File photo by Tom Rivers: David Damico, a volunteer for the Cobblestone Museum, is pictured inside the print shop at the museum. Damico will do printing demonstrations as part of a historic trades exhibition on Aug. 26. The print shop was built in 1875. It used to be in Medina, but was moved to the museum grounds on Route 98 in Gaines in 1977.

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum will welcome a children’s book author on Saturday, rededicate the schoolhouse bell on Aug. 19 and welcome several historic trades craftsmen on Aug. 26 for demonstrations.

Cynthia Cotten

Cynthia Cotten will be at the museum this Saturday at 11 a.m. for a free story hour. She will read some of her stories about her stone house and life on the Erie Canal.

Cynthia (Storrs) Cotten has been an author of fiction and poetry for children for 30 years. Born and raised in Lockport, she has lived in a number of places around the country, including Ponca City, OK; Pittsburgh; PA, and Dumfries, Virginia.

However, her heart has always been in her hometown, and in April 2014 she and her husband moved back to Lockport, where they live in a house on the banks of the Erie Canal.

Cyndy has written numerous books for young people including “Snow Ponies,” “This is the Stable,” “The Book Boat’s In,” and “Window Across Time;” a book of short stories set in a cobblestone house. Books will be available for purchase at the Cobblestone Gift Shop during the event.

Schoolhouse Bell Restoration and Dedication on Aug. 19

Aug. 19 will be a day of commemoration and celebration. The Cobblestone Society and friends are gathering at the former Gaines District #5 Cobblestone School to celebrate the enduring legacy of Honorable William Jenks Babbitt by ringing the school bell he gave to the school in 1849. Many years silent,  the bell will now ring once again to remind all who will hear it of the remarkable legacy of a true Orleans’ pioneer.

Provided photo: The bell tower on the schoolhouse has been repaired and will be rededicated on Aug. 19 at 11 a.m.

Babbitt arrived in “Genesee Country” in 1810, and following the War of 1812, he moved his family to what would become Gaines.  He became the area’s first blacksmith, established the first brickyard in Gaines, supplying the brick for most area buildings. Babbitt was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1815.  In 1816, he worked to get the Ridge Road designated as “The Post Road” by NYS, and served as the first postmaster of Gaines.

Babbitt pushed hard to get the Town of Gaines to be set apart from Ridgeway and recommended its naming after War of 1812 hero General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. Today Gaines contains most of Carlton and Barre. In 1831, Babbitt became the Town of Gaines Supervisor and then served the district in the NYS Assembly.

The enduring legacy of William Babbitt is perhaps best remembered with the 1849 building of the Gaines District #5 Cobblestone Schoolhouse, which he superintended. Mr. Babbitt purchased the bell for the school at a cost of $20. The gift of the bell served the community well until the closing of the school in 1952.

Over the years, the supporting structure for the bell gave way and the bell dropped down making it unusable. In response, the Orleans County Historical Association offered financial help and Gaines Historian Al Capurso spearheaded the efforts to have the bell tower structure restored. With their help, the once familiar sound of the clanging of the schoolhouse bell will once again greet museum visitors.

The rededication ceremony will take place the schoolhouse at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 19. This is a free, public event.

Historic Trades Fair on Aug. 26

The Cobblestone Museum Step back in time to a bygone era at the Cobblestone Museum on Saturday, Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the Historic Trades Fair. The museum used to showcase artisans and historic trades during an “Old-Timers’ Day.”

The Historic Trade Fair will include many 19th century craftsmen plying their trade in this day-long immersive event. It will feature blacksmiths, printers, weavers, carpenters, wood joiners, chair caning, farmers, musicians, butter churning and even fiddlers.

A Civil War encampment will also take place on site featuring uniformed soldiers with tents, gear and antique firearms.

Museum Director Doug Farley said the fair will highlight the museum buildings on Route 98, just south of Ridge Road.

The four wood frame buildings house the historic trades collections. Artisans and craftsmen will be working in their respective fields throughout the day, in “open-house” format.

