Historical Wyoming County Jan 1980 - Old Fulton History

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PAGE 72 JANUARY 1980 (Village In The Valley Cont.) was the home of the merchant W.H. Ainsworth and his heirs sold the home in 1900 to J.M. Bryson. On the vacant lot next to this once stately home, once stood the house of Dr. Samuel Kennedy. On the knoll where the new home of the Hogle family was built was the site of the Thomas Bryson homestead when his family settled in the village. The present home of George Laird occupies the site of the first log school. The house was built during the late 1850's by William Service for Dr. J.W. Watson but the doctor never lived in this home. It became known as the Kittle place throughout the years for various members of this family occupied the residence. The site upon which the late Millard F. Embt built his new home was the original site of the structure that housed the Yellow Dog Saloon. At the time it was moved it was known as the Wilcox place. In earlier history it was the home of James H. Potter who operated a tannery near the site during the 1840's and 1850's. During the exacavating of Mr. Embt's home a pipe which supplied the water to the tannery was unearthed. The house presently occupied by Miss Norma Donnelly and her brother Louis was built in 1883 for Avery Thomas who was the village undertaker. His hearse building stood to the southeast of his home. Only two families have occupied this home,the Thomas' and in 1924 Edward and Mary Donnelly, parents of the present occupants purchased it. The next stately home was built by Frank Godfrey in 1889 for his family. Today the house is occupied by his grandson Roger West. As we come to the intersection of School and Attica Street I would like to note that School Street, formerly called Cobblehill Road, was the original road laid out in 1803 running directly east and west across the valley. The grade out of the valley both ways were so steep that the section from a point above Varysburg to the top of Cobble Hill was abandoned and the easier grade through the village was used. Colonel Vary was the first to propose the new route and it has been recorded that the Colonel with his cane in hand laid out the line of the proposed highway. THE CHEESE FACTORY It once was located on the northeast corner of School and Attica Streets. Originally it had been a two story frame building 125 x 35 feet. Hewn logs put together with huge wooden spiles had formed the interior as well as the exterior walls. The long battened board siding transgressed by two uniform rows of eight each small twelve paned sash windows, and unpainted had weathered to a silvery grey on the west side while the back exposure was of pale gold to brown hues. There was no base- ment but was erected upon a low wall of loosely constructed field stone selected from the Tonawanda creek's deserted bed. During the summer of 1863 Wyman H. Ainsworth, Charles Richards and John Coughran engaged Thomas Crawford, a carpenter from Ireland to erect the structure. On May 1,1864 according to agreement the Varysburg cheese factory with living quarters in the north end for the cheesemaker and his family was completed. The first cheesemaker was John Coughran assisted by his sister Mary and Miss Ella Lewis. Soon woman villagers and local farm women were employed in the new dairy manufacturing business: LenaGrover, GertieGrover; Emma J. Wilcox, Adelaide Burbank, and Eva Lincoln. The first sale of cheese from this new factory brought 14? per pound, but it would be 10 years before it brought that price again. One year the cheese was stored in the old Nick Conrad place until it was sold the following spring when the price rose. Upon the return of Erotas H. Wilder from the Civil War, he became the resident cheesemaker until 1870 when he joined with a Mr. Hutchinson and built his own factory in Orangeville. The succession of owners have been the original three men to John Coughran and Marshall Cowden, to Erotas H. Wilder to George Hoy to C. Decoate Winchester in 1892, to John L. Gibbey to George E. Hogue in 1903. Mr. Hogue sold the factory to the corporation Merrill - Soule Co. who in turn sold the building to George A. Scott. The manufacturing of cheese ceased in 1918 and during the fall of 1924 the building was sold to George J. Smith who had it dismantled during April 1925 using the lumber to construct his home on the west hill. Once a residence stood just north of the factory and in 1902 was owned by M.G. Maxon but shortly after this date was torn down. Approximately where the church grounds of St. Joseph's R.C. Church lie today was the home of John J. Spink which burned during Feb. 1928. This house was the one moved in 1882 from the Persons lot by George Jones. ST. JOSEPH'S R.C. CHURCH The lot for this church was purchased from Frank Godfrey and John B. Spink upon which was erected a 32 x 65 foot edifice. Upon the completion of the plastering within the church. Rev. Edmund F. Gibbons celebrated the first Mass in the church on Feb. 11, 1912 before the building was entirely completed. The dedication of the church was held Sept. 22, 1912. The total cost of the building, including furnishings was about $8700. Members of the original society which was incorporated Aug. (continued on page 73)
