History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 97

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 97

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counties these co-operative tests were made by hun- dreds of farmers. The rate per acre of yield and the per cent. of sugar were determined by experts, and the capabilities of the sugar beet production of all parts of the State are known.

Hundreds of experiments in potato culture and com- bination of fertilizer, the cheapest renovation methods of wornout soil, the determining the kind of soil and subsoil best adapted to successful culture of alfalfa clover, assistance in solving obscure troubles in the man- ufacture of butter and cheese, are all freely given, not in a distant laboratory, but by the help of the farmer interested, on his own premises and in a practical man- ner. Not alone is the Experimental Station taken to the farmer but also the College of Agriculture. The first step in the latter was the organizing a Farmers' Read- ing Course on the correspondence and Chautauqua plan. For the past four years the membership has not been far from 25,000 each year. Later a course was opened for farmers' wives, establishing with them a cor- respondence on questions directly relating to their home life.

Agriculture has been placed in the schools in the form of nature study. Teachers are assisted by a spe- cial line of literature which is given gratuitously, and children are organized into Junior Naturalist Clubs, Junior Gardeners, and Civic Improvement Clubs. For several years the average membership of the Junior Naturalist Clubs has ranged from 20,000 to 25,000. Members are each month sent a leaflet suggesting ob- jects for observation, and the members in turn write each month what they have seen, mind you,-seen and not read. These letters are written in school and are made the topic of an English period. The mass of the people speak of the music of the cricket as singing. These Junior Naturalists will tell you crickets are in- strumentalists and not vocalists, and that the ears are on these particular insect's legs. The office force is now busy listing the names of Junior Gardeners, chil- dren who have gardens all their own. On June 26, 1902, the registration was 4000.

Another movement was begun in the spring of 1902, that or organizing Junior Civic Improvement Societies. Upward of three thousand children have written us what they have done towards the improvement of four hundred rural school grounds. Interest in this work has awakened an enthusiasm in every State in the Union, and so far as possible educators are adopting our methods. The influence in the extension work has spread to foreign countries until now it has reached around the world. We have Junior Naturalists in Europe, Asia and Oceanica, and it has now become a settled fact that the sun never ceases to shine on Junior Naturalists.

CHAUTAUQUA FARM BUREAU.

County agricultural agents were first employed by the United States Department of Agriculture to dem- onstrate better farming methods in the South. The idea gradually started in the North and the Farm Bureau was first used in New York State, the County Agricul- tural Agent then being known as the Farm Bureau Manager. The first Bureau to be started in New York State was at Binghamton, Broome county, about 1909 or 1910. During the winter of 1912-13 five or six other counties organized, of which Chautauqua was one. The idea of having a Farm Bureau was first discussed in Chautauqua county at Pomona Grange in 1912, and I believe that A. M. Loomis, agricultural editor of the

Jamestown "Evening Journal," made the suggestion that a committee was appointed. As a result of the efforts of the committee a Farm Bureau was organized and H. B. Rogers chosen as Farm Bureau manager, beginning the duties of his office in February, 1913. Financial support was first secured from the county through the board of supervisors, from the State of New York, the United States Department of Agri- culture and Chautauqua Institution. The organiza- tion consisted simply of an executive committee who with the manager drew up the plans and were responsi- ble for the work.

Chautauqua Institution deserves a great deal of credit

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for assistance in starting this new venture. The In- stitution continued its support for several years until the work was well established. The county board of supervisors has generously and consistently supported the work from the beginning. Much credit is due this body of men for their progressive attitude toward the Farm Bureau.

The support given by the State has been indispensable. They have cooperated effectively with the county agen- cies to make the Bureau a success. One of the men who first represented the Government in the Farm Bureau work was M. C. Burritt, one of the speakers at the 1920 Farm Bureau picnic. He was the first to con- ceive the idea that Farm Bureaus would be more effective if they had some sort of organization for the special purpose of accomplishing the purpose for which the Farm Bureau existed. He drew up a plan for a Farm Bureau Association with a committee in every township or community, in addition to the executive committee. Chautauqua fell in line with the other coun- ties of the State in adopting this plan.

