history

When the Tonawanda Creek crested at 11.94 feet at 6:30 p.m. yesterday, it wasn't anywhere near its historical high.

In March, 1942, the river overflowed at 14.5, making the resulting flood the worst in Batavia history.

It caused an estimated $500,000 damage and put many people out of their homes for days.

Greg Brockway, of Pembroke, brought in these two pictures this morning from the 1942 flood.  They were taken on the Southside in the area of the Jackson School showing Hutchings, Otis and Swan.

The last time the Tonawanda crested over 12 feet (considered the major flood level) was 1998 when it hit 12.44. It hit 11.71 in December 2008, and twice in 2009 it exceeded 10.5 feet, once in February and again in March.

The creek has crested at more than 10 feet on 24 ocassions in the more than 60 years the National Weather Service has been measuring creek levels.

The Holland Land Office Museum welcomed three new board members at its annual meeting dinner meeting tonight and honored longtime museum supporter Helen Batchellor.

Batchellor, on the right, became involved with HLOM 50 years ago and stepped down from her board seat this year after 30 years on the board.

New board members are, Robert Ettinger, left, Aaron Blake and Donna Mruczek.

The dinner was held at GO ART!

This is a copy of a photo, like the one below, that I acquired last night at auction through Bontrager's.

It was shot Dec. 4, 1940.

The photographer was William Seaver. He resided for a time at 21 Ellicott Ave., Batavia. His office was at 90 Main St., Batavia.

We can assume, I think, that this picture was taken from his office window. The exquisite sharpness and detail of the photo suggests he was using a quality, large format camera (the single sheet of film was likely 8x10, much larger than 35mm film). 

The block you see is the south side of Main Street from Court Street (where the Hotel Richmond stood) to perhaps Jackson Street or just west of Jackson Street.

Seaver's office would have been approximately where Hillside Children's Center is now, on the west end of the mall.

Comparing it to the photo below, Seaver used a wider angle lens for the 1940 shot than he did for the 1927 shot. In 1927, he used some sort of telephoto lens. I don't know 8x10 format lenses all that well. It appears he used a wider angle lens in 1940 than he did in 1927 based on the crop and compression of space.

When I stopped by the County History office today, Larry Barnes, the city's historian was there. He had seen the 1927 shot before. It's in his book "Batavia Revisited." He had never seen the 1940 shot before.

I'm not sure if there are any descendants of William Seaver still in Batavia, but it would be something if his negatives still existed. These are high-quality photographs and it would be a shame if his negatives (and who knows what else he shot) were lost.

This geneology page says "William Seaver registered for the World War I draft on 12 September 1918 in Batavia, Genesee County, New York. He was age 45, born 18 May 1873. 

In 1910, he lived at 35 Center St., Batavia. In 1920, he lived at 21 Ellicott Ave., Batavia, and 1930, he was a lodger residing at 102 West Main St. In each census he was single, even at age 56, so perhaps he has no descendants.

There was also a William Seaver who lived in Batavia before the photographer. He was the first captain of the first fire department and a president of the Village of Batavia in 1838. That Seaver appears to have published a book in 1849 called "A Historical Sketch of the Village of Batavia."

The older William Seaver, judging by the genealogy site, was the uncle of the photographer William Seaver. The photographer's father was David Seaver, the son of a William Seaver born in 1789 in Peru, Mass., and died in Batavia in 1871.

To aid in seeing the pictures at a higher resolution, I've put them into a slideshow below. I recommend viewing them in full-screen mode.

Local historians from throughout Genesee County were in County Building #2 today for the official ribbon cutting on the History Department's new home. Cutting the ribbon above are Legislator Esther Leadley and Legislature Chairwoman Mary Pat Hancock while County Historian Sue Conklin looks on.

Previously: Big task complete, history department settles into new digs at County Building #2

I couldn't make it to the marker dedication for the East Boundary of the Holland Land Purchase at Four Corners in Stafford on Friday. Sue Conklin sent along this photo and the press release below.

On Friday, November 8th 2013 a historical marker commemorating the Eastern Boundary of the Holland Land Purchase was dedicated in Stafford at the intersection of routes 5 and 237. More than 20 people attended the dedication ceremony, which included a brief reading of the history of the survey and a gun salute provided by the War of 1812 militia. 

Following the dedication the Stafford Historical Society served cider and donuts and several people toured their award-winning museum.

