history

What's left of a once popular amusement park in Indian Falls was largely undamaged by a late evening fire along Phelps Road.

One small structure -- impossible to tell what it once was -- was charred while several structures remain, though largely overgrown by brush, vines and trees.

The causes of the fire, which was reported at 9:01 p.m., remains under investigation. 

The park, locally known as "Boulder Park," opened in 1949, the brainchild of Phil Morrot. Historians know it as "Morrot's Boulder."

While the park featured a miniature steam train and a Ferris wheel, the highlight of the park was reportedly its merry-go-round.

The carousel -- designed by Phil's sister, Emily Bourgard, and built by the Herschell Company -- was a menagerie of animals, including 32 horses, a lion, tigers and a giraffe.

The park was sold in the 1960s, fell into disrepair and was closed by 1970, at which time the animals of the carousel apparently went missing.

An Indian Falls resident, Cindy Henning Hanks, published a book in 2003 about the carousel and what happened to the animals. She's been able to track what happened to all but three of the wooden, hand-carved beasts.

According to her website, the giraffe sold at auction a few years ago for $51,000.

According to a Sheriff's Office report, the property is currently owned by Kelkco, LLC, out of Clarence Center.

The fire is being investigated by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Pictures below were taken today.

It's a ticket to one of the last hangings in Genesee County and it was last seen hanging in the Holland Land Office Museum in the early 1970s.

It was around that time, maybe a couple of years earlier, that it was apparently stolen.

In 1973, an unidentified couple bought it from a guy selling antiques out of the trunk of his car in Pavilion.

A few weeks ago, the now-elderly couple decided to donate it to the Genesee Country Museum, but the museum director there immediately recognized it as property of HLOM and called up Director Jeffrey Donahue to see about returning it.

A few days ago, Don Read, Bob Turk and Donahue drove to Mumford to recover the framed relic.

The ticket was issued in May 1866 by Sheriff Parley Upton (unknown family connection to Gen. Emery Upton) to Henry Todd, a local newspaper editor. It was donated to the HLOM by Philip Skelton Jr.

The murderer hanged was Levi Mayhew, a veteran of the Civil War who became the lover of another man's wife. The cuckold's wife wanted her husband dead and tried to get Mayhew to poison him, but he wouldn't do it. When she threatened to do it herself, Mayhew decided to kill the husband, Theodore Dunham, himself by beating him to death in Indian Falls.

Mayhew was hanged on May 4, 1866.

The last hanging in Genesee County was apparently 10 years later when Thomas B. Quackenbush was punished for the Dec. 3, 1875 murder of Sarah Norton, also in Indian Falls. He was executed by hanging in August 1876 by Sheriff Ward.

UPDATE: It looks like the last execution was Charles Stockley, hanged on Aug. 19, 1881 at the age of 24. Stockley shot and killed his former boss in a dispute over the man's daughter.

Driving around Le Roy this afternoon, I came across this interesting bit of local history on Summit Road -- a boulder with a historical plaque set in it in 1930.

The plaque reads: "This boulder marks the southern apex of the Triangle Tract, purchased from the Morris Reserve in 1783 by Herman Le Roy and William Bayard."

I got four emails from four different people this morning about a B-17 being parked at the Genesee County Airport.

It turns out it's been there almost a week. The plane is the Memphis Belle, a prop plane used in the movie of that name. Its proper home is the Geneseo Airport, but since that is a grass field, all the recent rains have made the runway too soggy for landing such a large bird.

The Memphis Belle is expected to depart some time Wednesday.

Photo and article submitted by Charm Robinson:

Jean Ianni, Linda Call and Phyllis Darling, all members of the Stafford Historical Society, gathered at the Stafford Rural Cemetary on Transit Road at 10 am on April 12, 2011 to observe the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  The members stood at the Civil War Monument ringing bells for 150 times to represent the number of years.

