USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 60
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The third link in this important chain of improvements was the Barge canal. The state having determined to construct this important work, the Chamber of Commerce enlisted its efforts in the interest of Utica. The original survey in- dicated that the barge canal would pass through Utica in the vicinity of the new river channel. The Chamber of Commerce was immediately active. Why not utilize the channel of the Mohawk, saving the cost of construction to the city?
It was discovered by accident in November, 1907, that the line of the Barge canal would run 1,200 feet north of the new channel, notwithstanding the ad- visory board had practically accepted the new channel for that purpose. The Chamber of Commerce arranged for a hearing in Utica by State Engineer Fred- erick Skene on canal matters. He gave this hearing in December, and it was attended by citizens generally. The subject was thoroughly discussed. State Engineer Skene came to the Chamber again in April, 1908, saying his plan was revised, and that the new channel would be adopted. After leaving Utica Mr. Skene again changed his plans, adopting the present line for the canal. Ac- cepting these conditions, the Chamber turned its energies toward suitable har- bors. With the canal located in Deerfield, it presented a minimum advantage to Utica shippers. To justify the vote given by Utica for the construction of a barge canal, it was expected that the city should have some advantage from it. The Chamber of Commerce decided to ask for such advantage. It arranged for a public hearing in the Majestic Theatre, which was held December 15, 1909. The meeting was addressed by Deputy State Engineer W. B. Landreth. At the conclusion of his remarks the public were invited by the presiding officer, Mr. Frank M. Kendrick, chairman of the Public Improvements Committee, to discuss the various plans. It was desired to know what the people of Utica wanted. Many men interested in public affairs took part in this discussion, particularly manufacturers. Every phase of the question was considered. Fi- nally the sense of the meeting was expressed by a resolution offered by William Pierrepont White. This resolution called for the retention of the Erie canal, literally the industrial backbone of Utica, and the building of a harbor in the west arm of the old channel of the Mohawk river, which swings south to Lee
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street. This sentiment was approved unanimously. Three days later the Barge Canal Terminal Commission gave a hearing in the Common Council rooms on this same subject. That the work of the Chamber was thoroughly done was proven when the Barge Canal Terminal Commission embodied in its report to the legislature in January, 1910, the plans as advocated at these meetings. Through the request of the Chamber of Commerce the new channel, so igno- miniously turned down by State Engineer Skene, is incorporated as part of the Utica harbor scheme in the plans of the state, and will be voted on at the com- ing election by the voters of the state of New York as part of the Terminals law.
These improvements, far reaching in their effect, were promoted by citizens who were able to look ahead. In these days of progressive cities their value is apparent. All through the fight the Chamber of Commerce was active as a body and as individuals, and the result fully justified its efforts.
UTICA BOARD OF TRADE
With the introduction and gradual extension of the factory system of mak- ing cheese in Oneida County, it became necessary to resort to some other method of selling and buying dairy products than that of dicker between individual producers and storekeepers, which had been previously the custom. Conse- quently, in 1868, leading cheese men of the county organized the Utica Dairy- men's Board of Trade, to promote and provide for the convenient transaction of the business of dealing in dairy and farm products, to establish just and equitable relations for the transaction of such business with its members, to disseminate valuable information among them, to reform abuses in the dairy business, and to settle differences between members should such arise.
The officers of the Board are a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treas- urer and twelve directors. They are elected at the beginning of each season. It has been the custom to reelect the secretary so long as he chooses to serve, but the other officers are usually changed from year to year. The President for the season of 1911 was Fred H. Merry of Verona.
The first Secretary of the Board was T. D. Curtis, agricultural editor of the Utica Morning Herald. He was succeeded by Edward J. Wickson, also on the Herald staff, who subsequently became a leading agricultural authority in California. The third Secretary was Horace Kennedy, but he served only one season. He was succeeded by B. D. Gilbert, who was Secretary for twenty- eight years, during which time he brought the Board up to a high state of efficiency. He resigned in 1906 because of ill health. He was succeeded by W. H. DeShon, the present Secretary.
The Utica Board for a long time enjoyed the distinction of being the only body of its kind in the State. There was early a contemporaneous market at Little Falls, but it was without organization, its transactions being confined largely to street barter between individuals. The membership of the Utica Board was once very large, cheese factories and creameries in Oneida and many surrounding counties being represented. With the establishment of markets in the northern part of the state, especially at Watertown, the attendance at Utica has decreased considerably. But Utica is still an important butter and
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cheese center. The Board here was incorporated on May 18, 1893, and it has the distinction of being the only corporate body of the kind in the state. Be- cause of this, the fact that its transactions have to do only with full cream cheese, and that as high prices are realized for the product as elsewhere, the quotations of this board are generally accepted as fairly indicating the trend of the market from week to week during the producing season-May to No- vember-and these quotations are in demand from all parts of the country. The total value of the cheese sold on the Utica Board of Trade during the sea- son of 1911 was $641,604. Add to this the transactions in butter, and that of transactions in cheese based on the Board Sales, and the grand total was fully $1,000,000.
