1. automotive and vehicles
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STKA0T7H1 JOUENAE
Monday, March 20, 19:59
Monday, March 20,1938
AUTOMOBILE HAS ALTERED MAN'S TRAVEL HABITS RAILROAD LINES HERE IN
OF
^^^B
Saga of Motor Vehicle a Story IN DAYS WHEN MOTORINCfwAS MORE OF A¥ADVENTURE
Of Inventing and Retailing
That Gave Jobs to Many
THANTLEASURE
The pioneer Mohawk & Hudson*
Railroad was followed by the tncorporation of the Auburn & Syracuse, amongst others.
At that
time Auburn was a larger village
than Syracuse, and its name WHS
mentioned first in thp company
title to indicate that fact. Hut
Syracuse subscribers contributed
An Italian book called "The Art
of War" told in 1430 of a aallpropelled war-wagon, and 10 yeara
later the first Illustrated book in
Italy pictured a cart whose pad-
>•
-
—
•
-
•
carriage along Indian roads the next
year, and El wood Haynes completed his the year after—1894.
Then came Ransom E. Old's car, in
1895.
uic
•• *>t_t.4<s ijuxi. «fc£,a.*i*0t tiJe a i r .
It was a question whether steam
Antwerp saw Gilles de Dorn's or gasoline or electricity—from
wagon of 1479, drawn by "concealed storage batteries -would run the
machinery" and fir Isaac Newton "horseless buggy" of the future.
two centuries later drew plans for Roper's steam car of 18S9 was followed by William Morrison's elecFIRST AUTO OWNED IN SYRACUSE, AN 1899 MODEL HAYNES
a steam-wagon.
tric of 1891. By 1J01, when Roy D. It Wat Owned by T. D. WUkin, First President of Syrmeme* Auto Club; Mr.
France had a military steam cai-jChapin's Oldsmobile flashed along
in Middle of Roar Seat
built by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot In'the Erie Canal towpath In Syracuse
1771, which is still preserved in a i on its sensational Detroit-New York
t —
museum. It was never used, norjtest run, there were 41 electric!
were the steam cars produced by W.; manufacturers and 60 steam cars.
Brans in America in 1784. It was1 A year later, there were 106
in 1877 that a steam car was first! steam cara, 99 electrics, and "a new
seen on American roads, but that; gasoline car every week." Up to
waa hardly heard of.
j 1937, there were 1,852 different
Syracuse
tradition
has
it
that
C.|
American •«—n.v.
makes of automobiles
and
_„-_
_ . . „ _ . . . „ „ „ „ * .„ we... v..|
u n ann
rthur
Benjamin
the Pompey b j t r u c k s ——"
Some 22D vd.4.i• uf ifutu i u uk
Arthur Benjamin, the Pompey boyjtrucks. Some 22 different makes of were at a literal premium then, for
who raced Stearns' Yellow Fellow j passenger cars still are sold here.
bikes, and p r e s e n t e d them to ! Getting those automobiles dis- to get orders filled. When Anthony
crowned heads of Europe in a pub-: tributed to the public was the hard- Will and Theodore Wickwire were
licity campaign during the bicycle]*** P*1"* of the early task, and one willin to "pay $2,500 for the twoera of the Gay Nineties, actually j of the most exciting phase* of the cylinder Winton. they were also
sold a steam automobile as early as whole history of automobillng.
willing to offer an extra 8500toget
1889. That may have been, for S. H. In Syracuse men stepped into the their cars promptly.
Roper
of Roxbury, Mass., made and!new field from all walks of life. The
So dealers handled half a doeen
sold steam
car to a physician that|
..,.• . .*
.
