Born: Liberty Hill, Connecticut

Died: February 10, 1940, in Willimantic, Connecticut

Married: Harriet (Hattie D.) Cleland

Children:

The Loomis Block at the corner of Broadway and Woodruff Street in Saranac Lake was built by Frederick W. Loomis.


From the New York Herald Tribune, "Fresh Air Fund Willed $115,000 By Storekeeper," March 2, 1940:

COLUMBIA, Conn. — Frederick W. Loomis, who operated what was undoubtedly the strangest general store in eastern Connecticut until he died of coronary thrombosis on February 10, has left his entire estate, valued at more than $115,000, to the Tribune Fresh Air Fund . . . [After naming the parts of the estate in Connecticut, the article states:] There is an additional half-acre in Saranac Lake, N.Y., where Mr. Loomis apparently amassed the bulk of his fortune as the proprietor of a large sports and general merchandise store which he sold about twenty-five years ago. . . . Born in Liberty Hill, he went to Saranac Lake as a young man and started a sports goods store. The business prospered and developed into a large emporium. On the curb, Mr. Loomis installed a big clock with the letters: "10% Loomis Cash Store." Among his customers were the late Whitelaw Reid, editor of "The New York Tribune," whose Camp Wildair was nearby, and the late Dr. Walter Belknap James, a trustee of the Tribune Fresh Air Fund. . . . Mr. Loomis returned to Liberty Hill following the death of his wife, the former Harriet Cleland. He had a lot of odds and ends left over from his Saranac Lake business, so twelve years ago he opened the little store opposite the Chestnut Hill depot.

Note: In a photo caption, the Tribune erroneously reported that the Loomis Block was no longer standing.

Comments