USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 32
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
000. The public journals of Buffalo, which was another still more active hotbed of speculation, and those of Oswego waged an active war- fare of words as to the commercial greatness and prospects of their re . spective villages. The business at the local post office for the quarter closing with April 1, 1835, was $607.60, while for the same quarter in 1836, it was $870.03. Business at the custom-house had also increased enormously, the collections reaching more than $21,000 for the third quarter of 1835. On May 25, 1836, a local paper stated : " We have never beheld our village in so high a state of prosperity as at the pres- ent moment."
In March, 1836, there were thirty-five vessels building in the harbor, and a block between Sixth and Seventh streets on the west side, which had been purchased in the previous summer for $2,000, was sold for $16,000. The old Oswego House on the site of the Second National Bank, was sold to a non-resident for more than $100,000. Of this sum $10,000 were paid in cash, and there the transaction ended.
The climax was reached before the close of 1836, and the reaction came bringing with it terrible consequences. The paper money which had been so plentiful, became irredeemable and shrank to practical worthlessness ; the inflated prices of land tumbled into ruins, and a lot could not be sold on any terms ; business was idle for want of funds with which to carry it on; banks and firms were crushed out of exist- ence, and the bright hopes of Oswego were blasted. These conditions grew worse, if possible, through the year 1837. One of the two local banks closed its doors and bankruptcy of many business firms ensued, Bronson & Crocker standing almost alone in outliving the panic.
But there was an element of commercial and financial strength in Oswego, to which allusion has before been made, which lifted the place out of the monetary slough and placed its varied interests upon a sound and prosperous foundation. The unrivaled situation of the port in relation to the commerce between east and west, and between Canada and this country, and the already large milling interest engaged in manufacturing a staple for which there was a demand created by necessity, gave Oswego a recuperative power not possessed by many localities, and the village soon felt the revivifying influence.1
1 Abram Buckhout was born in Rensselaer county in 1813, learned the hatter's trade and came to Oswego in 1836 in the employ of Hall & Hatch ; he subsequently bought their business and car-
317
OSWEGO AS A VILLAGE AND CITY.
The old village ordinances were repealed in 1836 and a new series enacted in 1837. Many changes were made, among the more impor- tant being sections regulating the conduct of the market; establishing fire limits ; authorizing raising $2,000 annually by tax; providing for two police justices, a chief engineer and assistants ; changing the names of the streets running east and west; regulating the setting of curb stones on certain important streets, narrowing their driveways, and other minor matters. In April of this year (1837) the village was authorized by law to borrow $6,000 with which to discharge its obli- gation incurred in building the market.
Between about 1842 and the incorporation of the city in 1848, the progress of Oswego was almost phenomenal, as the reader will observe from a perusal of the later pages describing the various industries and institutions of the place. In 1840 the population was 4,500, while in 1850 it had reached 12,205.1
The files of the Palladium show the following individuals and firms in business in the village in 1840 :
Asa G. Talcott was a jeweler, "in the store lately occupied by M. B. Edson, one door south of H. Eagle's store." John Prendergast announced that he was at the old stand on Bridge street, east side, with a general stock. N. Miller & Co., First street, West Oswego, groceries, clothing and shoes ; J. King, cabinet maker, "stand recently known as the Ontario House; " L. Sickels, groceries, corner of First and Cayuga streets ; S. V. Crolius, blacksmith, corner First and Schuyler streets, West Oswego; Carrington & Prall, hardware, 14 and 17 Phoenix Building, West Oswego; Ransom & Seeley, dry goods and clothing; C. Ames, hatter, East Oswego; M. B. Edson, drugs, Phoenix Building : D. Griffin & Son, lumber ; James Bickford, cabinet factory, West Oswego; William McCarty, marble cutter; Z. S. Titus & Co., groceries and clothing, No. 3 Phoenix Building; Talcott & Harmon opened a law office opposite the Oswego Hotel ; Bradley B. Burt, attorney, over N. & E. P. Burt's store, First street ; R. Van Horne & Co. (L. Sickels), groceries, crockery, liquors, etc. ; George Dilworth, drugs, Bridge street, East Oswego; Eagle Tavern, East Oswego, by J. N. Jacobs; E. Brower, recess (saloon), West Oswego; Sandeforth & Willis, hat factory, First street, West Oswego; William P. Hovey, grocer, East Oswego ; Edwin W. Clarke, attorney, office in the market; A. B.
ried on a successful trade. He was several times alderman of the city from the 7th ward. His death took place October 1, 1884.
