The Strand Opened in 1914 as a Modern Theater on Franklin Street Watertown, NY, would see the opening of The Strand, a “new moving picture theatre” on lower Franklin Street, on Christmas 1914, three years before the Olympic Theater on lower State Street and about seven years after the Orpheum opened on Polk Street and […]
Hillcrest Farm on Ives Street Has An Impressive History Of Ownership Hillcrest Farm on Ives Street was named as such by Anson R. Flower who purchased it in 1901. Its rich history dates back to 1816 and through the long ownership of former congressman Willard Ives in the mid-to-late 1800s. Former longtime Watertown mayor John […]
Hardiman-Woolworth Co., One of the Largest Furnishing Houses in New York State The Hardiman-Woolworth store was a long-time fixture on Court Street, having grown from a small store to one of the three largest furnishing houses in New York State outside of greater New York, according to the Watertown Daily Times. A good deal of […]
The Harris House, One of Watertown’s Earliest Taverns and Hotels on Public Square Built in the late 1820s by Nathan F. Butts as a Butler’s tavern, the Harris House had many owners over the decades and was purchased in 1852 by Silas Gates, father of Edward M. Gates who would later become city postmaster. The hotel/tavern […]
October 30, 1938 War of the Worlds Old Time Radio Broadcast Causes Mass Hysteria Before the golden age of television became the popular mode of home entertainment, H. G. Wells’s 1897 War of the Worlds serial in Pearson’s Magazine would make its dramatic debut on October 30, 1938, on the era’s more popular medium, the […]
George Boldt’s Wellesley House on Wellesley Island George Boldt‘s Wellesley House is often overshadowed by the Waldorf-Astoria proprietor’s construction of Boldt Castle on Heart Island, which was conducted around the same time. While overshadowed is an appropriate term for perhaps any property on the St. Lawrence in comparison to Boldt Castle, with over 50 rooms […]
After 37 Years, Partridge Berry Inn Rekindles Anew By The Fireside The Partridge Berry Inn would begin as a vision William J. Monnat had of owning a barn-beamed fine dining establishment in Watertown, N.Y. A landscape architect with a penchant for historical buildings and preservation, Mr. Monnat would begin his enterprise of the Black River Garden […]
Carthage, Watertown & Sackets Harbor Rail Road Depot, Built in 1871, Becomes Marcy-Buck Building Before becoming the Marcy-Buck building, which was only one of many variations of business names attributed to Richard Marcy‘s initial coal business over the years, the three-story brick building on the corner of Mill and Factory Streets was initially built as […]
The Carlisle At 273 Paddock Street – Named After 3rd Owner, Floyd L. Carlisle The story of The Carlisle, as it would later become known as, starts with Mrs. Grace L Devendorf Hunting purchasing the property at the corner of Paddock and Holcomb Streets in 1905 from Edwin L. and Olive A. Paddock. Grace and […]
Old Court Street City Hall – Erected In Controversy, Demolished In Controversy It’s pretty evident that the city forefathers who built the Court Street city hall didn’t have crystal balls. Nor did their forefathers who deeded the land to the then village of Watertown for use as a burial ground, for that matter. One can […]
Woolworth Relocating To 146 Arsenal Street – The Urban Renewal’s “Success” Story When the city of Watertown started kicking around the idea of Urban Renewal in 1959, Woolworth most likely was never even considered a possibility for relocating to what would become a huge empty parcel between Court and Arsenal Streets – why would they? […]
James F. Starbuck, Prominent Attorney, and Later State Senator, Builds Starbuck Mansion At 253 Clinton Street The Starbuck mansion at 253 Clinton Street, once declared by Watertown Daily Times writer David F. Lane to be “One of the Watertown’s most imposing mansions,” was completed in 1866, nearly 40 years before its arguably more imposing neighbor, […]
The Hungerford Mansion Will Be 200 Years Old In 2025 Orville Hungerford would have the Hungerford mansion constructed in 1824-25 on the corner of what is now Washington and Mullin Streets in Watertown, N.Y. As it approaches its 200th year in existence, the mansion, long considered one of the showpieces of Northern New York, has […]
George C. Boldt Builds Mansion On Belle Island, Sells It To Former Carnegie Vice President Alexander R. Peacock One of the lost treasures of the Thousand Islands was built on Belle Island, oft-referenced to as Belle Isle, by none other than George C. Boldt. Sometime before the summer of 1902 and during the construction of […]
