1926 — Feb 22, Fire, Schindler’s Prairie House, Hurleyville, NY — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-27-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–12 Conway, John. “Retrospect.” January 27, 2006.
–12 Conway. “Retrospect. Washington’s Birthday Holiday Ends in Tragedy.” Facebook, 2-23-2018.
–11 NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Apr, 1926, 393.
–11 NFPA. “Loss of Life in Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the NFPA, V. 23, No. 3, Jan 1930, 313.
Narrative Information
Conway: “A…famous, and sadly…tragic hotel fire occurred in Hurleyville on Washington’s Birthday in 1926. A fire that started in the fireplace in the central lobby destroyed Schindler’s Prairie House, killing 12 people. The resulting investigation changed New York state’s fire laws governing resorts, and changed resort owners attitudes toward fire safety. In 1927, the state enacted a law requiring hotels to maintain fire escape appliances in all rooms, and forbidding the issuance of an operating certificate until after an inspection had revealed that the law had been complied with.” (Conway, John. “Retrospect.” January 27, 2006.)
Conway: “….One of the hotel’s employees, 19 year old Julius Jacobson of Hurleyville, who was working that night only because he was filling in for a friend, escaped from the third floor only to re-enter the building again and again to rescue others. Jacobson saved several guests, but was burned so badly in doing so that he was finally rushed to the hospital, where he eventually died. [Blanchard notes: Newspaper accounts, noted below have the death toll at 11, while noting Conway was in critical condition in a Monticello hospital. Thus his death was the twelfth.]
“By most accounts, the fire claimed a total of 12 lives, including those who died in the hospital, though some historical reports have put that number at 13. More than 25 persons were injured.”
(Conway, John. “Retrospect. Washington’s Birthday Holiday Ends in Tragedy.” Facebook, 2-23-2018.)
National Fire Protection Association: “Eleven lives were lost in a fire which destroyed a hotel of stucco, wood frame construction. The fire apparently started from a chimney on a level with the third floor of the hotel. It spread rapidly through the top floor and then downward through the center of the structure, cutting off the use of the stairways by the occupants. The alarm was delayed and by the time the firemen arrived the building was a mass of flames. Smoke seeping under the doors awakened some of the guests and many escaped by leaping from the windows. One of the men who sustained fatal burns escaped from the hotel and then returned to rescue other guests. He carried four women to safety before he collapsed. Several other men were seriously burned while attempting to aid other guests.” (NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Apr, 1926, p. 393.)
National Fire Protection Association: “Eleven guests lost. their lives in a fire which destroyed this hotel, which catered to winter sport activities. Fire apparently started around a chimney on the third floor and spread rapidly through the stucco and frame structure.” (NFPA. “Loss of Life in Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the NFPA, V. 23, No. 3, Jan 1930, 313.)
Newspaper
Feb 22: “Hurleyville, N.Y., Feb. 22. – Five persons were burned to death here today when flames swept Schwindler’s Prairie hotel. Six others are missing and at least 20 are in hospitals suffering from injuries sustained when they jumped. Two of these probably will die. There were 40 week-end guests in the hotel, most of them from New York City. Smoldering soft coal is blamed for starting the fire. Hotel employees rounded up the guests and took them to other resort hotels in this village…” (Port Arthur News (TX). “5 Persons Die in Hotel Fire,” 2-22- 1926, p. 1)
Feb 23, Middletown Times-Press, NY: “Hurleyville, Feb. 23 – Nine persons, eight men and one woman, were burned to death early Monday morning when Shindler’s Prairie House, one mile southeast of Hurleyville, burned like tinder. Thirty others were injured. Some of the dead were employes, others guests, visitors from new York and Brooklyn, who came to the hotel to spend the Washington Birthday holiday. Parts of eight bodies, burned almost to a crisp, had been recovered from the ruins this morning. One man, believed a guest at the hotel, was still missing. Four of the eight bodies recovered have been identified as hotel employes and the remaining four are thought to be guests at first listed as missing. They are so badly charred, however, that identification may be impossible. Most of the dead were asleep in upstairs rooms, and were trapped by flames in their beds….” (Middletown Times-Press, NY. “9 Dead in Hotel Fire. Inn Near Hurleyville Proves Death Trap for Guests and Employes.” 2-23-1926, p. 1.)
Feb 24, Associated Press: “Monticello., Feb. 24 (AP). – Two additional victims of the Prairie House fire, on Monday, died in the Monticello Hospital last night, bringing the total death to 11. The two who died last night were Harry Miller, 23, of New York, and May Friedman, 23, of Brooklyn. Miller, after escaping from the burning hotel, returned to rescue other guests. Witnesses said he carried four women to safety. One other patient in the Monticello Hospital, Julius Jacobson, is not expected to live. Only two of the bodies taken from the hotel ruins have been identified.” (Associated Press. “Prairie Hotel Death Toll 11, 1 More Dying.” Syracuse Herald, NY. 2-24-1926, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Prairie Hotel Death Toll 11, 1 More Dying.” Syracuse Herald, NY. 2-24-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-feb-24-1926-p-2/
Conway, John. “Retrospect.” January 27, 2006. Accessed at: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:cZ00U8hR9pQJ:cindertrackbicycles.net/Documents/OW%2520RR%2520Hurleyville%2520by%2520John%2520Conway.doc+Hurleyville+NY+Hotel+fire&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Conway, John. “Retrospect. Washington’s Birthday Holiday Ends in Tragedy.” Facebook, 2-23-2018. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1766536480093753&id=152604468153637&comment_id=1766950353385699
National Fire Protection Association. “Famous Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 23, No. 3, January 1930, pp. 297-315.
Middletown Times-Press, NY. “9 Dead in Hotel Fire. Inn Near Hurleyville Proves Death Trap for Guests and Employes.” 2-23-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/middletown-daily-times-press-feb-23-1926-p-1/
National Fire Protection Association. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, April 1926, p. 393.
Port Arthur News, TX. “5 Persons Die in Hotel Fire,” 2-22-1926, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=21018506