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Discovering the history of Allegany County, NY
Below is the weekly column of Ron Taylor, published originally in
"Patriot and Free Press" - Allegany County's community newspaper since 1862. Columns are re-printed here by agreement with the Patriot. (Tap the
Dates) Page 11
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Below, Week of April 1, 2009 Patriot Column
This Week’s Photo:
Thanks to the archives of the Thelma Rogers Genealogical & Historical Society this week’s photo appears. The photo is quite obviously taken in front of the “old Court House” in Belmont which
was torn down to make way for the present building’s older section. The photo was given to the Historical Society by Mrs. Leon (Clara) Hopkins. Through the efforts of Mary Rhodes and Jane Pinney and a few other fine members, the contents of the Society have recently been inventoried with a
computerized listing of contents, but, names have escaped this photo along with a caption identification including year taken. Since the “new courthouse” was constructed in 1937/38, verified by County Clerk, Robert Christman, this photo must be prior 1938 and is likely the official photo
for a given year of the old Board of Supervisors which governed the county at that time. Tune in next week for more details…..pending help being supplied from readers. Please don’t procrastinate, contact me with any information you may know about the photo.
Replies:
4/10/09 -- I do not know the year of the photo, but, feel confident with my original name as Board of Supervisors of Allegany County. Dean Wells wrote that “in 3rd row, far right, is my Grandfather, George Lewis.
He was Town of Almond Supervisor from 1923-1943.” Robert C. Gleason (via daughter, Ruth Gleason Barone) wrote: “Front Row, 3rd from left is Hugh Chamberlain, Supervisor Town of Caneadea; 4th Row, directly in front of right hand glass in door is Quincy Smith, Supervisor
Town of Hume.” -- From Meredith Chilson: "Hi Ron, I asked my dad, Bob McNinch about this photo. He knew, or knew of, a lot of the folks in the picture. They
aren't all Supervisors, although some are.These are the people he could identify: front row left to right: James Young I, ?, Hugh Chamberlain, Leon McDonald, Hazel Saunders,?,?,?,?, Dick Hall; second row l to r ?, ?, Hobe Rockwell, Ferd
Shear, ?,?,?,?,Leon Ackerman; third row l to r ?,?, Vanama Jones (Sheriff), Quincy Smith, Harry McNinch, Dr. Howe (DVM), Denzil Perkins; fourth row, 3rd from left: Harold Bloss, last in row Francis Alvord. He does tell me that Hazel Saunders was the secretary for Surrogate
Court." --7/7/09 Hi Ron, Just happened to be surfing through your web site and saw the group
photo of what appears to be County supervisors in front of the old court house in Belmont I am quite sure the man in the forth row to the extreme right is Francis Alvord who was a County supervisor from Friendship when I was growing up in Friendship in the 40s. Not a positive ID but I think
I am right.
Ford Easton
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Below, Week of April 8th, 2009- Patriot Column
This Week’s Photo:
Where did Allegany County’s most famous Carousel Go? Answer: Albany, NYS Museum.
(Background for this article obtained from website:
www.nysm.nysed.gov/press/2008/newcarou.cfm - Thank you Mary Rhodes.)
This photo was from the February 1994 issue of the "Carousel News and Trader" and according to the identification on the reverse side, it was the Stadel Amusement Merry-go-round of Wellsville, New York – this
picture was taken at Olcott Beach, New York about 1931.
The carousel was opened for use at Albany in 2001 and had as many as 180,000 visitors until 2007 when it had to be shut down for major repairs.
According to the website of NYS Museum, “Nearly one-fourth of all Museum visitors travel to the Museum’s fourth floor to ride the carousel, where it is located in a circular glass enclosure specially
built for it. The carousel has repeatedly been listed in area “best of” lists compiled through area newspaper readers’ polls.
The animals on the carousel, consisting of 36 horses, two donkeys and two deer, were carved around 1895 by Charles Dare of Brooklyn. The animals were stationary and Dare used them on a track carousel, which had wheels beneath its platform that ran on a circular track. When track carousels later became obsolete, the Herschell-Spillman Carousel Factory in North Tonawanda, Niagara
County reused the animals from Dare’s track carousel on a new carousel suspended from a central pole with a mechanism allowing the horses to move up and down and “gallop.” Herschell-Spillman also added a Neptune Chariot, a Rocking Chariot and a spinning “Love Tub.”
The new 48-foot diameter carousel, with a 10-inch diameter center pole, was one of the largest traveling or carnival carousels made. Brothers Fred and Albert Stadel of Wellsville,
Allegany County purchased the carousel in the spring of 1915. From 1915 through the 1929 season, the Stadel brothers traveled the carousel by train throughout New York’s southern tier and bordering northern Pennsylvania. In 1930 and 1931 the carousel
also operated at Olcott Beach, on the shore of Lake Ontario, in Niagara County. By 1933 the Stadel brothers had sold their carousel to J. Fenton Olive at Olivecrest Park on Cuba Lake, near Cuba, Allegany County. The carousel continued to be the main attraction at the park until it closed in 1972. The State Museum, with the foresight of Chief Curator John J. Still, purchased the carousel in 1975. It remained in a warehouse until Siegfried decided to bring it out of storage and restore it.”
Upon reopening the display in 2008 the Museum has now received funding for maintenance from the Ernst family of Albany to assure continued operation for the public.