1 George Goodier, a native of Herkimer county, a carpenter by trade, came to Oswego about 1847; followed building some years and subsequently began hardware trade on the east side ; was elected county treasurer in 1882, and re-elected ; was prominent in temperance work and a member of Trinity M. E. church. He died February 5, 1886.
Patrick Cullinan, father of P. W., Thomas H., Edward S., and George W., was born in 1812 ; settled in Montreal in 1847, and in the next year removed to Oswego, where he died April 17, 1887.
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
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Oswego in 1840. From an old print.
319
OSWEGO AS A VILLAGE AND CITY.
Merriman 1 & Co., hardware, East Oswego ; G. L. Thomas and M. D. West, cabinet works and painting ; S. S. Thompson, dry goods; J. Turner, cedar mill; R. Cooley & Son, tailors, Phoenix Building ; Joseph Turner, dry goods, East Oswego; William T. Courtney, David S. Geer, S. P. Geer, lock factory, opposite the Welland ; S. Shaw, book binder, First street, West Oswego; Young Ladies' boarding school by the Misses Robertson; E. D. Ostrander & Co., tailors, West Oswego; Oswego and Ohio Trans- poration Line, Lewis & Wright, local owners; United States Hotel by J. Foreman. The foregoing list probably embraces all business establishments of any prominence.
The incorporation of the city was effected under date of March 24, 1848, with the following boundaries :
Commencing at a point in Lake Ontario one mile north from the northwesterly cor- ner of lot No. 34 in the 18th township of Scriba's Patent, town of Scriba, and running thence south to the northwesterly corner of said lot No. 34 and said line produced to the center of the cross road leading from Read's school house to the Hall road; thence southerly along the center of the said cross road to its termination ; thence southerly along the easterly bounds of lot No. 25 of Hamilton's Gore in the town of Scriba to the south corner thereof ; thence southerly along the easterly bounds of lots Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, of Hamilton's Gore in the town of Scriba, to the northwesterly corner of said lot No. 7; thence westerly along the southerly line of said lot No. 7, to the Oswego River ; thence across said river, such a course as shall intersect the southeast corner of lot No. 8 in the original township of Hannibal (now town of Oswego); thence westerly along the line of said lot No. 8 to the west line of the Oswego and Syracuse railroad ; thence northerly along the west line of said Oswego and Syracuse railroad to the north line of said lot No. 8; thence westerly along the north line of said lot No. 8 to the northwest corner thereof; thence westerly on the last named line produced till it intersects the west line of lot No. 5 of the original township of Hannibal (now town of Oswego) . thence northerly along the west line of said lot No. 5 to the shore of Lake Ontario! thence one mile north into said lake; thence easterly to the place of beginning.
The city was divided into four wards with the following boundaries : . First ward consisted of all that portion of the city north of the center of Bridge street and the highway leading westerly, and west of the middle of Oswego River.
Second ward comprised all that part of the city lying north of the center of Bridge street and a line extending easterly, and east of the middle of Oswego River.
Third ward, all that part of the city lying south of the center of Bridge street and the highway leading westerly, and west of the middle of Oswego River.
Fourth ward, all that part of the city lying south of the center of Bridge street and a line extending easterly, and east of Oswego River.
The first city election was authorized to be held on the first Tuesday in April, 1848.
1 A. B. Merriman came to Oswego in 1835 as a clerk for Carrington & Prall; was soon made a partner and eventually purchased the whole business. In 1841 his brother Isaac L. joined him and they continued many years in successful business. He removed to Atlanta in 1866 and died there August 29, 1879, aged seventy-four years.
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321
OSWEGO AS A VILLAGE AND CITY.
