USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume II > Part 25
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The Livingston County Medical Society was organized at Geneseo May 29, 1821, by the following doctors: Charles Little and Jared B. Ensworth, of Avon; Justin Smith, of Lima; Sam- uel Daniels, Elkanah French and Eli Hill, of Livonia; Royal Tyler and John W. Leonard, of York; and Cyrus Wells, Jr., of Geneseo. Dr. Charles Little was the first president. The society was discontinued in 1844, but was reorganized in 1852. The early records of this organization contain the names of many doctors not mentioned above who were medical pioneers in the different towns of Livingston County; among them are Ariel and Milton Alvord, Loren J. Ames, Avery Benedict, Ebenezer Childs, Lyman N. Cook, John Craig, John Reid Craig, Amos Crandall, Jr., John Currie, Samuel Daniels, Aaron Davis, Asel Day, E. C. Day, David D. Dayton, George O. J. DuRelle, William C. Dwight, Eben H. Bishop, Daniel H. Bissell, Daniel P. Bissell, Gilbert Bogart, J. R. Bowers, William Butler, William C. Butler, A. C.
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Campbell, Alex Campbell, Duncan Campbell, T. A. Campbell, John Campbell, John A. Campbell, Samuel Carmen, Peter T. Caton, Caleb Chapin, Horatio N. Fenn, Lewis G. Ferris, Graham N. Fitch, Henry K. Foote, Samuel Galentine, H. S. Gates, John S. Graham, Joel Gray, Orlando S. Gray, William T. Green, Isaiah B. Hudmutt, Jr., Julius M. Hume, John S. Hunt, Isaac W. Hurd, J. C. Landon, Charles Little, George W. Little, Josiah Long, Lockwood Lyon, Truman E. Mason, James McMaster, David McMillen, E. H. G. Meacham, Enoch Peck, Isaac Minard, Wil- liam B. Mumson, Zina G. Paine, Asa R. Palmer, Abijah E. Perry, William S. Purdy, J. H. Robinson, Samuel Salisbury, Jr., Wells H. Sellew, Levi D. Seymour, Lester G. Shepard, Athelstein W. Smith, Frederick R. Stickney, Daniel C. Stilwell, William H. Thomas, Absalom Townsend, William A. Townsend, Walter Wal- lace, Joseph Weeks, Harlow W. Wells, J. F. Whitbeck and Wil- liam Whitney. Many of the present day doctors of the county are mentioned in the biographical volume of this publication.
The recent reopening of the Jackson Sanatorium at Dans- ville meant the reviving of one of western New York's oldest institutions of its kind, dating from 1852. Water cures were in growing favor at that time, and Dansville had a spring gushing from the hillside, which was called "All Healing Spring," and was supposed to have curative properties; as these water cures were located near some noted springs, Nathaniel Bingham, as Mr. Bun- nell expresses it, "thought it would be a good idea to have a little water cure at Dansville," and in company with Lyman Granger, put up the first installment, "the Home on the Hillside," and the institution was ready for occupancy in 1853. Both owners soon sold out to Abraham Pennell, whose son-in-law, Doctor Stevens, desired to experiment with the water cure. His connection with the enterprise was short-lived. Doctor Blackall, of New York, took over the place after it had been closed a year; he, in turn, soon gave up the business and nothing further was done until 1858. Then Dr. James Caleb Jackson, who had experience in a water cure at Glen Haven, Ne w York, leased the Dansville property for three years and took possession October 1st, of that year. His co- proprietors were his son, Giles E. Jackson, his adopted daughter, Dr. Harriett N. Austin, and Dr. F. Wilson Hurd. Doctor Jack- son made an immediate success of the institution, and had fifty patients before the winter had passed. In June, 1864, Giles died
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and his mother, Lucretia E. Jackson, and younger brother, James H. Jackson, succeeded to his interest. Doctor Hurd sold out in 1868 to his partners. A dozen cottages had been built around the original building by this time and several hundred patients were accommodated. On the evening of June 26, 1882 the main build- ing was burned. A business reorganization followed and on October 1, 1883, a new fireproof building was completed. Dr. E. D. Leffingwell, Dr. Albert Leffingwell and William E. Leffing- well, nephews of Dr. James C. Jackson, became partners with Dr. James H. Jackson and his wife Dr. Kate J. Jackson. Dr. James H. Jackson within a few years acquired the entire interest in the property. In 1890 Dr. James Arthur Jackson, son of the last-named, and Dr. Walter E. Gregory and Mrs. Gregory became stockholders. Dr. James C. Jackson died in 1895. In 1890 the old name of the company, "Our Home Hygienic Institute," of Dansville, N. Y., was changed to "The Jackson Sanitorium;" Mrs. Gregory at that time retired as part owner. In 1904 the name was again changed to "The Jackson Health Resort." About 1916 the institution passed into the hands of a receiver and was later sold to Dr. Leffingwell, who operated it for some time. On January 1, 1918, the institution was leased by the government and designated as U. S. A. General Hospital No. 13. War vet- erans suffering from nervous disorders were treated here for the next year and a half, fully 150 being accommodated at one time. The hospital was closed at the expiration of this period and for three years the property remained vacant. In 1924 announce- ment was made that the place had been bought by W. F. Goodale, of Buffalo, and a group of physicians of that city. Extensive improvements were made at the institution and it was opened to the public as a hotel and health resort in the latter part of 1924.