Prior to the dedication a survey using original links and transit was conducted by:

• Rochelle Stein, Genesee County legislator for District No. 5
• Lynne Belluscio, Le Roy House director and LeRoy Village historian
• Susan Conklin, Genesee County historian
• Phyllis Darling, Stafford Historical representative
• Jeffery Donahue, Holland Land Office Museum director

This survey revealed the location of the marker and the actual boundary line is over by 83 links. Had the marker been installed in the actual location, it would be in the center of the intersection of Route 237, something the Department of Transportation would have forbidden. The Town of Stafford graciously provided the Genesee County History Department with an alternative spot.

Welcoming Remarks / Mary Pat Hancock Genesee County Legislator:

"Genesee County included not only the Holland Land Purchase, but many other smaller land tracts. The County had six land companies with the Holland Land Purchase being the largest. It included two-thirds of the county lands and was located west of the Transit Line.  The other smaller companies were located east of the Transit Line and include one third of the county lands. The other land tract companies were the Connecticut, Triangle, Phelps & Gorham, Craigie and the 40,000 Acre.  

"When the Holland Purchase was made, the land was in Ontario County, with the county seat in Canandaigua. On March 30, 1802, Genesee County was formed with the county seat in Batavia. As populations grew, eight other Western New York counties were carved from the original Genesee County.

"The eastern boundary of the 3.3-million acre Holland Land Purchase bisects the old State Road, now known as Route 5, in the Town of Stafford. This boundary runs from the State of Pennsylvania north to Lake Ontario. The Holland Land Purchase extends west from this line to Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

"Today we honor the Holland Land Purchase and commemorate their Eastern Boundary."

For generations, the Richmond name dominated civic life in Batavia.

Dean Richmond was one of the most successful businessmen of his generation -- from the time he inherited his father's salt works company when he was 15 until his death in 1866. Mary Richmond continued and grew her husband's business empire and served on numerous local boards and committees. Their daughter carried on the tradition of local involvement and leadership.

But by the mid-part of the 20th Century, the Richmond family had dispersed to other parts of the country, but still, the Richmond name looms large in Batavia.

There is, of course, the Richmond Memorial Library, and the Richmond Mausoleum in the Batavia Cemetery.

But sadly, the once grand Richmond Mansion -- actually built in 1839 by Col. William Davis -- was torn down by a short-sighted City Schools board in 1970. All that's left is a wrought iron fence surrounding a parking lot owned by St. Joseph's.

Now, at least, there is a historical marker on the site to commemorate the location of the mansion.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by two generations of Richmonds, Harold Richmond, above, with his sons Kyle and Alex with his wife Cheryl.

Harold Richmond said it's quite an honor to see his great-great-grandfather remembered and honored in Batavia.

"It's great that the family gets recognized," said Richmond, a resident of New Jersey. "The Richmonds aren't really any different from anybody else today. We don't have anybody of note in the family that I know of, but the fact that the city has maintained the history and recognized the contributions of Dean Richmond and his wife and his daughter is just amazing."

As for the destruction of the Richmond Mansion -- which local preservationists tend to think of a huge loss to the community -- Richmond was forgiving.

"Maintaining that mansion in the 1970s, with that orphanage going away, that's a huge financial burden on a community," Richmond said. "It doesn't shock or surprise me that they had to make that choice. It was probably a good financial choice at that time. It's sad that it couldn't have been sustained as a museum or Masonic lodge or something like that, but it's understandable."

Harold Richmond pointing to the crypt of his great-grandfather with his son Alex inside the Richmond Mausoleum.

The Richmonds, Harold, Kyle, Cheryl and Alex, with Sharon Burkel inside the Richmond Mausoleum.

Press release:

On Friday, Nov. 8th at 11 a.m. a dedication of an historic marker for the former Richmond Mansion will be held at the Richmond Memorial Library. The Mansion, built in the 1830s by Col. William Davis and enlarged by Dean and Mary Richmond in the 1850s, stood in the parking lot that now serves St. Joseph’s Church and the Richmond Memorial Library. For many years after the death of the Richmonds, it housed the Children’s Home. The structure was torn down in 1970.

