When A Pinkerton Agent Came to Montgomery Pa - The Montgomery Opera House Fire of 1898

The Decker Block, on Houstan Ave, where the Opera House Was Located

In 1898, the same Pinkerton Detective who would later pursue Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, spend a year undercover in prison for a mafia case, and also help obtain a conviction in the Black Hand mafia blackmailing scheme in western Pa, was in the town of Montgomery in Lycoming County Pa, befriending 17 year old LeRoy Nuss by going fishing with him, in an attempt to gather evidence in the fires at the Opera House.

In September of 1896, a feud between two prominent families in Bloomsburg exploded. Literally.  The Knorr-Wintersteen affair made national news, when dynamite exploded in the home of attorney Levi E. Waller.  Clifton Knorr was soon arrested for the attack, and he quickly confessed that  he had been hired by Lloyd S. Wintersteen, another Bloomsburg attorney.  

That bizarre case served as inspiration for Henry Nuss, a  57 year old laborer and veteran of the Civil War. Nuss had served in Company F of the First Pennsylvania Regiment.  He was the commander of the Grand Army Post at Montgomery.

Nuss and  George Decker, owner of the Opera House had some sort of financial dispute. Decker had evicted Nuss from one of the houses he owned. The Northumberland Democrat reported that Decker had received notice that "if he did not restore a certain house an an old soldier", his Opera House would be blown up.  

Decker had erected the Opera House building in 1895, with a meat market, grocery store, and apartments in the building.  Soon after the building was completed he received a letter stating "to quit the business, or be burned out..  A week later, an attempt was made to burn the place down.  But it was not until three years later that the building was actually on fire.

On the evening of July 7 1898, George Decker spotted men running from the cellar of his Opera house.  As the men ran down the street, Decker went to investigate, and found the building to be on fire in three different places. Three families were asleep in the building at the time.

"What might have been a costly fire was narrowly averted this Friday morning, although much damage was done.  Three miscreants, presumably from town (As they seemed to understand the building) entered the store of B.F. Decker by forcing the staple off the cellar door and placed four crocks containing oil under the building.  There are three store rooms occupied by Housel and Baker, B. F. Decker, and an unoccupied room, also the Opera House over these.  All the crocks were ignited except the one under the front part of Housel and Bakers store.

The crocks were placed one at the outside wall near the Baptist church, one at the next partition, and two at the next (one on each end of the wall)  These rooms are all separated by walls with doors leading to each.  Mr. George Decker, who managed the store of B.F. Decker had not yet retired.. was the first to discover the fire." - reported in several local papers

 It was the second time that week that an attempt had been made to burn the building down. A fire had been started the night of the 4th under Housel and Bakers side, but had been kept pretty quiet, the fire being easily extinguished at the time.

 Thanks to the hard work of local residents, and firefighters, the Opera House was saved, and none of the families were injured.

Later that summer an undercover Pinkerton agent by the name of Francis Dimaio arrived in the town of Montgomery.  Dimaio would go on to pursue Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. His most significant efforts however, were against the Mafia in the United States.  Dimaio went undercover as a Sicilian counterfeiter, spending a year in prison to obtain information on the 1890 assassination of a New Orleans Police Chief.  Later, he contributed to the break up of the mafia blackmailing operation in Western Pa & Ohio [The Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society case]

But in 1898, Dimaio was in the town of Montgomery, in Lycoming County Pa, going fishing with 17 year old Lester LeRoy Nuss, son of Henry Nuss.

The Nuss family was suspected in the fires, but there was no evidence.  Dimaio soon worked his way into the confidence of the Nusses,  LeRoy, by going fishing with them, and "various other ways."  Eventually, Henry Nuss confided to Dimaio that he was  the author of the threats Decker had received. Dimaio collected enough evidence for both Henry, and his son LeRoy, to be arrested. 

 Henry's daughter Matilda [Julia] was also arrested, although it she was discharged from custody when it was determined she had been an ignorant accomplice.  Her roll had been to copy a letter at her fathers instruction.

Damaio testified that LeRoy told him that he and his father had had several talks regarding blowing up the Decker block with dynamite.  They had plans to place dynamite under the front of the building and blow it up.

Both father and son were sentenced to three years and 3 months in the Eastern State Penitentiary.

The Opera House in Montgomery, as shown on the Sanborn Fire Maps.

The Opera House in Montgomery was located on West Houston Avenue, near where the library is housed in the old bank building, today.  

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For More History & Stories Of Montgomery:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/05/montgomery.html

And for more local history & stories - 

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

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Photo Labeled "The Montgomery Opera House"

(I've been working on a block by block postcard tour of Montgomery, and I'm struggling to believe this photo is of the Opera House in Montgomery Pa.  I think it may be mislabeled?    I'm still sorting that out.   The story is from Montgomery, Lycoming County Pa.  This photo..  I'm just not certain.  Please be patient, and please remember that all of this is a hobby for me, not my full time job.  Compare it with known photos of the Decker Block, shown above. )

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The Call of Schuylkill Haven, reported on Dec. 10th, that the jury deliberated for three hours “rendered a verdict of guilty” for the charge of arson. On Dec. 9, 1898, The Lewisburg Journal reported that Judge Metzger sentenced Henry and LeRoy Nuss to “three and a half years in the Eastern penitentiary for attempting to burn down the Montgomery Opera House.”

Convict #A9985 - Henry F. Nuss, 56, Columbia County Native, Laborer, Parents living at age 16, married with 11 children, Arson, sentenced Lycoming County 12/2/1898, received 12/15/1898.

Convict #A9986 - Leroy Nuss, 28, Laborer, Parents living at age 16, married with 4 children, Arson, 3 years 6 months, sentenced Lycoming County 12/2/1898, received 12/15/1898.    Cousin #3954, Father #9985

LeRoy Lester Nuss, with his family