1926 — July 14, Fire, Twilight Inn, Catskill Mountains, Haines Falls, NY — 20
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-27-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
—20 AP. “Fatalities in Tannersville Fire Now Reach Total of 20.” Norwich Sun, NY. 7-20-1926, 1.
–20 Blanchard tally
–13 unidentified
— 5 identified fire victims
— 2 deaths from injuries and complications in Tannersville hospital soon afterwards.
–19 AP. “Rescuers Still Explore Ruins in Inn Disaster.” Syracuse Herald, NY. 7-18-1926, p. 3.
–19 Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Funeral Services Held for Twilight Inn Fire Victims.” 7-19-1926, 1.
–19 Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Twilight Inn Death List Now Reaches Nineteen.” 7-17-1926, 1.
–16 Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Still Searching For Twilight Inn Victims.” 7-16-1926, p. 1.)
–14 NFPA. “Loss of Life in Hotel Fires.” NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3, Jan 1930, p. 314.[1]
–14 NFPA. “The Twilight Inn Tragedy.” NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1, July 1926, p. 180.
Narrative Information
National Fire Protection Association, 1926: “Another chapter in the infamous history of the resort hotel has been written. Twilight Inn, a popular resort hotel in the Catskill Mountains, near Haines Falls, N. Y., burned in the early morning hours of July 14, 1926…. The hotel was apparently without fire protection.” (National Fire Protection Association. Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association , Vol. 20, No. 1, July 1926, p. 180.)
NFPA, 1930: “After three days of frantic search fourteen bodies were taken from the ruins of this popular resort hotel in the Catskill Mountains. Fire occurred in the early morning hours and in addition to those who lost their lives many were injured in making their escape.
“The hotel was a typical three-story frame building. The fire is supposed to have originated on the first floor in the servants’ quarters, and was first discovered by the night watchman, who apparently found the fire then beyond control and devoted himself to rousing the guests with the help of other servants. He lost his life doing this, but the occupants of the hotel who escaped probably owe their lives to his alertness. So rapidly did the fire spread that many persons only saved their lives by jumping from the upper windows, thus sustaining severe injuries. The corridors and stairways of the building apparently became impassable early in the fire, and many of the victims were hopelessly trapped in their rooms.
“Calls were sent to the fire departments in Tannersville and Palenville. The former, three miles away, arrived first, but found the fire so advanced that they devoted their efforts to saving near-by cottages. In this they were successful. Their operations were hampered by lack of water and by the fact that the hotel was situated on an extremely steep slope of a hill. The Tannersville pumper got water from a creek 1600 feet away and 200 feet below the road level.
“Newspaper stories said that this was not the first time that a fire had occurred at the Inn, but at each previous time the fire had been extinguished while small.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Loss of Life in Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 23, No. 3, Jan 1930, pp. 327-328.)
NFPA, 1930: “A fire originating in the servants’ quarters was beyond control when discovered, The flimsy construction of the hotel contributed to the rapid spread of the flames so that many who escaped only saved their lives by jumping from the windows. Fourteen persons were trapped in their rooms and perished.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Loss of Life in Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1930, p. 314.)
Newspaper
July 14, Kingston Daily Freeman, NY: “Eleven bodies had been recovered up to noon today from the ruins of Twilight Inn at Twilight Park, Haines Falls, which was burned to the ground in a fire that broke out in the servants’ quarters about 1 o’clock this morning. The death toll was expected to be increased before night as there were still ten people missing who had not been accounted for. The hotel register was destroyed in the fire and the work of checking up the guests and help at the Inn was by memory only. The bodies recovered were so badly burned as to make identification impossible. Two of the bodies were those of women….
“There were forty-nine guests registered at the Inn and about thirty servants employed in the building….” (Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Eleven Bodies of Twilight Inn Holocaust Victims Recovered.” 7-14-1926, p. 1.)
July 16, Kingston Daily Freeman, NY: “The ruins are still being searched for the victims of the fire which destroyed Twilight Inn early Wednesday morning. Another body was found today bringing the total number recovered from the fire up to sixteen….
