|
Tally-Ho 2001
Tally-Ho 2002
Tally-Ho 2003
Tally-Ho 2004
Tally-Ho 2005
Tally-Ho 2006
Tally-Ho 2007
Issue
June 2008
May 2008
April2008
March 2008
Table of Contents
June Program
Stores And Business Places
The Willowvale Bleachery
It Is Time To Renew Your
Membership
Sympathy
The Hatfield And Sherman
Families
More John Burton Pictures C
1885
Humor
Sunday, June 8, 2008 2:00 P.M. Chadwicks Fire Station, Oneida St.., Chadwicks
“The History of Willowvale”
The Richards sisters (Evelyn Edwards and Joyce Shephard) will present a program about Willowvale, a community where they lived while growing up. It will be a presentation with lecture and pictures and memories of a time not that long ago when the mills flourished, parties were given in the Glen, parades and good times were the norm. Come and let yourselves picture this community as it was over 50 years ago. And bring a friend! We need members!
Memories by Ken Fuller written around 1987
I remember most of the stores and business places in the village when I was in grade school and high school. Across from the Point Apartments a couple by the name of Griffith had an A&P Store. I used to go down with a market basket from Jordan Road to do the shopping for my mother when I was a kid. I would then go over to J. Fred Law’s meat market. Further down Genesee, Mark Failing had a hardware store and an automobile repair shop for many years (where the Bank of America Is now located). And that little street between the bank and Butler Hall had three or four houses back of Butler Hall. Then down behind that street was the canning factory. The canning factory was actually on Campion road , which was then known as Whitesboro Street. They canned beans and peas, principally.
There was a vacant lot back there, and there used to be an old iron cannon back in there out in the field. The cannon still had one or two of its wheels on it. It was either an old Civil War or Revolutionary War cannon. The kids used to haul it up into the park for the 4th of July celebration. And then they would haul it back into the field. I guess it just eventually rotted away.
Farther down Genesee, beyond Butler Hall, a fellow named Morris had a harness shop, where he made and repaired harness and belts and all that sort of thing. Then beyond him was a store run by a man by the name of Pat Hooks. Pat Hooks was a kind of a village character. He had a pool room back of his store. Most of the kids were forbidden to go into the pool room because it was kind of a den of iniquity, and you weren’t supposed to go in there. But anyway, Pat ran a kind of candy store and cigar store and pool room.
There were also a couple of hotels, one on each side of Genesee Street. One was on the corner of Whitesboro Street, and them one across the street was run by a fellow named Billingham. He was a kindly old fellow. Later on he had a saloon over in the woods on the Limberlost Road. I remember going fishing one time up in the woods near his place. He invited me in and gave me free sandwiches and soft drinks.
The Bleachery was located on Bleachery Ave in Chadwicks on land that was purchased in 1881 from the Rogers family of Providence, R.I.; George L. Wood of Binghamton; Truman Butler, Addison Miller, Robert Williams and George Chadwick. Over the next year additional land was purchased from the D & L Railroad, Alimira Arnold; Emma Ney; William Dunn; and Alice Horrock.
All the land was used for the bleachery and building homes for their employees. The houses along Bleachery Ave, were first constructed and then along the Utica-Bridgewater Plank Road (Oneida Street.). They also purchased the property on the west side of the Plank Road better known as the Glen area. There was a water supply there for power to run the machinery in the factory. There was a large house on the corner of Bleachery Ave. and the Plank Road that was for the superintendent’s use. That house was torn down and the Plaza is now located on that property. A large clubhouse was also constructed for the activities of the families who worked at the factory. The club house was purchased by the Casab family and was a grocery store for many years. There was even a park known as Ononda Park on the premises for the use of the employees.
The hamlets of Willowvale, Washington Mills and Chadwicks supplied the work force with both men and women. The products consisted of sheets (Utica Sheets), pillowcases, tablecloths and other cotton goods. In 1952 the factory closed. Between 1948 and 1952 the properties were sold off one by one for homes and businesses established along Oneida Street.
IT IS TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
The New Hartford Historical Society ‘s membership year is from July 1st to June 31st. So June is the month to think about renewing your membership. We need your support. Without you we would not have a Society. Remember your membership guarantees that you will receive a copy of our newsletter 8 times each year. Use the box on the last page of this newsletter. We hope to hear from all of you.
We have lost three members this last month.
On May 9th Fern Fuller died. Fern was 100. She and her husband, Kenneth, were charter members of our organization. (1976) Fern and Ken actively supported the Society.
Peg Hassett passed away on May 16th at the age of 91. Peg and her husband Tom joined the Society in 1980 and were very active, serving on the board and helping with programs. Peg also was a member of the Oneida County Historical Society where she was responsible for the publication of two books: “Not So Long Ago” and “Focus on the Fifties” from the Russell Rhoades collection.
Carolyn Berwald and Richard Joseph joined the Society on March 8, 2008. Carolyn expressed her interest in becoming an active member. Carolyn passed away unexpectedly on May 19th.
We express our condolences to the families of these women.
THE HATFIELD AND SHERMAN FAMILIES
This article appeared in the December 1982 NHHS Newsletter
On October 2, 1901, in St. Stephen’s Church on Oxford Road, the same church in which the brides parents had been married twenty years before, Mary Frances Sherman and Albert Richard Hatfield were joined in holy matrimony. The church was beautifully decorated with palms and red and white roses. Following the wedding ceremony a glittering reception was held at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs., Sanford F. Sherman, at what was then 841 Genesee Street in New Hartford. Thus were joined two of this area's most able and respected families.