The Dansville Hospital, now out of existence, was started in January, 1900, by Dr. George H. Ahlers, of Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania. It was housed in a building constructed in 1860 for the Dansville Seminary and later used by the Dansville Union School.
The present Dansville General Hospital was established in 1921, largely through the efforts of a group of Dansville men, including Joseph Stiegler, William Maloney, F. A. Owen, Frank Blum, Doctor Driesbach and John Kramer. Mr. Stiegler was
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the first president of the hospital. It was at first a private insti- tution, then $100,000 was raised by subscription for new equip- ment and remodeling, and the hospital became public in character.
Beginning in 1868 the need of separate institutions for the segregation and care of epileptics became a national question and was debated for some years. A bill providing for the selec- tion of a site for an epileptic colony was first introduced in the New York legislature in 1890, but it failed of passage. The measure came up again in 1892 and became a law. A commit- tee consisting of Messrs. Oscar Craig, William P. Letchworth and Walrath, members of the state board of charities, was ap- pointed to find a site and arrange other details, and for a year the committee worked to that end. Their official attention was finally directed by H. E. Brown, of Mount Morris, to the old Shaker settlement at Sonyea, Livingston County, and the com- mittee soon decided upon its selection. The purchase of the 1,895 acres of this property was authorized by the legislature in 1894. Oscar Craig, president of the state board of charities, died at about this time and, at the suggestion of Governor Flower, the name "Craig Colony for Epileptics" was bestowed upon the new institution in his honor. The sum of $115,000 was paid for the property. The first board of managers was appointed by the governor and consisted of Dr. Frederick Peterson, of New York, president; George M. Shull, of Mount Morris, secretary; George S. Ewart, of Groveland; W. H. Cuddebeck, of Buffalo, and Dr. Charles E. Jones, of Albany. Dr. William P. Spratling, then a resident of New York City, was elected superintendent. The first work done was to fit up some of the old Shaker buildings on the premises for the reception of patients. The first patient was received from Steuben County February 26, 1896, and by the end of the first year 133 had been accepted. There are at present more than 1,600 patients in the institution. In 1896 steps were taken to improve the plant; buildings, sewer and water lines, elec- tricity, roads, walks, telephone lines, and equipment for the treat- ment of patients are a few of the improvements made in rapid time and the institution has developed steadily to meet the de- mands placed upon it. Dr. William T. Shanahan, who entered the institution as second assistant physician in 1901, is now superintendent.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
LIVINGSTON COUNTY : INDUSTRIES.
The first industries in Livingston County consisted chiefly of grist and saw mills, wool and carding mills, paper mills and dis- tilleries. The early grist mills were employed chiefly in grinding grain for local use; the difficulties of transportation prevented a large production for the outside market. This broader field, as we have noted, was supplied by the distillery and there were sev- eral in the valley of the Genesee at the beginning of the last cen- tury. Mr. Van Fossen's distillery, started in 1808 in the town of Livonia, is said to have been the first.
The first mills and other manufactories have been mentioned in the story of the early settlement of the towns. Although it has never been known primarily as a manufacturing community, Liv- ingston County has been, and is, the home of large industrial operations. The mining and evaporation of salt; great nursery farms; the canning of vegetables and fruits; the production of superheaters, felt shoes, caskets, cement mixers, paper, lumber and tags, are some of the many branches of manufacturing indus- tries existing here. Fairly good rail facilities and a generous and progressive spirit on the part of the citizens have encouraged their establishment.
