USA > New York > Wyoming County > Perry > History of the town of Perry, New York > Part 6
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I
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EARLY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
late Hon. M. H. Olin, heading the list with $500, took an active part in securing subscriptions from other public spirited citi- zens, who gave all the way from $500 down to $25 toward the $8.000 necessary to purchase the property and secure the in- dustry for Perry. The effort was successful within a compara- tively short time, and the late George Tomlinson was made trustee for the citizens who subscribed. The above stipulations were fulfilled and the land and buildings were accordingly deeded to the company. Since the industry came to Perry the business has increased rapidly, necessitating the erection in 1906 of a 90x40 brick addition containing three stories and basement. The buildings are heated throughout by the exhaust and live steam systems, and are protected from fire by auto- matic sprinklers, also by chemical tanks distributed through the entire plant. A dynamo with a capacity of 600 lights gives ample light for all apartments. The company uses approxi- mately 250 horse-power in the operation of its machinery. This is distributed from three units-gas, steam and water- which produce the necessary power, with plenty of reserve. The company's pay roll at the end of 1914 amounted to more than $200,000 per year. Beginning with a force of about 35 men, the company now has about 400 employees, manufacturing more than 1,500,000 knives. Its factory is one of the three largest cutlery plants in the United States in the amount of pro- duction. The company has 52 traveling salesmen who sell the product in every State in the Union.
The Tempest Knitting Company
This company was organized in 1907, with a capital of $75,000 and with the following named gentlemen as stock- holders : D. M. Tempest, George J. Grieve, James N. Wyckoff, Joseph E. Cole, Dr. John Harding, Charles H. Toan and Ches- ter F. Holcombe. A brick building three stories high, was
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
erected on property purchased of Wm. Rudd and Lloyd McIn- tyre, off Federal street, above the railroad tracks, from which a switch runs directly to the mill. The company began manu-
TEMPEST KNITTING MILLS COMPANY.
Present capacity double the size
Original building of the Tempest Knitting Company.
facturing cotton underwear, Nov. 25th, 1907, with a force of 28 employees. A 70-foot addition was built on the east end in
of this building.
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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
1912. and an addition 50x96 was built on the west end later in the year, doubling the original capacity. A 300 horse-power Corliss engine is connected with a 100 horse-power dynamo, which furnishes power to the individual electric motors attach- ed to the different machines, thus doing away with all overhead shafting and fixtures. The factory is heated throughout by the exhaust and live steam systems, lighted by electricity of its own manufacture, and is equipped with an automatic sprinkling system for fire protection. The pressure tank used in this sys- tem was installed in the Fall of 1913 and has a capacity of 30,000 gallons. In addition to this protection, there is a hydrant at each end of the building connected with the six- inch supply main of the municipal system. The number of em- ployees has been steadily increased since the beginning, there be- ing nearly 200 at the present time. Mr. Tempest, in whose honor the industry was named, closed his connection with the con- cern in October, 1908, disposing of his stock a short time after- ward to local residents.
The Lander & Watson Hosiery Co.
This manufacturing concern was organized in 1908 by D.W. Watson and James Lander. Mr. Watson had previously made an extensive study of the matter and materials and had in- stalled a hosiery knitting machine in his home on Elm street. Then he purchased material and experimented until he pro- duced the satisfactory article. He tested it thoroughly by actual wear and induced a number of his friends to give his product a severe trial. Finding that he had succeeded in making a grade of hosiery that by practical demonstration was superior to a majority of such goods sold, he decided to extend the man- ufacture of his product and place it upon the market. Mr. Lander became interested and the two gentlemen decided to embark in the business under the firm name mentioned.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
Land was leased on the Matthews property and a two-story building, 20x30 feet in size was erected. Machinery and the other necessary equipment were installed, and operations began in August, 1908. A small addition was made to the original building in the following year. About two years after the be- ginning of operations, the company was reorganized and a stock company was formed, a number of the local citizens as- sisting in financing the enterprise. About a year after the re- organization, Mr. Watson retired to go into business for him- self. The annual production has been about 175,000 pairs of hose.
In March, 1893, Messrs. William L. Smith, James Kennedy and Benjamin H. Hollister formed a co-partnership under the firm name of Smith, Kennedy & Co., and erected a saw and planing mill on Center street, a short distance south of the de pot. In 1895, Messrs. Kennedy and Hollister sold their interest to Mr. Smith, who continued the business a few years. The most prominent building erected by Mr. Smith was the Town Hall, which was constructed in 1896. He lost money on the contract and became financially embarrassed in consequence. Messrs. Kennedy and Hollister held a mortgage against the mill property, and following foreclosure, sold it in 1900 to John J. Martin, who remodeled and converted it into the grist mill which has since been conducted by him. In 1907, Mr. Martin sold the building and land to his son, William K. Martin.