As could have been predicted, this marriage produced distinguished progeny. The daughter, Mary Louise, became the wife of an outstanding lawyer in the south; and the four sons were Dr. A. Richard (Dick) Hatfield, a prominent orthopedic surgeon of Utica, John Bennett Hatfield, Sr. who attained the high echelons of Sears, Roebuck and Company, Sanford S. (Sam) Hatfield who became the valued Director of Industrial Relations and Consultant to the great textile manufacturer, United Merchants and Manufacturers, and Robert S. Hatfield (Bob) who rose through the ranks of Continental Can Company to become President, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Continental Group, one of the nation's largest corporations.
Both the Sherman and the Hatfield families have deep roots in New Hartford as well as in Utica. John B. Hatfield’s great grandfather, George Hatfield, who was born in Wales in 1796 came to Utica about 1851 bringing with him his wife Elizabeth and eight children. One of the sons, also named George, at the age of twenty went to work for a farmer near the north edge of the town of New Hartford. He was a bright enterprising young man who soon became a lessee and then the owner of seventy-five acres of farm land. His abilities as a farmer and as a business man brought him success and fortune. He expanded his farm to some three hundred acres in the general vicinity of the Burrstone Road and the present location of the French Road plant of General Electric Company. There he built a beautiful brick house overlooking the valley which stood until it was demolished in 1977. George became a stockholder and director of the Utica City National Band and was an organizer and first President of the Utica Canning Co. He was a leader in the then burgeoning local canning industry, operation several factories in Central New York, He formed the Utica Sanitary Milk company to furnish high grade pure milk to local families. After his death this business was taken over by the Borden Company.
George’s son Albert R. Hatfield was born in New Hartford, received a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, and, after working a short time in Providence, R.I., returned to New Hartford to join his father in the canning business, and to marry Frances Sherman, the daughter of another canner. Eventually he became President of both the Utica Canning Company and the Sauquoit Canning Company, and also operated canning factories in Leonardsville and Rushville. He later pursued a successful venture in the real estate business.
Albert R. Hatfield was an avid sportsman, especially competent in golf and curling. His crowning achievement in athletics was being appointed skip of the Connecticut Curling Team in the 1932 Olympic Games.
Brigadier General Richard Updyke Sherman was born June 25, 1819 at Vernon, NY, the son of Willett Helme Shearman and Catherine Ann Schoolcraft Shearmen. At Utica, on January 14, 1848 he married Mary Frances Sherman, the daughter of a famous steamship captain on Lake Champlain. Soon thereafter he changed the spelling of his last name from Shearman to Sherman to conform to that of his wife. For many years General Sherman lived in the big square house on Genesee Street across from the Point School. He was a man of many and varied facets. He was appointed Brigadier General of the First Brigade in 1853, a position he held for several years. This gave him the title by which he was known thereafter. In his early career during the Harrison-Vanburen contest he published a successful campaign paper in Utica, and then went on to become Editor-in-Chief of the Utica Daily Gazette. Later he edited and conducted newspapers in Oswego, Herkimer and Rochester. In the 1850’s he was Clerk of the New York State Assembly and thereafter became a member of that body. In 1860 he was appointed assistant Clerk of the United States House of Representatives where he served for ten years. While in New Hartford he was Justice of the Peace for several years. In 1880 he organized and became President of the New Hartford Canning company. Among his other activities was his directorship in the New Hartford Cotton Company and his service as a member of the Board of Butler Memorial Hall.
General Sherman’s wife bore him six children, five of whom lived to maturity. She was evidently a splendid mother and a saintly character. Upon her death in July, 1896, her life was beautifully memorialized in the Utica Observer. The obituary particularly described her devotion to the Sunday School of the New Hartford Presbyterian Church and her work with children in the community.
The General’s most famous child was James Schoolcraft Sherman who became Vice President of the United States under President William Howard Taft in 1909. James was born in Utica October 24, 1855. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1878 and was admitted to the Bar in 1880. Although he practiced law in Utica, his great interest was in politics and finance.
His political career began quite early, forwarded by his great personal popularity. He was Mayor of Utica at the age of 29 in 1884; then in 1886 he was elected to Congress where he served, with the exception of one term, until 1908 when he became the Republican candidate for Vice President, to which office he was elected in November of that year. He entered upon his duties in March of 1909 and remained in that office until his untimely death just a few days before the election of 1912.
The Vice-President’s brother, Sanford F. Sherman (1858-1930) was one of Utica’s and New Hartford's most successful business men. In his later life he was a familiar figure leaving or entering the offices of the First National Bank of New Hartford of which he was the principal organizer and President. He had extensive interest in the canning industry which included the factory on Campion Road organized by his father. This factory was located in the general area where Carparelli’s now conducts its building supply business.
He built a large and beautiful house at the corner of Higby Lane (Higby Road) and Genesee Street in the town of New Hartford where he and his family lived in the opulent style that befitted his abilities and position in the business and social life of the community. His daughter, Mary Frances Sherman, who was her grandmother's namesake, as we have said, united the Shermans with the Hatfields in 1901.
MORE JOHN BURTON PICTURES C 1885
Ruins of the old Spencer Eames mansion. This house stood on the point where the Point Apartments are now. At one time it was the Home School for Girls and again it was called the Golden Place. The Point School replaced it around 1902.
The old Dr. Wiser House. Hub’s and Spokes He sold cheese, molasses and bees wax, among other things. It is similar in archectiture to the stone Hicks House on Oxford Road that is across the street from St. Stephen’s church. Could this house have been where the bank is now on Genesee, across the alley from Butler Hall?
All my husband wanted was to pay for some batteries, but none of the clerks in the electronics store seemed interested in helping him.