The lineup for the historic trades fair, so far, includes:

Blacksmith – Bill Ott (NYSDB)

Chair Caning – Judy Larkin (Raising Cane, Medina)

Butter Churning – Georgia Thomas

Printer- David Damico & Bill Neidlinger

Fiddlers – Tom Bailey and friends  

Wood joinery – Jim Bonafini

Basket Weaving – Jan Brauer

Spinning – Kim Fuller & Donna Masters

Weaving – Theresa Jewell

Civil War demonstrations – 4th South Carolina Infantry, Jay Black, Provost Marshall

Seamstress – Doreen Clark

Shoe Repair – Dave Clark

Herbs – Brenda Radzinski 

Photo by Tom Rivers: The blacksmith shop will be in use for a historic trades fair on Aug. 26.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 32

ALBION – We often read stories of men and women who committed themselves to charitable acts and endeavors, giving time and money to efforts they felt best contributed to the needy. This portrait of John Blodgett Bordwell provides a glimpse into the eyes of a man who was passionate about the betterment of his community. While we explore his genealogy, his lineage suggests that the drive to overcome adversity ran deep within his blood.

John was the son of Joseph Bordwell, an immigrant from French Canada in the late 1830s. Joseph’s parents, Amab and Ursula Martelle Bordwell, died when he was 12 years old, leaving him an orphan. When he reached the age of 17 he traveled to Brockport where he arrived with two shillings in his pocket, unable to speak English. Joseph found employment in a local brickyard and eventually transitioned to the trade of blacksmith, working with Mitchell Gardner at Albion. Traveling to California during the gold rush of 1849, he worked in the mines for two years before returning to New York by way of the Isthmus of Panama.

Joseph Bordwell acquired a considerable amount of wealth, focusing on his “investments” after selling his blacksmith business to his nephews in 1865. Records indicate that he patented a harvester, which was later assigned to Seymour, Morgan & Allen of Brockport. In 1861 he constructed a family home on South Main Street and two years later constructed the Bordwell Block on East State Street.

John seemed to share his father’s adventurous side, dabbling in a number of occupations and exploring political appointments and fraternal offices. At the turn of the century, he found employment as a conductor aboard a Pullman Palace Car traveling between Chicago and New York, but later traded that job in for a stable railroad office job in New York. Bordwell also found himself engaged in the booming sandstone industry at Albion and was active in buying and selling real estate, the latter bringing him a considerable amount of wealth.

His first political appointment came by way of a clerkship on a New York State Senate committee headed by Sen. George F. Thompson as a Republican. Although he seemed rather popular in the community, the Republican Party thrust him into a race against Village President William B. Dye in 1912; Bordwell was easily defeated. Despite his failure to secure elected office in the village, he was appointed as an auditor for the Town of Albion and served on Albion’s Sewer Commission when the village first sought bids to construct a new sewer system and wastewater treatment facility.

John was an active parishioner at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Albion and was a charter member of Albion’s Council #1330 Knights of Columbus. When the fraternal order held its inaugural first degree ceremony, Bordwell graciously offered up space on the second floor of his building for the festivities. He remained active with the organization and in 1918, at the age of 55, was selected as a secretary to serve the Knights of Columbus Supreme Office in Europe for the duration of World War One. Although his participation with the Knights made him an influential member of the Catholic Church at Albion, he was best known for his active role with the Elks Lodge at Albion, serving as District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler for Western New York.

Upon his death in 1942, Bordwell left a sizable estate that was placed into a trust to generate an estimated annual income of $2,500 to $3,000 (roughly $43,000 today). The executors of his will were instructed to purchase a lot at St. Joseph’s Cemetery on East Avenue and to erect a headstone at a cost not to exceed $500. His will left specific instructions for the distribution of the trust’s annual income and directed those funds to be spent in the following manner; $20 annually to Catholic Charities, $300 annually to St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, $25 annually for pew rent (as if he needed it), $30 for High Masses for himself and his family, $100 for the Ladies Aid Society of St. Joseph’s Church, and a portion of the remainder to pay the salaries of teachers at the parochial school.

In addition to his religious bequests, he set aside $100 annually to purchase beds at Arnold Gregory Hospital for the poor and directed that any residual funds be given to the rector of St. Joseph’s Church and distributed to the poor and needy in Albion. Among friends, Bordwell was best known for his amateur cooking skills, which he frequently showcased in his kitchen. Despite labeling himself as a “capitalist” for local census enumerators, John Bordwell’s heart was always focused on providing for the needs of his community and is representative of a mindset that still remains in Albion today.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 31

The long, illustrious history of the Erie Canal is filled with tragedy and catastrophe despite its successes as an economic driving force for New York State. It seems fitting to recall one of the most frequently told stories relating to the Canal in Albion to close out this month.