,...-,-,__ . L _ . automobile dealer* of the city have cars at a time, when few laeiories
year.
ex-pawn- were geared to meet erea the small
The real beginnings of the mod- numbered et-bankem,
ern car came after that. Bicycles brokers, ex-bicycle and carriage demands of 1904. In that year
were in full control of the r o a d s - men, hotel men, lumber men and about 100 Syracusans were Id the
obstructed by an occvasional balky electricity sellers, and any number market for cars. In many eases,
All saw the new
need of
horses—when Charles % Duryea ran j of
tingothers.
this marvelous
product buyers of cars earned a discount by
his 120-pound gasoline buggy in to its public—and today the results taking orders for the ear from
Springfield, H u t . ; when Elmer and show that, one way or another, they n e i s h b o r g impressed by tae model
Edgar Apperson ran their horseless did so.
^ i t chugged up the street or rested
i n thfl o w n e r . g y a r d
P r l c « s ranged
from $650 to $J,000-4,000.
Still at hia old site in State S t ,
where he removed after a apell In
:
S t In the block where
First came C. Arthur Benjamin.'[was only Benjamin's own car a n l l <<Salina
:lark s
mu ic
'
»
« t o r « n o w stands,
I was In IS99 that the former!* book of picture,
It
- - - to
- -d 1 8 play-hf ^
i - p e r h a p . the oldest auP l a t e d service
i station
tti ^ ^ [
bike racer, and bike - salesman -•openteim
ROARING THRONGH THE TOLL GATE ON FAYETTEVILLE ROAD
Wilkin Is Goggles and Leather Coats Were the Necessary Costume for This Kind of Dusty
Driving
C. Arthur Benjamin
First to Sell
Cars Here
City Has Seen Cars
From Haynes to
Latest Models
the Paige (later Graham Paige).
Chevrolet Saxon, Maxwell and
Chalmers.
In 1924 Walter Chrysler brought
out the Chalmers and Maxwell
plants, producing the former as a
Chrysler that year and makinp a
four-cylinder Chrysler out of the
Maxwell ln 192«. The Syracuse
Motor Car Company abandoned
Chrysler cars in 1929, taking the
iAuburn-Cord agency.
Another of the early day dealers
j waa Bill Bex, who sold the Thomas
40 and the Pope-Hartford a* wirly
as 1901 in a store at S. Clinton and
Jefferson Sts.
Bex was the brother of James
jBex, whose garage in Montgomery
St waa among the first devoted exclusively to repairs and servicing of \
cars of various makes, with no '
dealer connection. Bex, Bissell and
Cronin were pioneers ln this work,
and William A. Schuyler's Garage
was one of the first of the -storage
type.
Benjamin, Bicycle Racer,
Pioneer Auto Dealer Here
were still years off, and any repairs 1'
startled Syracuse with his Loeomo-! tha t were needed for automobiles j l n * u s e d ****•
bile Steam Car. In April of that'were made by the owners and any j T h i s unique feature of the autoyear, T. D. Wilkin, the commercial mechanical-minded neighbor who t ™ o W « indastry-the used car busid - th fi t
t
b'l h&& tools.
jness—is to a large extent responThe automoobile business began
owned bv a Svracusan an 1899
Benjamin soon moved over to the j s i b l e toT t h « de^elopment pt ths
to
expand by leaps and bounds
moSel Haynes
F r T ^ e r i c k cVacDouga.1 Block on the site of the trade^ No other product retain, a
after the first five years of the cenBrower. who had introduced the Onondaga Hotel, where he sold th. -tandard resale ^ ™ « « • « £ I tury and. new companies eame in.
to the citv made h i m - n e w ^"oline Locomobile, and the mobiles. Three out of JITS motor
! There was good money to be made
l i S s WiU ToVrnal S i "curved-dash" Oldsmobiles, which I « ™ »<>ld tod*y * "ta ">• «-•<» « «
rector and later
! when rental was a dealers' sideline
of the city, Lou«
had aWill,
Winton,
manuJournal
d l - , ^ ^ t f a e m o g t p o p u l a r p A r g of t h e ! field, and the total hers for I I
:—a profitable sideline when being
factured by Alexander Winton.
ear8
early
years.