The Crystal Restaurant On Public Square, Since 1925 In the opening of his review of the Crystal Restaurant for the Watertown Daily Times in 2005, Walter E. Siebel wrote, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was on the set of a 1920s movie being filmed in downtown Watertown. The overhanging neon sign out […]
Watertown Chamber of Commerce Lures Shaughnessy Knitting Mill To City in 1909 According to a news brief in Fibre & Fabric printed in 1909, the Shaughnessy Knitting Mill located in Amsterdam, N.Y., accepted a proposition made by the Watertown Chamber of Commerce to move their plant to Northern New York. The company would work temporarily […]
Many Prominent Owners Of The Old O’Brien House At 216 Keyes Ave Over The Years The early history involving 216 Keyes Ave is quite interesting due to its ownership by prominent citizens and the changes made over its first 50 years, making it hardly recognizable in later years compared to its original incarnation. Keyes Ave […]
Wall Street Broker Charles I. Hudson Built “The Ledges” at Anthony Point In 1885 In 1885, one of the lost gems of the Thousand Islands, The Ledges, was built on the mainland peninsula of Anthony Point and near the entrance to Carnegie Bay. Built by Charles I. Hudson of the brokerage firm C. I. Hudson […]
Benny’s Steak House Had Three Different Locations Before Closing In 2006 Benny’s Steak House was one of the most recognizable landmarks on Arsenal Street, first located at its 1262 address for several years starting in 1968. In 1972, Benny Tufo purchased the one-story brick building at 1050 Arsenal Street that once was home to the […]
Micah Sterling Builds Sterling Mansion, Later Becomes Home To Holy Family School Sterling Mansion would be built by Micah Sterling in 1826 on a sprawling estate that would span several blocks and form a park known as Sterling Place. Born in Lyme, Conn., on November 5, 1784, Micah entered Yale at the age of 16 […]
Anson R. And Roswell P. Flower Erect A New Trinity Church On Sherman Street With the old, wooden Trinity Church on Court Street in need of a modern replacement by the mid-1880s, the vestry would soon be seeking greener pastures. The cornerstone to Trinity House, a gift from Anson R. Flower and Roswell P. Flower […]
Louis Marx Purchases Melrose Lodge, Expands Upon It And Renames “Casa Blanca” Casa Blanca (also known as Casablanca) on Cherry Island began in what was originally known as Melrose Lodge, built sometime around 1880 by Albert Benton Pullman, brother to George Mortimer Pullman. George was one of the earliest pioneers of the Thousand Islands and would […]
Harriett Pullman Carolan Builds Carolands Chateau In San Francisco Bay Area Taking nearly two years two complete with construction finishing in 1916, Carolands was the ambitious creation of Harriett Pullman Carolan who was brought up in the large mansions and summer homes of her parents, George and Harriet Pullman. Whether it was the family home […]
Giovanni’s: A Terrific Trattoria on LeRay Street Giovanni’s would first open in the late 1960s at 302 State St., where the Time Warp is presently, and since 1979, a fitting name when taking a trip down memory lane. The State Street location previously had been home to the National Restaurant and Sboro’s in the 1940s, […]
Hamilton Street School Built In 1899 To Relieve Overcrowding At Lamon Street School In April of 1898, Watertown’s board of education made a request to the common council for $6,000 to be used to build Hamilton Street School to help relieve the overcrowding conditions at the nearby Lamon Street school. A committee looking […]
Stony Crest Island, aka Warner Island and Jewel Island The first mention of Warner Island, later named Jewell and Stony Crest Island, in the local press came from the Watertown Daily Times in 1873 when the Watertown Commandery No. 11 of the Knights Templar made a daylong excursion to the Thousand Islands. There, they came […]
Shadow Lawn, the “White House by the Sea” John A. McCall, President of the New York Life Insurance Company, would have the mammoth 52-room mansion known as the original Shadow Lawn constructed in the early 1900s. Located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, which neighbors Elberon, home to the other “lawn” in the area, George Pullman‘s […]
Emma Flower Taylor Residence 224 S Massey St Built After Divorce From J. B. Taylor The Emma Flower Taylor residence located at 224 S Massey St. was erected in 1917-18, eight years after the divorce of Emma Flower Taylor and J. B. Taylor. Emma would take leave of the brownstone mansion on Clinton Street, built […]
Johnston and Hudson Residence Erected by William Johnston in 1895 at 246 S Massey St, Later Sold To Supreme Court Justice Henry Hudson The Johnston and Hudson residence located at 246 S Massey Street was erected by William Johnston in 1895. That year, Johnston purchased the former house owned at times by Hiram Holcomb, who […]
