 and 1882). 


Only weeks before the Pelham Bridge Hotel burned to the ground, Spurge invested in construction of a new causeway that extended one hundred feet into the waters of Eastchester Bay so that boats could access his establishment even at low tide.  Ever the entrepreneur, Spurge also made the causeway available to fishermen "to enjoy themselves without rowing out into the bay."  Such sportsmen, of course, would need to avail themselves of strong refreshments after a hard day of angling.
A terrible fire, about which I have written before, burned down the hotel in the early morning hours of October 28, 1882.  Though the cause of the fire was never determined, it was believed to have begun in the kitchen of the hotel.
Care must be taken when researching the history of Pelham Bridge Hotel.  Although the one that burned on October 28, 1882 was named the Pelham Bridge Hotel, there were other hotels located at Pelham Bridge over the years.  Occasionally, references to other such hotels as "Pelham Bridge Hotel" were merely shorthand for the fact that it was a hotel located at Pelham Bridge.  Indeed, in the years after the actual Pelham Bridge Hotel burned, the Grand View Hotel managed by William John Elliott frequently was referenced as the "Pelham Bridge Hotel."

 Detail from Engraving Published in 1884 Showing Old Iron Pelham Bridge

Where David Blizzard and Augustus Lawrence Served as Bridge Keepers.

Source:  "PELHAM PARK, NEW YORK. -- DRAWN BY CHARLES GRAHAM.", Harper's

Weekly, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1442, 1884, pp. 514 & 521. Note that the iron arches of the bridge

are visible in the distance on the right edge of the image.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"POLITICAL ITEMS. . . .

The Democratic Assembly Convention of this district will meet at the Central Hotel, White Plains, next Tuesday.

The Democratic Assembly Convention of the First District will meet on the same day at Pelham Bridge Hotel.  The convention will also elect eight delegates to the congressional convention. . . ."

Source:  POLITICAL ITEMS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 9, 1874, p. 1, col. 2.

"FIRST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT.

The delegates from the city of Yonkers, the town of Westchester, and the three old towns of West Farms, Kingsbridge, and Morrisania, (now constituting the 23rd and 24th wards of the city,) to the convention called to nominate a candidate for member of assembly met at Pelham Bridge Hotel Tuesday, and had rather a stirring time, in consequence of the presence of several outsiders who were under the influence of bad liquor, and of the unfortunate circumstance that they were far away from the protection of any policy.

Mr. Wm. Havens, of Westchester, called the meeting to order, and the names of Mr. Hugh Lunny and Mr. Abraham S. Radcliffe were proposed for Chairman of the convention.  Then the disturbance was commenced by outsiders, and was resisted by the delegates, so that a regular melee ensued.  Furniture and other articles were smashed, revolvers were drawn, and a hasty retreat through the windows was resorted to by many.  The outsiders were finally overpowered and subdued, so that the business of the convention was proceeded with, and Mr. Lunny was elected Chairman.  From the 23d and 24th wards of the city of New York, and two wards of the city of Yonkers, there were two sets of delegates, the respective claims of which to seats in the convention were adjusted by a committee appointed for that purpose, and the following were admitted.

Twenty-third Ward -- Charles Monk, Michael Lennon, John F. Rice, James Reilley, John Robertson, John Mooney, P. Kane, D. Malone, T. Conners, Lawrence Green, Lawrence Dacy, Pat O'Hare, Wm. Balmer, Wm. Lennehan.

Twenty-fourth Ward -- John Bussing, P. McCarthy, M. E. Reilley, Fred Meyer, Charles Clark, B. B. Valentinie, Chris Keenan, Pat Gormly, J. Coffin, Wm. Martin.

Westchester -- Hugh Lunny, Pat. J. Kellett, Thomas Bible, Thomas O'Brien, W. H. Waters.

Yonkers -- John Lacy, Thomas Eigan, John Kennedy, G. W. Rau, Jacob Reid, John McCall, Michael Welsh, J.J. Widman E. Whalon, Robert Neville, Pat Curran, John McGowan, M. Mooney. 

The names of Hon. J. C. Courter and Dennis R. Shiel were proposed as candidates for member of Assembly.

It was stated by some of the friends of Mr. Courter that he did not desire the nomination, and on taking the first ballot Mr. Shield received 30 of the 43 votes cast, whereupon his nomination, and on taking the first ballot Mr. Shield received 30 of the 43 votes cast, whereupon his nomination was declared unanimous, and the nominated appropriately acknowledged the compliment.

The following persons were chosen delegates to the Congressional Convention:  Charles Monks and John Rogge of Morrisania; M. E. Reilley and B. B. Valentine of West Farms; Patrick Gormley, of Kingsbridge; Hugh Lunny, of Westchester; Thomas Eagan, and Peter U. Fowler of Yonkers."

Source:  FIRST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 16, 1874, p. 2, col. 1.  

"LOCAL NEWS. . . .

Mr. R. S. Spurge, the well-known and hospitable host of the Pelham Bridge Hotel, has built a new causeway, extending 100 feet into the water; and making his float accessible for boats at the lowest tide.  It also enables fishermen to enjoy themselves without rowing out into the bay. . . ."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 8, 1882, p. 3, col. 1.


"CITY ISLAND AND PELHAM.

At two o'clock last Saturday morning, the old Pelham Bridge Hotel comprising two buildings, one on each side of the road at the southern end of Pelham Bridge was burned to the ground.  Thirty years ago, Larry Fowler became landlord.  After Fowler, Geo. P. Arcularius ran the house for a number of years.  Recently, R. S. Spurge has kept the place.  Col. Delancey Kane's Tally-ho coach always stopped at the inn, when running to New Rochelle.  The cause of the fire is unknown.  The loss is $15,000.  Mr. Spurge's principal loss is on the furniture on which there was but a small amount of insurance. . . ."

Source:  CITY ISLAND AND PELHAM, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 3, 1882, p. 3, col. 3.  

"A Landmark Removed. 

As briefly stated in our last issue, at 4 o'clock on Saturday morning last, the old Pelham Bridge Hotel, at Pelham Bridge, was burned to the gournd.  Thirty years ago Larry Fowler became landlord.  The house was then in its glory.  Not a driving party thought of going by without stopping.  Commodore Vanderbilt always stopped to have his horses watered, and all the sporting men of New York, New Rochelle and throughout Westchester County, occasionally passed a merry evening there.  It was on the only good drive from the city.  The road began at Corporal Thompson's place, which was a frame building, where the Fifth Avenue Hotel now stands, and cutting diagonally across Madison Square Garden to Harlem Bridge, and so along to the inn, six miles beyond.  After Fowler, Harry Arcularius ran the house for a number of years.  Last spring, R. S. Spurge, who formerly ran the Huguenot Hotel of this village, leased the hotel and premises now burned, and furnished and kept the same in magnificent style.  Col. De Lancy [sic] Kane's Tallyho coach always stopped at the inn when running to New Rochelle.  Mr. Spurge was in the city at the time of the fire.  It is thought that the fire broke out in the kitchen.  The loss is supposed to be between $10,000 and $15,000.  William Layton was the owner." 

Source:  A Landmark Removed, The New Rochelle Pioneer, Nov. 4, 1882, p. 3, col. 3.

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