1991 Ice Storm Marked The Beginning Of A Memorable Decade In Northern New York From Mother Nature The 1991 Ice Storm that hit a good portion of Upstate New York began in earnest the afternoon of Sunday, March 3 following a high of 62º on Saturday. The Sunday’s forecast in the Watertown Daily Times for […]
George Pullman Spurs Thousand Islands Growth With Guest President Grant’s Visit In 1872, Later Builds Castle Rest Twenty-four years before building Castle Rest in 1888, George Pullman purchased what was then known as Sweet Island for a reported $25.00 from Cornwall and Walton who, eleven years earlier, bought up many of the islands for mere pennies. […]
The Wing Wagon: a Taste of Buffalo on Public Square The Wing Wagon would make its Watertown debut all the way back on December 22, 1982. Chuck & Mary Ann Wert would open the 2nd store of the new chain, started by Buffalo native William Demma in New Hartford, by taking over the former Sylvia’s […]
Charles M. Schwab Mansion, “Riverside,” Upper West Side of Manhattan Taking four years to complete, the Charles M. Schwab mansion on Riverside, known to some simply as “Riverside,” is a prime example of some of the excesses of the Gilded Age. Designed by Maurice Hébert, the 75-room mansion was located between 73rd and 74th streets, […]
Keewaydin, “Northwest Wind,” Constructed In 1893 For J. W. Jackson Built in 1893 on the mainland shore opposite Comfort Island just southwest of Alexandria Bay, Keewaydin was the summer home for James Wesley Jackson, or J. W. Jackson, of Plainfield, New Jersey (though also referenced as being from New York City.) Its architecture of the Renaissance […]
A Look at the Downtown Watertown Christmas Decorations Over the Years It’s beginning to look like Christmas can be said when the downtown Watertown Christmas decorations are put up, usually before Thanksgiving, with a tree-lighting ceremony the week or so afterward. Not every year has had decorations or a tree put up, though. In 1942 […]
H. H. Babcock Co., Makers of Fine Carriages And Automobiles In Watertown, N.Y. The H. H. Babcock Co. is mostly credited with starting in 1845, though it wouldn’t start building carriages until the 1870s. In its early days, the company manufactured wooden pumps in a building located on Factory Square. By 1871, it would change […]
Lower State Street Was Once Prime Real Estate If one weren’t given the addresses of 2 and 4 on lower State Street, they most likely would have no idea where the two houses in the photo below were located. That’s how much the topography of the area has changed over the years to its current […]
Dexter Sulphite Mill Explosion of January 18, 1903 Constructed in 1837, the Dexter Sulphite Mill was originally a woolen mill erected by the Jefferson Woolen Co and operated as such through the 1860s. It would have a long run of production as a sulphite mill from c.1890 to its closing in 1953. Unfortunately, a string […]
Hopewell Hall On Wellesley Island, Completed In 1891 Construction on William C. Browning’s Hopewell Hall on what was then known as Wells Island initially began in 1890. Browning was one of the founders of Browning, King & Co., based in New York City, which at one point was the largest clothing manufacturer in the world. […]
The Thompson Park Zoo: A Look Back At The Turning Point Toward Natural Habitation In The Early 1980s Nearly two decades after Thompson Park was opened to the public, the Thompson Park Zoo was created in 1920 when Northern New York Trust donated two white-tailed deer to the park. Per the zoo’s official website, “The […]
The Little Sterling Street School House Becomes Grace Church The history of Grace Church that was on the corner of Jay (now Gotham) and Sterling Streets begins with it as the Sterling Street School. The schoolhouse was erected in 1846, but it wasn’t the first structure to serve the purpose of the Sterling Street School […]
Taggart Paper Mill Had Served Many Purposes Over The Years, Destroyed By Fire In 1972 Constructed of limestone in 1843-45 by General William H. Angell, the former Taggart Paper Mill on West Main Street was originally used as a distillery and grist mill. It wouldn’t be until 1866, when the West, Palmer & Taggarts Co. […]
House of the Good Samaritan, often referred to as City Hospital in its early years, eventually became Samaritan Medical Center. It would be an understatement to say the House of the Good Samaritan has undergone some changes since its creation in 1881. Founded by ministers of Trinity and Grace churches, the first hospital would be […]
The Brownville Hotel: 1820 – 1995, 175 Years a Landmark The first Brownville Hotel was constructed in 1805 on land that Major Gen. Jacob Brown had once owned. The wooden structure would have a short lifespan, destroyed by fire. In its place, a three-story structure native limestone structure was built by Henry Caswell of Brownville […]
