1944-03-23 - Northern New York Historical Newspapers

PAGE TWO THE BREWSTER STANDARD — ESTABLISHED 1869 THURSDAY, MARCH- 23, 1944
Historical Sketch of Brewster
By Laura Voris Bailey
The section now known as South­
east, was at one time Included as part
of Dutchess County, and was called
at different times South Ward, South
Precinct, South East District. It was
situated In a strip of territory claim­
ed by Connecticut, designated as "The
Oblong" and afterward as the "Equiv­
alent Lands". "The Oblong" became
a fruitful source of ceaseless conten­
tion and countless controversies. On
October 28, 1664, an agreement was
made whereby the boundaries between
New York and Connecticut were fixed
at twenty miles east of the Hudson
River. This arrangement was re­
sponsible for "The Oblong" which
both factions craved, but Connecticut
desired most. Controversy continued,
and It is strange to learn that the
final settlement to establish the
boundary line between New York and
Connecticut was not agreed upon un­
til 1860. All through the years the
lands of "The Oblong" were open to
purchasers with Indisputable title
guarantees, a fact which attracted
many settlers from the New England
Colonies.
Southeast Set Up In 1796
The following is a paragraph taken
from an Act of Legislature passed
March 17, 1795: Quote: "Be enacted
by the People of the State of New
York, represented In Senate and As­
sembly: That all those parts of Pred-
erickstown and Southeast Precinct
lying east of said line (referring to
the line defining the Town of Carmel)
of Philllpse's Long Lot, lying six miles
from the north bounds of Westches­
ter County, and running 87 degrees,
30 minutes east, and continued to the
Stale of Connecticut, shall be erected
into a separate Town by the name of
Southeast, and the first Town Meet­
ing of said Town of Southeast, shall
be held at the dwelling house of Zal-
mon Sanford in the town of South­
east;" end quote. Another paragraph
In the act provided that: quote "the
first regular Town Meeting of said
Town of Southeast shall be held the
first Tuesday in April 1796" end quote.
Thus the Town of Southeast came into
Independent existence, however, the
town continued as part of Dutchess
County until Putnam was separated
from Dutchess and was erected as an
independent county, by act of Legis­
lature on June 13, 1812.
The home of Zalmon Sanford stood
at the meeting of three roads at the
foot of Brewster Hill. As this house
was located In approximately the cen­
ter of the township, the name of the
meeting place became Southeast Cen­
tre:
Brewster Hill Road
Roads were rough, but they all lead
to or from Zalmon Sanford's house.
These roads were broken out as links
between the isolated homes of the set­
tlers, and generally were very tortu­
ous. Very little road-mileage as is
now known as Routes 6 and 22, was
in existence. There was a road con­
necting PeekskUl and Danbury, an­
other leading from White Plains thru
Somers to Pawling, but not Jollow-
ing for many miles the present high­
ways. General Washington travelled
over many weary miles of these old
roads during his campaign in the
Revolution. Owing to various reasons,
such as abandonment of original home
sites, condemnation and confiscation
of lands for railroad right-of-way,
and flooding of much acreage for stor­
age reservoirs for water supply for
New York City, most of these old
roads have disappeared. However,
there is one stretch of road leading
from the Township of Patterson, over
Brewster Hill, through Southeast Cen­
ter, out through Sodom, along the
Croton River, following All View Ave­
nue, over Turk Hill Road to the home
of Samuel Field, which has preserved
its original route.
Field Homestead, 1732-1943
Of the many early settlers who
came to Southeast from the New Eng­
land Colonies, the earliest definite
knowledge is of Samuel Field, who be­
came owner of Lot No. 5 in "The Ob­
long" in 1732, and his daughter, Jane,
is said to have been the first white
child born in Southeast. This Field
homestead is the one original pur­
chase to have continued in the same
family for the greatest number of
years, having been retained from 1732
until 1943.