On September 28, 1859, the residents of Orleans County were celebrating the opening day of the fair in Albion with a series of festivities. Conforming to popular fads of the time, a young gentleman was scheduled to walk a tight-rope stretched across the Erie Canal several rods west of the Main Street bridge. In the afternoon of Wednesday the 28th, the rope was strung from the second floor of the Mansion House south towards the second floor of Pierpont Dyer’s building.

The Blondin-esque feat attracted a massive crowd from across Orleans County as men, women, and children packed onto the three-arched iron bridge spanning across the water. The mob of people swarmed the west sidewalk on the bridge, hoping to catch a glimpse of the brave man. Witnesses recalled that there was little room to move; a team of horses pulling a lumber wagon driven by Samuel Smith had stopped along the southbound pathway of the bridge to see the spectacle that was set to begin relatively soon.

At 5:15 p.m., the man stepped out of the Mansion House’s second story window and began his slow journey across the Canal. It was not soon after that the bridge began to groan and scrape under the weight of the massive crowd assembled atop it. Within a matter of moments the western side of the bridge gave way, dumping throngs of bodies into the water. Those who were physically able to swam to shore where they were pulled from the water by onlookers. Others found themselves trapped under the debris, dragged underwater by soaked clothing. Amos Clift of Gaines recalled thrashing about helplessly as his coat held him in place underwater. After a few moments of struggling he was able to free himself and swim ashore.

John Leonard, a local resident at the time, later recalled seeing a woman wandering about screaming, “Oh, I have lost my baby, I have lost my baby.” Panic-stricken, she failed to realize that the child was stuck under her arm, the head sticking out one way and the legs out the other. Leonard humorously recalled the child’s grin as it lapped up the water running down its face. Others were not as lucky, as newspapers reported fifteen fatalities as a result of the catastrophe. Five horses were visible on the bridge when it collapsed and some speculated that the animals, which thrashed and floundered about in the water, may have contributed to the deaths of some and injuries of others.

Dr. McKennan summoned a coroner’s jury comprised of Noah Davis, Dr. Lemuel Paine, Benjamin Bessac, Volkert Bullock, Harvey Goodrich, Hiram Goff, John Hull White, and Lewis Warner to investigate the calamity. Naturally, the deaths were attributed to drowning, but the jury criticized the condition of the bridge and condemned the “fool-hardy business of rope-walking.” In the following days, the papers printed the names of the local individuals who died as a result of the collapse; Adelbert Wilcox, Thomas Cady, Edwin Stilson, Mary Jane Lavery, Sarah Thomas, Caroline Augusta Martyn, William Henry, Ransom Murdock, Anna Veile, Charles Roosevelt, Thomas Handy, Sophia Pratt, Perry Cole, Lydia Harris, and the young son of Peter Cornell.

This bridge was subsequently repaired and the iconic swing bridge was later installed in 1871. Although the swing bridge faithfully served boat traffic along the Canal, the Superintendent of the Canal recommended as early as 1885 that the bridge be replaced with a lift apparatus to increase traffic and efficiency between Buffalo and Rochester.

This photograph was taken on December 10, 1912 and shows the replacement of the old swing bridge. In early November of 1912, the W. S. Cooper Barge Canal Construction Company began the process of removing the swing bridge in preparation to install the current lift bridge. While moving the bridge to the east for installation as a temporary crossing, the bridge split in two.

Photo by Tom Rivers: This historic marker acknowledges a horrific day in Albion’s history.

The lack of a temporary pathway across the Canal forced residents to travel as far as Gaines Basin to visit the northern end of Albion; the Ingersoll Lift Bridge was under construction at the time. Dye Hose Fire Chief C. Royce Sawyer reminded state officials that without a bridge, fire apparatus were unable to reach the north end of the village, forcing local fire companies to carry hose across the Canal in the case of a catastrophic fire.