Wyckoff Villa, A Deteriorating Mansion Built On The Island Of A Strategic Revolutionary War British Naval Base Over a century before William O. Wyckoff built his palatial summer home, Wyckoff Villa, on Carleton Island, it was a strategic base for the British military and naval supply efforts as well as Mohawks led by powerful clan […]
Gorri’s Market: First a Grocery Store, Then Resurrected as a Meat Market If Gorri’s Market were in the motion picture business, its second coming after a 12-year absence might be called a reboot. The earliest advertisement of the original Gorri’s Market, opened by Frank Gorri and brother-in-law Joseph Spano at 901 Arsenal Street in 1924, […]
Frigate New Orleans And Its Shiphouse At Sackets Harbor, Built For The War Of 1812 Constructed after the end of the War of 1812 with England, the battleship New Orleans, a 72, 74, or even 110-gunned ship, depending on the source, was never completed—yet it sat in stock for nearly 70 years before being razed. […]
Trinity Church On Court Street And Watertown’s Dark Past With Its First Burial Ground The first Trinity Church on Court Street was completed in 1833, but like many structures in the vicinity of downtown Watertown, it would be destroyed in the great fire of 1849. A new, wooden structure would replace it in 1850, with […]
It’s Not Called Watertown For Nothing: The Great Flood Of 1869 The great flood of 1869 was a result in part of an unusual amount of snowfall in early April followed by two inches of rain. The root cause, however, would be the failure of the dam at North Lake in the Adirondacks that sent […]
Chaumont Landmark For Many Years, O. S. Wilcox Residence Became National Hotel Then Carlier Hotel In Later Years Oren Schuyler Wilcox, O. S. Wilcox herein, began construction on the Wilcox residence, later the National Hotel, on a Monday in June of 1873 with the digging of the cellar to his new house. On the corner […]
Bonniecastle, Named After Fictional Character and 1874 Novel “Arthur Bonnicastle” The history of Bonniecastle, the original spelling of its name, is one of the many intriguing stories of the 1,000 Islands. Built on what was Root’s Island in 1877 for Dr. Josiah Gilbert Holland, M.D., the channel separating it from Alexandria Bay would be filled […]
O’Toole’s Roadhouse Restaurant at Salmon Run Mall In 1988, O’Toole’s Roadhouse Restaurant joined the Ground Round, which opened two years prior, as another sit-down restaurant at the Salmon Run Mall. The two eateries catered to tastes similar to typical American bar food and late-night clientele. Ground Round began as a venture by the Howard Johnson’s […]
The Forge House In Old Forge, NY, Constructed In 1871 And Destroyed By Fire In 1924 Built just inside the Adirondacks in Old Forge, New York, The Forge House was initially constructed with one wing in 1871 and would be expanded on in the following years. Much like the great hotels in the Thousand Islands, […]
District No 10 School House – Intersection Of Dry Hill-Farm School Rd And Minkler Rd. The old photo at the bottom of the District No 10 school house and sledders was originally published in the December 30, 1950 Farm and Garden section of the Watertown Daily Times which describes the location as the intersection of […]
Williams’ Dry Feed, Fassett’s Groceries and White’s Quality Meats In Adams Center This building, once home to Williams Dry Feed, Fassett’s Groceries and Meats and White’s Quality Meats was located at the “Fiver Corners” of Adams Center, New York, which it was originally known as in the early 1800’s before becoming Adams Centre, then Adams […]
The Ohio State Reformatory, Setting For The Shawshank Redemption Film Built on a field used as a training camp for Civil War Soldiers, the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield began as a youth reformatory prison upon opening in September of 1896. Construction itself wouldn’t be completed until 1910 and the mixture of architectural styles including […]
Kingston Penitentiary Water Tower, Kingston, Ontario Built in 1895 on penitentiary farmland on what is now part of the Queens University West Campus, the Kingston Penitentiary Water Tower stored 75,000 gallons of water pumped from Lake Ontario that served the Kingston Penitentiary, the Prison for Women, Collins Bay Penitentiary. Today, the water tower is part […]
Woolworth Lunch Counter, Woolworth Bldg., Public Square Somewhere in history, somebody realized that shopping makes people hungry. The Woolworth lunch counter opened its first eatery around 1923, reportedly in New Albany, Indiana. From there, the concept spread across the states, and lunch counters became a staple at other five-and-dime stores. The lunch counter’s purpose, […]
Kingston City Hall, Ontario, Canada, and Market Square est. 1844 The public market was established prior to the Kingston City Hall, which was constructed around it and completed 1844. More info coming soon!