The first systematized effort to develop the production of salt in the county began with the organization of the Genesee Valley Salt Company, in 1880, in the town of York, by Carroll Cocher, Jeremiah Cullinan, Maurice J. Noonan and Timothy Curran, with a capital stock of $500,000. The company was later reincor- porated with Marvin C. Rowland, Charles Jones, Jeremiah Cul- linan, Nelson Janes, Campbell H. Young, Maurice J. Noonan, A. F. McKean and Carroll Cocher as directors. Although this enter- prise did not reach the stage of actual production, it paved the way for extensive operations in the salt field to follow. Within
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the period of two decades after the formation of this first com- pany, many others were formed; among them were the Nunda Mining Company, New York Rock Salt Company (York), Cale- donia Salt and Mining Company, Livingston Salt and Mining Company (Piffard), all of 1883; the Leicester Salt and Mining Company (Cuylerville), Empire Salt Company (York), Genesee Salt Company (Piffard), in 1884; Retsof Mining Company, Conesus Lake Salt and Mining Company, York Salt Company, of 1885; Valley Salt and Mica Mining Company (York), Royal Salt Company (Mount Morris), of 1886; Livonia Salt and Mining Company, 1890; Phoenix Dairy Salt Company, of 1892; Lacka- wanna Salt Company (Leicester), in 1893; the Greigsville Salt and Mining Company, the Consumers Salt Company, in 1896, and the Sterling Salt Company (Leicester) .
In a paper read before the county historical society at the 1891 meeting, Charles Ward stated: "We believe that to the town of Livonia belongs the credit of being the pioneer town of western New York in the manufacture of salt. About the year 1806 a man by the name of Nelson located a salt spring or deer- lick on what is called the Godfrey farm, situated on the west shore of the Hemlock outlet, west of the Hoppough mill pond. The brine was collected from this spring and boiled in iron kettles, and the salt was sold to the early settlers.
"About sixteen years ago the village of Livonia was visited with a disastrous fire. The entire business portion of Main street, consisting of a row of wooden stores, was laid in ashes. Upon those ruins there have been erected large brick blocks, two and three stories in height. The master workman, who directed the craft of laborers while at work, was a man of more than ordinary intelligence. He was a man of middle age, and, unfortunately, had not had the advantages the youth of today are enjoying in our common schools. But being a man of keen perceptive faculties, of extensive and broad observation, he had read and studied largely of the Book of Nature. To him a ledge of rocks was an open book; there he could read of periods, of epochs, time and eras. The massive boulder by the wayside was simply another volume. * * To this man the salt formation lying under- neath us was no guess work; it was to him a certainty. And it was while he was engaged in the erection of these brick blocks in
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Livonia he gathered about him a company of local capitalists, residing in Livonia, who signed articles and organized the first salt company of western New York. For some reason or other this company failed to materialize, but its projector, still un- daunted, finally succeeded, some years later, in organizing a com- pany near his home, and had the satisfaction of knowing that this company 'struck salt.' And to this man belongs entirely the credit of being the father and the founder of the salt industry of western New York. I refer to Carroll Cocher of Greigsville."
Another historical account has the following: "The first indi -. cation of salt was found upon the premises of the late Samuel Warren some sixty-five or sixty-six years ago, but the first salt well actually drilled in the town of York was in 1878, near Greig's- ville, upon lands of Carroll Cocher, who for many years had en- couraged the project. Among those who furnished the necessary aid were M. Noonan, L. W. Crossett, C. H. Young, H. H. Guiteau, Josiah Warren and Harlan P. Warren. At a depth of 1,012 feet a vein of 137 feet of rock salt was struck. The investment of capital and the employment of men by the Retsof Salt Company upon the farms of Asa Bidwell and others is among the stupen- dous business enterprises of modern times. In 1883 Charles F. Wadsworth, T. N. Shattuck of Piffard, and Otto Kel- sey, A. A. Cox and James B. Adams of Geneseo, formed a com- pany under the name of the Livingston Salt Company, for the evaporatoin of salt. Being successful, they continued to further their interests until 1895, when their property was disposed of; the Genesee Salt Company, which was started in 1884, carried on for several years a prosperous salt evaporating plant at Piffard."
At the hamlet of East Avon, about 1830, Thomas Wiard, Sr., established a plant for the manufacture of plows, which bore his name. This business was continued here until about 1877, when it was removed to Batavia. Littleville also had a plow factory, where the Strouse plows were made.