Among the other families who came
as settlers about the same time as
Samuel Field were those of Paddock,
Crane. Barnum, Hall, Crosby, Howes,
Rockwell, Foster, Haviland, Penny,
Kent, Sears, Bailey. DeForest. Ryder
and Townsend. In the late 1790'sand
early 1800's came the Brewster, Meade,
Van Scoy, Brush, Sherwood. Doane
and other families. It is interesting
to note that the Paddocks, Ryders and
Brewsters are the only families now
living on at least a part of the orig­
inal purchase.
Along the road mentioned, little
hamlets soon were established con­
sisting of a few dwellings, perhaps a
church, a school, a general store, and
The Brewster Standard
Meanwhile the community was en­
larging. Mr. Borden realized that a
growing village needed a newspaper. |
This he provided. In May 1877, Mr.
E W. Addis became the Managing Ed-
lem Railroad would continue its rails itor, and in 1880 purchased the pa-
/
to Pawling in the near future. This
became an established fact in 1849.
Mr. Walter F. Brewster opened and
mined the iron pits in the rear of
the present Brewster House. The ore
was shipped via the Harlem R. R. He
was engaged in building, and large
quantities of material were shipped,
billed to Brewster's Station for lack
of better designation. Hence it seems
by this means the name of "Brew­
ster" was established. The land on
which the station was built was ced­
ed by Mr. A. B. Marvin, who had
long owned extensive acreage, and had
built the house which still stands
nestled in the hill on the west side
of the railroad, in 1830. However, Mr.
Brewster furnished the material and
labor and gave the passenger and
freight stations.
About this time, the present Main
Street was opened to provide facili­
ties for trie stage line of Crosby and
DeForest operating between Danbury
and Brewster to accommodate those
wishing railroad transportation. This
stage line had operated between Dan­
bury and Croton Falls previously to
the extension of the railroad.
Of course there were many houses
in the village before this time, but
the first new one built after the name
of Brewster had been acquired, was
erected by Mr. Brewster, and is now
the home of Dr. Vanderburgh. Mr.
Brewster lived there a short time, four
or five years. Meanwhile he built the
lovely Colonial mansion now the
home of the Knights of Columbus. It
is not known whether or not he ever
lived there.
In 1850 he built the Brewster House
which was operated by Mr. W. T. Ga­
ming, a showman and druggist. Later
he built the "brick blocks" on either
side of the Brewster House. In all he
built about fifty to sixty houses and
other buildings.
The first store was built by Edward
Howes about on the spot where the
Diner stands, and was opened for
business in 1850, and operated by J.
Fowler Frost, who came from Purdy's
Station. He continued in business for
five years, then sold out to Mr. Brew­
ster.
Mills and Factories
The section of the village bordering
on "The Brook", Just across the high­
way from the site of the present First
National Bank, and now owned by
the Department of Water Supply of
New York City, was once the scene of
much industrial activity. Mr. A. B.
Marvin, who owned acreage, had built
and operated mills on this property
before 1850.
In 1859 a wool-hat factory was
started by William Waring, probably
as a side issue of his hat manufactur­
ing in Yonkers, N. Y. This building
was burned and in 1874 a new firm
consisting of Smith Hunt, Col. Steph­
en Baker and James A. Peck, (grand­
father of Mrs. Howard Wheeler), re­
vived the hnt-makinn business in the
old grist mill which had been operat­
ed formely by A. B. Marvin.
At this period, there were also lum­
ber yards operated by Jarvis I.
Howes in the same vicinity.
In the Brewster Public Library may
be seen a panorama photograph taken
December 12, 1870, which shows that
the mills, factories and lumber yards
were quite extensive for those days.
All these buildings were later de­
stroyed by a devastating fire of in­
cendiary origin.