A Look Back As Harold T. Wiley School Turns The Big 5-0. Harold T. Wiley school, a school like no other Watertown had seen before upon its opening in 1971, wasn’t unique and actually part of a trend that started in the 1960s. Designed by the architectural firm of Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw & Folley of […]
Abraham Abraham Summer Home On Cherry Island Had Many Connections, Part Of Millionaires Row (1899 – Present) In 1899, the Abraham Abraham summer home on Cherry Island was constructed after Abraham and business associate Nathan Straus, together Abraham & Straus purchased neighboring properties on the island and razed the existing home to build the palatial […]
The 1940s and 50s Were Record-Breaking For Christmas Shopping In Watertown, NY Up until the opening of Salmon Run Mall in 1986, the majority of Christmas shopping that occurred over the prior decades took place in Public Square. Coming off the heels of the Great Depression and then the subsequent involvement in World War II, […]
Stone Street Fire Station: Engine House No. 3 and Then No. 1 In hindsight, history hasn’t been kind to the naming of fire stations in Watertown. So is the case with the Stone Street Fire Station, which is simply referred to here because confusion reigns supreme when trying to decipher some of the history, with […]
Tobacco Giant Charles G. Emery Constructs Emery Castle On Calumet Island In 1882, Tobacco giant Charles G. Emery purchased what was then Powder Horn Island and eventually built Emery Castle on it, the first of several castles to be constructed in the 1,000 Islands during the era. Located approximately .5 mile off the shores of […]
Morgia’s Restaurant In Watertown, NY, Corner of Cedar at W. Prospect Streets. “Watertown’s first singles bar,” the Watertown Daily Times would write of Morgia’s Restaurant in a 1987 retrospect piece the day the vacant building would be torn down. The restaurant had long been a staple in Watertown, N.Y, dating back to 1934 when family […]
Factory Street Fire Station No. 2, 1873 – 1988 Some interesting discrepancies arose while researching the Factory Street Fire Station, known as Engine House No. 2. In retrospective pieces by the Watertown Daily Times written upon its permanent closure in 1988, it was noted “the brick firehouse was built shortly after the land was donated […]
The Thompson Park Wading Pool Opened In 1901 Long before the original swimming pool was constructed in 1924, there was the Thompson Park wading pool built in what was considered the children’s area of the park. Initially expected to open in time for summer in 1901, delays wouldn’t allow for the pool to be completely […]
Boldt Castle: The Heart of the 1,000 Islands The crown jewel of the 1000 Islands Gilded Age, Boldt Castle on Heart Island began construction in 1901 as a testament to George Boldt’s love for his wife, Louise Augusta Kehrer, rivaled only by perhaps his despair upon her death in 1904 when the incomplete castle was […]
The Watertown Bowl And Its Many Clubs Over The Years (1959 – 1996) In late July of 1958, news would break that Watertown, N.Y. would soon be home to the Watertown Bowl, a $350,000 bowling center to be constructed just outside the city on what is now Route 11, which was referred to as the […]
Keep, Flower Families Help To Build Henry Keep Home For The Aged The Henry Keep Home was a built in honor of one of Watertown, N.Y.’s earliest financiers, Henry Keep who was once President of the New York Central Rail Road and invested in many of the midwestern rail companies while serving as treasurer for […]
Montague, New York’s Near Record Of 77 Inches Of Snow In 24 Hours, January Of 1997 No matter how you measure shovel it, 77 inches of snow in 24 hours, give or take an inch, is a lot of work, national record or not. While Northern New Yorkers are accustomed to heavy snow-fall amounts, the […]
The New York Central Freight House Was A Game-Changer For Watertown, N.Y. In late 1905, the New York Central Rail Road approached the city of Watertown’s Common Council, seeking to build a new freight house between LeRay and West Main Street. The implications of New York Central’s vision were a positive move toward further growth […]
The Flower Memorial Library: A Gift From Emma Flower Taylor To The City Of Watertown, NY. During one of the most prosperous times of Watertown, N.Y.’s history, it didn’t have a public library. The Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library would be commissioned by one of its own, Emma Flower Taylor, two years after her father’s […]