Since Nathaniel Rochester built a paper mill and sawmill there, Dansville has had more varied industries than any other town in the county. The most important of these is the nursery business. Here are some of the best known growers in the coun- try, who have achieved for themselves and for the character of
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their product an enviable distinction. It has long been a debatable question who was the first nurseryman in Dansville. Bunnell's history of Dansville (1902) says it was D. M. Pierson, who actively engaged in the business as early as 1851. His place was on the west side of Main Street, near Morse Street, and here he had about twelve acres under cultivation. Within ten years the village had become, and still remains, with constantly increasing prestige, a nursery center. O. B. Maxwell was a contemporary of Pierson in the work of growing, and was actually the first man here to plant stock and grow seedlings on a large scale. For over twenty-five years he was conspicuously successful in develop- ing the business in this locality. His land was on Seward and Chestnut streets. Samuel and James Ramsden were nurserymen here in the middle '50s, as was Samuel Ingersoll. John Murphy, H. and T. T. Southwick, Dr. H. H. Farley, Dr. Porter B. Bristol, E. H. Pratt, J. C. Williams, William C. Bryant, and S. P. Wil- liams were other pioneer nurserymen. E. P. Clark was here in 1856. George A. Sweet first engaged in the business in 1869, in partnership with J. B. Morey, Sr. Mr. Sweet was very active and successful and had a complete mastery of the business, and many of the leading nurserymen of today received their early training from him. Again quoting from the Bunnell history, we find the following names associated with the business up to 1900: "F. E. Williams Nursery Company, 1855; E. P. Clark, 1856; Bryant Brothers, 1860; George C. Stone, 1861; George A. Sweet, 1869; Jacob Uhl & Son (Nicholas), 1870; C. F. McNair, 1874; J. M. Kennedy, 1876; Martin King, 1877; Edward Bacon, 1882, who is the oldest living nurseryman in Dansville at this writing; Michael 'Sheerin, 1884; Morey & Son (J. B., Sr. and Jr.), 1885; F. M. Hartman, 1885; Kelly Brothers (James and William), 1885; Thomas Maloney & Sons (Edward H. and William J.), 1887; Michael Burke, 1887; Anthony Daugherty, 1887; James Dowds, 1888; William H. Hartman, 1889; C. W. McNair, 1889; McLain Brothers (Michael and Peter), 1890; J. H. Sheerin, 1892; Albert Hartman, 1892; Orville Hartman, 1892; James O'Connor, 1892; John W. Finn, 1894; Hugh Nolan, 1894; Isaac Rogers, 1895; Anthony Cary, 1896; Fred Young, 1897; Lester Nolan, 1897; Patrick Reilly & Son, 1898; John Nagle, 1899; Ulyette Brothers, 1900."
Among the latter day leaders in the business may be men-
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tioned the Kellys, Maloneys, William J. Reilly (died 1924), Ed- ward Bacon, Frank M. Hartman, Fred Culbertson, Charles Mc- Nair, the Mooneys, W. H. Hartman, Herb Hartman, and Carl, William and Walter J. Mertz. Most of these men specialize in fruit trees of various kinds, also ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, etc. The leading growers do an extensive catalogue business. Further detailed information upon the subject will be found in the biographical volumes.
The grape and wine industry at one time flourished in Dans- ville. The first vineyard was planted by Dr. F. M. Perine in 1860, and covered about eight acres on the hill just above the sani- torium. It was an experiment at the start, and demonstrated the value of the local soil and climate for the production of excellent. grapes. The next growers were John F. Michael, Jacob Smith, Andrew Freidel, H. A. Brewster, Charles Stadler and Cyrus Clark. Some of these men, notably Doctor Perine, who constantly added to his vineyards, and Stadler, manufactured as much as 4,000 or 5,000 gallons of Catawba, Diana, Port, Claret and Sherry wines annually.
Paper making, one of the oldest industries in Dansville, and for many years the most important, is now represented by one plant, the Carso Paper Company, manufacturer of light weight paper for waxing, was organized in 1916, having its central office at Middletown, Ohio. The first paper mill was constructed here by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester in 1809-10. In 1820 Amos Brad- ley began the manufacture of paper. He was joined in after years by his sons, but no less than three destructive fires visited their plant, the last one, in 1854, bringing an end to their business in this section. The Woodruff Paper Company was incorporated in 1866 by L. C. Woodruff, Alonzo Bradner, D. D. McNair and Thomas Brown, for the purpose of manufacturing pulp from straw. This was the first mill of the type in the United States. The Livingston paper mill was constructed in 1852 by Chester, Javin, Lucius and Benjamin Bradley, brothers, and sons of Amos Bradley; during its existence this plant had a number of owners. The Woodruff mills were suspended in 1886. In 1884 the Living- ston mills were burned, and on the site there was erected the Whiteman paper mills, by Reuben Whiteman. This factory closed in 1892, and later reopened as the Dansville Pulp & Paper
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Company. The Hollingsworth paper mill was built in 1870 by Captain Henry Henry, ten years later was sold to Henry Hollings- worth, and shortly afterward destroyed by fire. The Eagle paper mills were built by Andrew Porter in 1824.