THE ROMOHAWKS is an organization devoted to exploiting the industrial advantages and promoting the welfare of the growing and progressive city of Rome. Early in the year 1909 a number of the prominent business men of the city met for the purpose of formulating a plan for holding a carnival in Rome during the week of the Oneida County Fair in September, to better advertise the fair and at the same time interest the visitors in Rome, its industries, its business and professional life, and its advantages as a home city. The name "Romohawks" was chosen from a number suggested as the name of the organi- zation, it being devised from "Rome" and "Mohawk," the city being located on the banks of the Mohawk river. The Romohawks further adopted as their slogan, "Rome, a City of Industries and a Place that is Good to Live In."
The committee on plan and scope of the proposed carnival reported a scheme for entertainment, consisting of evening parades typical of historical events connected with Fort Stanwix, the site of which lies in the center of the city, and over which the Stars and Stripes were first flung to the breeze in battle in Au- gust, 1777; the parades also to consist of fraternal and other organizations, visiting firemen, industrial floats, decorated automobiles, etc .; band concerts, illuminations and pyrotechnic displays to continue throughout the carnival. The above plan was approved and the work of preparation began, which re- sulted in the first carnival of The Romohawks being held in connection with the Oneida County Fair September 7, 8, 9, 1909. The large crowds of visitors and the enthusiasm within the city, the magnificent parades under command of Hon. E. Stuart Williams, grand marshal, and his efficient aides, resulted in a complete success of the enterprise. Governor Charles E. Hughes was an hon- ored guest of the city and reviewed the pageant.
Through the interest aroused by the success of the Romohawks' 1909 carni- val and the demand of the citizens of Rome for a continuance of the boosting campaign, it was decided to increase the membership and further the effective- ness of the organization. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and a ritual for initiation prepared. The growth of the organization was so rapid the need of a permanent secretary was felt, and in April, 1910, Farnham M. Gregory was appointed to this position and headquarters established in the city hall, Mayor Kessinger generously offering the use of his rooms for this purpose.
April 15, 1910, a banquet was held in conjunction with the Merchants' As- sociation, which was largely attended, and addresses were made by prominent
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speakers on commercial and civic progressiveness. April 29, 1910, a delega- tion of about 150 members of the Mystique Krewe of Kanoo-oo of Syracuse, N. Y., a similar organization, conducted the first initiation ceremonial, and the membership increased to 408. The ritual of The Romohawks was devised as an allegorical rite of the ancient Iroquois Indians, who once occupied this part of the country. By this ceremonial the members of The Romohawks became "good Indians," and were divided into tribes. The following chiefs were chosen : J. A. Ott, Oneida Tribe; A. J. O'Connor, Onondaga Tribe; Alexander MacGregor, Seneca Tribe; L. V. Jones, Cayuga Tribe; James H. Hooke, Mo- hawk Tribe. Two other initiation ceremonials were held in 1910, and the mem- bership increased to 594. A costume for the members was adopted and visits made to Oneida and Syracuse, where The Romohawks participated in carnivals held in these cities, and also in the carnival held in Rome.
The second carnival of The Romohawks held in September, 1910, was even more successful than that of the previous year, the parades being under com- mand of Charles E. Wardwell, as grand marshal.
The third annual carnival was held in September, 1911, which proved to be the usual success. George A. Clyde, as grand marshal, was in charge of the parades. The idea of these yearly carnivals seems to have met the approval of the citizens of Rome, as pledges have already been received for an amount suf- ficient to finance a carnival in 1912.
The work of the members and board of directors of The Romohawks, out- side of the carnivals, has been very effective as a boosting organization for the city. Many needed improvements have been made, matters of interest to the commercial and civic welfare of the city have been promoted, and a successful advertising campaign conducted. A continuance of the effort is sure to result in the growing progressiveness of Rome, "A City of Industries and a Place that is Good to Live In."
The officers have been :
Presidents-Samuel H. Beach, 1909; E. Stuart Williams, 1910; F. M. Shel- ley, 1911 ; A. R. Kessinger, 1912.
Vice Presidents-A. R. Kessinger, H. G. Lake, 1909; F. M. Shelley, 1910; H. W. Barnard, 1911; R. A. Field, 1912.