The monument is known as the Soldier's Monument and was erected in 1868 to honor the soldiers from Stafford.  The monument is inscribed "Erected by the Town of Stafford in 1868, to the memory of the brave soldiers of our country who fell during the Great Rebellion".

Thirty three names are inscribed on the Soldier's Monument.

Shown in Photo: L to R: Jean Ianni, Linda Call, Phyllis Darling

To mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, there was a bell ringing at the Holland Land Office Museum this morning, at precisely 10.

The bell ringers were, from left, Elijah Monroe, Jeff Donahue, Shannon Guiste, Terry Lee and Ann Marie Starowitz.

Among the many things to do in Genesee County on Saturday was to stop by the Holland Land Office Museum and meet some Civil War reenactors and see some of their guns, swords and household items.

Tice's Rangers, a Revolutionary-era reenactment group was at the Oakfield Historical Museum, 7 Maple Ave., today for the museum's spring reopening.

Above, from left, are Bob Smith, of Batavia, John Dellapenna, of Batavia, Erick Michealsen, of Lockport, Paul Winnie, of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, Derek Lindquist, of Williamsville, Mark Houseman, of Medina, Joe Bucolo, of Lockport, Steve Kruppenbacher and Jeff Harding, of Newfane.

More pictures after the jump:

We don't usually think of bed-sheet-robed and pointy-hatted white men burning crosses as a New York kind of thing.

That only happened in the deep, racist South, right?

Several years ago a client delivered a set of pictures to Oakfield attorney Ray Cianfrini that were clearly shot decades before in his hometown, showing men dressed exactly like Ku Klux Klan members.

While Cianfrini knew his parents had faced prejudice because of their Italian heritage -- his mother was denied a job in an insurance agency and his father was barred from the volunteer fire department -- nobody had ever told him that the Klan was once quite popular in Genesee County.

"I was shocked," Cianfrini said. "I had never seen that depicted in a picture before. I never knew that the Klan was here."

The set of pictures -- which were taken to document the funeral of a top Klan official in Oakfield in 1922, including a cross burning -- started Cianfrini on a effort to completely research the history of the Klan locally.

But not because he wanted to show anybody up, embarrass the families of former Klan members, revenge the prejudice shown against his parents or otherwise seek some sort of retribution.

He just thought it was an interesting bit of Genesee County history that should be preserved.

"I don't hold any grudges," said Cianfrini, a former mayor of the Village of Oakfield and currently a county legislator.

From about the turn of the century until the Great Depression, large portions of the American population were gripped by anti-immigrant prejudice (see The Gangs of New York).

In the 1920s, the Klan -- originally founded in 1865 -- was resurgent and recruiting millions of members in all parts of the nation. Genesee County was no exception.

At its height of popularity, there were an estimated 3,500 to 4,500 Klan members in Batavia, Oakfield, Pembroke, Bergen, Byron, Le Roy and Alabama.

Cianfrini said the members were community leaders -- the bankers, shop owners, politicians and farmers. So long as you were native born, descended from Northern European stock and Protestant, you could join the Klan.

The primary thrust of the Northern Klan's hatred was not African-Americans, although its members certainly did hate them. It was the most recent immigrants -- primarily Italians, Poles and Jews -- who concerned them the most.

Cianfrini charted how Genesee County's populations changed in the early part of the 20th Century, when the percentage of foreign-born residents went from primarily Irish, English and German to the Irish and Polish.

The change in population corresponds to the rise of the Klan.

By 1915, for example, 55 percent of all foreign-born residents were Italian.

They were drawn here by factory work, and even though they had been farmers in their native countries, agriculture opportunities were closed to them here, so they took unskilled labor jobs.

Two events helped both kill the Klan locally and allow Italians and Poles to join the mainstream of the community, Cianfrini said.

The first occurred in 1924. 

The Klan announced a march down Main Street in Batavia, and a judge issued an order against the march. A regional daily newspaper had obtained a list of all of the Klan members in Western New York and threatened to publish the list if the march took place.

