Finger Lakes history · regional story
The letter that tried to keep Glen Haven open
After a fire, a public letter insisted that Glen Haven had not been destroyed. Its writers described moving guests into a hotel and urged prospective patients not to stay away.
One burned building could threaten more than the space it occupied. In a public letter printed in the Water-Cure Journal, Glen Haven’s writers said newspaper reports had turned the loss of one of their eight buildings into the destruction of the whole establishment. They wanted prospective patients to know they were still receiving guests. A Letter to the Public, The Water-Cure Journal, volume XVIII, number 5.
Their account describes moving displaced occupants into a furnished hotel by noon the following day. They claimed room for one hundred patients remained, and that none of ninety people had left. Those are the institution’s own reassuring statements, not figures checked against a register or an independent fire investigation. A Letter to the Public, The Water-Cure Journal, volume XVIII, number 5.
The letter closes with three names: James C. Jackson, Lucretia E. Jackson and Harriet N. Austin. Its date needs a separate caution. The dateline says October 1, 1852, but the issue is dated November 1854 and the continuation refers to June 1853. We have not treated that printed dateline as a settled date for the fire. A Letter to the Public, The Water-Cure Journal, volume XVIII, number 5.
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 scanned letter records an effort to reassure readers after a reported fire. Its accommodation claims and criticism of press coverage remain attributed to its writers.
- What remains uncertain
- The exact fire date, newspaper reports, guest counts and rebuilding outcome have not been independently established. The letter’s medical claims are not adopted, and this is not treatment advice.
- What we are researching next
- Compare local newspapers, property and insurance records and other copies of the issue. Keep the original dateline visible while investigating whether it is a printing error or a reused letter.
Sources
- A Letter to the Public, The Water-Cure Journal, volume XVIII, number 5 — James C. Jackson, Lucretia E. Jackson and Harriet N. Austin; November 1854 issue; letter dateline reads October 1, 1852, internally discrepant. Locator: Printed page 97 / PDF page 99: issue header, November 1854, volume XVIII number 5. Printed pages 102–103 / PDF pages 104–105: complete letter, opening right column and following page through all three signatures.. Accessed October 22, 2026.