Secretaries-Leon V. Jones, 1909-10; Farnham M. Gregory, 1910-12.
Treasurers-F. M. Shelley, 1909; D. A. Lawton, 1910-11; C. R. Edwards, 1912, and a board of directors each year.
ONEIDA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY was organized in 1841 by Pomroy Jones of Lairdsville, Benjamin P. Johnson, Benjamin N. Huntington and George I. Wheeler of Rome, Calvin Bishop of Verona, Pliment Mattoon of Vienna, John Butterfield and Theodore S. Faxton of Utica, T. D. Penfield of Camden, Ira Hitchcock of Vernon, and Henry Rhodes of South Trenton. Its first exhibition was held in the village of Hampton (now Westmoreland) on the village green. In order to keep people away from the exhibit until their ad- mission fee had been paid, and to obtain money with which to pay premiums on articles entered (which articles could be entered at any time up to the time of judging), the highways were blocked at a distance of about fifty rods from the green by ropes which were stretched across them. No one was allowed to pass
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these ropes until the admission fee had been paid, which was 121/2 cents for each person. Premiums were paid at the close of the fair, which was held one day, by the president and secretary, who sat on the church steps. Much amusement was created by the order in which the premiums were listed, the president at that time Pomroy Jones, calling the name of the owner of a prize bull, and im- mediately following it with first premium on a shaker bonnet.
The following year the exhibition was held in Rome, on the lot now occupied by the Rome Academy and First Presbyterian Church. During the first years of its existence the fair was a movable exhibition, a vote being taken at the close of each fair as to where it should be held the following year. Fairs were held in the several towns of Oneida county until about 1858, when permanent grounds were purchased in Rome on the Floyd road from the Fish farm, now Riverside Park, where fairs have been held annually since. Many of the farmers and citi- zens took a deep interest in the success and management of the society, and the fairs were progressive until about 1888. At that time the society was entirely out of debt, with money in the treasury. It was thought advisable by some of the members to erect a hotel building upon the property which was done in 1888. From that time until 1899 the affairs of the society were prosperous, but from 1899 to about 1906 the fairs were not as successful as in former years. In 1906 the society was incorporated, and a new impetus was given to its affairs by the election of an entirely new board of managers and officers. Since that time the financial affairs of the society have been steadily gaining, and the indications are that within a very few years the society will again be on a paying basis. Within the last few years new cattle sheds have been built at a cost of about $3,500 the buildings repaired and newly painted, the grand-stand moved, and the old one mile race track cut down to one of the best one-half mile race tracks in central New York. The society is now paying annually in the neighborhood of $3,000 per year in premiums, and the amount of money handled by it each year is about $12,000.
Of the original organizers of the society the only one living at the present time is Mr. George I. Wheeler, who resides in Rome. Mr. Wheeler has been one of the most active members from the time of its organization to the present date, and has never failed in attendance at any of the annual fairs. The presidents have been : 1841-42, Pomroy Jones; 1843-44, Benj. P. Johnson ; 1845, Elon Com- stock; 1846, Dolphus Skinner; 1847-8, Ira S. Hitchcock; 1849, Henry Rhodes; 1850, Benj. N. Huntington ; 1851, Pliment Mattoon ; 1852, A. S. Newberry ; 1853, Roland S. Doty ; 1854, Levi T. Marshall; 1855, H. H. Eastman; 1856, Lorenzo Rouse; 1857, Calvin Bishop; 1858, J. Wyman Jones; 1859, A. VanPatten; 1860, N. S. Wright; 1861, E. B. Armstrong; 1862, Edward Huntington; 1863, George Benedict; 1864, Samuel Campbell; 1865, R. G. Savery; 1866, Morgan Butler; 1867, B. W. Williams; 1868, O. B. Gridley; 1869, John H. Wilcox; 1870, John L. Dean ; 1871, John Butterfield; 1872, T. D. Penfield; 1873, J. B. Cushman ; 1874, Mark Cheney ; 1875, H. N. Gleason; 1876, John M. Phillips; 1877, Luke Coan; 1878, William Townsend; 1879, R. A. Jones; 1880, H. L. Adams; 1881, John Warcup; 1882, T. D. Roberts; 1883, George Hammill; 1884, H. M. Rouse ; 1885, L. S. Wilcox; 1886, Charles Seymour; 1887, Azer Chandler; 1888, George I. Wheeler; 1889, Chester Wolcott; 1890, C. C. Bartholomew; 1891, R. H. Jones;
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1892, G. W. Cooley; 1893, B. D. Stone; 1894, William Hinman; 1895, I. D. Thompson ; 1896, James A. Bailey; 1897, J. N. Jacobs; 1898, C. A. Pratt; 1899, John W. Potter; 1900, M. Thalman; 1901, L. Mittenmaier, Jr .; 1902, Grif- fith W. Jones; 1903, George H. Bell; 1904, A. F. Bronson; 1905, H. Barnard, Jr .; 1906, O. E. Jones ; 1907, J. B. Dodge ; 1908, A. S. White; 1909-10, Dr. James H. Whaley. The officers for 1911 are: President, Dr. James H. Whaley; vice presidents, Stanley W. Warcup, Merrick Wood; treasurer, J. A. Ott; secretary, Frank S. Baker.