“Attention is not being devoted to the matter of fire escapes but it is claimed by the Wingate family, owners of the corporation which owned Twilight Inn, that the methods provided for egress met with the approval of the Board of Fire Underwriters.
“Up to the present time, three bodies have been identified. According to information received from the office of the Twilight Inn this afternoon two bodies were recovered from the ruins of the fire this morning. One of these bodies was identified at once by the parents as that of Mary Holmes of Haines Falls. Identification was made possible by a small ring on one of the fingers.
“The bodies identified up to the present time are those of the Rev. Dr. Biship of Frazer, Pa., Mrs. Ekrenbrecker of Orange, N.J., and Mary Holmes of Haines Falls.
“General George W. Wingate, president of the Twilight Park Corporation, which owned the inn, admitted on Thursday that the building had no steel or iron fire escapes and that there had been only one wooden one leading through the porch in the rear of the building. ‘This fire escape,’ General Wingate said, ‘led from the southern end of the hall on the top floor to the basement. There were two inside stairways, one at the end of each hallway by which the roof over the porch could be reached as well as the ground floor. As far as fire hazards are concerned the inn was as well equipped as any in this section of the country. Last year fire damaged the roof of Twilight Inn to the extent of about $2,000. Later an investigator for the Fire Underwriters visited the inn and inspected the place and told me that it required no further protection against fire.’….” (Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Still Searching For Twilight Inn Victims.” 7-16-1926, p. 1.)
July 17, Kingston Daily Freeman, NY: “The Twilight Inn Fire, which occurred at Haines Falls early Wednesday morning, claimed what was probably its nineteenth victim late Friday night when Mrs. F. O. Backus of Forest Hills, Long Island, died at the Red Cross hospital in Tannersville from an attack of pneumonia. Pneumonia set in Friday as a result of the very serious injuries which Mrs. Backus received in trying to escape from the burning building. She had been suffering from a broken back and fractured skull. She was 75 years of age.
“A large force of men were busy searching through the ruins today endeavoring to locate the remaining two bodies that are believed to be in the ruins at the present time. Sixteen bodies have now been recovered.
“No further progress has been made in identifying the bodies that have been recovered from the fire. Coroner Baldwin stated today that he expected to leave the bodies in the improvised morgue at least until Monday in order to give relatives every possible opportunity to identify and claim the bodies. The coroner believes someone should be able to identify two of the bodies that are still in the morgue….” (Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Twilight Inn Death List Now Reaches Nineteen.” 7-17-1926, p. 1.)
July 17, Associated Press: “Haines Falls, July 17 (AP). – All of the persons listed as missing in the fire which destroyed Twilight Inn here Wednesday are dead, officials supervising the search of the ruins decided tonight. They reached this conclusion late today when parts of two more bodies were found, bringing the total number of bodies, or portions of skeletons recovered, up to 19.
“The search was not given up even tonight, however, in the hopes that additional bodies might be found and pieced in with those already in the morgue as a further aid to identification. One small section of the inn basement, filled with a still smouldering mound of coal, remained unexplored tonight.
“Not before late tomorrow, and probably not before Monday [July 19], will decision be reached by relatives of the victims on the proposal to bury the dead in a common grave and have it marked by a tablet containing names of the missing. Only two of the bones recovered have been identified so that if the plan is carried out, the remaining 16 will find a resting place in the memorial plot….
“…the authorities remain as much in doubt as to its origin tonight as they did on the day after.” (Associated Press. “Rescuers Still Explore Ruins in Inn Disaster.” Syracuse Herald, NY. 7-18-1926, p. 3.)
July 19, Kingston Daily Freeman, NY: “The first of the common funeral services for the thirteen unidentified dead, victims of the Twilight Inn fire at Haines Falls early last Wednesday morning, was held this morning at 7:30 o’clock….
“The death toll from the fire is now nineteen. However, this is expected to mount to twenty due to the very serious condition of Mrs. Laura M. Garrett of Morristown, N.J., who is in the Tannersville Red Cross hospital. Some hopes were held out for Mrs. Garrett’s recovery until Sunday when pneumonia set in. Dr. Baldwin of Tannersville, who is attending her, now holds out little hope for her recovery.