Borden Milk Factory
On January 28, 1864, the Borden
Condensed Milk Company was incor­
porated and started operating in the
eastern part of the village. This en­
terprise proved to be one of the great­
est boons to mankind, for Oall Bor­
den, founder^ labored ceaselessly and
untiringly to find a method of pro­
cessing and preserving fluid milk in
a condensed form. His efforts were
finally crowned with success. Little
change has been made in the method
of condensation and preservation, but
the form of packaging has greatly im­
proved. From this humble beginning
the Borden Company has grown and
expanded, till Borden Products are
obtainable in every State. The con-
densory furnished employment to
scores of people, both women and
men, and was a source of substantial
Income to the farmers for miles a-
round. When the, Department of Wa­
ter Supply of the City of New York
began condemnation proceedings, the
best pasturage was confiscated and
the milk producing business declined
rapidly and the old factory was closed
and dismantled. However, there are
scores of Borden plants from coast to
coast, and from border to border.
On the death of Mr. Gall Borden,
his son, John O. Borden, continued to
manage the business. John O. Borden
was a very liberal man. and through
his benefactions aided substantially in
many projects. The erecting of the
first Town Hall, the Baptist Church,
a public school, the organization of a
per, changed its name to "The Brew­
ster Standard" and continued its pub­
lication until his death in 1922.
Public Schools
Education was not neglected. The
first schoolhou.se of which there is
any record—a little red schoolhouse—
was built near the Methodist Church,
near the present Eaton-Kelley loca­
tion. With the general movement
toward the railroad station, a new
schoolhouse, two stories high, was
built a few hundred feet east of the
present Lobdell home, date not avail­
able. As the school population in­
creased, there was need of a larger
building. A site was obtained—a
large lot—on the corner of Park St.
and Marvin Ave, and a new and much
larger school was built about 1873. In
this undertaking the District wias
generously aided by J. O. Borden. Mr.
Borden's theories on education were
far in advance of the time. He pro­
vided a covered play pavilion, and for
those times, expensive and extensive
athletic recreation equipment. More
land condemnation proceedings by
New York City, at length, confiscated
the grounds and buildings. A larger
school was erected on part of the
grounds where the present High
School is located and opened in 1895.
This was destroyed by fire. The pres­
ent fine High School was opened in
1927.
Library at Mllltown
Southeast organized a Library as
early as 1825 known as Southeast Li­
brary, later as Columbian Library.
This Library was kept at Asa Ray­
mond's general store at Mllltown, near
the school, for many years and was
finally sold at auction (date unknown)
Happenings of Yester Years
TWENTY YEARS AGO—1924
Edward Stone
Edward Stone, one of Danbury's
leading dry goods merchants, died at
his home on Deer Hill Avenue, Satur­
day after an illness of about three
months at the age of 77. He conduct­
ed his business in Danbury over 40
years. He was one of the organizers
of the Danbury Business Men's Assoc­
iation and served as president, He
was a member of Union Lodge, F. &
A. M., and was past noble grand of
Samaritan Lodge, I. O. O. F.
He is survived by two sons, Samuel
Stone of Danbury, and Dr. William
Stone of New York City.
Funeral services were held at his
late home Monday afternoon. Inter­
ment In Mt. Hope Cemetery, Yonkers.
THIRTY TEARS AGO—1914
Sophia Wallander Hunter
On Tuesday, March 25, the death ,of
Sophia W. Hunter, wife of Richard
Hunter, occurred at her home in Sal­
em Center. Funeral services were
held Friday at St. James Episcopal
Church.
Florence S. Cllft
At Greystone, Croton Falls, N. Y.,
March 24, 1924, Florence S., daughter
of the late David M. and Julia A.
Stebblns and widow of Captain E. W.
Cllft, US.A., died in the 82nd year of
her age. Funeral services were held
at her late home on Thursday after­
noon.
Mrs. Mary Dntcher
Mrs. Mary Dutcher died yesterday
at her home In Dover Plains, N.Y. She
and scattered. Perhaps a few volumes -was 92 years old, the widow of Allen
John J. O'Connor, Jr.