The Roberts Lumber Company was formed in 1908 by Mr. W. J. Roberts. A building, 54x100, was erected on the east bank of the outlet near Gardeau street. An addition, 20x110, was constructed the following year. All of the machinery used in the plant is operated by electric power furnished by the Perry Electric Light Co.
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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
The Perry Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company was organized by George A. Clark and was successfully managed by him until the time of his death on Jan. 16, 1911. Its product was canvass gloves and mittens, for which he found an exten- sive sale.
In the Winter of 1914, Perry citizens subscribed for $20,000 stock in the Kaustine Company, Incroporated, manufacturers of sanitary closets, and secured the location of that industry in Perry. They removed their factory equipment from Bradford, Pa., and early in 1915, began manufacturing here on a small scale. A factory site was secured on the Carmichael (formerly Needham) farm, adjoining the line of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad, and the work of erecting a plant at a cost of about $10,000 was begun in April, 1915. Perry capital also was invested in the construction of an 1800-foot switch from the road leading north from the lake, through the property to the site of the Kaustine Company's plant, providing a number of other desirable factory sites for future development. The land for these additional sites, consisting of about ten acres, was given by W. H. McClelland and Lucius Atwater, who had pur- chased the farm for development into residence property, nam- ing the tract "Lake View Heights." The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad Company contributed a portion of the expense for the 1800-foot switch above referred to, and the new industry began operations here with favorable indications of steady growth, its first month's sales amounting to double what they were in the same period the previous year.
CHAPTER VII
Educational Institutions of the Early Days-Encouragement Always Given by Townspeople to Such Factors in Its Development- Private and Public Institutions.
The great bulwark of the Pilgrims was their faith in God and universal education. The pioneers brought these traits of character to Western New York, and wherever a settlement was made, the church and the school house were the immediate successors of the log cabins of the settlers. Whatever else might be neglected, religious worship and the education of their children were not forgotten.
In the winter of 1812-13, two school houses were built in the Town of Perry, one at West Perry and the other in the vil- lage. The exact location of the first mentioned is unknown. Miss Ann Cutting, a resident of Warsaw, taught the school and was the first teacher to conduct a school in the town. The vil- lage school house was a small log building and stood on the flat iron piece of ground at the junction of the Richmond mill road- way and Water street, a short distance northeast from Gardeau street. Miss Catey Ward, who came from New Marlboro, Mass., and who was a sister of the pioneer physician, Jabez Ward, was engaged as the first village school teacher. Miss Ward was born in Massachusetts, Jan. 1st, 1792, and came to Perry with her parents, Ralph and Lorian Ward, in 1813. She was one of the original members of the Congregational Church at Perry Center. After finishing her career as an instructor, she mar- ried John Russell, an early settler in Perry. She died on Feb. 20th, 1865, and is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery at Perry Center. In the Pioneer Log Cabin at Silver Lake is exhibited a large wooden ball which was used in this village school as a globe map, the first to be used in the town.
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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS -
In 1813, another log school building was erected at Perry Center by the early settlers of that portion of the town and was opened in the Fall of that year with Miss Ann Mann of Massa- chusetts, as teacher. This was used as a school building but one year, and was subsequently sold to one of the incoming set- tlers and converted into a dwelling.
