Blacker

A Merrily Burning Fire on Rodney Street

~ Lark Dalin Robart ~ 2 Comments

This blog post is written in response to Amy Johnson Crow’s invitation to participate in the 2026 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Prompt for Week 2: A Record That Adds Color

Ada Cordelia Buchenau circa 1871
David Lyman Blacker circa 1871

A few weeks ago, while plunging into the ancestral rabbit hole of my mom’s paternal line—her grandparents Ada and David  Blacker—I unearthed a rather colorful article on page eight of the Helena Evening Herald, dated July 23, 1892. The main title, “A Fire on Rodney Street,” was certainly alarming. But the subtitle, ever the mood-setter, playfully undercut the drama: “It Burned Merrily in the Upper Story of Dave Blacker’s Dwelling House.”

The opening line, which breathlessly declared, “A fire this morning in the residence of Dav. Blacker, 335 North Rodney street, came near proving most disastrous,” immediately grabbed my attention.

Then came the culprit. “A little child of Mr. Blacker, going on three years of age, was alone in an upper room, and by some means, it is supposed, secured possession of a match . . . [which] was ignited and fire set to the inflammable window curtains.” My immediate, slightly baffled, thought was: How did my mother, who shared every family story under the sun, never mention the time her own father nearly barbecued the family home? Perhaps it was one of those stories that got left off the syllabus.

The article goes on to explain that the parents, downstairs at the time, “heard the child scream.” They flew up the stairs to find the center bedroom enthusiastically engulfed in flames.

The newspaper’s description of the small arsonist is pure gold: “The child had evidently watched the conflagration with much wonder and interest until it severely felt the heat, then warning was given by a scream.” A budding pyrotechnician, that one!

Fast-forwarding to the rescue: the mother sprinted to the back stairway “just in time to catch the little one, which was on the point of falling down stairs.” Meanwhile, the father heroically “dashed water on the flames and soon had them subdued.”

Reading this article was an absolute roller coaster. The good news, of course, is that my grandfather was apparently uninjured—a survivor of his own childhood curiosity.

The family’s possessions were not so lucky. The fire claimed the window curtains and oil paintings, while “the carpets and other material [were also] damaged. All glass in the windows was broken by the heat, as well as a looking glass.”

In a moment of classic small-town drama, someone tried to call the fire department, but “it was found that none of the four keys in the neighborhood would fit the alarm box, strange as it may appear.” Fortunately, the department’s services were not needed that day, though the article dryly concluded that “this may not be the case in every instance, and the department should see that proper keys are furnished.” Sound advice for a 19th-century fire marshal.

A few notes on the Blacker residence itself:

  • 1882: Ten years before the little firebug incident, the Montana Record Herald announced the completion of the house on Rodney Street, reporting “it will be, when completed, one of the handsomest private residences in the city.”
  • 1887: The couple’s daughter Helen was born there.
  • 1889: Jack “the fire-starter” was born in the Rodney Street house.
  • 1898-1911: Numerous social events were held in the Blacker residence, including church sales, afternoon teas, informal “fancy work” affairs, and several weddings, including the wedding of their daughter Helen. My favorite event is the hammock party hosted by 15-year-old Helen in 1902. The Montana  Record-Herald reported that “The hammocks [occupied by the girls] were strung under the trees in various parts of the yard” and “the boys went from one to another and told their story to the occupant of each. Later in the evening the girls compared notes and decided which of the boys had told the best story. Refreshments were served and  music ended the pleasant evening.”
  • January 1911: The house made its first of many appearances on the “Delinquent Tax List” in The Independent-Record. It is suspected, but not confirmed, that Mr. Blacker took a serious financial hit during the Panic of 1893, which may account for this turn of events.
  • April 1911: David Blacker died in the house a few months after it was listed for delinquent taxes.
  • March 1912: David and Ada’s daughter Helen was married in the family home.
  • 1914: A tax deed was issued to Lewis & Clark County, though Ada and her daughters continued to reside on the premises.
  • April 1923: The funeral of Ada’s mother, Catherine, was held in the residence.
  • April 1929: The property was finally sold, and Ada and her daughters relocated to a smaller home just around the corner on 7th Avenue.

1935: On October 18th, the house sustained serious damage from a 6.2 earthquake that famously destroyed the new Helena High School and leveled the Lewis and Clark County Hospital. High schoolers had to finish the year attending classes in railroad coaches.

The house on Rodney Street, located in the original Helena Town Plat, was restored following the earthquake and happily stands to this day.

Sources for this story include:

  • Newspapers.com – Helena Evening Herald – Helena, Montana – 23 Jul 1892 – “The Fire on Rodney Street” – Page 8
  • Newspapers.com – The Montana Record Herald – Helena, Montana – 15 Aug 1882 – “On Dit” – Page 3
  • Ancestry.com – 1900 United States Federal Census – birth month and year of Helen A. Blacker
  • Ancestry.com – Montana, U.S., Birth Records, 1897-1988 – birth record of John David Blacker
  • Newspapers.com – The Montana  Record-Herald – Helena, Montana – 15 Jun 1902 – “Hammock Party” – Page 9
  • Newspapers.com – The Independent-Record – Helena, Montana – 1911 Jan 30 – “Delinquent Tax List” – Page 7
  • Newspapers.com – The Independent-Record – Helena, Montana – 31 Mar 1912 – “Swezey-Blacker” – Page 10
  • Newspapers.com – The Independent-Record – Helena, Montana – 4 Aug 1929 – “County Given Tax Deed in 1914; Are Unpaid City Taxes Lien, Courts Asked” – Page 1
  • Newspapers.com – The Montana  Record-Herald – Helena, Montana – 23 Apr 1923 – “Burial Rites Held for Mrs. Buchenau”
  • 1935 image of earthquake damage to house on Rodney – “Earthquake Gallery” – courtesy of “Helena As She Was” website at http://helenahistory.org/
  • Recent photo of house on Rodney taken by author – 15 Aug 2008

Author note: Future generations should know that this piece was created during a time of technological transition. Artificial Intelligence was in the infant stages. AI assisted in editing of this story. Research, interpretation and storytelling reflect the author’s work, curiosity and dedication to preserving the Blacker/Buchenau Family Legacy.