The
one-cylinder
Cad-|>'
comes
to
168,750.
seen in an automobile was a pood
It was Benjamin who perceived
' way to impress people—and wh«n
the possibilities of turning his sput- iliac, the Winton, and the Haynes- TJ—J tTiwof f **•-******
such "extras" as the top, headlights, «*»?='.
tering toy into a retail industry.
Apperson were other favorites a t " " ® r ITSt
LfCiruff€
windshields
and the horn Increased
Others
the turn a
ofgenerator,
the century.
ae-*e
• • u.,,! 0 0 "^ . T * " ! - ? t h e 'warmed
which vapors j trad,
buyers
I n t hwhen
e eaH.e.t
d a y i deolded
i dealersto
j dealers' returns. Bumpers, another
practicability of either driving o r l l M H g a j , o U n e ; occasionally the pilot out of ths "aorse aad burry" elasa.
Steam cars were already on their
_, .
.
. .
"extra," came as late as 1914.
One of the big dealers for many
way out. They had a pilot which i C e p t e d « " ™ * « « « « * * » > — »»
and Franklin StsV came a
years was the Genesee Motor Car
«. Clinton
—
,
_^* _„„ i«.«.»u objection 10 >
WHEN
BARNEY
OLDFIELD
(AT
WHEEL),
FA
retail name that has provided livMED RACING DRIVER, CAME TO SYRACUSE
Company of Harry and Georgre
tni
by buying
buying *y m*Look Closely and You'll S*e the Cigar Butt That Borne
as the Stearns b ii-|| * poasibls
P
by
ings for uncounted Syracusans, en- the steam car—as
Norris, Cadillac dealers,
y
Always
Held
Clenched
Between
His
Teeth;
C.
Arthur
cycle
Ooming from Utica, where they
found when they man-Uivery equipment from the dealers.
Benjamin Sits Beside Him.
had sold cars since 1902, the
Luc iar» were even less likely to who became head ot ths Z«nith
brothers found t w o youngstera
row, Packard, th* four-eylind«ri*
the huge growth of highways.
| r u n t h a n t h o g e e a r I y g^ou^ c a r a . Radio Corporation, wers early used StcT«nj-Duryea, Oldsmobllt, Loco-.
line, and to "put up" the car for 'named Charley Hanna and Julian
"Th*
Boy Wonder" was Syra-! F r o m W a r r e n g t > Benjamin sold car dealers here,
the winter, it was soon demon- Brown operating the Genesee Gamobile, Pope-Hartford, Pope-Toledo,|
strated that the new product was rage Company and bought them
cuse's
description
ofand
Benjamin
gasoline
Locomobile to John
a
the
days
when he
John from!
WU-iGray,
the^sho^mMuiacturer,
who; O n e _ o f t h \ « * r i 7 < ^ « » »» 8m<- Waysrly, Buffalo Bectric, Chalmers,'
A Dr. Dodd gave lectures on psychology in the new Malcolm not to be marketed by department !out
cu e w & a
Graduates of the bicycle busi— i Gray, the shoe
banker
two-cylinder
Bulck,
Haynes-Apper-j
"
'
b o tiaAnc * t h
stores.
ness, they were typical of the
low
Fellows
Kirk Park
miles an hour!^
^
« Syracuw Garage son and some that no one recalls. Inj Hall at the northwest corner of Salina and Washington St».
kinson
won at
bicycle
racesand
for across!that
Wei-'paid went
$gr50o up
forto
aJ5
four-cylinder
car
shortly after its completion in 1847.
Before Silverman and Grody took iearnest generation of automobile
SUte and Nation. He was still the j when it went Not long after, Ben- j Company, m a n a g e d by Kiney
they retired.
over
the agency, Aurin C h a s e - j dealers who learned the business
"boy wonder" when he Uught Syr-! jamin became sales manager for B1 * c *man, in a combination service
Claiming to be able to "hypnotize," he drew a number of
Although both Ames and Pierce
builder of Chase motor trucks through a brief stay at the factory
aense to trade bicvele for «.ntn-l«,.
tv-.i."