“Only five of the bodies have been identified. These together with the thirteen unidentified bodies are believed to check with the number of persons missing. The bodies so far identified are:
The Rev. George Livingston Bishop, 76, Frazer, Pa.;
Mary Holmes, 15, Haines Falls;
Mrs. Cornelius P. Ekenbrecker, 79, Orange, N.J.;
Mrs. Henrietta Ficken, 78, Brooklyn; and
William De Armond, 5, New York city, grandson of Mrs. Isabella Brooks, 45, pantry woman, missing.
“Men are still searching the ruins for bodies due to the fact that Coroner Baldwin is not positive that more than seventeen bodies have been recovered. Parts of what was believed to be the eighteenth body were discovered on Saturday but the Coroner is inclined to believe that they were not parts of a human body.
“The ruins of the inn are still smoldering, a large pile of coal in the cellar keeping the fire burning. The hotel safe has not been opened yet, but it is virtually certain nothing will be found in it to add any further information as to the identity of the unidentified dead.” (Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Funeral Services Held for Twilight Inn Fire Victims.” 7-19-1926, p. 1.)
July 20, Associated Press: “Haines Falls, July 20 (The Associated Press). – Fatalities resulting from the fire which destroyed the Twilight Inn here Wednesday increased to twenty when Mrs. Laura Garrett, seventy-nine-year old woman of New York, died in the Tannersville hospital. Thirteen of the bodies taken from the ruins have remained unidentified and will be buried at a join funeral service tomorrow.” (Associated Press. “Fatalities in Tannersville Fire Now Reach Total of 20.” Norwich Sun, NY. 7-20-1926, p. 1.)
July 21, Associated Press: “Haines Falls, July 21 (The Associated Press). – The bodies of fourteen victims of the Twilight Inn fire were laid at rest in a single grave in a local cemetery at an undenominational funeral service today. The village is in mourning. Four clergymen officiated.” (Associated Press. “Bodies of 14 Victims Buried in Cemetery in Single Grave.” Norwich Sun, NY. 7-21-1926, p. 1.)
[Blanchard note: A longer AP article in the Oneota Daily Star, NY the next day provided more information noting that “Eight former guests…and five former employes, with one seven-year-old boy, grandson of one of the employes were numbered among the dead.” (AP. “14 Twilight Inn Victims Buried.” Oneonta Daily Star, NY. 7-22-1926, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “14 Twilight Inn Victims Buried.” Oneonta Daily Star, NY. 7-22-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oneonta-daily-star-jul-22-1926-p-1/
Associated Press. “Bodies of 14 Victims Buried in Cemetery in Single Grave.” Norwich Sun, NY. 7-21-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025: https://newspaperarchive.com/norwich-sun-jul-21-1926-p-1/
Associated Press. “Fatalities in Tannersville Fire Now Reach Total of 20.” Norwich Sun, NY. 7-20-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/norwich-sun-jul-20-1926-p-1/
Associated Press. “Rescuers Still Explore Ruins in Inn Disaster.” Syracuse Herald, NY. 7-18-1926, p. 3. Accessed 1-27-2025: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-jul-18-1926-p-40/
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Eleven Bodies of Twilight Inn Holocaust Victims Recovered.” 7-14-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-jul-14-1926-p-1/
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Funeral Services Held for Twilight Inn Fire Victims.” 7-19-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-jul-19-1926-p-1/
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Still Searching For Twilight Inn Victims.” 7-16-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-jul-16-1926-p-1/
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Twilight Inn Death List Now Reaches Nineteen.” 7-17-1926, p. 1. Accessed 1-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-jul-17-1926-p-1/
National Fire Protection Association. “Famous Hotel Fires.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 23, No. 3, January 1930, pp. 297-315.
National Fire Protection Association. “The Twilight Inn Tragedy.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 20, No. 1, July 1926, pp.180-181.
[1] We speculate that the NFPA death toll of 14 was based on newspaper reports of 14 bodies buried on July 22 — 13 unidentified and the grandson of an employee. However, there were four identified fire fatalities and two deaths soon thereafter from injuries in the Tannersville hospital – making twenty deaths.