In 1869, the late A. W. Young of Warsaw wrote a good des- cription of the early school house, together with personal rem- iniscences of the period. He said : "The first school houses were built of logs, and with fireplaces and chimneys like those of the log dwelling houses. They were sometimes roofed or shingled with 'shakes,' a material resembling staves for barrels. The writing desks were made by boring large holes in the side of the house, slanting downward from the wall, and driving into them large pins upon which the boards were fastened, so that the pupils, when writing, faced the wall. Seats were made of slabs, flat side up, resting on four legs. Many of our citizens remember those school houses in which they received their lim- ited education-the ill chinked walls, the large, open fireplace filled with a huge pile of logs in a vain attempt to make a comfortable place to study. They remember that most com- mon of all questions coming from the remote parts of the room, 'Master, may I go to the fire ?' and how often the 'Master,' annoyed by the continued reiteration of this question would respond the emphatic 'No!' Nor have they forgotten their pe- culiar feelings when, their whole bodies trembling with cold, they were compelled to keep their seats until relieved by the arrival of 12 or 4 o'clock, with the thrice welcome word, 'Dismissed.' Not only were school houses uncomfortable, the course of instruction and the qualification of teachers were very defective. The entire course in most of the schools em- braced only spelling, reading, writing and common arithmetic. In this last branch, Daboll's arithmetic was used, and the mathe-
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
matical ambition of many pupils was satisfied when they could 'cipher' to the end of the 'Single rule of three,' which in that popular work, came before fractions. Few teachers having a knowledge of grammar, this was not insisted upon by the in- spectors. Geography, now one of the studies in every primary school, could hardly be found in a country school. The man- ner of teaching and conducting a school is also worthy of note. Writing, in many schools was not done at any fixed hour, nor by all at the same time. None but goose quill pens were used ; a metal pen would have been considered a great curiosity. To make and mend the pens and 'set copies'forten, twelveor thirty pupils took no small portion of the teacher's time and was often done during the reading and other exercises, in which the worst mistakes often escaped the observation of the teacher. To avoid this, some teachers did this work before or after school hours. The introduction of metallic pens and the printed copy book is an invaluable improvement, saving much time and labor and furnishing the pupils with good and uniform copies. Nor had the blackboard been invented; or, if it had, it was not known in the rural districts. Nor were pupils in arithmetic taught in classes. They got the attention and assistance of the teacher as they could. Voices were heard from different parts of the room : 'Master; I can't do this sum,' or 'Master, please show me how to do this sum.' These, with questions asking liberty to 'go and drink,' etc., which, on the floor of some schools were always in order, the teacher going from one part of the room to another to help the scholars or do their work for them, and scholars running to the teacher to ask him how to pro- nounce the hard words in the spelling and reading lessons-all these and other things that might be mentioned, kept the school in a constant bustle. There were, however, some good teachers then; and there are many now who answer too nearly to the foregoing description, yet a comparison of the schools of the
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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
present time with those of that period show a vast improve- ment."
In the year 1819 the Town of Perry was divided into school districts, and the districts then established have been altered from time to time, as the changing circumstances have required. The writer has made an effort to trace the various districts from the time of their original formation up to the present, but has found that very few of the old school records were available and without them the work could not be accomplished.
The first district school house in the town was built near Perry Center in about the year 1819, some distance west of the four corners, and was taught by Samuel Waldo. This was probably the first frame school building in the town. Another frame school building was erected soon afterward on the Center road, just above Watkins avenue. Silas Ellis, from Vermont, was engaged as the first teacher.
Of the district schools which had been established in the town, special mention is made of old District No. 5 at West Perry. This was one of the most important of the early schools, both as to scholarship and numbers, generally ranking first after the Union School in the village and the Institute at Perry Cen- ter. Among those who taught this school in its early days we find the names of Rev. David Nutton, Miss Emeline D. Howard, G. B. Matthews, Sarah E. Fitch, J. N. Flint, Sarah Howard, Samuel W. Tewksbury, Deacon Wygant, and James N. Bing- ham.
In 1869, districts numbered 7, 9 and 14, embracing the Cen- ter neighborhood, were consolidated, forming District No. 8. Land was purchased on the southwest of the four corners, and the present school building (costing approximately $3,000) was erected. - The lumber used in its construction was hauled over- land from Piffard. The first teachers employed were E. W. Hoyt
.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
of Pavilion and Miss Libbie Judd, who had charge of the pri- mary department. At one time in the school's history, 125 students were enrolled.
In 1816 the Water street school house was found to be too small to accommodate the constantly increasing number of pu- pils and another building was constructed on the corner of Lake and Short streets. This was a two-story building, the school occupying the lower floor, the second floor being devoted to public use for meetings, lodge purposes, religious gatherings, etc. On March 6, 1819, Constellation Lodge No. 320, F .& A. M., was instituted in this small upper room. As near as we can learn, Ebenezer Higgins, a brother of Dr. Otis Higgins, was the first Worshipful Master. The building was used principally as a school for a period of 16 years. Asthe population of the village continued to increase, a still larger school building was needed, and in 1832 a portion of the building that is now known as "The Beehive," was erected and was used for the advanced scholars, the Water street building being used as a primary school from 1832 to 1845.
In 1902, the late Harwood A. Dudley of Warsaw, who came with his parents to Perry in 1831, wrote reminiscences of his early school days at The Beehive, excerpts from which are here given :
"It had its departments, perhaps not graded just as now, but sufficiently so to be marked and distinct. The boys' depart- ment had for its head Wm. Skidmore. We children used to called him 'Bill.' The girls' school had Miss Charlotte Ayers for teacher, and, as I remember, she was much more capable and popular than Bill Skidmore. 'Skid' was severe and erratic in his discipline, while Miss Ayers was patient and considerate in the management of her department. I remember an incident in Skidmore's discipline that reveals his mode of punishment.