- « - - * - ""
. s t a t i o n and salesroom. During a maintained their interest in other
the Franklin
cars, which
H . . H.
subjects at random from the audience. Always two or three of later
•handled Ford. John W, Cronin,land then proceeded to sell cars.
Il*TanKUn
Franklin and
and John
John Wilkinson
Wilkinson werej
were brief
" period they held the dealer- fields—John H. Valentine was their
the
30
called
would
prove
"susceptible"
to
suggestions
that
"they
the
livery man, also handled Ford
store manager for a long period—,
Back of the Franklin S t show- j producing here at Syracuse's bid to j ^ . J ^ ' for Locomobiles and the
!
couldn't open their eyes," etc.
for a time, when the policy of an
the
firm
was
responsible
for
much
room—and
a pitifulit was,
contrast
with;become
an automobile manufactur-' William Bissell had one of th«
modern showrooms
for there!ing
center.
These he would order to revolve their hands in rotary "odd-cents" price exasperated buy- When Cadillac put a $1,400 fourof the advancement of early auto-!
ers.
Hubert Wright Sr. and Charles • cylinder car. it became so popular
one-cylinder Cadillacs in 1902 and mobile sales. Their four-story show-; motion—"Faster, faster, now you can't stop!"—and the comic
Hanna were Ford dealers after the 'that they dropped the Peerless and
took over the agency. From the room in the Dunrton block
sight tickled the audience. The 10-dollar fees for classes tickled (company set up its own distribut- other cars sold by the firm on the
first the Cadillac showed a tendency; wonder of the city when It opened ;
Dr. Dodd.
toward large and elaborately deco-'
side, and dealt excloeively with the
!ing system.
rated body designs
Cadillac after 1912. They continued
the land cities were | division, putting out the Alco car.
Bissell. who
as Cadillac dealer until they went
for a few years, finally taking over
first
garage in State st, near Water, had!
out of the business in 1929. The
_ w_.,..- ^
.
i n e w development in automobiling. Ford when that four-cylinder car
"Vinton
car the
yi Water, had! '* M a r c h ' 1 9 0 5 ' t h e y o f f e r e d S > T a " Previously it was necessary- only to swept the Nation. Holding the Ford \ Like others, Silverman and Grody [salesroom was in E. Genesee st. on
us nrw inausur, a n a ; - - - » wur «en i«x Syracuse,
, garage
in State
st, near
garage, scene of
„.=,,...,
j handled a number of cars at a time. the Bardeen store site.
Fraaklto and equally alive. Besides1 *™™g t h e ** rly customers of a Winton
car the year following. C U M t l f i r s t a u t o 8 h o w - w h l c h o«cu- have the owner's initials—home-made
in 4-inch agency until that company reort
| Another out-of-towners was Anbr
plate—for
: Steals C**. there
the Stearns
Barnea | « , ^ ' n
the were
til-fated
J I " " ' ^ 0 ^ ^PPlyjHis garage, scene of Joe Leggetf. pled two floors and waa attended leather
* * « otters
onaalicense. That!1 ganized its distribution system in jThey sold a Winton, which boasted jthony Lederman, whose Pierce Arwas
when
everyone
knew
by
sight
1915,
the
Syracuse
Motor
Car
Comjone
of
the
first
compressed-air
• Bicycle C jmpany's Century runl
b
Buyers of cars at this dealer show every car
... town—and
*^~..--».,«* when
^ L 1 C Ua a
car in
pany had the pleasant experience | starters, to Frederic P. Assman a irow agency in Utica from 1501
, about of 19M, Joe Legjrett's Iroquols retired from the retailing of autoside
the city, rented space to an- included M. Crouse Klock, Hunting- [ bicycle patrolman could catch Simon of having buyers in line to put down White steam car to C. H. Halcomb, j included Syracuse in his territory,
—of which a dozen were made—and motoiles here to go with the Frankof the pioneer auto dealers lnton Crouse, Mayor Thomas Osbornej Silverman speeding in a one-cylln- deposits on a car, in the years after
and who opened a showroom in the
the Moyer, one of the best cars lin Company, Corn well took over other
the steel man, as late as 190S, and Rosenbloom Building here in 1911.
