Finger Lakes history · regional story
Someone came for the bank keys
Caroline Cowles Richards’s account of the 1856 Canandaigua fire follows bank keys out the door and a damaged bank into temporary quarters.
Early on February 6, 1856, someone came to Caroline Cowles Richards’s household for the bank keys. In the entry published in her diary, she names Melville Arnold at the door. Her grandfather handed over the keys, dressed and left for the fire. Village Life in America, 1852–1872: Including the Period of the American Civil War, new and enlarged edition.
The list of losses reached her through him when he returned: shops selling hats, books, clothing and medicine, two printing offices and a saloon. Her account makes a distinction about the bank. It had escaped the flames, but the wall of the adjoining building fell onto it. Village Life in America, 1852–1872: Including the Period of the American Civil War, new and enlarged edition.
Caroline’s own visit came after school, when her grandmother allowed the children to see the damage. The entry then turns from destruction to where the bank might work. Judge Taylor offered part of his house; her grandfather had arranged space in Mr. Buhre’s store in the Franklin Block instead. Village Life in America, 1852–1872: Including the Period of the American Civil War, new and enlarged edition.
Those details survive in the enlarged 1913 edition, not an original diary manuscript inspected for this account. We have a published household account of the alarm, the reported losses and the search for temporary space—not a full fire investigation or bank ledger. Village Life in America, 1852–1872: Including the Period of the American Civil War, new and enlarged edition.
Sources & research notes
Review status: Developing history. Human editorial review is pending.
Written and source-checked with AI assistance under an owner-authorized editorial process. This is not a personal review by Riley or an independent historian. Sources and unresolved questions are listed below; corrections are welcome.
- What the records establish
- The published February 6 entry names the key request, separates reported losses from an evening visit, and describes temporary bank-space arrangements.
- What remains uncertain
- Original diary, newspaper, fire-service, bank and insurance records remain uninspected. Bank identity, expanded personal identities, cause, total losses and any injuries are not established here.
- What we are researching next
- Locate contemporary Canandaigua newspapers and bank records for February 1856; compare them with the original diary if accessible, retaining disagreements and the distinction between witness and reported information.
Sources
- Village Life in America, 1852–1872: Including the Period of the American Civil War, new and enlarged edition — Caroline Cowles Richards; introduction by Margaret E. Sangster; 1913. Locator: Title / PDF9; Printed52–53 / PDF82–83. Exact sub-passages registered separately; dates, attribution, methods and units checked against the retained source. Accessed October 22, 2026.