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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Two boys got into a scrap one day at recess and came into the school room in a dilapidated condition that attracted the teach- er's attention and led to the inquiry as to what had occurred outside. A scrimmage was reported, and the teacher adopted a novel mode of punishment. I remember the details distinctly, as I was one of the boys. Three good and strong branches from a neighboring tree were brought in and the offenders were called into the center of the room; and each was given an 'olive branch,' while the teacher retained the stoutest stick for his own use. The culprits were then ordered to finish their fight then and there. The spirit of the contest had by this time died out from both parties, but when we did not put in all the energy the teacher thought proper, he would add force to the conflict by whaling the laggard and he closed the entertainment by giv- ing each of us a separate and distinct punishment on his own ac- count. The two boys were ever afterward good friends, but they will ever remember William Skidmore's vigorous ways of administering punishment to fighting school boys."
In 1845, District No. 16 (Water street school) and No. 6 (The Beehive) were consolidated and the last named school building was remodeled, greatly enlarged, and re-dedicated on November 18th of that year, Rev. Joseph R. Page, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, delivering the oration. This building served as a public school until after the purchase of the Academy property by the district in 1872, at which time it was sold and converted into a dwelling house. After the coalition the school was known as the District Union School. Under the new regime Mr. T. S. Loomis was engaged as principal. His sister, Miss Loomis, was the head of the young ladies' department, and Miss Eliza Dolbeer (afterward Mrs. Henry N. Page) was in charge of the primary department. All pupils were charged for tuition as was the custom with all schools of the period. In
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
1846 Mr. Loomis resigned and was succeeded by Mr. J. B. Chase.
The following named are remembered as having taught school in The Beehive : Solomon Hull, Charles J. Hull, Linus W. Thayer, - - Komott, Charles Holt, Charles Mix, J. H. Met- calf, Lydia Risdon, Elisha Risdon, Elizabeth Fox, Mentor How- ard, Lydia Huntington, Mrs. J. S. Brown, Esther Goodell, Miss Howard, Harriet Bachelder, Thomas Copeland, J. C. Bradt,- Gardner, A. J. Mallory, Miss Parsons, Miranda Millspaugh (Mrs. Marvin Smith,) Amy Newland, Sophronia Broughton, Mark Pierce, Delia Jeffers (Mrs. T. B. Catton, ) Edwin M. Read, Mary Pahner ( Mrs. Mark Pierce, ) Ellen Rood, John P. Robin- son, Kate Garrison, Martha Garrison, Grace Grieve, Marion Grieve, Jessie Grieve, Elmina Taylor, J. Wheat Merrill, Wm. Turner, Kate R. Keeney, E. H. Wygant, Marietta Scranton, Ab- bie Bathrick (Mrs. Martin P. Andrews,) Libbie WestlaLe (Washburn,) Priscilla Westlake (Fiske,) E. Hoyt, Manville Cheeney, George Lucas, Ella S. Calligan, Lida Calligan. Vie- toria M. Herring, and George B. Fern.
The most important of the early educational institutions in the Town of Perry was established on the northeast of the four corners at Perry Center in the year 1839 by Prof. Charles A. Huntington, a graduate of Burlington College in Vermont, and was known as the Perry Center Institute. The school be- came widely and favorably known, students being enrolled from all parts of Western New York. During its most prosper- ous years-or between 1841 and 1844-the enrollment averaged about 140.
The writer has been shown by Hon. B. A. Nevin's, one of the first catalogs issued by the Institute, dated January 20, 1841. The catalog was printed by J. B. Wood at Perry Village, and contains the names of the following instructors : Charles A.