Dean Richmond amassed a fortune in Great Lakes shipping. He was instrumental in the creation of the New York Central Railroad and served as the railroad’s second president.  Dean Richmond was also instrumental in bringing the State School for the Blind to Batavia, which is why the street running in the front of the School is named Richmond Avenue. The Richmond Memorial Library was a gift to the community from Mary Richmond in memory of a son who died in early adulthood.

The historic marker is being placed at the foot of the walkway between the parking lot and the Library. It has been funded by a $1,050 grant to the City by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse.

Attending the dedication ceremony will be Harold Richmond III of New Jersey, the great-great-grandson of Dean and Mary Richmond. Also in attendance will be a representative of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. City Historian Larry D. Barnes will lead the dedication.

Later in the day, historic markers funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation will also be dedicated in Stafford and at the former county home in Bethany.

To the untrained eye, the 11 objects found in Darien last week look just like a handful of rocks, but archeologists have determined they are prehistoric artifacts. They're also a wrinkle in the county's plan to build a 21st Century emergency communications system.

The artifacts were found at the site of a planned communications tower near the Darien Fire Hall.

The county's contractor hired an Atlanta-based archeological firm to do a test dig on the site, which uncovered the artifacts.

The artifacts have not been dated nor their origin determined. They're just obviously very, very old.

Contrary to rumor, Undersheriff William Sheron said, the site is not an "Indian burial ground."

A report has been sent to the state's Office of Archeology and the county expects to receive instructions on what to do next.

Sheron noted that when Tops built a new distribution center off Genesee Street, an Indian burial ground was found and the project was delayed six months so the remains and artifacts could be properly secured.

In other words, Sheron said, the artifacts found in Darien do not necessarily mean the site can't be used for a communications tower.

The county is building three new towers as part of the $10.8 million communications upgrade project. While the county must complete phase one of the project -- under a federal mandate -- by February, the towers are all planned for phase two of the project, which isn't scheduled for completion until next summer. 

While the Sheriff's Office would like to stay on schedule, Sheron said officials recognize the find in Darien could delay construction of that tower.

"We hope it doesn't get delayed, but if there are issues that need to be addressed, we'll address them and meet whatever requirements we need to meet," Sheron said. "If it becomes cost prohibitive, we'll look for another site."

Previously:

• Sheriff's Office receives $5.4 million grant for radio system upgrade
• Grants and bond will pay for $10.8 million upgrade to emergency communications system
• It turns out, nobody currently makes scanners for the county's new emergency radio system

Photographer John Spaulding stopped by the antique truck show at the Stafford Fire Hall this weekend and then sent us a few of his pictures.

One of Genesee County's grandest of the old barns collapsed today.

A good portion of the yellow barn next to the Stafford Fire Hall on Main Road, Stafford, simply gave way about 1:45 p.m.

Stafford Fire Chief Bill Plaisted said residents heard a lot of creaking coming from the old barn -- probably built in the 1830s -- all this morning.

Firefighters used a thermal-imaging camera to ensure nobody was trapped in the structure.

Plaisted said the barn was likely headed for demolition soon anyway. The owner wanted to donate it to the department for a controlled burn for firefighting practice, but Plaisted said before that could happen, workers would have been required to remove the shingles from the roof.

"Looking at it now, that wouldn't have been safe," Plaisted said.

He also recalled a local resident telling him how years ago there was a basketball court on the second floor. From the second floor to the ceiling, it was so high, he said, that nobody could throw a ball from the floor up into the rafters. That's how big the barn was.

In April 2010, I took a photo of the barn (bottom photo in this post) that proved pretty popular. UMMC purchased a large canvas print of the photograph to hang in its new surgical wing (the print has since been moved to another part of the hospital). To view a larger online version (or to purchase a print of the picture, click here).

Jeff Ficher, the new assistant director at the Holland Land Office Museum, leads children participating in HLOM's Summer Heroes program in singing a Civil War Era song.

The eight-day program is just wrapping up its first week with a focus on the Underground Railroad.

The program is being led by Anne Marie Starowitz.

It was a lot of work, says Sue Conklin, county historian, for facilities management staff to move all of the county's archives and historical documents from the old firehouse on West Main Street to County Building #2.

The staff moved:

• 1,690 archival items in 575 boxes
• The research collection of 3,082 books and 666 notebooks
• 519 bound volumes of newspapers
• 7 large wall maps, 19 pen and ink drawings, 19 watercolors and 30 framed photographs
• 39 filing cabinets and 3 map cases

Plus staff had to disassemble and reassemble 21 bookcases, 23-foot-long newspaper shelving and all of the shelving for the county archives.