JANUARY 1980 PAGE 73 (Village In The Valley Cont) 28, 1911 were: John Barnes, Thomas Murphy, Edward Donnelly, Andrew Bauer, Mrs. Kate Zahler, Mrs. Julia Lawrence, Mrs. Kate George, Frank Zahler, Louis Schreder, Frank O'Connor, Bert Chatfield, Joseph Calteaux, Charles Streicher, Peter Zahler, Gus Zahler, Albert Zahler, Mrs. Roy Calkins, Jacob Bohn, Peter Balling, John Newell, Charles Hasselback and their families. The remainder residences on east Attica Street were: The John Raab house which was torn down.; the house of F.W. Munger the home today of the town constable John Malovich and his family; the former J.S. Barnes house built in 1887 by D.R. and F.W. Munger for Lott Shaw now occupied by Charles Gerhardt. The next site is occupied by a new home owned by William Gerhardt. THE WILLIAM PEASE FACTORY Upon the site of the home presently owned by Jack Helm on Oct. 14th and 15th of 1864, William Pease erected by public raising a 40 x 25 two and one-half story framed factory built over a flowing spring in which to manufacture small wooden items. Machinery was installed; a huge wooden vat was filled with water and the yard was heaped with logs waiting its opening day. But the dreams ended when Mr. Pease's credit vanished and work stilled. The logs were sold by auction's to the county and sawed into fire wood for the County Home. The building stood vacant until 1869 when Veranus Calkins purchased the property and converted the second floor into living quarters for his family and had the lower floor equipped for a blacksmith shoji and livery. In 1875 he sold the building to his brother Belus Jr. who removed it to the west side of Attica Street. In 1876 Veranous moved an abandoned house from the old Alonas Edison place a mile north and converted it into a fine dwelling. Mr. Dexter S. Davis was the next owner who added to the home and raised the wing renting it out to Mrs. L.J. Parker whose husband had failed in business at the corner store. In Oct. 1887 it was sold to William and Pheobe Gifford Jones. The remainder of the homes on east Attica Street have little history and here we proceed back to the corner and continue along the west side. The first structure as we pass the corner garage was built in 1933 by Millard F. Embt in which to house his maple syrup plant. The original house upon this site was the home of James Kernan the village house painter and paper hanger who came to Varysburg in 1858. Before his residency it was the house of Nelson Parker and the only house besides the James H. Potter house on the entire length of the street. The next house occupied now by John Lakas was built during the 1870's for Horace N. McCray and his wife Ella C. Gleason and later occupied by the village grist mill operators Gad C. Parker and Clarence Seeley. Rev. Daniel Jackson erected the neighboring house also about this time and lived here until his death in 1890. Around 1899 his widow sold the property to the brother and sister Henry and Mary Ann Madden. In 1903 the house was sold to Andrew Bauer, the village contractor and builder, who added the beautiful stone porch to the front. Today it is the home of Richard Eck. The next house, the present home of Sylvester Fields a wagonmaker and it is believed to have been erected by him during the 1880's. The Brewer House is the next in line and was the home of William Brewer and his wife Mary Thomas. The cottage that once set north of this former house was burned and torn down and replaced by a newer home. It was built also during the late 1870's by Charles Rundle who along with his brother inlaw Edward Gleason once owned all this stretch of land until selling off bit by bit and moving in 1882 to Ohio. The land over the hill at the foot of School Street and now occupied by the junk yard of Vincent Almeter once was the mill pond of Othneil Brown which supplied the water for his saw mill located where Walter Conrad lives today. The flats were drained and during the 1870's the firm of Rundel and Gleason operated a tree nursery upon the drained mill pond selling their trees for 10£ each. Later Sylvester Fields had his lumber yard here. Next in the line of homes is the present Roman Catholic Church rectory and to the north of this house was the former home of Noel Matteson Sr. It was to this house he had built following his retirement from his farm on Cotton Hill he bought his second wife and married his third the widow of George C. Davis and Hiram Peck. The present home of Donald Corwin was built by a Mrs. Marshduring the 1870's. She decided that Varysburg was the place to stay after visiting her Madden relatives. In 1893 it was sold to Orla Lawrence and later became known as the Zahler place, where William Vincent Almeter resides today and the garage and barns to the rear were erected around 1881 in which Belus Calkins Jr. assisted by George Broadbrooks manufactured farm wagons and sleighs. They had moved out of the old Pease factory which they had moved to this site in 1875 and later sold it to Orla Lawrence and is presently owned by Roger Durfee. Shortly after the Civil War the next house was built by John W. Johnson, a carpenter and joiner, from lumber drawn to the former Nelson Parker lot from a Bennington Center (continued on page 74)
Page 1 and 2: yomivig / / Vol. XXVI JANUARY 1980
Page 3 and 4: JANUARY 1980 PAGE 59 (The Warners C
Page 9 and 10: JANUARY 1980 (Village In Valley Con
Page 11 and 12: JANUARY 1980 PAGE 67 (Village In Va
Page 13 and 14: JANUARY 1980 PAGE 69 (Village In Th
Page 15: JANUARY 1980 Wolf Bros. General Sto
Page 19 and 20: Once in a while, we come across a p
Page 21 and 22: JANUARY 1980 PAGE 77 (Sheldon Histo
Page 23 and 24: JANUARY 1980 PAGE 79 (Arcade Cemete

Historical Wyoming County Jan 1980 - Old Fulton History

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?