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Below, Week of April 15th, 2009- Patriot Column
Discovering the history of Allegany County by Ron Taylor |
This Week’s Photo:
What a wonderful story is told from the old photos of "downtown" stores from long ago. This week’s photo is a North Main Street Store called THE ARCADIA. Does anybody have an idea who any of the five men pictured her may have been? The photo was
probably early 1900s. I asked Jane Pinney to research the business which was located in the 3rd storefront going south from the old Brunswick Hotel, formerly the Commercial House. Jane’s comments, " I found a 1914 Wellsville
directory listing: 167 N. Main St. - The Arcadia Saloon. I did a little research on the address of 167 N. Main St. I found that in 1897 and 1900 the address was listed as William Buck - Saloon & Billiards; 1905 was Farnum Gee Saloon; 1906 Edward F. Gee Wine & Liquors; and
then in 1914 the Arcadia Saloon." Today this location has a much newer style front and tan brick has replaced most of the wood front. I’m sure some interesting stories could be told about the location if only we had listened to them well!
Comments and discussion of this photo can be forwarded to me at: rgtaylor02@roadrunner.com or mail to the address shown below or The Patriot Office. Do you have pictures you think will stump Patriot readers about Allegany County Local History? Are you willing to share them? Please dig in the attic and send pictures since I need all the help I can receive in order to keep this column "fresh". Mail to: Ron Taylor, 200 Rauber
Street, Wellsville, NY 14895 or email address above. Please include a stamped self-addressed envelope if you want the picture returned. Also, write an explanation of the picture including date and statement that you are owner of the picture and give permission for it to be published in
paper and on website. My website address: www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/allegany
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| The following was not published during week of 4/22/09 due to space restraints and is show here exclusively.....
This Week, I provide 2 photos for you to compare….
The above photo was taken by me in 2009 and shows the old wood supports that were the integral part of the circa 1800s railroad trestle of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad at Wellsville. To the
right and out of picture today are the softball fields called the Lagoon Area. Up until the 1900 period, the fairgrounds of Wellsville were where the ball fields are today. The fairgrounds were moved from this location to the area of Williams Avenue now housing the Elementary School. From
the camera straight over the footbridge shown here is the Island Park area.
Below is a photo from the railroad book, "Wellsville, Addison & Galeton Railroad; Sole Leather Line" by Edward A. Lewis, which is published in completeness on my website with the author’s
permission. This photo shows the “WAG Railroad” Engines #2200 & #2300 pushing a string of cars over the Genesee River bridge onto the Erie Lackawanna interchange tracks and was taken during the 1950s.
How amazing that 50+ years later and several rough floods of the Genesee River, we are still using the original 1890s wooden supports to cross the river with a walk bridge.
The B & S Railroad came from PA through Genesee to Wellsville where there was a passenger station located across State Street from the present High School/Middle School Campus. A large freight
station sat right where the school house now resides. The tracks continued northward out of Wellsville to cross Allegany County and finally arrive in Buffalo.
My recent interest was re-sparked in this railroad after receiving a note from Jackie Whitzer of Friendship who researched a couple of articles out of the Belmont Dispatch and I quote a column
from March 25, 1904: “The B & S officials are now contemplating taking out the wooden trestle which crosses the river near the old fair ground and replacing it with a new iron bridge having a span of 160 feet. This would do away with much trouble from floods which has been caused by the old
wooden trestle. The proposed plan will bring the “wye” nearer the station, and it will be necessary for the village to lease to the R. R. Co. some land (bank of the river) now embraced in city park. There is also some talk of buying up the water right of the
Genesee mill and doing away with the old race and Farnum mill pond. This obyiate the necessity of the village keeping up two race bridges one on State street and one on Pearl, and would also be of some advantage to those owning land adjacent to the race. The matter is in the hands of the trustees
and the various phases of the idea will be discussed pro and con and sifted to the bottom before action is taken.” Quite apparently, action was never positive since we still use the wood structure, 105 years later!!
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Week of 4/29/2009 Patriot Newspaper Column
Discovering the history of Allegany County by Ron Taylor  |
This Week’s photo:
WHO REMEMBERS TOWN OF BURNS, DISTRICT SCHOOL #1??
Submitted by Judy Guidara, granddaughter of Nettie Belle Wright Sanford who owned this photo. The caption that was handwritten at bottom of
photo card stated, “Where I went to school, Burns District #1”. These old schools have a way of disappearing into history, although many have been remodeled and become useful dwellings. If anyone knows stories about or from this school now is the time to tell them and share with others before
they are forgotten.
This building appears as a really old styled structure which has had 3 additions. Today, as we apply for state and federal aid to build our schools, it is in sharp contrast to when the neighbors
pitched in to build what was needed, supply it with wood for heat (I note chimney at rear of building here) and water was many times carried in for use. The one addition shown at rear with two windows obviously was a modern “interior accessible rest room” and probably replaced some “exterior
structures” which originally stood a distance from the school building. Maybe too many students escaped when sent outside. Send your stories today!
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| 5/6/09 Patriot Column 
“Volunteer Firemen Visit County Home – Angelica, NY – July 10, 1929”
This George E. Mott photo, owned by George Cotton of Friendship, needs names to go with the faces. In 1929 the County Firemen’s Association held their meeting at Angelica and in conjunction with that convention visited the
County Farm & Home and thus we have this week’s photo. Officers for that year were: President, C.L. Lathrop, Angelica; First Vice President, Floyd Saunders, Richburg; Second Vice President , M.C. Jordan, Bolivar; Secretary, E.S. Richardson; Treasurer, E.J. Reiman. Executive Committee, Leon W.
Paul, Belmont, L.P. Freeman, Scio, and John W. Jones of Wellsville were selected. Although this information is available we do not know the names of individuals shown. Does anyone have them identified?
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| Summer Break!! Outdoors calls....perhaps I will renew my energy and supply of photos. If you wish to see the column continued, let me know and
send photos.... Ron
email: Ron Taylor |
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