The change to a membership basis greatly increased the efficiency of the work in Chautauqua county. Much more was accomplished by the Association with its local committees than had been by the Farm Bureau manager working alone with volunteer assistants. As a result of the Farm Bureau the adoption of better methods of farming has been hastened. The amount of lime used has been greatly increased as a result of the field tests conducted by the Bureau and the spreading of informa- tion concerning the value of different kinds of lime and sources of supply. The oats crop of the county has been increased by the adoption of modern methods of treating the seed. Fertilizers are being applied to the soil with more understanding, and better stock is being kept, with better returns, as a result of the Breeders' Association, automobile tours, etc., that have been en- couraged by the Bureau.

In the fruit section of the county the Farm Bureau has cooperated with the Grape Experiment Station cs- pecially by organizing automobile trips to visit the Station. Assistance has been given to the South Shore Growers' and Shpipers' associations and to the C. and E. Grape Co. Experimental work on tomatoes was be- gun in the spring of 1920 on the W. K. Stebbins farm in Sheridan.

In the organization of the Dairyman's League the Farm Bureau rendered a great service to the county. The assistance given the nineteen branches of the League in Chautauqua county is a good example of how it pays to maintain a permanent Bureau for the service of the farming interests.

The 1920 membership of about 1,700 is one of the larger ones in the State. It was a credit to the county that the membership was increased during the last year, although the dues were raised. However, from the standpoint of percentage Chautauqua county is near the bottom of the list and should have a much larger mem- bership. Present conditions demand that the farmers be more strongly organized than ever and if the Farm Bureau is to keep up with the times and meet the de- mands being made upon it must have more general support from the farmers of the county.

The amount of work done in the public schools in be- half of agriculture in its varied forms has greatly increased and many of the rural villages maintain com- plete agricultural departments. The Calf Club of the Forestville Free Academy and Union High School has 38 members, and at the 1920 fair of the County Agri- cultural Society the boys competed with their Holstein calves and carried off all the highest honors in class, and free for all, events in which they entered. The number of farmers who cultivate their acres or manage their herds according to scientific principles is con- stantly on the increase and the term "book farmer" is no longer one of reproach.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL CORPORATION.

The Chautauqua Agricultural Society was formed at Mayville, Judge Zattu Cushing the first president. In July. 1821, a list of premiums to be awarded at the next annual cattle show was published in the Chau- tauqua "Gazette." Among the premiums offered was one ( f $8 for the best cultivated farm of not less than fifty acres : $5 for the best one-eighth acre of tobacco; $8 for the best twenty yards of full cloth; $5 for the best twelve yards of "bombasett:" $4 for the best fifteen yards of flannel; $3 for the best twenty yards of tow and linen cloth, the cloth to be manufactured of mate- rial the growth of Chantauqua county. The Society had a life of but, in 1836, few years, then lay dormant until revived as the Chautauqua County Agricultural Society. On September 1, 1886, the semi-centennial meeting of the Chautauqua County Agricultural So- ciety was held in Marvin Park, Jamestown, and a log house erected by the old citizens of Jamestown as a memorial to their fathers-the pioneer settlers of Chau- tauqua county,-was dedicated with appropriate services. Marvin Park the home of the Society was well im- proved, having a mile or more of well roofed sheds for cattle and horses, a good race track, and all necessary exhibition buildings.

The Park had been reclaimed by Judge R. P. Mar- vin. the site having formerly been a swamp. The an- nual fair of the Society was quite an event, but finally fell into disrepute and ceased to exist.

In 1880 The Agricultural Society of Northern Chau- Chau-26

tauqua was organized, leaving ground between Fre- donia and Dunkirk for exhibition grounds.

In September, 1887, the Society held their Seventh Annual Fair and Live Stock Exhibition, E. L. Wilcox of Arkwright being president and general superintend- ent. A special feature of the fair was an unusually large premium list, over $4,000 being awarded for premiums and gifts.