Syracuse,
d e r CadilIac
1910
when
Model
T
became
a
namade during its all-too-brief five- the dealerships for~=the Locomobiles
of Auburn. A. H. Duraton and m a n y
handled among others the powerful He was here until John O'Connor,
year career.
and the one-cylinder "curved-dash"1 That was when C. L. Amos, who others. When John Maxwell of| Silverman. a loan broker, in- tional fever.
Pennsylvania-made
Pullman which of Lincoln Garage fame, bought
had bought one of Leggett's cars, Onelda came in to buy a Stevens-jtrigued with motor vehicles*, after
Fords were first sold ln Syracuse later became the Overland (sold him out in 1925.
But it was not to be. With the lOldsmobile.
n to buy a
teamed up with Harry Pierce of Duryea h
id state ' license;},!,
number of makes of cars drastically By 1905 he was selling the But- Pierce, Butler tc Pierce Co., to sell Duryea, he received
purchase of a U. S. Long Dis- at Dey Bros, store, but in a period here by John Le«) and finally the W. Randall Shaw, a hotel man
reduced, Syracuse has turned tofalo-made Thomas, the Pope-Toledo, a variety of ears that included the number 47, indicating the early pe- tanceone-cylinder machine op- j when buyers looked to dealers to Willys Knight; the Elmore, Pope- from Wolcott N. T., teamed up
parts manufacture and to the retail the Winton and the Rambler. Cars
riod in which this company operated..erated
teach them to drive, to make re'T.'-T'"" ~"
eraiea with a steering stick like [ pairs, and service and provide gaso- Toledo, Pope-Hartlord. Pope-Tri- with a lumber salesman named
and repair end of the trade. Today
bune, the electric Pope-Waverly, (Continued on Page 6, Column 1.)
57 dealers in new cars and 40 in
However, that merely marked a thone-which steer airplanes—teamed]
used cars sell an average of "500
up with David Grody to start the
' oars a year to residents of Onon30-year record of automobile selling
da*a County—and many of the
of the Syracuse Motor Car Cotnd«aiers hold distributorships (wholeipany.
sml« agoney) for territory as wide
That was ln 1904, and their firat
. a» 20 counties.
car
was the one-cylinder Cadillac.
Oneida
came to Central
d bltter
supposed that his wife was a The store waa across&athe
Benjamin had finished his i Lake, off the northern shore, *lre ^ e " xors:
street The pioneering Howlett family of
The younger Parley Howlett went Geneeeo that he had mad« the puryears
later.
Spying
and that
connection with Franklin and re- two islands—one of which was r*-!the
grew
up
between
the
two. Onondaga County kept its spirit of to Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio chase. Three weeks later he was
tha lake, he took
of the most roadvancement for three generation*, for cattle during the lS20's driving not here, and stroies of floods in
for
contrary to the theory of "shlrt- |them back. He waa the first to ship; that country had come through. The
i
sleeve to shirt-sleeve in three gen- barreled beef or pork to New York! elder Howlett refused to worry, or
baker In 1M.2. The y«ar after his: On the
woodland in the
n
a £9n
or Albany from Syracuse via the! to permit the stoic mother to worry.
return to the retail aide of the in- lake, shortly after the Revolution,
;de Rochefoucauld-who came by I Soon after, Stlvermaa and Grody erations"—which means that a Erie Canal. He was also the first Young Howlett came in next day
dustry Benjamin organised the Syr- settled a Frenchman of rood family
Comrtantia in
moved to S. Clinton s t , later mov- hardy spirit is replaced by soft to ship salt from here to points west with loss of but two sheep, despite
^
acnee Automobile Dealers' Associa- and his wife. With their children.
ing to the postoffice .. site.