Visible in the forefront of this image is the temporary bridge constructed by W. S. Cooper after the destruction of the swing bridge. During this time, the Canal was also expanded to its current width of 120 feet and depth of 12 feet. A NYS Historic Marker situated on the south side of the canal commemorates the location of this devastating accident.

Return to top

Provided photo: This picture shows the Church monument at Mount Albion Cemetery.

ALBION – The Orleans County Department of History will host a series of cemetery tours running every Sunday in August beginning at 6 p.m.

A tradition started by Bill Lattin, County Historian Matthew Ballard will lead visitors through three historic cemeteries in the Albion area. Ballard succeeded Lattin as county historian.

August 6 at 6 p.m. – Mt. Albion Cemetery

This tour will explore the gravesites of Albion’s pioneer settlers, prominent attorneys, politicians, and criminals (east end). The group will assemble at the cemetery chapel and depart at 6:05 p.m.

August 13 at 6 p.m. – St. Joseph’s Old Cemetery

Located on Brown Street, north of the Village of Albion, take a tour of Albion’s first Catholic cemetery and explore the important history of Orleans County’s earliest immigrant populations. The group will assemble at the front entrance of the cemetery and depart at 6:05 p.m. Parking is available on the main driveways of the cemetery or along Brown Street.

August 20 at 6 p.m. – St. Joseph’s New Cemetery

Visitors will explore the grounds of Albion’s “new” Catholic cemetery, located on East Avenue near Bullard Park. When this burial ground opened in the early 1920s, a painstaking process of exhuming and reinterring bodies took place between this cemetery and the “old” Brown Road cemetery. The group will assemble at the cemetery chapel and depart at 6:05 p.m.

August 27 at 6 p.m. – Mt. Albion Cemetery

This concluding tour will examine some of the “overlooked” individuals in Orleans County’s history, focusing on veterans, criminals, politicians, and local entrepreneurs (west end). The group will assemble at the cemetery chapel and depart at 6:05 p.m.

All tours are free and open to the public, no advanced registration is required. Tours will take place rain or shine, so bring an umbrella or jacket in case of inclement weather.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 30

The success of the Erie Canal was not without trials and tribulations over its 200-year history. These photographs, taken in August of 1927, show the damage sustained during an extensive break in the canal wall near Eagle Harbor.

On August 3, 1927, local farmers observed a slight leak in the south wall of the canal near the Otter Creek gully. L. E. Bennett reported seeing a three-foot square hole open up, spilling thousands of gallons of water out of the waterway in a matter of minutes; the initial opening formed approximately 100 feet west of the Otter Creek culvert. Within a relatively short period of time, the flooring of the canal gave way and the south wall broke free, creating a hole that spanned 50 feet in length and 7 feet in height.

Newspapers reported that over 1 billion gallons of water had spilled into the neighboring fields surrounding Eagle Harbor, creating a large lake that reached 20-60 feet in depth in certain areas. Canal employees contributed the ongoing issue of water backup to the damming of the Otter Creek culvert by debris and a leaking guard gate at Bates Road in Medina.

Canal Commissioner Thomas Farrell rushed to Albion shortly after the break was discovered to direct efforts to rebuild the collapsed wall. It was his impression that the repairs would be completed within ten days; however his more pessimistic colleagues anticipated a minimum of three weeks to finish the work. Albion officials pleaded with the State to keep the waterway open from the Lattin’s Bridge Guard Gate (now Bowman’s Bridge) through the eastern section of Orleans County.

Although this ensured open traffic through Albion, it did little to remedy the disruption to major shipping traffic coming from Buffalo. It was reported that 1-2 million bushels of grain were stopped at Buffalo due to the break. The catastrophic rupture occurred during the peak shipping period, delaying grain, sugar, and metal shipments from points across the Great Lakes region. Panicked farmers urged canal workers to expedite the repairs to alleviate extensive flooding on their lands, which threatened to destroy crops and orchards.

One of the photographs shows the submerged home of John Porter, who reported that his 1 acre crop of potatoes was submerged by 10 feet of water. Other farmers anticipated that their orchards would see the effects of long-term submersion over the next several years. Local potato, cabbage, tomato, cucumber, and grain crops were threatened by the extended flooding, but most feared that the potential for warmer weather would finish off any crops that managed to survive.