Besides the usual provisions for the proper government of the city (for details of which the reader is referred to the legislative act), the charter established the Recorder's Court, and provided for the election of a recorder, whose salary should be not more than $1,000 annually, $250 of which was to be paid by the county. The charter was amended in March, 1851, chiefly in relation to assessments and the collection of taxes.
On April II, 1848, an act was passed by the Legislature making it lawful for any person to build a free bridge over Oswego River at or above Utica street. An act of March 30, 1849, directed the supervisors to raise $7,000 with which to build a bridge at Utica street. The sum was raised by the towns of Oswego and Scriba, and the bridge was completed in December. In 1849 the sum of $5,000 was expended in "making, repairing, laying out of roads, wharves, highways, sewers, and bridges ; " while during the years 1847, 1848, and 1849, the citi- zens of Oswego paid in subscriptions and taxes, $17,270.34 towards the improvement and preservation of Oswego harbor.
On July 30, 1850, a disastrous fire destroyed $90,000 worth of prop- erty. It broke out in a large building at the east end of the bridge on the north side of Bridge street, burned that, and crossed Bridge street and burned the block between the river and First street, with about one-third of the wooden bridge. Several new streets were opened in 1850, among them Liberty street from Bridge to Erie, and Lake street in the First ward.1
A local paper of November, 1851, noticed the general improvement as follows :
Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, a very large number of new buildings are now in progress in this city. Among them are several elegant blocks of stores, three, four and five stories high. In addition to this there are also a great many dwellings in course of construction in all parts of the city.
This congratulatory expression was supplemented in the same jour- nal on May 2, 1851, with the following :
Our harbor presents a most interesting appearance in a commercial point of view,
1 Truman Gilchrist came to Oswego with his brother William about r850. About 1860 he took the dry goods branch of the business of Mack Brothers, which he changed to groceries, and continued successful in trade until 1889. He died August 24, 1891, his death having been preceded by that of his brother by two years.
41
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
crowded as it is with vessels at all our docks, warehouses, mills and elevators. There are nearly 300 sail vessels, we should judge, now in the harbor, besides the canal craft. Every storehouse is filled to overflowing with goods destined for the west, and with flour and other products of the soil for the custom markets.
In 1852 the city had a population of about 14,300, and contained 9 churches ; 16 flouring mills, with an aggregate of 83 runs of stone, and total capacity of 7,575 barrels daily ; 2 custom mills ; 4 grain ware- houses, with storage capacity of 575,000 bushels and 10,500 barrels of flour; 22 manufacturing establishments ; a fire department with six fire engines and two hook and ladder companies. The total volume of lake trade in Oswego in 1851 was $22,595,246. Prosperity reigned, indeed !
It is, perhaps, desirable to give one more summary of the business interests of the place as they existed in 1851, as far as indicated by the newspaper announcements. Among the principal establishments were the following :
Ford & Brother, A. Parks, John Bally, Stern & Brother, A. G. Talcott & Son, jewel- ers; C. M. Mead, G. W. Boughton, A. Ruggles, E. W. Rossiter & Co., Wm. S. Mal- colm, grocers (many of whom carried other goods, and one had a ship chandlery); Eagle & Stone, J. Waters, J. M. Hart & Co., E. P. Burt, Cooley & Crane, dry goods and general stock; J. Bickford, jr., C. Canfield & Son, J. B. Colwell & Co., drugs ; James Cramp, D. Foster, Philander Betts, boots and shoes; Smith & Strong, W. A. Williams, Smith & Temple, W. B. Buckhout, clothing ; A. B. Merriam, Rathbun & Co., hardware; Miss E. A. Tyler, milliner ; Mellen & James, pianos and china ware ; Lewis & Beardsley, and Henry Baker, paints and painters ; Winthrop Norton, blacksmith and wagon maker ; James Goodwin, furniture; W. J. Pardee, insurance; John C. Churchill, Martin & Cozzens, George Shea, William H. Shumway, attorneys; M. D. West, cabi- net and chair warehouse; M. C. Worts,' bakery and oysters ; T. B. Sessions, harness maker; M. S. Hotchkiss, flour and feed store ; Dwight Herrick, saleratus factory ; H. W. Crysler, cabinet works; Henry Adriance, books; Babcock & Rhodes had money to lend; D. S. Goldey was a dentist ; James Platt was a commission merchant ; as also were B. Isaacs & Co., B. Randall, jr., Carrington & Pardee, James H. Hooker; Carring- ton & Pardee advertised the marine railway and ship yard to rent; Henry M. Ames was manufacturing plaster and water lime; Lewis & Beardsley, H, C. Wright, Thomas Sleater & Co., were engaged in forwarding. The Welland House was then kept by W. D. Stewart.