The Society languished until 1900 when new blood was injected and a fresh start made. On July 27, 1900, the Chautauqua Agricultural Society was organized, with S. Fred Nixon president. Dr. Fenner, of Fredonia, superintendent. Fairs were held at the grounds between Fredonia and Dunkirk every year until 1916, when that interesting county event was omitted. The Society held a valuable charter and the property was worth salvag- ing, although as a money maker the fair was a failure. The year 1917 witnessed a revival of interest, the omis- sion of a fair in 1916 having proved that the county- at-large were in its favor. Arthur R. Maytum, of Fre- donia, attempted to interest Jamestown men in the So- ciety's rejuvenation but without success. He did how- ever succeed in interesting the Merchants Exchange of Dunkirk and on July 6, 1917, a reorganization was effected. The present style and corporate title is Chant- tauqua County Agricultural Corporation,-capital $40,- 000. The Corporation owns thirty-one acres of land, fairly well improved for fair purposes and has to its credit for 1920 the best fair ever held in the county,

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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

the exhibits being good and the attendance very large. At the legislative session of 1919-20 a bill was passed and approved by the governor permitting Agricultural Societies of a certain class to increase their capital to $150,000. The Corporation will take advantage of this law and if the additional stock can be sold, their plans of expansion and improvement will be carried out.

The officers of the Corporation (1920) are: Robert J. Gross, president, Dunkirk, N. Y .; James M. Madigan, treasurer, Dunkirk; Arthur R. Maytum, secretary, Fre- donia. Directors-Charles J. Anderson, Fredonia ; A. C. Barbeau, Silver Creek; Henry C. Card, Fredonia ; Jay Crissey, Jamestown; John H. Cummings, Sinclair- ville; W. J. Doty, Mayville; Charles M. Dow, James- town; C. W. Green, Brocton; Robert J. Gross, Dun- kirk; Amos E. Hall, Cassadaga; W. H. Hegmann, Fre- donia ; Jos. A. McGinnies, Ripley; Wm. H. Marvin, Forestville; A. R. Maytum, Fredonia; Sam F. Nixon, Westfield ; H. E. V. Porter, Jamestown ; C. M. Purdy, Jamestown; A. Wienberg, Dunkirk; Gerald B. Wil- liams, Dunkirk; Dr. F. E. Wilson, Fredonia; J. G. Wolpert, Dunkirk.

The census reports for 1920 show that Chautauqua county cities and large villages are increasing in pop-

ulation at the expense of the farming communities, while Jamestown makes a somewhat better showing in that respect than sister counties. The figures are not reassuring and show conclusively that a new problem in American life has arisen which must be solved wisely, for an abandoned farm is a menace to both city and country. While Jamestown, with its corrected figure of 38,917, shows a gain of 7,620, and Dunkirk with 19,336 has a gain of 2,115, which increases com- bined nearly equal the total gain of the county. There have also been gains, many of them very substantial, in Brocton Celoron, Falconer, Fredonia, Lakewood, Mayville, Sherman, Silver Creek, and Westfield, due to enlarging industries or to their proximity to the cit- ies. Of the incorporated villages, only Cherry Creek, Forestville, Panama and Sinclairville show actual losses. But in the twenty-six towns (considering Har- mony and North Harmony as one) there are only in- creases in Carroll, Chautauqua, Clymer, Dunkirk, Elli- cott, Hanover, Kiantone, Pomfret, and Portland, which excepting Clymer, include large villages or are near the cities. Seventeen towns show actual losses includ- ing some of those in the fertile Grape Belt as well as the dairying towns in Southern Chautauqua.

THE GRAPE INDUSTRY. By Dr. C. E. Welch.

Among the features which have advertised Chautau- qua county to the world, none has exceeded the great Chautauqua Grape Belt. The quality of her Concord Grapes is supreme. The immense tonnage raised and shipped to all the world, either as the fresh fruit or in the form of grape juice, has made the name Chautau- qua familiar everywhere.

There are four great grape growing sections in the United States : California is the largest in total acre- age, but the grapes are almost entirely of the European varieties ; the Chautauqua Belt ranks second in acreage, and is by far the most important region in the produc- tion of native American grapes; Southwestern Michigan and the Central Lake region of New York complete the list of major sections, the Michigan belt carrying a much larger proportion of native American grapes than the Central New York Belt.

The Chautauqua Grape Belt has been called the home of the Concord Grape. Extending along the southern shore of Lake Erie in a narrow strip of rich, warm soil, the climate tempered by the lake on the north, pro- tected by the Chautauqua hills on the south, nature ap- parently designed this garden spot as an ideal home for the Concord Grape. Although not exceeding three or four miles in width, this section extends far enough along the lake to allow some 35,000 acres of vineyard in addition to a large amount in other fruits and gen- eral farm produce. The larger part of the belt is in Chautauqua county, although it continues some fifteen miles into Erie county in the State of Pennsylvania.