I hope you enjoyed it!

~ Lark

Mr. and Mrs. David Blacker visit Chicago in March 1885

~ Lark Dalin Robart ~ Leave a comment
  • Mrs. Ada C. (Buchenau) Blacker circa 1871
  • Mr. David Lyman Blacker circa 1871

I came across an interesting newspaper article at genealogybank.com dated 19 March 1885, which includes a reference to a visit to Chicago by my great grandparents, Ada and David Blacker.

–D. W. Fisk and wife, and Mrs. O. J. Salisbury, were registered at the Grand Pacific, Chicago, on the 13th. Among other Montanians booked at the same hotel were A. J. Davidson, Mrs. and Mrs. T. C. Power, Jno. W. Power, and Mrs. and Mrs. David Blacker.

Helena Weekly Herald
Thursday, Mar 19, 1885 
Helena, MT
Page: 7
By Unknown – Host, William R. and Brooke Ahne Portmann, “Early Chicago Hotels,” Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 46., ISBN 0-7385-4041-2., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10552426

The Grand Pacific Hotel was one of the first prominent hotels built in Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871. The Hotel was known for its “Great Game Dinners” featuring exotic menus, a Chicago social institution for more than 50 years.

Notable celebrities who stayed at the Hotel included James A. Garfield in 1880 and Oscar Wilde in 1882. And one more interesting bit of information is that Standard Time was adopted at this Hotel on October 11, 1883.

As always, I became curious about the other “Montanians” referenced in the news article. Here’s what I learned.

On p. 1210 of the book entitled “History of Montana, 1739-1885: A History of Its Discovery and Settlement . . .”, Daniel W. Fisk (aka “D. W. Fisk”) is stated to be one of the owners of the Helena Herald, along with two of his brothers. He was “one of the early settlers, having come to the [Montana] territory in 1867.” He married Julia F. Walker, daughter of Major Robert C. Walker, at Helena in 1878.

I wasn’t able to learn much about “Mrs. O. J. Salisbury” but according to Geyser Bob’s Yellowstone Park History Service, Mr. Salisbury, his brother Monroe, and a gentleman named J. T. Gilmer purchased the assets of the Utah, Idaho and Montana branches of Wells Fargo & Co. in the early 1870s. By 1879, they were running stagecoaches into Yellowstone Park, and eventually became one of the most powerful corporations in the Northwest.

According to an article I located at grandlodgemontana.org, A. J. Davidson arrived in Alder Gulch in 1863 and moved to Helena in 1865 where he opened a wagon and saddlery business in 1876. His interests eventually included stock raising, real estate, and banking. And among his many other accomplishments, he was the first president of the Montana Club.

T. C. Power is listed on p. 502 of the book “History of Montana, 1739-1885: A History of Its Discovery and Settlement . . .” (see link above) as follows: “T.C. Power & Bro., freighters, contractors, agricultural implements, and proprietors of the Benton Line of steamers.”

My great-grandfather is mentioned twice in “History of Montana, 1739-1885: A History of Its Discovery and Settlement . . .” (see link above). The first time on p. 595 as follows:

The Muscleshell Range is one of the great stock raising districts of the Northwest. The principal stock men 1882-3 were: — The Montana Cattle Co., Northwestern Cattle Co., A. Lincoln, James Schmall, McGaric & Johnston, D. Blacker, W. Corkill, Andrew Cooper, R. C. Quaintance, R. W. Quaile, M. J. Settle, Hill & Hightower, Balch & Bacon, William Gordon, Collins & Klein.

History of Montana, 1739-1885: A History of Its Discovery and Settlement . . .
Michael A. Leeson
Warner, Beers & Company, 1885
p. 595

And on p. 650, as part of a discussion on the mining town of Radersburg . . .

Radersburg, forty-eight miles southeast of Helena, where the old Bozeman stage-road crosses Crow Creek, may be classed among the early settlements of the county in 1866 . . . The quartz lodes known as the Congress, Ohio, Keating, Leviathan, and Iron Clad, were yielding freely in 1879. The Blacker Mill of 15 stamps, and the Ten-stamp Keating mill, were most important conributors to the welfare of the district . . .

History of Montana, 1739-1885: A History of Its Discovery and Settlement . . .
Michael A. Leeson
Warner, Beers & Company, 1885
p. 650

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Source for information on The Grand Pacific Hotel can be found here.

This is the house that Jack built

~ Lark Dalin Robart ~ Leave a comment

As part of a photo challenge that I’m participating in, I posted these pictures and story to my Instagram feed today. And I thought I’d share the same here.

Today is Day 12 of this month’s #genealogyphotoaday challenge and the word is “neighborhood”.

“The house that Jack built” in 1935/1936 at the corner of 7th and Davis in Helena, Montana.

This is the house my grandfather Jack Blacker built after the 1935 earthquake that destroyed my grandparents’ home. Continue reading →