Their decadence.
of Buffalo. His packing business ln floods.
tion with some others, mod put on this coultured couple proceeded to
modern showroom a t G«nea*e and
It might have been the family 1829 waa located at Water and An employe of the new Salt
;.the first of the annual auto shows m a k e
v
go-called
"Frenchman* unique in a p-.or.eer home.
ViV"Tv =* —t ,p «'•<> r? «he l"ntt«"1 training.
Market Sts,
at the Arrr.nry In 1903.
Spr1i»cs Xitinnai Bank When it
1 <-i a r i
Island" ,i paradise in the woods.
eft
v
T:-.<•• "liifr
P a : > v HntvlPtt c a m e ,
In l*3,i he s e n t h i s s.->n. A l f r e d A . oppn^d ;n 1«5C Alfred Howlett beWith
his
on«n
and
"v
By 1914 he hart received an nffcr
•
"
r
'
.
<
a
r
r
'
The
Frrnrhmfln., d ° s Vattine*
* - - a ! " ; " " h r r " •hpn r'^neerftii
n t h e r p g l o n ' H o w l r t t . tn W r s t ^ r n X « w
Y o r k t o rame :t.« pr^s-.drn* '.n ISfin and held
from thr A-nrrican Locomotive
, .,_ ,,,- « U r. •,-. ^tic i n'tr..-)
c
A ; • - - r.ezr S k a n ^ a l p ' ^ s , a d : s t n r t t h e r e b u y 3.<V"'i
n«ad <-,'
that o f f : r o u n t i l
t
e
Under him
Company to head the automobile .States :n iTS6, had suffered reverses'
rv• - " ^ ^e.^g
narr.ed for h i m — H o w l e t t yniinsr^tpr . r , h « t>i,d
iinag.ninsrs.
The Norrises Arrive
SPEEDY HYPNOTIST
Had Agency Long
Sought Niche
•0 Manufacturer
First Auto Show
SSr,
Had Diverse Line
""£ JT.'n.*?'™ ° !."• !.—»«•"« » « . b.u^t-
XT
THE
.^_—.-,
,
...
—
—
. ,_
,
—*—--— .
i
* '
MYSTERY OF FRENCHMAN'S ISLAND
HOWLETT SHIPPED BEEF BY ERIE CANAL
Baron and Du\e Visited Londy Oneida Lake hie Residents
Family Pioneered in Packing; Drove Cattle from Pennsylvania
*
!
'
j
'
/
i
} : • . ' • ' • • ' • -
' ' • - - ! •
p a - . ' -
-
'
.
'
c
p
—
:
n
Cad-.-acs H:'.[.
iabie
to tend
thr l
message
from,
H must ha\e been the traininf.
Cars
Here in 1860
On Aug. Ifi, 1880, there were simultaneous celebrations hi
Syracuse and New York City. Hut while the torchlight paradd
here was a direct result of an achievement by the downstat*
metropolis, Syracusans that niL' ht were not with New York'l
parade for Abraham Lincoln.
The Republican presidential candidate had already been honored
here on his way east by a procesBiun organized
by the "WldeAwakes." Soon after, the city wai
to welcome hi* opponent, Stephen
A. Douglas
Hut that Thursday
night the Citizens' Corps blazed
fireworks and followed Sutherland's
band up to the Salt Springs hotel—
as an escort for two horse-cars.
The occasion was the opening of
•the fust street railway in Syracuse.^
Settlers Had
No Christmas
Onondaga County i i w it*
first Christmas celebration in
Pompey township, two miles
south
of Manhus,
where
Fathers Joseph Chaumont and
CULWU Dablan. French Jesuit
missionaries to tne Unonaaga
YcrT: ^z1
j u s t eisni. } c a . i » ftd
Indian village there, celebrated
successfully introduced this servic*
mass in a new chapel on
in the country.