The whole move took more than two weeks.

"Now that the relocation has been completed the county historian is happy to report that all items made the move, nothing was damaged or lost," Conklin said. "Somehow facilities management managed to move on sunny, dry days, too. It was a great effort and the result is one the county will benefit from for generations."

The move gives the history department a little more space and gets irreplaceable documents out of the flood plane.

The department is responsible for storing all of the county's critical documents, from court cases to financial documents, with state-mandated document retention policies -- depending on the document -- from seven to 80 years.

At the rate documents come in, Conklin anticipates running out of space in about seven years.

The new layout -- in space once ocupied by the BOCES nursing program -- allows for easier access and better display of the county's archival records than the old location. The research library has more space and makes it easier for researchers -- including those in wheelchairs -- to move around.

Mrs. Richmond hosted a tea party at the Holland Land Office Museum today and dozens of local women attended.

Awards were given for the best hats.

Above, Dona LaValle, who won the award for best hat and ensemble.

Below, Anne Barone, most original, and Maryanne Arena, most elegant.

Tom Rivers is publishing a series of stories for OrleansHub.com about grand buildings in Western New York that were built with Medina sandstone.

Today: The beautiful building at 14 West Main Street that was once the Sheriff's Office and is now home to Genesee Justice and connected to the jail.

Local history was on display at GCC today with history groups from Genesee County's villages, towns and museums gathering in the college's forum.

Visitors could see displays on history, view artifacts, buy books and gift items and learn directly from the people who know the most what our predecessors did in Western New York.

As part of the event, War of 1812 reenactors, the Genesee County Militia, Kellogg Company, offered lectures and demonstrations on what military life was back 100 years ago.

In the early 1900s, then-Governor Al Smith created the civic position of local historians. New York is the only state to declare preservation and dissemination of local history to be a public purpose. (source)

You wouldn't want to be called a "scalawag," but if you were a Batavia resident in the early 19th Century and didn't pay your debts, that's exactly how a local merchant might label you, and the local newspaper would print the charge, no less.

An amateur word sleuth uncovered the origins of "scalawag" recently, and according to a piece in the Boston Globe, the rather uncomplimentary word was likely invented right here in Batavia.

Nathaniel Sharpe, a 22-year-old genealogist from Bathgate, ND, was researching one of his ancestors, one John W. Putman.

He found a reference to Putnam in the March 8, 1836, issue of Batavia’s Republican Advocate.

Putnam was called a "skallewagg" for leaving town without paying his debts.

The spelling was curious and Sharpe wondered if "skallewagg" might mean the same as current spelling "scalawag."

It does, and prior to Sharpe's discovery, the earliest known print reference to the word was in 1848.

The Oxford English Dictionary said the word had Western New York origins.

With more research, Sharpe was able to determine that the possible originator of the word was James Brisbane (a famous surname in Batavia and journalism history).

The entire story is fascinating. Click here to read it.

We recevied the following message from across the pond ... Brian Slater is looking to reconnect with family members separated by time, generations and immigration.

In the summer of 1967 I stayed in Batavia at the home of my great aunt and uncle, Beatrice and Hernbt Jermy, a photo of which I took of all their family.

I am very keen to make reestablish contact with any members of the family across the ocean from their original country of England where they all came in 1913/1914 from a village called Horning in Norfolk.

Their four children were Charles, Arthur, Alice and Vera all in the photograph with their children. The girl in the brown dress was Donna and her brother in the white shirt Jimmy, children of Harry and Vera, rear left, who lived not far from Watkins Glen.

If any of your readers can cast a light I shall be most grateful as I am the last generation who can bridge the family divide across the Atlantic Ocean.

Brian Slater
brian@inter-culture.com

When I stopped by the Peace Garden today, I found a TV crew there looking over an old book.

The book was found in an old house in East Pembroke that is being renovated, stuck under floorboards in the attic along with some coins from the 1830s and paperwork from the 1930s, according to Larry Abarie.

The book is well known to historians, but editions with all the pages are reportedly hard to find. This copy appears to have all of its pages.

Interestingly, you can read the book -- which was an anti-slavery tract, but advocated returning former slaves to Africa -- online.

Dave McKinley's report for WGRZ is online here.