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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Huntington, Principal of the male department ; Henry E. Sel- den, Assistant; Lucy Huntington, Principal of the female de- partment. The young men occupied the first floor of the build- ing, and the young ladies used the second floor. The following named gentlemen were the "Examining Committee," a com- mittee which was appointed annually and whose duty it was
5
T
PROF. CHARLES A, HUNTINGTON
Born April 26, 1812. Died in Portland, Ore., Sept. 24, 1904
to visit the school from time to time and inform themselves respecting its instruction and internal regulations : Rev. John Scott, Rev. Jesse Elliott, Rev. Jenks Phillips, Hon. Peter Pat- terson, Phicol M. Ward, Esq., Dr. Jabez Ward, Samuel Howard, Esq., Truman Benedict and Norman Blakeslee. This commit- tce also gave out reports of the standings and conditions of the
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF PERRY
school at the close of alternate terms. Following is a list of the names of students who were attending the school in 1841 :
Male Department-Frederic Austin, Charles G. Benedict, Charles J. Benedict, Wm. Benedict, James H. Bingham, Homer Bingham, Albert M. Bingham, Jasper N. Bolton, Wmn. E. Brad- ley, Merritt E. Bradley, Philander Bronson, John M. Butler, Henry C. Butler, Calvin Butler, Morgan Calkins, Norman W. Call.ins, Volney G. Call.ins, Albert L. Camp, James H. Camp, Joseph E. Chapman, Timothy G. Clark, Wm. Clute, Squire A. Cox, German Cossitt, George W. M. Dana, Amos J. Gardner, Wm. H. Harrison, Galen Higgins, Mason A. Hollister, Samuel M. Howard, Wm. Howard, Charles Howard, Franklin M. Pix- ley, Amasa Porter, Carlos R. Snow, Charles E. Salter, Royal T. Howard, James B. Kniffin, George Lapham, Alva Lacy, J. Mat- tison, Henry L. McCann, Wm. H. McEntee, James S. McEntee, Stephen McEntee, John C. McEntee, Cyrenus McKee, Johnson A. Moss, Lambert A. Moss, John Nevins, Thomas Patterson, Peter Patterson, 2d, Wm. C. Patterson, L. D. Pettibone, Samuel D. Purdy, Silas M. Rawson, John Scott, Edward A. Sheldon, George K. Sheldon, Stewart Sheldon, Andrew Sheldon, Wm. H. Walker, Alva H. Waldo, Edwin P. Waldo, Jabez R. Ward, Har- rison G. White, Daniel C. White, Edmund H. Wygant, A. A. Bainbridge, M. A. Gibson, Henry Robinson.
Female Department-Charlotte W. Austin, Phebe A. Ball, Mary J. Ball, Mary F. Banks, Mary Benedict, Betsey Benedict, Martha A. Benedict, Mary A. Bingham, Phebe Bingham, Julia A. Bortles, Ann Briggs, Mary Briggs, Lucinda Z. Bradley, Fan- ny M. Burr, Mary W. Buell, Sarah Y. Butler, Phebe C. Calkins, Emeline C. Calkins, Sarah C. Coleman, Mary W. Coleman, Vel- ona Cossitt, Caroline Cox, Fanny L. Cox, Larenza M. Hollister, Lydia Hollister, Sarah J. Hollister, Caroline Howard, Emeline Howard, Amelia M. Lathrop, Helen A. Lathrop, Marie A. Mc- Entee, Mary Ann McEntee, Jane E. Mills, Caroline Miner, Es-
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EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
ther M. Moss, Lucy J. Olin, Loeza Olin, Eliza A. Patridge, Susan S. Paterson, Elizabeth Patterson, Lovica Palmer, Sarah A. Purdy, Susan Phillips, Cynthia Phillips, Laura A. Rawson, Olive W. Rawson, Esther Rudgers, Mary Scott, Hannah J. Scott, Dorliska E. Sheldon, Caroline W. Sheldon, Mary A. Stewart, Lucy B. Tallmage, Jane E. Voohees, Phebe Ward, Sarah Ward, Clarinda White, Caroline A. Witter, Harriet Wor- den, Melvina A. Bolton, Amanda M. Bolton, Lucy E. Bradley, Eliza A. Calkins, Phebe Howard, Mercy A. Howard, Henrietta Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Louisa A. Lockwood, Caroline Cole- man.
Sarah Ward, whose name appears in the above list, was the mother of Rev. Charles Sheldon, the noted author of "In His Steps." Amasa Porter, whose name is in the list, was a local preacher, and although 45 years of age, he was a student in this school. Others who received their education at the Perry Cen- ter Institute and later became prominent in the affairs of the world, were : Rev. Herman N. Barnum, who for many years was a noted missionary in Turkey; Jabez R. Ward and his brother Sidney, both became eminent jurists of the early 70's; Henry C. Butler was afterward a prominent judge in Minnesota; Al- bert Bingham became a noted lawyer of Livingston county ; his brother, Monroe, after finishing his course at the Institute, removed to the West and subsequently became Lieutenant- Governor of the State of Wisconsin; Edward A. Sheldon be- came one of the leading educators of New York State, the founder of the State Normal School at Oswego. Today, in the Capitol at Albany may be seen a bronze statue of Mr. Sheldon, the cost of which was defrayed by the voluntary contributions of children throughout the State.
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