The break became a spectacle, drawing thousands of motorists to the area. Professional and amateur photographs alike flocked to the site, snapping images of the damage. The influx of spectators forced State Police officer to guard the location, preventing access by curious onlookers.

Over 250 men were hired to work night and day in an effort to expedite the repairs. Over 20 trucks, 6 steam shovels, and other pieces of power equipment were utilized to hasten the project. Within two weeks the majority of work was complete, resulting in the laying off of 150 workers who were employed with the carpentry gang.

Newspapers reported that state truck drivers were raising concerns about the use of unlicensed trucks and drivers to haul stone and materials on and off the job site. After all work was completed, the total damage was estimated at $250,000 ($3.5 million today) and residents impacted by the flooding were expected to bring lawsuits against the State for damages.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 29

Western New York and Orleans County owe its success and growth of the 19th century to the Erie Canal. Breaking through the wilderness of our region, the Canal opened the Niagara Frontier to the world, distributing raw materials and importing necessities. This image shows the steamboat Celina docked at the canal terminal at Medina. The White Hotel is likely the most recognizable landmark in this photograph.

Part of the Buffalo & Rochester Transit Company’s Steamboat Express line, the Celina was regarded as one of the earlier freight steamers in this area. The vessel was operated by James Chamberlain and Judson Webster, father-in-law of Charlie Howard. The company operated eight boats in total, including the John Owens, C.H. Francis, William B. Kirk, C.H. Johnson, Frankie Reynolds, Tacoma, Deland, Consort, and Celina.

Ruth Webster Howard recalled riding on this boat, stopping at Medina for dinner at the stately White Hotel. In 1902, the company was purchased by a group of wealthy investors in Rochester and merged with the Rochester & Syracuse Steamboat Company. Judson Webster had sold his interest in the business in 1901 to Isaac Radford, a real estate dealer in Buffalo.

Hazel Oderkirk Arnett, another resident of Orleans County, recalled life on the Erie Canal at the turn of the century. Before the years of steamboats, bullheads, lakers, and scows were the common vessels operated on the waterway. Pulled by teams of mules, the boats travelled approximately 3 miles per hour and a trip from Buffalo to Troy was 7-10 days.

Mules were stabled in the hull of the scow and Hazel recalled, “The bridge which led up from the stables in the hole to the bank was narrow, steep and often slippery. Mules were ordinarily surefooted but sometimes they didn’t negotiate the trip. There was no way to save them once they were in the canal. I remember that the sight of dead mules floating in the canal was not too rare a sight.”

To a young child, the trips were uneventful and lacking in excitement. The trip was broken up by the occasional visit to canal stores located along the canal path, where boaters could stock up on supplies to feed the crew and family onboard. Upon reaching Albany, boats were grouped together and pulled to New York City by steam vessels. Today, the canal is emptied in November and filled in May; a typical operating season in the 19th century ran April 1st through December 1st and boats were dry-docked for the winter.

According to Cary Lattin, shipping goods such as wheat cost farmers approximately $.25 per bushel before the Erie Canal was completed. After 1825, the price dropped to $5.00 per ton, allowing Western New York to become the “bread basket of the world.”

Return to top

‘Overlooked Orleans’ – Volume 3, Issue 28

MEDINA – Taken on August 19, 1925 by the New York Department of State Engineers, Western Division, this image shows Guard Gate 15 located at Bates Road in Medina.

This gate was referred to locally as “Hastings Guard Gate” and provided workers with the ability to isolate sections of the Erie Canal during wall breaks, accidents, and high water levels. Orleans County has three guard gates; Gate 15 at Medina, Gate 14 at Albion, and Gate 13 at Holley.

This photograph raises an interesting question; what happens when the guard gate is involved in an accident? In August of 1925, a fleet of six barges from the “Green Fleet” under the charge of Captain Hickey were travelling westward. The vessels were pulled behind a tugboat, two abreast, when the southern barge rammed the center pier of the guard gate. The force of the impact jarred the gate loose from its hinges, dropping it onto the deck of the northern barge. A crowd of onlookers and workers gathered along the northern towpath of the canal, assembling near the tugboat.

The “Green Fleet” was a flotilla of approximately 72 barges built by the War Department during World War One for the emergency transportation of supplies. In 1921, the New York Canal and Great Lakes Corporation purchased the vessels for transporting goods by way of the Erie Canal. The name “Green Fleet” was derived from the green color of the barges.