Roswell P. Flower Helps To Build Flower Hospital For The Poor Of New York City One of the many gifts Roswell P. Flower presented to the state of New York was the Flower Hospital, originally known as the Flower Free Surgical Hospital, which was established in 1889. Though his many contributions are well known by […]
Brookside Cemetery, One Of New York’s Most Compelling Cemeteries Brookside Cemetery, a short distance to the south of Watertown, N.Y, would have its dedication in June of 1854. It would be the third cemetery for the then village, the first being the cemetery located on Court Street behind the old Trinity Church and upon land […]
Emma Flower Taylor Mansion – A Wedding Gift From Father To Daughter The story of the Emma Flower Taylor Mansion began on January 2, 1890, in Washington, D.C. There, Ms. Emma Flower, daughter to Roswell P. Flower, married Mr. John Byron Taylor in Mr. Flower’s Washington address. Emma, not quite 20 years old, married a […]
The 1986 Gale Street Murders Haunted Community For One Long Week Before Charles Fedora Was Arrested If you happened to live anywhere on Watertown’s North Side in early 1986 when the Gale Street murders occurred, you’re most likely very well aware of the fear, anxiety, and unease of the double homicide of Paul Willams, 69, […]
Sears Finally Gets A Home On Arsenal Street In 1948 Until its closing at Salmon Run Mall, Sears Roebuck and Co. had been synonymous with retail and shopping in Northern New York. Over 80+ years, the store spent the majority of those years, 71 in fact, in just two locations: the Salmon Run Mall from […]
1950’s Atomic Bomb Testings Were A Las Vegas Attraction Below are some facts and figures regarding the atomic bomb testings conducted between 1951 and 1992. Incidentally, the supposed bolide explosion in 1962 near the Nevada/Utah border was initially believed to have been an atomic test by some observers. Location: Nevada Test Site, now referred to […]
White House Inn – Once Stood Where State Office Building Is Located Though only 65 years old at the time of its razing, the White House Inn, which stood on Washington and Academy Streets, had a rich history of who’s who of Watertown through various familial connections and ownerships before 1955 when it became the […]
Howard Johnson On Arsenal Street (1962 – 1989) Howard Johnson’s popularity in its 96-year existence was never higher than it was in the 1960s and 70s when it was reportedly the largest restaurant chain with over 1,000 company-owned and franchised outlets during that span. Unsurprisingly, Watertown would become home to one in 1962. […]
New York Air Brake WW1 Efforts Leads To Construction Of Lansingdorp World War 1 had a tremendous impact on the city of Watertown, most notably, but perhaps least known, is Lansingdorp. With the New York Air Brake shifting manufacturing to munitions during the war-time, new initiatives were sought on multiple fronts: from increasing the freight […]
New York Central Coal Trestle In The Pine Street Rail Road Yard, Built In 1919 The New York Central coal trestle in the Pine Street railroad yard was built in conjunction with the engine terminal and roundhouse constructed in 1918-1919. Situated west of the roundhouse, the coal trestle ran perpendicular to a couple of Sand […]
The Watertown Engine Terminal And Roundhouse At Pine Street Rail Yard Construction on the new engine terminal and roundhouse in Watertown began in 1918 and finished the next year. Consisting of a 30-stall roundhouse between Pine Streets and Sackets Harbor tracks, it would replace the smaller terminal located on Coffeen Street at the end of […]
The 1901 Pan-American Exposition’s Electric Tower In Buffalo Inspired The General Electric Building In That City’s Downtown The 1901 Pan-American Exposition’s showcase, the Electric Tower, would be the inspiration ten years later for the General Electric building downtown. Only a year after its debut at the Exposition, the tower, not meant to be a […]
The April 18 1962 UFO Incident At Nellis Air Force Base, 10 Other States Below is a summary of times, dates, locations and witnesses of the April 18 1962 UFO incident which began in Cuba, moved up the east coast to New York, culminating with an explosion near the Nellis Air Force Base outside Las […]
Long-Running Music Box Restaurant Moves To New Cedar Square, Eventually Becomes Home To Golden Lion Harold’s Music Box, later to become the Golden Lion, started back in 1947 when its original location was referred to as the “Watertown-Sackets Harbor,” or Arsenal Street Road. At that time, it was replacing another popular business, the Hy-Land’s Inn. […]