“I've got an idea,” I said, and pulled a tape measure out of my purse. I stepped over to one of the giant plasma-screen TVs and started to measure it. Faster than you can say “high definition,” a young man came running over. “May I help you?” he asked breathlessly. “Yes,” I said, “I’d like to buy these batteries.”
Tasia Date from Readers Digest
Table of Contents
May Program
Dewey Stresses State Aid
To Veterans In New Hartford “Welcome Home” Fete
Welcome New Members
Ken-Wel
Lives
Village Has Fire Tank
It Doesn’t Need, or Want
Menu from Jack & Andy Diner
Washington Mills
& Norwich Corners Private Telephone Company
Swiss Float
Death Takes G.I. Durrant,
Store Manager
Stevenson’s Drug Store
Perks Of Being Over 50
Thursday, May 1, 2008 7:00 P.M. Community Building, Kellogg Rd., Washington Mills
“Field of Fire: the 146th New York State Regiment at Saunder’s Field”
At our May meeting Cheryl will talk about the local Civil War regiment, the 146th New York Infantry and the costly fight at the battle of the Wilderness. We have enjoyed Cheryl's talks at previous meetings. This is sure to be entertaining, especially to Civil War buffs. See if you can bring someone new to our meeting this month.
DEWEY STRESSES STATE AID TO VETERANS IN NEW HARTFORD “WELCOME HOME” FETE
From a 1946 edition of the O.D.
Governor Dewey, speaking at a “Welcome Home” celebration for New Hartford’s 1,100 service men and women, declared yesterday that New York State was leading the nation in aid to veterans because his administration believed that surplus state funds belonged to those who had fought the war.
He said the administration had doggedly fought off the “parasites who proposed various means of spending” the state’s 500 million dollar wartime surplus.
Dewey was introduced by Henry H. Rathbun, president of the Dairymen’s League Co-operative Association, and a resident of New Hartford.
More than 5,500 persons lined in the streets in New Hartford to view the parade which opened the festivities and then gathered on the athletic field behind the high school to hear Governor Dewey and other notables.
The Chadwicks High School Band led a State Guard detachment in combat helmets, jeeps and trucks. Also represented were the fire departments of New York Mills, Chadwicks and New Hartford, complete with their trucks; the bands of the Utica Post 229, American Legion, South Utica Victory Drum and Bugle Corps and New Hartford High School.
Bringing up the rear of the parade were some 35 horses ridden by Kenyon Cowboys of Washington Mills. About 100 veterans in uniform also marched. Exemplifying the village’s all-out mood, even the children’s bicycles had red, white and blue bunting entwined in the spokes.
The speaking program began after the line of march had formed into four divisions facing the speakers’ platform with Henry T. Dorrance, master of ceremonies, introducing the officials and guest who crowded the stands.
The Rev. John R. O’Brien, pastor of St. John’s the Evangelist Church, gave the invocation which was followed by the official welcoming address by Mayor Eldred, serving his fifth term in the office. The mayor praised the 1,100 men and women who served during the war and paid tribute to the 19 of the village and township who were killed.
“Mere words are not enough to repay the sacrifices of those who died during the war,” said Town supervisor Robert J. Thomas.
Mayor Golder of Utica said soon Utica will have 400 additional housing units for low income rental and urged that all citizens take a more active interest in civic life.
Others introduced included Joseph A. Ferris, general chairman of the event , who was credited with the original idea of the celebration and with doing most of the ground work, which was started last summer. Three gold star mothers also were present.
The high school driveway down which the procession drove was lined with several posters erected by members of the Association of Younger Republicans of Utica and Oneida County, which announced their endorsement of Dewey for re-election.
The gymnasium of the high school was filled with about 860 veterans and guests who were served turkey dinners following the speaking program. The Governor was busy signing scores of autograph books all through dinner.
A varied program of baseball, games, contests and band concerts highlighted the rest of the afternoon program. A block dance was held in the evening in Park St., near the fire station.
Scott & Michelle Holbrook —NH
Raymond Culver —Dunnellon, FL
Norman Scianna —NH
Excerpts from the Apr. 5, 2008 OD by John Pitarresi
And Scott Fiesthumel has something to do with it.
Ken-Wel, the sporting goods company that was founded in Gloversville during World War I before spending decades making its products in New Hartford and Utica and then gradually running out sbeen revived to a degree by Akadema Inc. of Garfield, NJ.
Akadema’s high-quality replicas of Ken-Wel baseball gloves are made in China, and sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods and other stores, by mail order companies, such as Orvis, and through their own catalog. “I think it’s great,” Fiesthumel said, “Anything that will keep alive the history of the game and especially the local connection. And especially since Ken-Wel is all but forgotten except by some local people and diehard fans.”
Akadema’s major business is making modern baseball gloves—but they also sell replicas, including Reach and J.D. Higgins styles, and the Ken-Wel Lou Gehrig and ground-breaking Dazzy Vance models once made here.
Ken-Wel was founded by the Kennedy family in Gloversville in 1916, then moved to New Hartford in 1927. The factory later was occupied by American Emblem, but was razed to make way for the Genesee Street on-ramp for Route 8. In 1939 the company moved to a building on Catherine Street in Utica, about where Six Nations Plaza is now. In 1952 the Kennedys sold out. By 1960, Rawlings and Spalding were dominating the market and Ken-Wel was out of business.
Fiesthumel, a Clinton resident, is chairman of the board of the Oneida County Historical Society and also is on the board of the Greater Utica Hall of Fame. He has a lifetime interest in sports and history, and he’s written five books and produced several DVDs on those subjects. These are available at the Oneida County Historical bookstore.