The death of John O'Connor, Jr.,
occurred Tuesday, March 24th, after
a long illness. Deceased was the son
of the late John and Mary- O'Connor,
both of whom died in this village last
month. He was born in Mllltown and
lived in the vicinity, all his life. For
a number of years he was Division
Engineer for New York City Depart­
ment of Water Supply. About three
years ago he purchased the South­
east House.
He Is survived by his widow, the
former Marguerite Klllian, and a two
year old son, John. Also two sisters,
Mrs. Alice Ryan and Mrs. Charles
Hutchlngs, both of Brewster. Funeral
services will be held Saturday morn­
ing at St. Lawrence OToole Church.
Less tender cuts of meat that have
more connective tissue than the ten­
der steaks and chops, need to be
cooked in moist heat, covered. Grind­
ing, pounding or cooking with toma­
toes helps to make them tender.
o— —
Fish fillets, as usually purchased,
are small fish or parts of large ones
that have been cleaned and boned;
while "steaks" are a cross-section
from a large fish, such as a flounder.
Grocer: "You want a pound of
achre? is it the red ochre for paint­
ing bricks?"
8mall boy: "Naw, it's tappy ochre
what Ma makes puddln* with."—Phon­
ey Phun.
laid up with a sprained ankle but will
be out again before the baseball sea­
son.
Mrs. Bridget McDonald
Mrs. Bridget McDonald, widow of
Alexander McDonald, died at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary
Cuff, Saturday evening at the age of
85 years.
She is survived by three sons, John,
Frank and Alexander McDonald and
two daughters, Mrs. James Connors,
and Mrs. Mary Farrell.
Funeral services were held at St.
Lawrence OToole Church Tuesday
morning. Interment in the Catholic
Cemetery.
Tuesday night John J. McNulty en-
route to Carmel by auto, was in col­
lision with the fence near the Rail­
road Avenue bridge.
frequently a grist mill. These ham- bank, starting a newspaper, were
lets. Doanesburg. DeForest Corners, some of the wavs In which his gener-
Milltown, Fogg in town, Sodom. Hed- osity was exhibited,
dingville. proceeded in every direction Town Records Lost in Fires
from Southeast Center.
Bailey Salt Box
may still be found.
Brewster Public Library
A Public Library was organized in
1900, and housed In the second floor
above the store now occupied by Mr.
Mergardt. In 1930. the present grac­
ious home of the Library was thrown
open to the public due in great meas­
ure to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs.
Andrew Ferris, who donated the lot
and substantial financial assistance.
Five Churches Built
The Methodist Church was the first
society to build a church in .the vil­
lage, in 1837, at a cost of $1,000, meet­
ing having previously been held at the
home of Zalmon Sanford, mentioned
before. This church was located on
the site now occupied by Eaton-Kel­
ley, and was named the Heddlngvllle
M. E Church In honor of Bishop
Heddlng. Later the building was re­
moved to Brewster and now houses the
A & P and other stores. The new
church was built in 1863, at a cost of
$16,000, of which sum, Mr. Daniel
Drew and his family contributed one-
half. It was named The First M. E.
Church of Southeast by act of Legis­
lature in 1875.
The First Baptist Church was dedi­
cated on December 28, 1871, at the cost
of $15,000. the larger part of the
amount having been contributed by
Mr. John G. Borden.
The first services of St Andrew's
Eplsconal Church were held in the
Town Hall in 1872. The first church
was dedicated in 1881. The bell which
hung in the steeple was one taken
from the Hudson River Liner Dean
Richmond, and was given by Mr.
Daniel Drew. On June 13, 1901, a
beautiful stone church was dedicated,
made possible through the munificent
eift of Mr. Seth B. Howes. On July
5, of the same year, the church was
destroyed by fire. Work of rebuilding
was begun immediately, and the new
church was consecrated in 1903.
After meeting for years in the homes
of members, the Roman Catholic
Church built its first simple frame
building on Prospect St. in 1870. This
was supDlanted in 1915 by the present
stone edifice.