More than 20,000 Klansman showed up in Batavia on Labor Day, 1924.

The newspaper published the list.

"It drove the Klan underground," Cianfrini said.

Nobody wanted to be associated publicly with the Klan.

The second significant event was World War II.

"They always say there are not atheists in foxholes," Cianfrini said. "I say, there is no prejudice in foxholes."

When veterans returned from the war, they were much more willing to accept each other as neighbors. It wasn't long after the war that Oakfield had its first Italian board member and its first Italian firefighter.

"We can talk about how prevalent it was, but I'm impressed by how in this era, we've gone from a time when a father was subject to prejudice, (to when) his son became mayor of the village where he couldn't become a firefighter."

The Stafford estate of Vaughn Hahn was auctioned off by Bontrager's this afternoon. More than 150 bidders registered, according to owner and auctioneer Todd Jantzi.

There was a wide range of items available, from Victorian-era couches, dressers, dishes, books and pictures, as well as a car and yard equipment.

Hahn died April 29 when he was hit by a car while standing beside the roadway across from his house, which had been in the family for generations. Hahn was 87.

Jantzi said there were rooms on the second floor that hadn't touched in years.

He said estates such as Hahn's only come along once a year or only every other year.

People came from as far as Palmyra and Toronto to particpate in the auction. Cars lined both sides of Route 5 for at least a 1/4 mile.

Amish construction workers have been on the Cleveland family farm for the past two days re-roofing an old barn. The farm, off Cleveland Road in Pembroke, is now owned by John Cleveland and his wife, Melissa. The farm has been in the family since the 1830s, according to Mike Cleveland, assessor for the Town of Batavia. John and Melissa's daughter, who is 3, is the eigtht consecutive generation of Clevelands to live on the farm.

Henry Homelius had no formal education, but the man born in Buffalo in 1850 would be, by the late 19th Century, perhaps Batavia's foremost architect. Together, with his son, Frank Homelius, he would design some of Batavia's grandest homes and commercial buildings.

Bill Kauffman shared a little booklet with me the other day titled "Henry and Frank Homelius: The Men Who Built Batavia."

Late this afternoon, I drove around and snapped pictures of some of the homes they designed. In the course of doing so, I also came across a number of homes not included in the book that were equally as grand as those credited to the Homelius's. So maybe they didn't build Batavia single-handedly, but they sure did build some great homes.

They also built some of Batavia's great commercial buildings as well, such as: the Batavia Daily News building on Jackson Street; the Batavia Times building on Center (now Center Street Smoke House); the former State Police barracks (now home to the Batavia Police), and the old firehouse on Main Street.

Henry Homelius is responsible for several of the homes on Ellicott Avenue.

Start with Ellicott Avenue, after the jump below are the pictures I took of some of the homes designed by Henry (mostly) and Frank:

(Top photo above is 130 W. Main St., originally built for George D. Weaver in 1889)

7 Ellicott Ave.

8 Ellicott Ave.

16 Ellicott Ave.

24 Ellicott Ave.

32 Ellicott Ave.

33 Ellicott Ave.

39 Ellicott Ave.

41 Ellicott Ave.

52 Ellicott Ave.

57 Ellicott Ave.

23 Summit St.

151 Summit St.

111 Washington Ave.

145 State St.

35 Richmond Ave.

56 Redfield Parkway

2 North Ave.

39 Ross St.

308 E. Main St.

There are old grave yards with tilting and weathered headstones all over Western New York. 

These aging cemeteries were the final resting place for pioneers, heroes and entrepreneurs who helped settle what was once considered "the west."

In Bergen, you can find the grave of Jesse Townsend, who is believed to be the first marked burial in the township. He died  September 25, 1809 at the age of 87. Nearby in the Barr Burying Ground, opposite the James Barr residence, is Captain William Peters, who served in the infantry as a captain under General Wayne in the war of 1776.  His son is also buried there. He died in the first battle of the War of 1812.  Sharing this consecrated ground are James E. Davis and Wilbert Fuller, who died in the Civil War.