Joe Gilligan, who runs Akadema with his brother Lawrence, a former All-American shortstop at the University of Tennessee, says he would like to hear from anyone who once worked at Ken-Wel or perhaps used their gloves. He can be reached at joe@akademapro.com.
VILLAGE HAS FIRE TANK IT DOESN’T NEED, OR WANT
From an article dated Jan. 13, 1946 in the OD
New Hartford village has today become custodian of an $842 emergency fire tank “which it does not need;” scores of civilian defense volunteers are in possession of equipment, including warden’s helmets, for which they have no further use; and farmers are wondering what to do with spray tanks, issued to them in wartime precaution.
A.D. Eldred, Mayor, of the town and R. J. Thomas, supervisor, as heads of the civilian protection projects during wartime, have issued word based on a communication from the Washington Civilian Defense Headquarters, that defense activities are terminated officially, but that all government-loaned property is to be retained by those now holding it, who are to be regarded as responsible for its care and preservation until further official action is taken to reclaim, reconvert or sell it..
(Ed. Note. “What a predicament this is!” as Ollie would say to Stan. We wonder what they did with all those things. Did the government ever reclaim them?))
|
Menu from Jack & Andy Diner in the 1940s |
WASHINGTON MILLS & NORWICH CORNERS PRIVATE TELEPHONE COMPANY Be it hereby known that on Monday evening October 30th, 1899, at the residence of William H. Griffith in the town of New Hartford, County of Oneida, and State of New York, that a meeting was held, and an association formed, and organized; and to be hereafter known as the Washington Mills & Norwich Corners Private Telephone Company. And that the said company comprises the consolidation of a private line now in operation and extending easterly about one and one half miles from the D.L. & W. R. R. Station in Washington Mills to the residence of A. P. Mallory of the same place, with a section of new line yet to be constructed, and extending easterly about three miles from the residence of the afore said A. P. Mallory to the residence of Frederick King, in the Town of Frankfort, County of Herkimer, and State of New York. Officers were duly elected as follows:
Line inspector to receive compensation for services rendered. On motion the Company was limited to twenty telephones. |
The back of this old photo uncovered in the Historical Society rooms merely says, “Swiss Float” and the name Carl A. Tritten, Sr. It is obviously a parade on Genesee Street and they are in front of the old American Emblem building which was torn down to make way for the route 8 arterial ramp. Can anyone help us with this picture? From the clothing on the men parading at the rear it looks to be early 1900. It must have been a magnificent float
DEATH TAKES G.I. DURRANT, STORE MANAGER
From a
Friday, June 21, 1946 edition of the Utica paper.
George I, Durrant, 75, for the last 22 years manager of the Victory chain store in New Hartford, died unexpectedly today in his home, 7 Richardson Ave.
He was born January 12, 1871, in Adams, Mass., son of the late George and Sarah Ann Jackson Durrant, and went to New Hatford with his family at the age of two years. He attended the public schools there and a Utica business school before entering the employ of William S. Jackson, his grandfather, to learn the meat cutting trade.
Mr. Durrant was employed for many years by John Law, who operated a meat market in New Hartford, before becoming manger of the Victory store. A member of the First Baptist Church, New Hartford, which he formerly served as trustee, Mr. Durrant married Nettie Harvey in 1898. She died Sept. 11, 1938. The only survivors are nieces and nephews, Mrs. Wellington Barker, Deansboro; Mrs. Charles Lounsbury, Utica;. Alfred Moore, Rome; Douglas Eadie and George Aldrich,
Waterford, Conn; Floyd Harvey, New Hartford; Emerson Griffith, Utica; and Clarence Harvey, Rome.
Ed. Note: The Victory store was located next to Casab’s Café. It was in one of the buildings that were torn down when Campion Road entrance off Genesee Street was enlarged. Mr. Durrant was a well known and respected member of the New Hartford community.
December 17, 1917 A big snow storm—Matt Durrenbeck’s plowing You can just see Butler Hall (with pitched roof) in background. The building that the plow is in front of later became Stevenson’s pharmacy
Stevenson’s Drug Store April 26, 1949
No one expects you to run — anywhere.
People call at 9:00 p.m. and ask, “Did I wake you?”
There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
You can live with out sex but not your glasses.
You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
You can sing along with elevator music.
Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
Table of Contents
April Program
New Hartford
Welcome New Members
Area Grew From War’s Ashes
Coming In May
Old Saint John’s Rectory
Lustron House
Dr. Griffith, Chadwicks
Mrs. Emily Seaman Serves 82 In
Same Church
Sidewalk Bridge
Humor
Thursday , April 3 7:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church, 45 Genesee Street, New Hartford
Frank Tomaino will be our speaker. His topic is “How Little Things Change History”. This promises to be a very entertaining program. Please mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend. We really need your support. Attendance at monthly meetings has been very low.
Article is from the New York State Gazetteer of 1860.
The town of New Hartford was formed from Whitestown on April 12, 1827. A part of Kirkland was annexed in 1834.
Early settlers were: Asabel Beach, Amos Ives, Solomon Blodget, Salmon Butler, Joel Blair, Agift Hill, Stephen Bushnell, Oliver Collins, Joseph Jenings, Joseph Higbee, Nathan Seward, John French, (rest listed without first name) Kellogg, Risley, Olmstead, Seymour, Butler, Hurlbut, Kilbourn, Wyman, and Montague.
New Hartford (town) has six churches: Presbyterian, Methodist-Episcopal, Episcopalian, Baptist, Union, and Friends
Villages in New Hartford:
New Hartford (post office) has 4 churches, 2 cotton factories, batting factory (“Utica Cotton Mills”), flouring mill, tannery. 892 inhabitants.