FARMERS' CLUB-The first meeting of the Farmers' Club was held at Bagg's Hotel, Utica, January 21, 1870, and it was fully organized on February 4 follow- ing. Samuel Campbell was elected president; Horatio Seymour, vice presi- dent; T. D. Curtiss, recording secretary ; W. H. Comstock, corresponding secre- tary; L. L. Wight, treasurer. The other persons instrumental in forming the club were John Butterfield, Henry Rhoads, Morgan Butler, M. Quimby, Harris Lewis, S. T. Miller. Provisions were made for a board of directors, consisting of eight persons.
The club has held frequent meetings from the date of its organization to the present time, and each year has a public banquet, at which eminent speakers entertain the banqueters. The principal officers of the club since its organiza- tion, besides those already given, have been Fred C. Batchelor, J. H. Marvin, Joseph E. Graham, J. V. H. Scoville, John W. Wood, George G. Chassel, Loren R. Scott and William M. Osborne. The officers at the present time are Joseph E. Graham, president; J. M. Seymour, vice president; Herbert Tyler, secretary. There are 85 active members, and the oldest charter member living is J. V. H. Scoville.
UTICA CITIZENS' CORPS-No organization in the city can show a continuous record of service and work comparable with the Utica Citizens' Corps. It was organized in 1837, when the city contained a little over 10,000 souls. The Utica Observer of December 26, 1837, contained the following and the first notice about the corps: "Utica Citizens' Corps-Our citizens were gratified to see this new military company out on Saturday last, (23d). Their appearance was most creditable. Those engaged in getting up and sustaining it deserve the highest commendation. We have long needed a military company of that char- acter, and now that we have one, let us spare no pains in keeping it in existence. It is an honor and ornament to our city."
We can easily imagine the personnel of that gallant band. It represented the active spirit of the community, the flower of its youth, the beaus of the city. The original muster contained many names famous after in the commercial, po- litical and social annals of the city. Here it is : Captain, E. K. Barnum; Lieuts. W. K. Backus, Alvin White and Henry K. Hart; Ensign, Elisha K. Rogers; the "men :" James Halstead, George Harrison, Daniel J. Francis, Richard San- ger, Morgan W. Brown, Daniel B. Johnson, Theodore Carman, Stephen Abbey, Joy Ladd, Stephen Comstock, Alexander C. Hart, Stephen M. Perrine, Francis Vedder, Stephen O. Byington, Hugh Roberts, Edward Broadwell, Stephen O. Barnum, E. S. Rogers, Henry Ladd, George Westcott, Thomas J. Newland,
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Henry W. Rockwell, George W. Hart, William N. Weaver, William Gray, Al- bert Spencer, F. W. Guiteau, Grove Penny, William B. Dickinson, James S. Beardsley, William C. Johnson, and Richard U. Owens.
The first parade was headed by the Utica band, famous itself through the following half century. On July 4, 1841, the first stand of colors was presented to the corps by its former captain, E. K. Barnum, through John F. Seymour. W. W. Backus was then captain. He was succeeded in the same year by Henry R. Hart, and the company occupied its first armory in the old Miller building, northwest corner of Whitesboro and Genesee streets. In 1843 the company took part in the opening of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, and acted as guard at the famous McLeod trial, one of the first of its many useful services. It was this trial that threatened to involve the country in war with England. In 1846 the first "camp" was held in Richfield Springs, and the first of the long series of Wash- ington's birthday balls was given on February 22. By this time the corps was in full swing as a social factor, and was famous afterwards throughout the state in this line, and hardly a city at some time did not entertain it. Captain Alvin White succeeded Captain Hart, and served until 1852. During his command in 1851, the annual shoot was held on the site now occupied by the Tabernacle Baptist Church.
