June 25, 1898: Fire Destroys Swamp Hotel Presages Heroic But Fatal Effort of Jeremiah Rhoads' Family

June 25, 1898: A fire at the Swamp Hotel was discovered this morning around 10:00 by the proprietor, Jeremiah Rhoads and his brother Jonathan, the hostler.

Neighbors were soon on the scene with a bucket brigade, but owing to the dry condition of the woodwork in the old building, it was impossible to save the structure, which was more than 100 years old, and by 4:00, the building was a heap of ashes and ruins.

During the course of the fire, the hotel stables and barn and Leidy’s store were in great danger of being devoured, but the bucket brigade, by persistent and judicious work, succeeded in saving them. Men were stationed on the roofs, others carried the water, and they were effective in containing the conflagration.

Shortly after the flames were discovered, Mrs. Rhoads attempted to save some antique quilts from the attic, but was overcome by the heat and smoke. She was rescued by her neighbor, the storekeeper where the Rhoads family is being sheltered now. Rhoads intends to rebuild, and will temporarily set up his barroom in the hotel shed opposite the ruins.

(Ten years later, at the age of 50, Jeremiah Rhoads was killed in the Opera House fire. It was reported that he had escaped the building but went back in to rescue his nieces, who had accompanied him to the theater. They were Dr. Knipe’s daughters, Emily, age 23, Catherine, age 26, and Lizzie, age 35, who also perished in the fire.

The aged doctor insisted on looking for the bodies of his daughters in the ruins. It was reported in the Philadelphia Press, “Dr. Knipe found the bodies of all of his daughters, and watched, grief-bowed, as the shrouded forms were carried to a waiting hearse.” The newly rebuilt Swamp Hotel was closed and auctioned off in March, 1908.)

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