Washington Mills (post office) has Washington Steam Mills, Oneida Woolen Mills, and 50 houses.
New York Upper Mills (post office New York Mills) has 1 church, cotton factory, dye house, steam mills and 40 houses.
Willowvale has factory for cotton machinery, a foundry, and 40 houses.
New Hartford (town) population 1860
Male 2,132
Female 2,385
Dwellings 707
Families 827
Freeholders 418
Horses 746
Working oxen 935
Cows 1,471
Sheep 1,261
18 school districts
1,536 children taught
Bushels of grain
Winter 785
Spring 66,768
Tons of hay 4,988
Bush. Potatoes 27,076
Bush. Apples 52,328
Pounds of butter 109, 263
Pounds of cheese 67,426
Yards of domestic cloth 1,273
Carolyn Berwald N. Hartford
Ron McClusky N. Hartford
Mary Shaffer Vienna, Ohio
Matthew & Victoria Schmidt NH
The following excerpts are from an article in the Observer-Dispatch of Sunday, June 29, 1975, written by Mark Patinkin
Upstate New York exploded into one of the key theaters of action during the final year of the American Revolution, and by late 1783, the Mohawk Valley showed more than its fair share of battle scars. Countless skirmishes had left the sparsely populated but once prosperous farm acreage blighted with burnt out buildings, human and animal bones and ravaged fields. The toll on the population was as devastating as the damage to the land. The valley was then part of Tryon County whose militia of 2,500 in 1777 had dwindled to just over a thousand when the peace treaty with the British was signed.
All over the thirteen colonies the treaty signaled the true beginning of the new country of America— a time of resettlement and recovery. Which was nowhere near an easy task in the valley—then considered one of the nation’s more rugged frontiers.
The first newcomers to seek it out, the ‘converted’ pro-British Tories of Upstate New York, received the coldest of all possible welcomes. Under the leadership of their ‘chairman’, Josiah Thorp, the inhabitants of the Mohawk District of Tryon County gathered in meeting late in the year to damn the name Tory and banish all those carrying it from the region.
“The have with malicious pleasure butchered the aged and the infirm. They have made more than 300 widows and 2000 orphans; killed thousands of cattle and horses; burnt two million bushels of grain and many hundreds of buildings; and now these malicious fiends are creeping in among us to claim the privilege of fellow citizens. Impossible!”
Impossible it wasn’t, and many endured initial hostility so that they could stake out a claim. This immigration of locals, however, hardly signified a new era of resettlement. The true future of the valley lay not with those who had lived there before the war, but rather in the adventuresomeness of the population of the east.
Smelling a moment where leadership was crucial, General George Washington decided to take the initiative. He would be one of the first to make the journey to the north-western frontier—the Mohawk Valley—and show his people the 13 colonies were just the edge of a vast land. July 18, 1783, he left his headquarters in Newbury to begin a 750-mile trip by sloop and foot, threading down the Mohawk river, past Wood Creek and near Oneida Lake, stopping off at Fort Stanwix in the Rome area as well as Utica’s own original hub—Fort Schuyler. Looking past the burnt out buildings and the battlefield ruins, George Washington liked what he saw. In the riverways he saw key avenues for westward migration. And in the land he saw a beauty even he didn’t expect of this America of his. Majestic scenery and flowing transportation—now like never before Washington realized the growth potential of the country. He cast a vote of confidence in that potential by buying a thousand acres of farmland in the valley.
There is little question in the minds of historians that word of Washington’s visit encouraged many itchy eastern city-dwellers to finally hook up their wagons and make for the frontier.
First came Hugh White, traveling west in 1784 to lay claim to a land patent he had bought centering on the Sauquoit creek area. Up the Mohawk he came, from Albany, passing the ruined farm-houses and even stopping at one point to plant corn he would harvest months later. Up he came to the creek and built his home, sinking roots that four years later would prompt the state legislature to immortalize his name when they voted Whitestown into existence.
A year later, in 1785 came Fort Schuyler’s first settlers, John Cunningham, George Damuth and Jacob Chrisman, followed soon by Rutger Bleecker, owner of a large tract centering on north Genesee street. And Bleecker begat children whose names read like a present day Utica road map: Elizabeth Brinkerhoff, Maria Miller, John Bleecker, Blandina Dudley and Sarah Rutger Bleecker. One by one friends and relatives came to the area. What they found was not an easy life. When the Mohawk froze in the winter of 1786, the only supplies or news that could flow in from outside were brought by the occasional wandering trapper.
Up came Baron Von Steuben, rewarded by his country for his efforts in the war with an annual pension of $2,500 and 16,000 acres of Oneida County land. Steuben’s favorite hobby was to sell 100 acre tracts for $15, and to give away 50, 60 and 70 acres to fellow soldiers he deemed worthy of the gift. The valley grew.
Up came Jedediah Sanger from Massachusetts in 1788 to seek out a land grant given him by General Washington. By present day demography, it wasn’t too bad a grant, covering as it did both sides of Sauquoit creek from Chadwicks, through New Hartford and over to New York Mills. He turned over a good portion of it to what is now the New Hartford Presbyterian Church (for two pews and a gain of rice annually) and the Valley grew some more.
Fort Schuyler, however, was years ahead of its northern neighbor when it came to public accommodation. The settlers , to their delight, found themselves on the nation’s most well traveled water artery, and in the constant flow of frontiersmen, found at least a marginal prosperity.