According to local papers, this was the second time that the gate was involved in a collision since it was widened starting in 1914. The Maryland Dredging & Contracting Company of Baltimore was hired to complete work on Contract No. 65, which involved widening the sill of the Hastings Guard Gate.

This wasn’t the last accident experienced at the Bates Road Bridge. Nearly four years later, on August 7, 1929, Barge No. 40 of the Grain Transit Corporation Line was travelling eastbound when it struck the center pier. Carrying 30,400 bushels of wheat, the barge sank in five feet of water in a relatively short period of time. A small portion of the wheat was destroyed by water, but thankfully the accident did not block traffic.

Return to top

Photos by Tom Rivers

CHILDS – Two congregations teamed for their annual patriotic service this morning at the Cobblestone Universalist Church. This photo shows Darrel Dyke, one of the leaders at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, giving a reading at the pulpit at the Cobblestone Universalist Church. Dyke read from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The Cobblestone Universalist Church holds church services twice a year. Today’s service had a patriotic theme and included members of the Gaines Congregational United Church of Christ.

Jim Gardner, pastor of the Gaines Congregational United Church of Christ, shared the homily today. “Choose life and love,” he said. “Choose happy not mad. Choose to honor those who have gone on before us.”

Doug Farley, front left, serves as director of the Cobblestone Museum. He also is a long-time member of the Lock City Glee Club based in Lockport. The group performed several patriotic songs including, “The Battle Hymn of the RePublic.” The Lock City Glee Club is in its 51st year.

Darrel Dyke addresses the group inside the church, which was built in 1834.

The church is on Ridge Road, just east of Route 98. It is the focal point of a museum that is a National Historic Landmark.

Drew Burke (with beard) is director of the Lock City Glee Club’s men’s chorus. The Glee Club usually has 35 to 50 singers but during the summer performs in a smaller group of summer ambassadors.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 27

The Erie Canal has a long and illustrious history spanning over two hundred years starting on July 4, 2017. As we hit the bicentennial of the construction of the Canal, I thought it would be fitting to write a series of articles about some of the more interesting Canal images within the Department of History’s collections.

I suspect that the passing of the July 4th anniversary will go without fanfare locally, but the eight years between the start of construction and official opening will provide many opportunities to celebrate the iconic waterway.

Dating back to 1699, the concept of constructing a waterway that would open the wilderness of New York to the rest of the world was first suggested by a French engineer named Sebastien Vauban. The radical idea remained in the minds of entrepreneurs and politicians throughout the 18th century, surfacing again after the establishment of the United States. It was not until the early 1800s that the idea became a reality under the governorship of DeWitt Clinton.

The canal, opening on October 25, 1825, represented a feat of engineering that only few could have ever imagined. Without the aid of steam equipment, men relied on hand tools and animal power to excavate the 40-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep ditch that spanned over 360 miles.

According to Cary Lattin, shipping rates for wheat dropped from $.25 per bushel to $5.00 per ton, earning Western New York the title of “The Break Basket of the World.” The old Niagara Frontier went on to produce much of the wheat consumed by the United States up until the start of the Civil War.

The massive drop in shipping costs resulted in the expansion of the canal system starting in 1835. Over the following decades, the waterway was widened to seventy feet and deepened to seven feet; entire sections were rebuilt, new locks constructed, aqueducts erected, and some sections rerouted. The newly expanded canal allowed for businessmen to operate larger packet boats, which in turn carried more tonnage from Lake Erie to the Hudson River.

This image was taken during the second expansion, which officially started in 1903 when the New York State Legislature introduced a plan to form the New York State Barge Canal. The photographer directed his camera westward looking towards Church Street in Medina. In the distance, you can see the Church Street Bridge that spanned the original canal; a packet boat is visible travelling eastbound towards Albion. Also visible are buildings that lined the “heel path,” or southern towpath of the canal, providing valuable goods and services to passing boats.

I find this image to be an outstanding reflection of the extensive knowledge of engineering required to complete the massive expansion in Orleans County during the 1910s. Guy derricks were constructed to raise stone and cement to the top of the large wooden frames assembled to form the enormous retaining walls seen along Medina’s towpath. The relative size of the workers gathered near the base of the retaining wall gives perspective to the size of the work being completed.