The Dutch Elm Disease Forever Changed the Landscape of Washington Street Ice Storms and a microburst. Neither have had a more lasting impact on the landscape than the Dutch elm disease that spread like wildfire throughout not just Watertown, but most of North America, Europe and New Zealand. First reported in the United States in 1928 and […]
Neil Hunt, Neighbor of Henry Heath, Purchases St. Elmo Island in 1884 St. Elmo Island in the Thousand Islands was first owned by Elisha Kemp back in 1823. What it was named at that time is uncertain, but it would eventually be purchased by that dynamic duo of Cornwall & Walton, who gobbled up islands […]
Mrs. George Pullman Mansion in Washington, D.C., Becomes Russian Embassy then Russian Ambassador Residence The history of what would be known as the Mrs. George Pullman Mansion erected in 1910 in Washington, D. C., really begins in 1896 with the marriage of eldest daughter Florence to a Chicago lawyer with political ambitions, Frank Orren Lowden. […]
A&W Drive-In, 728 Bradley Street “Come As You Are – Eat In Your Car!” Who doesn’t remember A&W and that “frosty mug taste”? Or better yet, who could forget the bees always buzzing around that Bradley Street Location? A&W Root Beer would be the creation of Roy W. Allen, who in 1918, was a hotelier […]
The Florentine D. Roth Mansion Becomes Home to Sisters of St. Joseph’s Music Conservatory The Roth mansion which stood on the south corner of Washington and Mullin Street was built by Florentine Daniel Roth about seven years after he moved to Watertown in 1882 with his wife, Emily Santee Roth, from Nazareth, Pennsylvania. After rising […]
Streeter Block Become J B Wise Block, Home to the Victoria Theater The Streeter Block was built in 1843 by Nelson W. Streeter, a clothier and clothing manufacturer. Throughout its history, the four-story block building would be host to numerous stores ranging from the aforementioned clothing to grocers, meat markets, liquor stores, restaurants, and tobacco shops […]
Nobby Island: Henry Heath’s Vision of Utopia in the 1000 Islands The “recorded” history of Nobby Island begins with George Pullman having purchased it along with one of its neighbors that would become Pullman Island. Pullman would invite Henry Roswell Heath to the island in 1868 to help recover from a spell of bad health […]
The Lincoln Restaurant and Aldimar Restaurant Nearly 30 years on Public Square in the Lincoln Building Nicholas Zaferis opened the Lincoln Restaurant, later the Aldimar Restaurant, in April of 1957 at the Lincoln Building on Public Square. At that time, the city of Watertown had many well-known restaurants, including Morgia’s; the New Parrot Restaurant, the […]
The Emma Flower Taylor Stable Murders – Double Murder By Shooting Still Unsolved The Taylor stable murders are one of the more intriguing unsolved murders in local history, dating back 111 years now. The double homicide and investigation seemed straight out of a Sherlock Holmes story and happened on the property of one of Watertown’s […]
Sport Island and its short-bridged neighbor, Little Lehigh The history of Sport Island and Little Lehigh began with the Packer and Wilbur families in 1872 when Cornwall & Walton sold an unnamed island to Harry E. Packer for $100. Harry was all of 22 years old at the time and lived a relatively short life […]
Madison Barracks Erected after Sackets Harbor Becomes an Important Military Installation During the War of 1812 Named after President James Madison, who visited during construction, Madison Barracks would be the logical progression to Fort Pike and Fort Tompkins. Both played a vital role in the War of 1812, as Sackets Harbor was attacked twice by […]
A Look at the History of the Black River Valley Club (BRVC) Building The Black River Valley Club was formed in 1905 under the name “Kamargo Club.” One of their first meetings was held in a room at the Chamber of Commerce, where the name would officially change to the Black River Valley Club due […]
Fairlawn, the Pullman Summer Residence on Ocean Ave, Elberon, N.J. Built in 1874 at Elberon, New Jersey, Fairlawn would be the Pullman’s second summer retreat aside from their Pullman Island cottage in the Thousand Islands and eventual home to their Castle Rest completed in 1888. The Pullman family would be introduced to the upscale, coastal community […]
Union and Jefferson Mills Were Two of the Old Mill Street Mills from the 1800s The first of the Mill Street Mills to be erected goes all the way back to 1806 when Jonathan Cowan built a grist mill right on the south side of the Black River, approximately where Derouin’s Plumbing & Heating was […]
A Look Back at the History of Manhattan Island in the 1000 Islands The first cottage to be built in the 1000 Islands was purportedly on Manhattan Island’s main island and credited to Seth Green, who had purchased it back in 1853 and named it Green Island. After residing in the small cottage he built […]