By 1798, Fort Schuyler had grown to the point where it was a candidate for organization into a village. The residents streamed to Bagg’s tavern one night to conduct the orderly business of christening the municipality with a name, and all hell broke loose. Some demanded it be Skenendoah, others Washington, still others Hamilton, and a few cried for Kent. Finally names were thrown into a pot. One was chosen.
It happened to have been submitted by a scholar of ancient history who had written down the name of an ancient Phoenician society, a place they called Utica.
Thursday, May 1st, Cheryl Pula will give a talk on “Field of Fire” 146th NY Regiment. Place for the meeting will be announced in the May edition of the “Tally-Ho!”
Old Saint John’s Rectory Early August , 1964
This was the home of Mrs. Carrie Sherman, wife of James Schoolcraft Sherman. It was on Oxford Road, on the upper corner of Sherman Street . After her death, it became the rectory for Saint John’s Church , which was on the opposite corner. It was called “Cedar Circle” but the trees were spruce.
Soon after this picture was taken the house was torn down. The ground breaking for the new Saint John’s Church was on August 27, 1964.
LUSTRON HOUSE
After World War II there was a need for new houses for the veterans. Steel was no longer needed by the government so Carl G. Strandlund came up with a house made of durable steel, easy to clean, heated with radiant heat from ceiling panels, for an affordable price. They could be constructed on the spot and were called Lustron homes. The homes were all one story with low cut gable roof and cutout entry porch. The interior also had panels for a living room, kitchen/dinette, bathroom, two bedrooms and a utility room. There were many built-in features. The company produced 2600 homes and sold them nationwide. Dealerships were set up much like a car dealership, which made purchasing the home swift and easy. This information was taken from an article in “The Preservationist” magazine published by New York State.
The Lustron house in New Hartford is at 128 Genesee Street and is used for a local business, Maranda’s Touch Of Style Beauty Salon and Debbie’s Electrolysis Studio. Owner of the house is Deborah Hapanowicz.
The New York State Lustron Project, funded by the Historic Albany Foundation, has documented all of the homes constructed in the state. Their goal is to locate, record, research and nominate a home to the State and National Register. The overall goal is to preserve these homes.
Take a look at this house the next time you go up Genesee.
The following is the obituary of Dr. Griffith, a well-loved local doctor that many of us remember. This appeared in the March 14, 1946 edition of the O.D.
Dr. Edwin M. Griffith, 69, Chadwicks, a prominent physician and long active in politics, died unexpectedly in his home yesterday, March 13, 1946. Dr. Preston R. Clark, Corner, said death was due to a heart condition.
Dr. Griffith was born in Steuben, March 27, 1876, a son of the late Maurice W. and Jane Jones Griffith. He was a graduate of Holland Patent High School and Union College and Albany Medical College and served his internship in Faxton Hospital.
After his internship, Dr. Griffith opened a practice in Chadwicks and had served that community for 41 years. He was married June 14, 1906 to Anna May Bigelow.
He also was prominent in local politics, having served about 14 years as supervisor of the Town of New Hartford. He also was school doctor in Chadwicks for about 30 years. He served as a captain in the Army Medical Corps in World War I.
Dr. Griffith was a member of the Wiillowvale Methodist Church, and at the time of his death, a trustee of the church. He was a prominent Mason, being a member and past master of Amicable Lodge, 664, F&AM, New Hartford, and a member of Ziyara Temple; New Hartford Chapter, OES. He was a member of the staff of Faxton Hospital and of the board of the Oneida County hospital. He also was a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of New Hartford.
Besides his wife, he leaves one daughter, Mrs. Esther Pierce, East Rochester; a grandchild, Patricia Ann Pierce, East Rochester; a brother, Wilson A, Rochester; a sister, Mrs. Lucy Richards, Elmwood, Conn.; one half-brother Otis Jones, Utica, and a half-sister, Mrs.. Ellen Grace Griffith, Remsen; also several nieces and nephews.
MRS. EMILY SEAMAN SERVES 82 IN SAME CHURCH
When Abraham Lincoln was President, 82 years ago, Mrs. Emily Seaman, who will be 96 Sept. 17 was baptized into membership in the New Hartford Baptist Church. She has held membership there ever since, and is believed to be the champion in point of consecutive service.
An account of her long years of active participation in church affairs appeared recently in the Baptist State Paper, in which the Rev. Halsey W. Morgan, present pastor of the New Hartford Church, issued a challenge in that regard. No one broke her record.
Tom Brenneman, a well-known broadcaster, was contacted. He announced on his broadcast this morning that he is sending her an orchid
(This article appeared in the March 14, 1946 edition of the Observer Dispatch)
This picture, taken in 1896, shows a sidewalk bridge on lower Genesee Street. This was where a stream of water, known as a tailrace that was formed by the McClean Mill pond, went under Genesee St. A little ways up this stream was the village lock-up. In the far distance is the McClean grist mill, operated by water power and established by Jedediah Sanger around 1789.
This picture was taken by John Edgar Burton while revisiting New Hartford in 1896 . We have a wonderful legacy of his pictures. The caption he printed under this one reads as follows:
“Old Humphrey Williams blacksmith shop is right on the bridge. The little old Jack O’Neil house is on the left and McLean’s Grist Mill straight up the stream. The path on the left goes into Joe Richardson’s pasture where for years I went and got the cows morning and night, getting 6 1/4 cents for each and thus saved my first money. James Dobie’s saloon was under O’Neil’s; whiskey .03 a nip.”
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
Do you realize that in about 40 years we’ll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos.
Money can’t buy happiness—but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than in a Hyundai.
After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.