Although we see the presence of a steam locomotive to the left, used to draw raw materials to the job site, a team of horses is visible pulling a piece of equipment up the tracks to the right. The gentleman standing atop the embankment wearing a suit and hat appears to be a supervisor, observing the work of the men below. A thorough observation of the photograph reveals men standing at various points on the framework of the retaining wall and one man standing upon the wall’s concrete foundation, directing the guy derrick operator to move the scoop to the south. One of the workers appears to have caught the photographer out of the corner of his eye and stopped to watch him take the photograph.

The expansion, which was completed in Orleans County approximately between 1912 and 1918, widened the canal to 120 feet from 70 feet and deepened it from 7 feet to 12 feet.

The second photograph shows men working on a portion of the retaining wall closer to the terminal in Medina. The Church Street Bridge approach is visible to the left and the White Hotel is likely the most prominent and recognizable structure in the photograph.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 26

Dating back to the earliest years of the United States, immigration was a welcomed occurrence; the arrival of new European immigrants was believed to bring desirable traits that would strengthen American stock. Despite this early stance on a process that was of little concern to most Americans, groups surfaced with the intention of restricting or ending waves of immigration.

The emergence of the Know-Nothing Party of the 1840s and 1850s brings forth a “Gangs of New York” image to the minds of many. The exact level of activity of such groups in Orleans County is uncertain, but we do know that men such as John Hull White of Albion and Elisha Whalen of Medina were aligned with these political ideas. White, a Conservative Democrat in the years when Republicans considered themselves the “Party of Lincoln,” found it impossible to win an election in our Republican-dominated county.

An influx of Irish and German immigrants established an unfounded fear of the Catholic Church, while many of these immigrants flooded into the emerging sandstone quarries of our region, bringing with them a willingness to toil amidst dynamite and heavy stone. Shortly after came the laborers from the Norfolk region of southern England, who with pickaxe and shovel, filed into the ranks with the Irish and Germans. Minimal legislation meant no visas, no limitations, no need for connections to family already in the United States, nor guarantee of work.

The mass of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe starting in the 1860s and 1870s raised questions about the ongoing solvency of unrestricted immigration. With the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the federal government established a solid stance on the limitation of specific immigrants, prohibiting any immigration of individuals from China. Additional laws passed over the following decades created the conditions experienced at places like Ellis Island, the conditions that so many genealogists read about.

Immigrants were no longer desirable, their genetic traits more likely to diminish the hearty stock of American citizens than strengthen. These new immigrants were viewed as unwilling to assimilate, preferring to gather in ethnic communities while retaining their cultural and religious practices. Their presence developed unfounded fears of disease, leading the federal government to limit access to those “likely to become a public charge,” polygamists, sexual deviants, anarchists, radicals, and the disabled.

Agents at ports of entry would observe immigrants for physical defects, limps, poor posture, feeble natures, weakness, and abnormal body shape, many feeling as though they could learn more about an immigrant’s physical condition from a few moments of unnoticed observation than they could through detailed medical examinations. These laws created the concept of the illegal immigrant, who concealed illness and disability, or lied about political beliefs to try their luck at a better life in a country determined to keep them out; until this point, there was no illegal immigration.

I found myself reflecting on this image of my great grandparents, taken on the day of their wedding in 1919, as I prepare to travel to their hometown of Wabcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie in Poland. I often think of the hardships they endured. Frank Kaniecki, seated upon the table, was three years old when he arrived at Ellis Island with his parents and younger brother Paul. His mother, eight months pregnant, gave birth to a baby girl during the journey across the Atlantic, the baby dying several days later. One can imagine Frank’s father, Antoni, leading his grieving wife with two toddlers in tow through the lines of immigrants while agents observed their every move. Rose Romanski, standing with her hand on Frank’s shoulder, was only one year old when her parents brought her to America.

At the time this photograph was taken, both were celebrating their second marriage. Each lost their spouses to consumption, a condition that often ravaged the immigrant populations that labored in the quarries. Their marriage, one of necessity, ensured that the children from their previous marriages were cared for, eight in total. These families, arriving amidst the influx of new immigrants out of German-controlled Poland, found themselves fleeing ongoing pressure to destabilize the Catholic Church and suppress the Polish culture. Generally accepted within the community of Albion, Frank changed his last name from Kaniecki to Crane in the 1930s in the hopes of attracting more American customers to his grocery store in Albion’s Polonia.