It was about this time that complaints began to appear in the public
| Mannister C. Worts, a native of England, came to Oswego from Detroit in 1853: began the baking business on the old packet dock and continued to 1860, when he sold out to his son and went into the tobacco business. In 1866 he returned to his former business, from which he retired in 1872. He died in Toledo February 26, 1875.
323
OSWEGO AS A VILLAGE AND CITY.
prints regarding the high rents demanded by property owners. "Who is there," asked a correspondent of one of the papers, "who can pay $400 or $500 for an ordinary store and live and support families decently ?" These complaints acted as an incentive to builders, and soon after 1850 many new business structures were erected, among them a block on First street by J. Bickford ; a block of five stores corner of Cayuga and First streets, on the east side by H. Fitzhugh and H. M. Ames in association ; and others. A good hotel was also demanded " since the opening of the Syracuse and Oswego Railroad." A news- paper stated that the suggestion had been made that a stock company be formed with a capital of $50,000. It was said that the same hotels were in use then (1850) that existed in 1836. The editor made the suggestion that the United States hotel building be purchased by a company and remodeled and fitted up for a first class house.
Gas was first introduced in the city in 1852, as further described on a later page.
The next event of importance occurring in the city was the great fire of 1853 (July 5), which swept away a large share of the business part of the east side. The fire started in H. Fitzhugh's flouring mill, and all the mills and elevators on that side were destroyed. The loss to that firm was $20,000; to Sylvester Doolittle, mill and stock, $45,000; Ames & Brothers, elevator, $20,000; Howlett, Gardner & Co., in the basement of the Ames structure, provisions. $15,000; H. M. Ames, plaster mill and two stores, $10,000; Penfield, Lyon & Co., flouring mill, $40,000 ; Truman Wyman, flouring mill, loss not given ; J. H. Hall & Co., elevator $28,000 ; Fitzhugh & Littlejohn, warehouse, loss not stated ; Talcott & Canfield, foundry (employed seventy men) and other business property, covering most of the Second ward. The burnt district extended along the river north of Bridge street as far as Seneca street, and east to Fourth street. A relief committee was promptly organized on the day of the fire, with Luther Wright, treas- urer ; and another similar one was subsequently formed by the women of the city.
From the ruins of these burned buildings immediately sprang new structures, which were generally better than their predecessors, and the Times said on August IO, that " aside from the reconstruction
324
LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
of the burned district, more new buildings are now being erected in this city than we remember to have seen at any one time before." The fire exerted another good influence by impelling the Common Council to provide more adequate apparatus for extinguishing fires. A special election was held August 2, 1853, which voted 94 to 24 in favor of raising $5,000 to meet the extraordinary expenses occasioned by the fire " and to make additions in the fire department." The Times of July 5, 1854, made this congratulatory statement :
One year ago to-day the mills, warehouses and most of the dwellings on the east side of the river in the second ward were burnt. The burnt district is rebuilt with stately buildings of increased dimensions and with important improvements. The mills and grain elevators have risen upon the east bank in solid mass, looming high above their predecessors.
By an act of the Legislature dated March 29, 1853, the city charter was considerably amended, especially in relation to street lighting and the establishment of a "light and watch " district by the Common Council. The charter made it the duty of the Council to determine the sum to be raised each year, not to exceed $5,000, besides the poll tax, and in addition to sums previously authorized by general tax for high- ways, bridges, harbor, etc. Considerable street paving was accom- plished in the same year, and the reorganization of the school system was effected.