Table of Contents
March Program
Regular Feminist Movement
Tydol Gas Station
Early History Of New Hartford
And Area
First Methodist Episcopal Church
Washington Mills Depot
Billy Throop
Huntington Place
DL&W
Train Station
Great Tip
Quickies
Welcome New Members
Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:00 P.M.
Oneida County Historical Society
1608 Genesee Street, Utica, NY
Brian Howard, director of the OCHS will speak to us and conduct a tour of the facilities. This is something new ; a Saturday afternoon meeting. We hope you will support us and the OCHS by coming to this program.
(The following is reprinted from a Utica newspaper of March 25, 1914. This was brought to our attention by Judith Wittman-Eversen)
Men of the New Hartford Methodist Church did a feminist movement in earnest last evening when they acted as waiters to some 180 ladies of the church and village, who assembled for the first “ladies banquet.” That banquet was a huge success, for there were 31 men actively interested in showing the ladies that they could put on an affair of the sort in just as good style as the fair sex.
Generally it is the lady who waits on the table and wipes the dishes out in the kitchen, while the men are making speeches and having a good time. Last night the tables were turned, or rather the folks around them were turned, for when the ladies made appearance for the doings they were waited on by the nicest looking kind of men, who wore white aprons and immaculate coats with carnations in the lapels. There was a big jolly headwaiter, too, with a regular evening dress suit on. Folks figured out after a while that it was Dr. Arthur P. Clarke.
The program of eats
and talks went through in the happiest kind of a way, and the waiters
distinguished themselves by not spilling oyster patties down the back of
anyone’s neck. The soup was significantly missing from the menu. The
ladies were not taking chances. After the eating was over Mrs. Frank
Morgan acted as t
oastmaster
and following a prayer by Rev. Walter C. Wilmshurst, pastor of the
church; Miss Alma Parry rendered a solo. Mrs. C. C., Townsend of
Herkimer talked on “Home Makers,” and Mrs. C.D. Rosenkrantz of Utica had
something to offer on “Pegs,”. Then there was a piano selection and
“The Forward Look” was discussed by Miss Rhea Parry. The big hit of the
evening came when Mrs. John Miller talked about “Our Waiters,” who stood
modestly in the background and listened to much praise. Then the entire
affair was concluded by the “Ladies’ Chorus,” words for which were
written by Mrs. J.C. Withey.
The ladies who had charge of the various committees were as follows: General committee, Mrs. F.P. Williams; tickets, Mrs. Earl Allen; speakers, Mrs. W.C, Wilmshurst; program, Mrs. A. D. Eldred; music, Mrs. John Miller.
The men’s committee in charge consisted of Dr. Arthur P. Clark, chairman, John Miller, James Withey, Frank Williams, Fay Billings, A.D. Eldred and Mr. Wilmshurst.
The 31 waiters were as follows: Dr. Clarke, John Miller, James Withey, Fay Billings, Frank Williams, Manuel Ackler, Edward Churchill, Ralph Churchill, Dan Harris, D. A. Dealing, Howard Dealing, Charles Greene, A. D. Eldred, Lee Martin, Clifford Inman, George Davis, James Philo, Mr. Wilmshurst, Robert Parry, Harold Barnard, George Healy, Maynard Williams, Chester Blakeman, Fred Blakeman, Lowell Alexander, Robert Thomas, Thomas Roberts, Linn Getman and Harold Leshure.
|
The Tydol gas station in this picture (far right) was run by Frank Welch. Lester Farms Dinette was owned by Lester Hameline. Both buildings were razed to improve access to Campion Road from Genesee Street. The building to the left is present day Casabs Deli Cafe
|
EARLY HISTORY OF NEW HARTFORD AND AREA
(Taken from “Annals of Oneida County” by Pomroy Jones, published in 1851.)
The Courts
The first court of record held within the present limits of the county was a term of the Herkimer Common Pleas and General Sessions at “the Meeting House in the town of Whitestown,” on the third Tuesday I January, 1794. Present : Henry Staring, judge, and Jedediah Sanger and Amos Wetmore j\, justices.
Eight men were convicted of assault and battery, and fined from 16 shillings to three pounds each.
Like terms of the court were doubtless held in the town of Whitesboro on the third Tuesday in January 1795-6-7.
The records of the Clerk’s Office of Herkimer County were destroyed by fire in 1804, and it is impossible now to learn particulars of other terms of the courts effecting the inhabitants of Whitestown. From a scrap discovered in our Clerk’s Office, it seems that at a term of the General Sessions held at the church in Herkimer on the third Tuesday in January, 1792, Hugh White, Jedediah Sanger, and Moses Foot were fined one pound, 14 shillings each for non attendance as Justices: and John Alden, Lemuel Bradley, and Smith Miller, were fined one pound four shillings each for like default as petit jurors. It is also interesting to note the results of voting for governor held in the town of New Hartford since the year 1828 to 1850. The victor in the state elections should be evident from history, and it is equally evident that area voters did not always support the winner. To look at these few years: 1828, *Martin Van Buren, Jacksonian Democrat 163, Smith Thompson, 328; 1830, *Enos Throop, Jacksonian Democrat 88, Francis Granger, 264; 1832, *William L. Marcy, Democrat 200, Francis Granger, 325; 1834, *William L. Marcy, 191, William H. Seward, 344; 1836, *William Marcy, 163, Jesse Buel, 248; jumping on to 1844, *Silas Wright, Democrat 240, Millard Fillmore, 399, Evan Stewart, 33; in 1848, R.H. Walworth, 166, *Hamilton Fish, Whig 345, and John Dix, 87; and in 1850, Horatio Seymour, 237, and *Washington Hunt, Democrat 340..