This hallowed ground had fallen into disrepair until members of the Bergen Town Board decided to clean up the cemetery.

“These historic markers of our great patriots and the founders of our town need to be preserved” stated Barry Miller. 

The Board voted unanimously to hire Derick Monument Company out of LeRoy to repair stones and rehabilitate any markers that could be salvaged.

Deputy Supervisor Don Cunningham wanted to thank the Highway Department and Superintendent Dave Roggow for initiating the clean-up. 

“Our Highway Department took the first steps to move broken head stones, remove limbs, and other large debris so the south east corner could be mowed," says Cunningham.

Bergen Town Officials met Saturday morning to finish the clean-up efforts and beautification of the East Bergen Cemetery. They did basic maintenance such as grooming, raking and also some historical documentation. 

“It is our duty as local officials to ensure that this history is here for years to come and I am committed to preserving the rich and interesting history that we have discovered in the East Bergen Cemetery” stated Rachel Millspaugh.

(NOTE: This report compiled from a press release from the Bergen Town Board.)

Does anyone remember a pizza shop in the East Town Plaza?  Not Domino's but a real pizza shop?  Where was it located?  Where was Your Host located? 

To all of you who shared in the Red's Taxi post, and especially Bea who initiated it, I found some very interesting pictures this evening.  I am not trying to promote a business, but it just happened I went out for ice cream this evening and ended up out at Dave's.  (and it was sugar-free and good). On the walls inside, were pictures of old Batavia (and I mean old)!  I saw a picture of Sacred Heart Church during the flood of 1942, I saw a picture of the Bus Station, the old railroad Depot that was where Salvation Army is now,  the Kendall gas station, Joy's Liquor Store, Dean's Drugs, Sloat's Tire Shop and there were others!  I just can't remember them all. 

I just wanted to share this with all that took that short trip down memory lane the beginning of the week.  I and I thought the bar idea was a good one.

 Lu

Does anyone remember where the dispatch office was for Red's Taxi?

Was there a taxi cab company near the Blue Bus Station on Court St?

While we are at it, does anyone remember an ice cream parlor attached to the Family theater on Jackson St.

....and to settle a dispute, where was Alexander's clothing store located.

Thanks

I very much looked foward to this program to gain some new insights in to the town's early history especially as regards it's older buildings. Everything was first rate, the refreshments and the turn out were quite more than I expected.  The Presenter ( Cynthis Houk)  from the WNY Landmark Society seemed to be quite the coup for our little stashed away hamlet.  She made a point of telling us that she keeps all her images on slides because they have a proven record of lasting through many, many years.  She spent many hours driving our back roads hunting for treasures that she could present  to us. Goodie! I know this town well, but I'm always open to someone pointing out hidden architectural gems I've overlooked.

Unfortunatly, Cynthia must have taken most of her pictures at dusk or on the most overcast day of the year. Perhaps she couldn't preview them, like most digital cameras, to see if she needed to reshoot any. She did Geoff Briggs the injustice of shooting his wonderful well preserved home from 3 different angles ( at least), none of which was recognizable. Her comment to him was that his house just wasn't photogenic and what a shame. I strained my eyes to see doorways and lintels that were in dark shadow, I could go on and on, but those of you who were there know what a truly crappy slide show this woman put on. The only time she even looked at the screen was when the Landmark Society's brochure was on display, then she scurried over to adjust the focus. I thought surely the next slide would benefit from this adjustment, but no, still dark and unseeable.  Unfortunatly, she must have spent a ton on slides that will last forever and nary a one are worth it.

I feel  she treated us like yokels that she could present anything to and have us be grateful. I take pictures all over the area constantly for my painting projects, so I know good, wonderful pictures can be made. I love the town in all it's seasons.

Again I truly commend the town for presenting a great program idea with a wonderful venue but you were had, and so were those GCC Students there to film the whole thing. Terry Weber.