Anthony Marra’s Grocery Store, 300 South Meadow Street at Cross Street Marra’s grocery store, started by Anthony Marra, began on the corner of South Meadow Street and Cross back in 1950. Anthony was granted the right in 1950 to vary the use of his residential property for establishing his grocery store. The Marra family was […]
The Howard Electric Tower at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition In Buffalo, NY Roughly four years in the making, the 1901 Pan American Exposition’s crown jewel was the Howard Electric Tower. Designed by John Galen Howard, the mammoth tower was a marvel and its design would go on to inspire the smaller, yet equally captivating Electric Tower […]
The Electric Tower at the original Luna Park, Coney Island, New York Luna Park at Coney Island, New York, opened its doors in 1903 with the magnificent Electric Tower. It would became the first of any number of amusement parks that would inspire the use the name “Luna Park” around the world that continue until […]
The April 18 1962 UFO Incident Near Eureka, UT, 10 Other States Below is a summary of times, dates, locations and witnesses of the April 18 1962 UFO incident which began in Cuba, moved up the east coast to New York, culminating with an explosion near the Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, NV. […]
Mary Farmer’s Diabolical Murder of Sarah Brennan Called “One Of The Most Atrocious In The Criminal Annals Of Northern New York,” Dubbed “The Trunk Murder.” One of the most infamous murders of its era, involving a woman, Mary Farmer, made national headlines and kept the North Country enthralled for weeks in 1908 upon discovering the […]
Solving, and Building, A Mystery: Barney’s Place – Factory Street Anywhere there’s hard work to be had, there’s a place nearby for a drink. Barney’s Place. Well, at least circa 1917. Factory street, during its heyday, had many well-established restaurants and watering holes like Colesante’s over the years, but placing “Barney’s Place” wasn’t exactly easy. […]
E. H. Thompson Grocers Once The Oldest Grocery Store In Watertown Located in Washington Hall on Public Square, E. H. Thompson Grocers (E. H. Thompson & Co. Grocers.) began in 1859 and grew to be one of Watertown’s landmarks and oldest operating grocery store. In later years, in 1913 when Washington Hall would be razed, […]
The April 18 1962 UFO Incident At Oneida, NY, 10 Other States Below is a summary of times, dates, locations and witnesses of the April 18 1962 UFO incident which began in Cuba, moved up the east coast to New York, culminating with an explosion near the Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, NV. […]
Longstanding Ellingsworth’s Market becomes High Street Market in 1946 In 1946, Charles C. and Dora J. Mecomonaco opened the High Street Market, located at 211 High Street, which had been operated by Watertown grocer and meat specialist Charles T. Ellingsworth (sometimes listed as “Ellingworth”), who had owned and operated the Ellingsworth Market at this location […]
The Sugar Bowl: A Long-Standing Fixture on Public Square… And Canton, N.Y.? The first mention of the Sugar Bowl on Public Square in Watertown was in 1918 when Nicholas D. Dusckas first formed a partnership with his son-in-law, Gus G. Athans. In 1924, Mr. Dusckas, as proprietor of the Sugar Bowl next to the First […]
The April 18 1962 UFO Incident At Nellis Air Force Base, 10 Other States Below is a summary of times, dates, locations and witnesses of the April 18 1962 UFO incident which began in Cuba, moved up the east coast to New York, culminating with an explosion near the Nellis Air Force Base outside Las […]
Blizzard Of 1977 Hit Parts Of Western And Northern New York As Well As Southern Ontario The below photo was taken somewhere on Clinton Street during the Blizzard of 1977, most likely between Sherman and Washington Streets. Our guess is Clinton Court Apartments. If you know, drop us a line at support@memoryln.net. We appreciate it! […]
Blizzard Of 1977 Hit Parts Of Western And Northern New York As Well As Southern Ontario The below photo from the Blizzard of 1977 in Hounsfield was taken just down the way from the aerial photo of the Ramada Inn blanketed in snow on what was then commonly referred to as the Watertown-Sackets Harbor road […]