(Editor’s note: Those starred won the election for the year listed.)
The first census in which the actual population of New Hartford was shown was that of 1830, when the town's population was 3,599. By 1840, the town had grown to 3,819 and in 1850 , even with a much larger area, including some of Lewis and Jefferson counties, the population was only 22,837.
In 1823, there were 15 churches in the county with 7 ordained ministers. By 1850 there were 26 churches, 27 ordained ministers, and 2.520 members.
| Interior of the First Methodist Episcopal Church 1905. Located on Oxford Road next to the funeral parlor. It burned to the ground June, 1999. At that time it was occupied by the Players of Utica |
|
By Doug Preston
(Excerpts from an article in the Tower Topics, the newsletter of the Utica and Mohawk Valley Chapter of the National Historic Railroad Society Newsletter. Reprinted by permission of author.)
For anyone not familiar with the Washington Mills Depot, this wood-frame board-and-batten depot was acquired many years ago by the Town of New Hartford and moved about a quarter-mile west of its original trackside site to the corner of Kellogg and Tibbitts Roads. For many years it was next to the town highway garage, now remodeled as the Jerome Madden Justice Building.
It was quite run-down until the town renovated it about 1979 as a community meeting center. Since then, it has been used for everything from town board meetings to Little League registration, and by numerous groups, including the New Hartford Historical Society and the Utica and Mohawk Valley Chapter of the National Historic Railroad Society.
The depot has been redecorated at least once since the original renovation. The town also replaced a reproduction sign that read “NEW HARTFORD” with a correct “WASHINGTON MILLS” sign. At this point all the exterior of the Kellogg Road depot lacks in authenticity is a DL&W paint job of dark green with red window sashes.
(The following are excerpts from an OD article of Nov. 8, 2007 which were included in the article.)
Town closes Community Center Dec. 1 until April 30. Officials say measure to save utility expenses.
The last section of the article was headed “A piece of surplus property” and read, “In addition to saving on utility expenses, officials said the building is in a ‘deplorable’ state and is therefore unfit to use.’
“It needs a new roof , “Town supervisor Earle Reed said. “We can close it down and analyze the viability of the building.”
“Town planning Board member Jerome Donovan, who has attended meetings in the center for seven years, said the building is an eyesore in the town’s redevelopment plan and occupies valuable commercial property.. It is also unequipped for public presentations, he said.”
He further stated,
“Whether repairs will be made to the building still is undecided, and members next spring will look to appoint a citizens committee made up of engineers and architects who can assess the building’s condition and decide its fate.”
How quickly a restored historic building can be transformed from a charming and useful object of community pride to “an eyesore in {a community’s} development plan! When politicians begin tossing around such words as “deplorable,” “unfit to use,” “needs a new roof,” “I won’t shed any tears,” “unnecessary,” “surplus,” and “valuable commercial property,” then it is time for groups like ours to be on the alert.
The historical significance of the Washington Mills depot goes far beyond its rail transportation heritage, especially in 2008. As of today, the depot is about the last tangible reminder of the Washington Mills of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to being swallowed up in suburban sprawl, Washington Mills was an independent hamlet, with textile mills, residence, and businesses such as Agway that catered to the surrounding farms. Except for the depot and a handful of older houses—such as the one converted into Packy’s Pub—the Washington Mills of years gone by has vanished. Even though the depot no longer stands on its original site it still seems worth preserving.
Groups such as the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica, the New Hartford Historical Society, and possibly others may also find this issue of interest. NHHS has used the depot as a meeting place for many years.
We will all want to keep a close eye on the upcoming “assessments” of the Washington Mills depot, bearing in mind that at least some powerful town officials appear to have already made up their minds about getting rid of it. Stay tuned!
( A copy of the entire article that appeared in the Tower Topics can be found at the Historical Society.)
The following article appeared in the Sunday, June 13, 1948 edition of the Utica Observer Dispatch. It was complete with four pictures but, unfortunately, newspaper pictures are difficult to reproduce. One was a picture of Billy Throop of Washington Mills seated in his coaster. The article reads as follows:
For 11-year old Billy Throop, who has been a Cub Scout for three years, yesterday was a big day. It won’t be soon that he will forget what happened.
For a day, Billy was king. With some old boards, wire mesh, four tricycle wheels, some rope and nails and yellow paint, he had climbed to the pinnacle of boyhoods success. For yesterday Billy had driven his gleaming yellow coaster car down steep Sanger Ave, New Hartford, faster than a dozen others of his generation to win his Cub Pack's coaster derby.
In second place last year, Billy had tinkered with his yellow “Flash” for the past several weeks in an effort to iron out the kinks so that this time it would show its tail to all the rest. Billy’s efforts were not in vain. His car held up long enough to beat all comers and establish a record time of 41 seconds for the two-block long course.
As he brought his racer to a slightly erratic halt after rattling across the finish line, Billy was a little embarrassed by his shouting friends who ran to his car and slapped him enthusiastically on the back.
He tried not to show emotion as he posed for pictures of amateur cameramen, but it was difficult to mask the fact that to date it was probably the biggest thing that happened to him.
|
Huntington Place, New Hartford Date unknown |
DL&W Train Station in Washington Mills right after it was moved to the site where it stands today. This is the train station mentioned in the article on the previous page. |
Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a ziplock bag. Seal, mash till they are broken up. Add remaining ingredients, reseal, keep mashing until thoroughly mixed. Cut the corner of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Throw away the bag when done.
The irony of life is that by the time you’re old enough to know your way around, you’re too old to go anywhere.
Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.
Phil and Betty Pearle—New Hartford