The charter of the Oswego Bridge Company, which had maintained a toll-bridge at Bridge street since 1822, by its terms was to expire May 1, 1855. An act of March 30, 1855, gave the city authority to borrow $16,000, to apply towards the building of the bridge with a draw on the site of the toll bridge, the new structure to be maintained by the Common Council. The commissioners named in the act were Samuel B. Johnson, George Ames, Delos De Wolfe, John Lawrence McWhorter, and the mayor of the city. The old toll-bridge was of wood and had stood since 1822, as shown in the old print herein. The new bridge was erected at a cost of $42,000.
The decade of 1850 to 1860, excepting the year 1857, was one of unqualified prosperity in Oswego. The volume of grain from the west was swelling to enormous proportions and much of it found its way to the great Oswego elevators, and thence to the mills to be converted into flour for the eastern markets, or was reshipped on the canal un-
325
OSWEGO AS A VILLAGE AND CITY.
ground. Building operations continued unabated; street and other public improvements succeeded each other rapidly, and population in- creased in proportion. From about 12,000 in 1850, the census of 1855 gave the number of inhabitants as nearly 16,000, a growth more rapid than that of any other city in this State. In 1854 the reciprocity treaty was negotiated, under which all natural products of Canada and the United States were admitted from each country to the other free. No other city on the northern border profited more by this treaty than Oswego, Canadian imports and exports becoming an increasingly important factor in the local commerce. In 1855 there were sixty- nine Oswego vessels, including all kinds, sailing from the port, besides nu- merous craft from other ports.1
Fire continued its destructive work in the city, burning on the 13th of August, 1858, the Empire elevator (built in 1854), with 60,000 bushels of grain, owned by F. T. Carrington and P. Rathbun ; and on August 17, the Ontario elevator was destroyed with 135,000 bushels of grain, mostly wheat, causing a loss of $120,000. The Canadian schooner Mary was burned at the same time. The elevator was the property of F. T. Carrington.
In 1860 the population of Oswego was 16,816, and during the war period the growth scarcely slackened, the census of 1865 giving the number as 19,288.
An act, dated March 31, 1860, authorized the sale of lot 27, block 118 (East side), which was designed as a site for an armory, and the application of the proceeds towards building and furnishing the regi- mental armory, in addition to $3,000 theretofore appropriated. Sup- plementary to this measure an act was passed April 28, 1870 authorizing the construction of an armory or arsenal at Oswego, whenever the city should purchase a site, and providing for a State appropriation of $20,- 000. Timothy Sullivan, of Oswego, and the quartermaster-general were appointed commissioners. Under this act and with subsequent appropriations, the present armory was erected on East First street, be-
1 Robert Gordon came to Oswego in 1853, and became the senior partner of the dry goods firm of Gordon & Purse ; a few years later Mr. Purse retired and Mr. Gordon continued alone until 1885, when he removed to Canada. He died at Chatham, Ont., September 27, 1891.
Capt. Charles Parker, who died December 29, 1874, was a prominent vessel master and owner, and somewhat prominent in city affairs ; held the offices of police commissioner and alderman, and carried on at one period the business of marine brokerage and insurance.
326
LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
tween Oneida and Mohawk. The building is 170 by 100 feet. The larger part of the structure is devoted to a drill room, which is 70 by 170 feet and extending to the roof. In front of this drill room are various company rooms on the lower floor, with others and the regi- mental and brigade headquarters on the second floor. The 48th Regi- ment, which had its headquarters in Oswego, disbanded in 1882. (See later history of the Oswego Guards.)
It is impracticable in these pages to follow the various charter amend- ments made for the better government of the city. They are accessi- ble to all in the session laws of the several years in which they have been enacted. In April, 1860, changes were made in the charter in relation to several of the departments of the government ; and in 1861 further changes were made, one of which authorized an increase in the police force. Sweeping changes were made in February, 1872, requir- ing a two thirds vote of the aldermen in ordering local improvements of importance; fixing methods of payment for such improvements ; providing for grading, macadamizing, building sewers and collecting payment for the same; fixing the highway fund at $15,000, which might be increased to $25,000 by a two-thirds vote of the council ; fix- ing the contingent fund at $20,000, which might be increased to $25,000 by a similar vote, and other changes of less importance. The act of May 20, 1876, changed the police provisions of the charter, making the number not less than twelve nor more than sixteen.
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