Although the Presbyterian Church
was ttie last to erect a home in the
villncp. it has a significant history. It
is the lineal successor to the oldest
church In the county, which was a
little log bulldins, on land formerly
owned by James Barnes, on the north­
ern stretch of Brewster Hill Road.
Built in 1745. It was later replaced in
Doanesburg in 1793. and named the
Southeast Presbyterian Church. Regu­
lar services are not held there now,
but once a year this beautiful, state­
ly edifice opens wide its doors wel­
coming all to its Annual Homecominc
Service. The Second Presbyterian
Church was ooened in Southeast Cen­
ter (Sodom) in 1854. Following the
trend of population, the present
church was opened for service in
June 1883.
Through the years chic affairs were
conducted in the name of the Town
of Southeast. Some departments still
retain that status. The Village of
Brewster, however, was incorporated
into a political entitv in 1894.
The life and history of Brewster is
so interwoven with and denendent
uoon that of "Old Southeast" that
there are many itpms worthy of men­
tion, but not presented here in chron­
ological order; just odds and ends of
memorabilia gleaned here and there.
It is sometimes difficult in writing a
sketch to separate and adeouatelv
winnow fact from fiction, legend from
reality. Should any discrepancies oc­
cur, indulgence Is soucht.
M«nv settlers were attracted to
Dutcher.
William C Wood
William C. Wood, son of Mr. and
Mrs. William S. Wood of Moger Ave.,
Mount Klsco, died at the home of rel­
atives in Chatham, where he had
gone nine days ago to recuperate from
illness and nervous trouble. His broth­
er, Lee Wood, was killed in Grand
Central Station about 6 weeks ago. Fu­
neral services were held at his par­
ent's ' residence, M t. Klsco, Tuesday
afternoon.
President Coolldge has been auth­
orized by the House of Representa­
tives to spend $10,000,000 of Treasury
funds for "relief of starving women
and children of Germany." Hamilton
Fish, Jr., introduced the measure.
Mrs. Harry Reynolds has been the
guest of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence
Brownsell of Danbury, during the
week.
The Misses Flora and Frances God­
frey are now residents of Danbury
where they have accepted positions.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Scolplno was brightened on Tuesday
with the arrival of a healthy boy.
Mr. and Mrs. August Anderson and
Mr. and Mrs. Frank McQuald, Sr., on
Wednesday welcomed infant daugh­
ters.
The fourth session of the tango
dancing class held last Monday night
was devoted to the mysteries of the
"dip." Several other dances were al­
so Introduced.
TOOLS
GARDEN SUPPLIES
RUTLAND PRODUCTS
KEM-TONE PAINT
STANLEY HARDWARE
PYREX WARE
T. H. Durkin
61 Main St., BREWSTER
One way to protect the upholstery
of a chair is to use over the back and
the seat one long strip of cloth that
matches the upholstery or blends
closely with it in color and design,
o •
Although Junior was a very lively
youngster, his grandfather Insisted
that he come and spend the summer
with him in the country since the
English town in which Junior lived
was likely to be bombed.
And so Junior went. After three
days his parents received the follow­
ing wire: "Returning Junior. Send
Bombs."—Phoney Phun. ,
On Thursday morning a son was
born to Mr. and Mrs. Pelch of Water-
bury. Mrs. Pelch was formerly Miss
Nellie Ledley of Brewster.
Miss Maude Keeler of North Salem,
has been the guest during the pest
two weeks of her grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Clay Reed, at their
home on Prospect Street.
Miss Margaret Lundy has recently
received her appointment to the
September class of trained nurses at
Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City.
Mr. and Mrs. James F. Vreeland
are all smiles over the birth of a son
last Monday at Sloane Hospital, New
York City.
At a luncheon given at the Women's
Republican Club of New York City on
Thursday, the Southeast unit con­
sisted of Mrs. A. P. Budd. Mrs. L. B.