As few of our ancestors would qualify for legal entry into the United States under the laws of today, we should be forever grateful that they were afforded the opportunity to start a new life in America. The resilience of our immigrant ancestors is an amazing thing.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 3, Issue 25

ALBION – On June 25, 1859, the pioneer inhabitants of Orleans County converged upon Court House Square in Albion with the purpose of establishing an historic association.

The Pioneer Association, as it was known, was formulated upon a motion made by the Almanzor Hutchinson of Gaines, which set forth the permanent appointment of officers for the organization. Robert Anderson of Gaines was selected as president, vice presidents representing the nine townships were elected including Lansing Bailey of Barre, Alexander Coon of Shelby, Jeremiah Brown of Ridgeway, Gardner Gould of Carlton, Samuel Tappan of Yates, Shubael Lewis of Clarendon, Robert Clark of Kendall, Walter Fairfield of Gaines, and Aretus Pierce of Murray, as well as Asa Sanford as secretary, and Dr. Orson Nichoson as treasurer.

Residency was a requirement for membership within the Pioneer Association; only those who resided in Western New York prior to January 1, 1826, were eligible for admittance. In 1862, those who descended from pioneers were eligible to join as junior members per an amendment to the constitution. Members signed a roll and paid an initiation fee of fifty cents, therefore agreeing to pay twenty-five cents each year after. The most interesting article within the organization’s constitution was Article VI which read, “The association, by a vote of two-thirds present at a regular meeting may expel any member for habitual intemperance or grossly immoral conduct.” It appears that during the first several years of the organization’s existence, over 275 members were enrolled, consisting of the county’s earliest settlers who broke the virgin wilderness to establish themselves in this new region.

This photograph shows the membership of the Orleans County Pioneer Association on June 19, 1869 standing on North Main Street in Albion. The building that reads “Nichoson & Paine” was a drug store that was operated by Drs. Orson Nichoson and Lemuel C. Paine; the building is currently occupied by Snell Realty. The photo was taken as part of the eleventh annual meeting of the association, called to order by the president, Lyman Bates. The Rev. Mr. Elias Bacon opened the meeting with a prayer and the constitution was recited by Bates.

At an early point in the meeting, George P. Hopkins, a local photographer, invited the group to have this photograph taken in front of his studio on Main Street. The meeting was adjourned until 1:30 p.m. and Col. N. E. Darrow led the group, accompanied by a “martial band” under the direction of Israel Shipman. After the photograph was taken, the group proceeded to the Harrington House where they enjoyed a large dinner, eventually returning to the court house for an afternoon session.

I was visited recently by Tom Taber who was seeking out an original of this particular photograph. He pointed out that this image is one of two distinctly different snapshots of the Pioneer Association, likely taken within moments of one another. As if the juxtaposed photographs were part of a “Spot the Difference” puzzle, one could make out minor adjustments to the posture and locations of various individuals in the photograph.

This visit along with a recent chat with Dale Blissett during my Memorial Day tour of Mt. Albion Cemetery spurred me to take a closer look at this impressive image. In a photograph this size, it is difficult to point out particular men or women, but we do see the familiar faces of Elias Bacon, Robert Anderson, Lyman Bates, Nicholas Darrow, Orson Nichoson, and Seymour Murdock, just to name a few. One individual, hidden within the mass of people, is David Farnham of Ridgeway, who led the choir of veteran pioneer singers at the conclusion of the meeting.

If we observe closely, we catch a glimpse of a young lad waiving his hat, as if to be noticed by the photographer. In the middle of the photograph, a man has extended his derby upon a cane, and another man in the rear holds onto a step ladder, as if he stopped to sneak into the crowd.

What this photograph does not show is that a crowd had gathered to observe this special occasion, the mass of people located along the west side of Main Street carefully cropped out by Hopkins. It is believed that the photographer would have directed his camera out of the second story window, where his studio was located, to grab this fantastic view. One can only hope that someday, a labeled version of this image will surface to tell us who these weathered faces belong to.

Return to top