Some of the other pioneer manufactories of Dansville which should be mentioned are the O. B. Johnson carding mill, built by Samuel and Jonathan Fiske in 1826, and burned in 1868; the Dansville woolen mills, which occupied the same site and operated until 1879; the Stone grist mill, constructed in 1844 by Elihu Stanley; the Dansville pail factory, established by E. Shelley in 1840, and run by George Hyland for many years; the Ossian Street foundry, which was built in 1842 by F. and M. Gilman; the steam planing mill, built by J. I. Fisk in 1861; the Nicholas Klauck tannery, started in 1865; the Dansville plow works, estab- lished in 1878, by Moses Gilman and C. H. Sandford; the trunk manufactory, founded in 1874 by Carl Stephan & Company and carried on by A. Lozier.
One of the largest manufactories of Dansville at the present time, and one of the best known of its kind in the state, is the Blum Shoe Company, manufacturers of felt slippers of all kinds. A complete history of this manufactory and of the Blum family is presented in the pages of another volume, but it is worth while to repeat, in this connection, that almost forty years ago this busi- ness was started by John Blum in the Shepard Block, with very meager equipment and small quarters. In 1895 the business of the company had increased in volume to such an extent that it was removed to the three-story brick building on the corner of Milton and Spruce streets, which had been constructed by Stephen C. Allen in 1873. This building has been enlarged from time to time to meet the growing demands of the company. The sons of the founder have carried on the business in the same progressive man- ner that characterized John Blum's business activities.
The F. A. Owen Publishing Company may be termed a manu- facturing institution. Extensive editorial treatment of this large concern is given in the biographical sketch of F. A. Owen. The institution is, in fact, the outgrowth of the Empire State Teach- ers' Class, established by F. A. Owen at South Dansville in 1889. In this year, Mr. Owen secured the old Rogersville Union Sem- inary Building for his private school. In casting about for
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scholars, Mr. Owen recognized the desirability of reaching great numbers of prospective students who could not attend classes, and so formulated the correspondence method of teaching, which is said to have been the first attempt of its kind in the country. This led in course of time to the issue of a magazine, The Normal Instructor, devoted to the teaching profession, the first number of which came off the press in November, 1891. From a circulation of a few thousands the distribution has attained tremendous pro- portions. The business was first housed in the attic of a small grocery store in South Dansville, and the slender equipment made the publication inconvenient and difficult. In April, 1892, Mr. Owen removed to Dansville and engaged a single room. Fowler & Burgess had been doing the printing, and at this time they en- larged their quarters by erecting a two-story building. This was the nucleus of the present large plant of the company, whose earlier title was the Instructor Publishing Company.
Another of the Dansville enterprises is the monument business established in 1885 by C. A. Worden & Son, under which style the firm continued until 1891, when the sons, C. A. and F. E. Worden, formed the partnership carried on under the style of Worden Brothers.
The Power Specialty Company, manufacturers of Foster superheaters, economizers and oil heaters, with headquarters in New York City, is an outgrowth of the old George A. Sweet Manu- facturing Company, makers of agricultural machines. The latter plant was bought out by this company in 1904. Branch offices are maintained in the principal cities, and another plant is oper- ated at Egham, England.
The most extensive industry at Mount Morris is that of can- ning. The New York Canners have a plant at this place, having taken over the Winters & Prophet Company property. Flour and sawmills and machine shops comprise the other industries of the village. One of the principal manufacturing plants of the county is located at Nunda, the Foote Manufacturing Company, makers of concrete mixers. A history of this company will be found in the sketch of C. A. Foote, the president of the company. The Nunda Casket Company is engaged in the manufacture of caskets.
One of the most unique and well-known manufactories of the county is the Geneseo Jam Kitchen, whose product consists of
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canned fruits, preserves, stuffed oranges, mince meat, pickles, plum pudding, brandied peaches, syrups, honey, sauces, jams, marmalades, jellies, canned grapefruit and other confections, which will be found on sale in all the highest class grocery stores of the East. This business was established by Miss Ellen Harris North in May, 1893. At that time her plan was to undertake work which could be done in the home, and the making of jams and jellies suggested itself as the most easily accomplished. Ac- cordingly, she converted the basement of her home into a "jam kitchen" and sought her patronage in distant cities. The high quality of her products became quickly recognized, and from this humble beginning has grown the country-wide and foreign busi- ness of this company, of which she is the president.
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