About this time the Armory was moved to Washington Hall, corner of Broad and John streets, which building still stands. In 1852 Henry R. Hart was again elected captain, and James McQuade was one of the lieutenants. This year the corps paraded before and was addressed by General Winfield Scott in Bagg's Square. In 1853 Edward Broadwell was captain, and the corps took part in the opening of the Black River Railroad, and in the laying of the cornerstone of the city hall. The Armory was then moved to Military Hall, corner of John and Cath- arine streets. James McQuade was elected captain in 1853. He infused the mar- tial spirit into the command, bringing it up to date in tactics. His genial qual- ities had great effect on the personnel of the corps, and it made corresponding progress. In 1857, the celebrated encampment at Saratoga was held, and named after Captain McQuade. A painting of the corps at this camp hangs in the state armory at present. It was made by Artist Kunkelly, a member, and the portraits are excellent. It includes many of the leading spirits of Utica at that period, and their presence was a guarantee that Saratoga was lively in August, 1857. It was in this year that the corps performed guard duty at the burning of the State Lunatic Asylum. The corps was, at this time, the recipient of many invitations to functions held by independent military companies in the cities of the country, for every city then had its crack company, its guards, its grays, etc. Many of the invitations were accepted, and the corps' fame ex- tended accordingly. In 1858 they again held forth at Saratoga at Camp John- son, named after the captain. At Camp Johnson, the beautiful white banner, so often afterwards borne with pride by the corps, was presented by Madam Jumel. It hangs at present at the officers' quarters of Company B, 1st Regiment, in the State Armory.
When the call of '61 was sounded the corps volunteered at a meeting, which had its counterpart in most cities of the country. The doings of these stirring days are now history in Utica. They include the patriotic appeal of Captain
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STATE ARMORY, UTICA
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McQuade to the corps, its volunteering with a hurrah, and later, on April 23, its march down Genesee street en route to its cantonment at Albany, where it was the first company to report for duty. It was a beautiful spring day, and all Utica was out to see the boys off. On many battlefields of the Civil War the men of the corps distinguished themselves. From its ranks were furnished 59 com- missioned officers. Among the number were six major generals and three briga- dier generals. When the war was over, those of the corps who had been to the front settled down to reorganizing their home affairs. At a meeting held in Tiger Hose House on John street in 1867, the company was reorganized, Col. Thomas M. Davis being elected captain, and in the following year it inaugurated the custom kept up for many years of celebrating the anniversaries of its de- parture for the Civil War. In 1868 it took part in the doings that surrounded the opening of the Chenango and Susquehanna Railroad. The Armory was about this time, in Chubbuck's Hall. General Grant was in Utica in 1869, and the corps escorted him from Bagg's Hotel to the residence of Roscoe Conkling. It paraded in 1870, at the funeral of General George H. Thomas in Troy. James Miller was its captain in 1871. The corps was again busy during the succeeding years in social and military affairs. It never missed the Washington birthday parade, the annual ball, the annual target practice, nor the anniversary of '61. In 1872 it held its annual shoot at Watertown. As a sample of these affairs it is re- corded that W. A. Fish won first prize, Sergeant Wetzel second, and John J. Flannigan the third. In the evening the old Utica Band gave a concert in the public square, and the citizens of Watertown tendered an impromptu hop to the Uticans at the Woodruff House.
During the next few years the corps visited the Thousand Islands, Ottawa, as the guests of the Governor General of Canada's Footguards; Albany, where. with the Burgess and the Old Guard of New York, they formed a red, white and blue battalion. John H. Douglass was then captain. In 1881 the corps participated in the inauguration of President Garfield at Washington On this trip it was royally entertained in Albany and New York. Major D. T. Everetts was at that time in command. Evacuation Day, 1883, saw the corps in New York, the guest of the Old Guard; it was a red-letter day in the history of the organization. March, 1884, Egbert Bagg was elected captain. In the same month the corps buried its most eminent member and war time captain, Gen- eral James McQuade. He was in command at the age of 21, and throughout his long association with the corps was ever one of its leading spirits. Edmund L. Munson was captain in 1885, William M. Storrs in 1886, and Major Everetts in 1887. The fiftieth anniversary of the corps was celebrated in this year. A parade was held in the morning, and the buildings along the line of march were gaily decorated. The city was in holiday temper. Open house was kept all day in the armory. Reminiscences were in order, and in the evening a banquet was held in the drill hall. Among the out of town guests were many military men, who had come in contact with the corps in its travels. The flower of the city's citizenship were also present. Among the speakers were Dr. James G. Hunt, the corps' president; Lieut. Eugene Stearns, who gave the corps' history; Channing M. Huntington, who read the anniversary poem; Myron W. VanAuken, who spoke on reminiscences, and Col. P. F. Bulger, who made a memorial address.
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