South Junior High School, the First School Built On the Washington Street Campus, Eventually Became Case Junior With its counterpart, North Junior on Watertown’s north side, South Junior High School was a result of overcrowding conditions in the city’s school district in the early 1900s. A survey conducted by the Teachers’ College of Columbia University […]
Independence Hall: Birthplace Of The United States Declaration Of Independence And Constitution It’s hard to fathom the Georgian brick building with bell tower and steeple known as Independence Hall is older than the United States itself. Perhaps equally unthinkable are the forefather’s who built it and their vision of what present-day Philadelphia might be like, with […]
North Junior High School: A Result Of The 1924 Columbia University Study, Eventually Becomes North Elementary One of the 1924 Columbia University study recommendations to the Watertown City School District was to build North Junior High School and its counterpart on the other side of the river, South Junior High School. The topic of a […]
The Watertown Junction Rail Road YMCA, Established In 1902 The Watertown Junction dates back to the railways’ first beginnings in the city, but the Watertown Junction Rail Road YMCA wasn’t established until 1904, several years after an effort was made to replace an older, antiquated building serving as a hostelry for the railroad workers. […]
The Columbian Hotel at Thousand Island Park In June of 1892, the Columbian Hotel in the Thousand Island Park would replace the island’s eponymously named hotel, which sat in the location and burned to the ground in 1890. The Watertown Re-Union would report on June 22 of the Columbian Hotel opening— The new Columbian Hotel […]
The Crossmon House Of Alexandria Bay: Sometimes Bigger Is Better First built as a fisherman’s tavern in 1848 by Charles and Esther Crossmon, The Crossmon House of Alexandria Bay, N.Y., would enjoy one of the longest tenures amongst the hotels of the Thousand Islands, regardless of era, lasting for 114 years. The Crossmon House’s […]
The Pullman House Off The Coast Of Clayton, N.Y. Situated just off Grenell Island on its own isle, later referred to in some publications as little Pullman Island, the Pullman House was yet another Gilded Age hotel/resort built in the Thousand Islands. Undoubtedly named after George Pullman, it is unclear what the motivation was in […]
The Thousand Island House in Alexandria Bay One of the many grand hotels built during the Gilded Age in the Thousand Islands was the Thousand Island House, located in Alexandria Bay. After Alexandria Bay and the Thousand Islands were thrust into the spotlight with President Grant’s visit in 1872, Orren G. Staples and C. A. […]
1106 Coffeen Street – Homestead For The Fisk And Later Barker Family Halfway up the westerly Coffeen Street hill, on the corner of N. Hycliff Drive, was 1106 Coffeen Street, home to the Ira E. and Rosamund Fisk Family. Before settling there, the Fisks migrated throughout Northern New York and Canada. Their first child, Walter, […]
The Harlow E Bundy House In Binghamton, New York Built in 1893, the Harlow E Bundy House, herein as the “Bundy House,” is a Queen Anne-styled mansion located in Binghamton, N.Y. Harlow E. Bundy (1862 – 1916) was born in Auburn, New York, and along with his older brother Willard, founded the Bundy Time Recording […]
Watertown Neighborhood Grocery Stores: Brown and Fosters c.1900 Located In The Taggart Block The Taggart Block on Public Square and Franklin Street was home to several neighborhood grocery stores, including Brown and Foster’s. During its time in the Taggart Block, Brown and Foster would serve the public with a number of offerings, often advertising in […]
Watertown Neighborhood Grocery Stores – Evans Groceries Two Watertown neighborhood grocery stores on Franklin Street were located just several hundred feet apart in the early 1900s: Evans Groceries and Elkhorn Market. According to the Watertown Daily Times, as many as 87 neighborhood grocery stores operated in the city in 1907. While there will always be […]
The LeRay Mansion, Located On Fort Drum, A Place Rich In North Country History… And Hauntings? Depending on the source, the old LeRay Mansion located on Fort Drum was constructed as early as 1804-1806 or 1825-27, with additional wings added in following years. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: it’s one of the oldest mansions in […]
Blizzard Of 1977 Hit Parts Of Western And Northern New York As Well As Southern Ontario Though only a few miles north and east of Watertown, Fort Drum received a significant amount more snow during the Blizzard of 1977: 93 inches vs. 66.5 – over a two foot differential. It was a good reminder of […]