The Pullman Mansion on South Prairie Ave, Chicago, Illinois Construction on the Pullman Mansion in South Chicago would begin in 1873 after George Pullman paid top dollar for the land on South Prairie Ave. The area, located just southeast of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, would become the epicenter for social and cultural high […]
Starbuck Arena Saw The Birth of “Sugar” Ray Robinson On January 4, 1939 On January 4, 1939, a 17-year-old Walter “Walker” Smith, Jr., would arrive on the boxing scene at Starbuck Arena, in Watertown, N.Y, having assumed the name Raymond Robinson from a friend’s birth certificate in order to meet the age requirements for AAU. […]
Neuschwanstein Castle: Construction Started in 1869 But Never Completed For King Ludwig II Of Bavaria Construction on Neuschwanstein Castle started in 1869, six years after King Ludwig II took the throne at 18. An ode to Richard Wagner, whose opera works the King adored to the point of becoming his patron, Neuschwanstein Castle, along with […]
Musselman’s Confectionary at the Y.M.C.A. Bldg 1922 – 1944 In December of 1923, J. Joseph Musselman would open a new candy store, Musselman’s, in Watertown having great success in Utica for a number of years where he continued to be invested as well. At the time, Watertown had a number of confectioners including Nicholas D. […]
The Martello Towers of Kingston, Ontario If ever taking a road-trip to Kingston, Ontario (or a ferry, for that matter), one is likely to have noticed the Martello towers, three in all, standing near the shoreline while a fourth, the Shoal Tower, is off shore on the water a short distance (the three others are […]
Completed in 1880, Theological Hall is the Third Oldest Building on Queen’s University Campus Like many construction efforts in its era, Theological Hall was built on donations, or subscriptions, made my citizens as a means of building something that would benefit the community. It would be the third building constructed as part of what was […]
The E. W. Dewey Cottage on Friendly Island, 1887 – 1947 One of the more obscure summer homes in the Thousand Islands was the E. W. Dewey Cottage located on Friendly Island. I use the word obscure as it was often overshadowed by the likes of Castle Rest, Hopewell Hall, and Boldt Castle, all within […]
The Otis House Fire Was The Most Destructive In Watertown Since 1849 The Otis House on Arsenal Street opened in 1891, but it was actually the result of a major renovation and remodeling of the Globe Hotel, which opened 40 years prior, just after the great fire of 1849. The Otis House would draw rave […]
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 a lot 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. […]
H. H. Babcock Co., Makers of Fine Carriages And Automobiles In Watertown, N.Y. The H. H. Babcock Co. is mostly credited with having its start in 1845, though it wouldn’t start building carriages until the 1870s. In its early days, the company would manufacture wooden pumps in a building located on Factory Square. By 1871, […]
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 William C. Browning’s Hopewell Hall would begin construction on what was then known as Wells Island in 1890. Browning was one of the founders of Browning, King & Co. based in New York City, at one point the largest clothing manufacturer in the world. Built on “West […]
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 had once been owned by Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown. 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 […]
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 was 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 would join the Ground Round, which opened two years prior, as another sit-down restaurant at the Salmon Run Mall. The two eateries would cater to tastes similar to those of typical American bar food and late-night clientele. Ground Round began as a venture […]
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 the annals of history, somebody realized shopping makes people hungry. The Woolworth lunch counter would open its first eatery around 1923, reportedly in New Albany, Indiana. From there, the concept spread across the states and lunch counters would become a staple at other five and dime […]
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 History hasn’t been kind in hindsight to the naming of fire stations in Watertown. So is the case with the Stone Street Fire Station, simply referred to here as such 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, would marry Mr. John Byron Taylor in Mr. Flower’s Washington address. Emma, not quite 20 years old, married […]
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 the double-homicide of elderly Paul Willams, 69, and […]
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