On October 20, 1931, Mrs. Stockwell went into one of the rooms at Pittsford’s Otter Creek Inn to find it engulfed in flames.

The Otter Creek Inn had been an iconic part of Pittsford, central to the village.

It had become a deteriorating symbol of a bygone era. Otter Creek Inn was no longer busy with travelers, and had been partially rented out as a residence to the Stockwell family.

Having no fire department, Pitttsford summoned the Proctor Fire Department to help. Adding insult to injury, at the height of blaze, firefighters ran out of water.

Only two chimneys remained. What had been left of an earlier era was now completely destroyed.

Historic images courtesy Vermont Historical Society, from "Pittsford: Now and Then" published by the Pittsford Historical Society. Fire photo is credited to Leone Smith.