The Concord Grape originated at Concord, Massachu- setts, being the result of wild grape seed planted in 1843. The variety was early introduced into Chautau- qua county. Results were so satisfactory that by 1880 there was a considerable acreage planted to Corncords. Since 1850, grapes have been grown here in commercial quantities, but the early varieties were not entirely suc- cessful, and gradually the Concord replaced them until today it is almost universal.

Analyzing the industry in 1900, we find that the bulk of the crop was moved in small baskets and was large- ly for table use. Some grapes were shipped in larger

baskets for making of wine, and some were used in local wine cellars. At that time the grape juice in- dustry had not reached sufficient proportions to have much influence on the grape markets. The crop that year was in the neighborhood of 80,000 tons. The busi- ness had shown good profits and expansion had been rapid.

For various reasons the market for table grapes has declined during the past twenty years, but the shipment of grapes in bulk and the rapidly increasing demands for grape juice have more than offset the decrease. For some years past the grape juice manufacturers have taken the larger part of the crop, and still have not had sufficient, finding it necessary to develop other grape regions. There has not been a great deal of change in the acreage since 1900, and the production per acre has probably decreased some. When land was cheap, growers took little care of the vineyards, raising as large crops as possible, and when the land was drained of its goodness, it was a simple matter to abandon the old and set out new vineyards. Such methods have largely passed, the grower to-day using such cultural methods as will give him the proper normal production per acre without taking too much from his land.

Chautauqua Concords are trained on wires, from two to three feet high, stretched between posts in parallel rows. Each year the vines are pruned and tied up to the wires. The other operations, such as plowing, cultivat- ing, spraying and fertilizing, keep the grower quite busy through the season until nearly picking time.

Grapes are harvested practically in one month, which results in a very busy period throughout the belt. Com- ing usually in October, the weather is neither sultry nor unpleasantly cold. In addition to the grower's family and neighbors, pickers come from nearby towns and cities for a few weeks of pleasant outdoor work with good pay. Shipping points along the railroads are congested with refrigerator cars. A continuous stream of heavily laden wagons and trucks passes along the road. Everywhere is hustle and bustle during the Chau- tauqua grape harvest.

BUSY DAY IN THE GRAPE FELT

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There have been attempts to handle the crop through central packing houses, as is standard practice for oranges, lemons and some other fruits. Among the difficulties found is the fact that grapes cannot be handled through a mechanical grader. Then, too, the very short season and perishable nature of the fruit

are further handicaps to such methods. The industry of grape raising and grape shipping comprises the principal activity of most of the belt cities and towns. Nearly every grape juice factory of importance lies within the Chautauqua Grape Belt. Thus Chautauqua gives to man the Concord Grape.

THE SWEDISH PEOPLE IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. By Charles A. Okerlind.

Swedish people began coming to Chautauqua county about 1850, and since that year their number has stead- ily increased. The census of 1910, the last available authority at this writing, furnishes ground for the esti- mate that there are now in Jamestown 20,000 and in Chautauqua county 30,000 persons of Swedish birth or descent. These figures are arrived at by including the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of im- migrants. Nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since the first persons of Swedish birth came to Chau- tauqua county, most of them with little capital save stout hearts and willing hands, but they have proved good citizens, have assimilated with the communities in which they settled, and through marriage and in- termarriage have become a worthy integral part of the great commonwealth of New York. In Jamestown it is safe to say that seventy-five per cent. of those appear- ing as taxpayers bear Swedish names, and at least seventy per cent. of the business world of that city are Swedes by ancestry or birth. Almost to a man, the thousands of merchants, manufacturers, business and professional men of Swedish birth, naturalized as quick- ly as law would permit, have become in fact as well as in thought and spirit, American citizens.

Leading up to the coming of the first Swedes to Chautauqua county was the arrival in Buffalo, New York, in 1846. of Germund and Catherine Johnson with their two little girls, one six, the other eight years of age. Funds being exhausted, the parents remained in Buffalo, while the two girls were taken into the family of Robert Falconer, then living in Sugar Grove, Penn- sylvania. Later, Mr. Falconer found employment for the girls' father, Germund Johnson. This led to other Swedes going to Sugar Grove, and on October 13, 1848, a party headed by Frederick Johnson arrived there. In that party were two young women, Johanna Charlotta Johnson (sister of Frederick), and Lisa Lena Ander- son, these two, in the summer of 1849, going to the not far distant village of Jamestown, New York, and be- coming the first actual Swedish residents there.

