Pelick Stevens Fire

"Carnival of Fire"

One of Kalamazoo’s most devastating fires took place during the afternoon of 15 April 1869. The “carnival of fire” tore through the land and buildings situated between S. West Street (aka Westnedge) and S. Park Street, south of the 400 block of W. Main Street (aka Michigan Avenue), and north of Academy Street. The Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph’s reporting on the incident is the only newspaper account of the blaze because issues of the Kalamazoo Gazette during this period are missing.

The fire appears to have begun in the upper floor of a “boarding house” owned by Pelick (aka Pelig) Stevens, possibly “through some defect in one of the chimneys.” A day later, the reporter for the Telegraph described the day’s events as follows:

“Yesterday afternoon about two o’clock the village was suddenly startled by the alarm bell, and the busy streets in a moment threw off the cares of trade and the perplexities of business to give attention to the dread sound, and to ascertain if the summons was a real call of distress, or a false alarm. It was immediately found that the very large and elegant house, on Academy street, owned by Mr. Peleg Stevens, and devoted to the use of families who boarded with Mr. Stevens, was on fire, the smoke issuing from the roof on the northeast corner showing that the destroying element originated near the roof in that portion of it. The engines, hose carts and hook & ladder companies were speedily at the scene of danger, and people ran thither from all quarters. The building being a high one the fire could be distinguished and located with certainty. Before the engines arrived, however, numbers of citizens had been foremost in their efforts to put out the fire, and would doubtless have succeeded but that the water supply was not equal to the demand. The same difficulty was experienced by the fire department.”

Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, 16 April 1869

Fortunately, the fire produced no fatalities of those occupying the various properties, although a fireman incurred major “bruises” from a fall from a ladder, and apparently passed away shortly thereafter due to his injuries. One of the more incredible aspects of the efforts to fend off the fire’s rampage was that most of the Pelick home’s important furniture and contents were saved from burning, including “books, pianos, mirrors, and paintings.”

“In the meantime, the busiest scenes ever enacted on Academy street were witnessed. The house was some thirty apartments, used as living rooms by the occupants, who take their meals in an adjoining building–the boarding house proper–kept by Mrs. Stevens. Through the exertions of citizens, however, nearly everything was taken from the burning house, and, in remarkably good condition, deposited in a safe place.”

The homes that lined the south side of Academy Street escaped the fire’s wrath, but several properties with Main Street addresses were not so fortunate. The standing ruins on the righthand side of the photograph below were the remains of one of the Stevens homes. Steven S. Cobb’s carriage house directly behind it was spared, as was the Cobb home (203 Main) on the far right. A strong westerly wind likely saved those structures. Also spared was J.P. Woodbury’s home (191 Main) to the east, a tiny portion of which is visible along the left edge of the photograph. Other buildings that were destroyed included a barn belonging to William A. House (197 Main), and a house and barn belonging to William B. Clark (195 Main).

The fire, and the lack of adequate access to water, was another example cited by village officials who advocated for a more robust fire prevention infrastructure that included a paid fire department. Soon after the Pelick Fire, the Holly System was instituted–a waterworks system developed by the Holly Manufacturing Company that “consists in pumping engines of especial and superior construction, which force the water intended for the domestic supply of fire protection of the town directly into the mains and distributing pipes, no reservoir or stand-pipe being interposed.”

Pelick Stevens

Pelick Stevens (1813-1881) was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to Rhoad and Abigail Stevens. One of 16 children, Pelick spent his first seventeen years attending the local public schools before migrating westward to a tract of prairie land near Edwardsburg, Michigan. He later purchased land near the village of Schoolcraft, Michigan, but in 1862, he relocated to Kalamazoo. Stevens was involved in the building and real estate trades. Two of his buildings remain today along W. Michigan Avenue, at 312 and 218-220.

Written by Ryan Gage and Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, February 2026