The Second Time Around, There Was Arsenal Street High School… The predecessor to the school that opened in 1916, which most are familiar with, was built only 60 years prior in 1857. Arsenal Street high school, as it’s referenced here to distinguish between the two, was located on the same parcel of land on the northeast […]
The 2nd 3rd Arsenal Street School To Occupy The Same Location Completed in 1916, the “new” Arsenal Street School replaced the former school, built in 1857, in the same location. The new school would be the third “Arsenal Street School,” the original built in 1821 as a Methodist church on what was then known as “Madison […]
Old Car Barn At 780 W Main Street Has Been Home To Many Things Over The Years You might never guess what some older buildings still standing today were once used for. So is the case for the old car barn located at 780 W Main Street. Currently, as of 2022, the home for Party […]
T. H. Merritt Motorcycle Garage, Vassar Building, State Street Watertown, NY Located at the Vassar Building on State Street, the T. H. Merritt Motorcycle Garage, as shown here in 1913, had just settled into its new location a year after residing on Goodale Street. Thomas Henry Merritt, the proprietor, was an authorized seller of the […]
The Cesaro Badolato Murder On Factory Street, Watertown, N.Y. 1904 One of the early 20th-century crimes committed in Watertown, N.Y. that garnered a lot of press was the Cesaro Badolato Murder on Factory Street in 1904. The incident made the front-page headline of the Watertown Re-Union the following day, Wednesday, October 5, with the bold headline […]
The Academy Street Schools: Same Old Story As City’s Other Public Schools The original Academy Street School, built in 1832, was built of stone to provide higher education to young men eight years after Watertown established its eponymous Female Academy. The Watertown Daily Times would give an assessment of the school from a recent visit […]
Two Different Boon Street Schools, With Lots Of Additions Over The Years The first Boon Street School, built in 1859, didn’t really stand much of a chance with regards to the growth the not-quite-yet City of Watertown would go through over the ensuing decades. By 1866, an addition was already needed and, according to the […]
Watertown Consumers’ Brewing Company Becomes Northern Brewing Company (1892 – 1943) The Northern Brewing Company, formerly the Watertown Brewing Co., began in 1892, making Indian Pale Ales, Cream Ales, and Porters. Though its original offices were located on Mill Street, the brewing was actually done in Cape Vincent. Shortly afterward, the office relocated to 457 […]
The Watertown Neighborhood Grocery Stores: Elk Horn Market Elk Horn Markets was a small chain of Watertown neighborhood grocery stores with upwards of six locations, with at least one in Carthage, NY, which opened in 1922. The chain, headed by L. E. Reese, seemed to arrive on the scene around 1890 with a primary address […]
Watertown’s North Side Growth Spurs The Construction Of A New Pearl Street School In 1888 A common theme amongst the North Side in Watertown in the late 1800’s was growth. The original Pearl Street School would fall into disuse as far as educational purposes were concerned, leaving the school board to recommend another new structure. […]
Immaculate Heart Academy (IHA) On West Main Street, Watertown, N.Y. By its opening in 1884, Immaculate Heart Academy was the culmination of a local group’s efforts within the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph. As detailed in The Watertown Daily Times article, dated January 8, 1885— Four years ago, a small community of this […]
The Mead Street Schools: Desperate Needed To No Longer Needed At All. The first Mead Street School came about from the growth on Watertown’s northwest side, accompanied by the overcrowding of the small, and by all means old (built in 1824), stone Bradley Street school which was located approximately the first block, block and a […]
The Lansing Street School: Eventual First Home To Jefferson Community College Constructed in 1904, the Lansing Street School came at a time of tremendous growth on the city of Watertown’s north side. Schools such as Pearl, Cooper, and Mead Street had recently been constructed within the last twenty-five years, while older, antiquated schools such as […]
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