Bayllss, Mrs. F. M. Emerson, Mrs.
Albro Travis, Mrs. F. L. Shelp and
Mrs. A. F. Lobdell.
Guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Harrison Burdlck last week end were
Mr. James Burdlck, Mr. and Mrs.
Ernest Burdlck, Mrs. Hans Zeman,
Miss Eva Burdlck and Frank Pierce.
After April 1st, Mr. and Mrs. Leon­
ard Schneider will be at home at
Spring Cottage, Turk Hill.
Ernest Dickinson and J|aoob Sus-
nitzky have each purchased a Hudson
Super-Six 1924 model.
The first Town Hall was built in
1869. on the south side of Main St..
The land embraced within the pres- to the west of the site of the pres­
ent limits of the village of Brewster ent Standard Office, and was destroy-
was sold to Peleg Bailey in 1781 by ed by fire February 23, 1880. It was
the Commission of Forfeitures. In soon rebuilt, but destroyed by fire in
1787 he built the "salt-box" type house 1882. When it was replaced it was [Southeast by the knowledge that there
situated at 42 Oak Street. A portion erected on the site it now occupies. | were Iron deooslts underlying the
of this farm passed to his grandson. In these devastating fires nearly all I Town, some mines havins been open-
Bailey Howes, who in turn sold it to the records of the Town of Southeast ed as early as 1758.
Gilbert Bailey, on April 1. 1833. Gil- . were destroyed,
bert Bailey acquired other parcels, I First National Bank
and on February 17. 1848, sold his en- | The First National Bank of Brew-
tire holdings to Walter F. Brewster, ster was organized in 1875 succeeding
and James. lor (8,000. The farm was to the banklne business conducted bv
ordinary and the price given consid- Mr. John G. Borden under the name I spread, were not deeo and soon
ered its full value. of Borden and Wells. The business ; ered out" and -"ere abandoned.
Mr. Brewster's father, Samuel, had of the First National Bank was con- Chancellor James Kent
come to Southeast from OrangeCoun- ducted in a brick building at the cor- I On some nart of the farm now
ty in the early 1800's. a long trek from ner of Main and Park Sts. Destroy- | owned by Mr William Bnker. James
the home of his ancestors, who were ed by fire on Februurv 23. 1880. it re- I Kent was born on Julv 31. 1763. He
descendants of Elder Brewster of May- opened for business the following day | was the son of the Rev. Ellsha Kent
flower fame. Samuel Brewster pur- in the offices and with the equipment
formerly owned by the defunct Cro­
ton River Bank, wliieh had operated
from 1856 to 1864. under private man­
agement, and had been dissolved bv
•vote of the stockholders. These of-
the Bailey floes were in the building adjoining , Yale, due to interruptions caused by
prospect of the Brewster House on the north, and the Revolution, was graduated in 1781
It is with regret that we learn of
the illness of Fay Penny, who Is bat­
tling a severe attack of pneumonia.
Last Sunday Miss Ruth Gleason en­
tertained Alice Diehl, Catherine Smith,
Charles Strang and Raymond Terwill-
iger at her home in Stamford, Conn.
Mrs. Elizabeth Carroll and Miss
Anna Carroll are now residing with
Dr. William Carroll In White Plains.
Miss Catherine Carroll will stay with
her sister, Mrs. M. Delohery of Dan­
bury, until July.
News of the death of Mrs. Patrick
Ryan of New York City, was received
with regret by her many Brewster
friends. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan lived at
Ryanogue Farm, now owned by John
B. Lord, for several years.
The new $3,000 soda water appara­
tus for Philip Diehl and Son Is due
to arrive here today and will be put
in commission immediately.
At a recent term of the Putnam
County Supreme Court in Carmel,
John O'Brien of Brewster, was admit­
ted to citizenship.
Prescription Filled
Over 15 Million TIMS
Recommended to do just two things:
relieve constipation and gas on the