These young women both married in Jamestown in 1852, Johanna Charlotta Johnson winning the love of a young Swede, Frank Peterson, who came in 1850, and Lena Anderson becoming the wife of Otto Peterson, who also came from Sweden in 1850. Both ladies sur- vived their husbands, Mrs. Frank Peterson now (Au- gust, 1920) residing in Falconer, aged eighty-nine, Mrs. Otto Peterson a resident of Jamestown, aged eighty- seven.

It is stated that later in 1849, Samuel Johnson and Andrew Peterson settled in Jamestown, and in 1851 the birth of a daughter is recorded as "daughter of Andrew Peterson and wife, the first Swedish girl baby born in Jamestown." On December 29, 1851, the first Swedish boy ( Theodore) was born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Johnson. The girl baby died, but the boy lived to old age.

The greater number of those who are reckoned as Jamestown's first settlers came in 1850, 1851 and 1852. Some of them were: Samuel Sjöstrand, Lars A. John-

son, Nils J. Swanson, Peter Johnson, Andrew Peter- son, his wife Anna and son John A., Andrew P. Peter- son and wife; John Larson, a local Methodist exhorter, afterwards settling in Minnesota ; Frank and Otto Pet- erson (previously mentioned, but not brothers), Israel Israelson, his wife Anna with her five children of a previous marriage; and Mrs. Marcus P. Jacobsen (mother of the first Swede school teacher in James- town, the late Martha Jacobsen) ; Samuel Berg, his wife and four children; John Gorman, Johannes John- son, his wife Brita Stina and three children; A. P. Gelm, wife, son John, and a daughter, etc. The early comers are said to have been in the neighborhood of one hundred about the close of 1852. The experience of one was similar to that of all the others. The above mentioned Britta Stina Johnson, who passed away March 8, 1907, at the ripe age of ninety-two years, used to tell about hers, somewhat after this fashion: "My husband and myself and our three children arrived in Jamestown in the summer of 1852. The voyage across the Atlantic was made by a sailing vessel and required six weeks and four days. When we left the mother country we had no other aim or destination than 'America.' In our company were, however, some whose destination was Jamestown, and likely because we did not have the means to continue with those going farther west, we made up our minds for Jamestown, too. From New York to Albany we journeyed by canal, and thence to Dunkirk, New York, by rail. Resting in the lastnamed city over night, we started the following day by ox-carts for Jamestown. The day of our arrival the Swedish population of Jamestown, consisting up till then of very few people, was increased with thirty."

The first Swedish couple who devoted themselves to business here on their own account were A. J. and Maria Brockman, who, after coming to America in 1864, opened up a grocery store here in 1868. Mr. Brockman's health failed him, however, and he died in 1877, having sold his business to J. T. Söderholm some time previously. Mrs. Brockman lived on, honored and active, to the end of the century.

Another merchant was Conrad A. Hult, who com- menced selling men's clothing and furnishing goods shortly after his arrival here in 1872. In the Centen- nial year (1876) or about twenty-five years after the first influx, the list of Swedish business men in James- town showed forth quite an increase. Beside Hult, the clothier, there were then : Olof Lundquist, hatter ; F. L. Nordstrom, shoe dealer: Jonason & Beurstedt, cigar dealers and makers ; A. W. Ljungberg, general merchan- dise and newspapers ; J. T. Söderholm and F. A. Thom- as, grocers ; S. E. Melin, tailor : Paul Rosencrantz, pho- tographer ; and S. J. Rapp, shoemaker. Others who were clerks but became storekeepers shortly afterward were Axel F. Johnson, drugs; Elof Rosencrantz, hard- ware, and Victor Linnander, clothing. In ever-increas- ing numbers the Swedes came during the last half of the nineteenth century, the numbers coming each year becoming less as the new century progressed.

Elliot M. Peterson, son of the pioneers, Frank and

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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

Charlotta Peterson, was the first Swedish doctor in Jamestown. He was well liked, and had a lucrative practice at the time of his death in 1887. Charles E. Anderson was the first Swede dentist, and Olaf A. Olson the first Swedish lawyer.

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 97

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc. Number of Pages: 649

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649