Christmas Eve of 1655.
The line, built at a cost of $25.noo
Asa
Danforth Jr. and Comin just 35 days, opened into the
fort
Tyler
must have felt
First ward, from Wolf »t. to Church
lonely on Christmas Eve of
(now W. Willow) st. A singletrack line, It supplanted the old 1788 when they joined Trapper
Ephraim Webster in a YuleSalina st. omnibus, using the office
tide solemnal, for the senior
and
stables of the latter a s car
Danforth had taken his wife
barn and waiting room. Cars ran
and 4-year-old daughter east
every 20 minutes during week-days,
for the winter.
There were
from 7 a. m. to 10 p. m., and fare
for the full distance was a nickel.
no Chriitm'M stocking* hung
1
This was the first line, and from! her* till next year.
then on every business man end
' Th* first publio service to
investor was building railroads on mark tha Chrittma* season
paper. These, in fact, did bring on
among whit* settler* did not
a tremendous rush of street railway
osm* until 1806, when a Mr,
•
tlth«t«ad
Phelp* offielated In the •ov«tlng the necessity of gaining ft
en Onondagv Hill.
| charter grant by act of tns Stats
County Fair
Held in 1819
The first agricultural society
and the first state agricultural
law came in 1819, both largely
• result of effort! of Dan
Bradley of Marcellu*, who became first president of the
society organized at Onondaga
It-was not until J a n . S, l^ns. that
Hill.
the railroa<i went into operati'm,
The state law, providing for
With horse-drawn train's. On ,J':n^
fundi for agricultural societies
4, 1839, the first loinnmtive owned
in counties which contributed
by the line, the "Syracuse," puffod
equal shares for tha organizaalong the wooden rails to pull the |
tion*, brouaht Onondaga |300
first train by steam, \\ m-u one ..T.
of state funds. The society was
the trains achieved tho 26-mile run
organized with Bradley at
ln 58 minutes, a year later, the event j
president, Squire Munro, Marwas solemly reported in the "Westtin Cossitt, Augustus Wheaton,
ern State Journal."
George Hall, Abtjah Yelverton,
Leonard Bacon, Lewie H. Redfield, Job Tyler, H. L. Granger,
D, W, Forman and O. W.
It was not until the eteam locomotive was ready for the A.ftS. Brewster a* officers.
The first county fair was
that the road actually ran into
held under its auspices on Nov.
Syracuse. Originally, a mill pond,
2, 1819, and $200 in premiums
on the site of the present State
waa distributed.
Armory in W. Jefferson st., blocked
This society died out, and
the right of way. Until a trestle
was reorganized in 1J&38, again
could be built across the pond, pasin 1856 and once more in 1878,
when Edward'A. Powell set up
sengers -were forced to find other
the organization which has
means of getting into the village
continued.
of Syracuse from a temporary sta-
First Trolley
1 8 1 . 0 0 0 t o t h e $^nn,Odi. s t..r-l< a u t l ' o r lEed
i n t h e i n r m pot a t i o n
aytir'es
r e c e i v e d M a y l, l v i - t .
Am.nm t i c
\V.
20 i n v e s t o r s h e r e w a s Y i v u s
S m i t h , w h o l a t f ' i t n !>>> <>uo o t t l u
founders of T h e Journal.
"Steam Wagons" a Dream
Men Had for Centuries
^
•
1839 MERGED INTO CENTRAL'
A convention in Syracuse on Oct. 12, 1831, marked one of
the earliest moves to stimulate the great era of railroad building which ultimately ringed New York State with steam railroad service.
At the time of this first railroad convention in the state
the county's oldest railroad had not reached the age of 8. The
oldest road in the state, running alon# a 15-mile route from
Albany to Schenectady, had been in operation less than two
months. And out of this convention came the impetus which
gave birth to the roads which consolidated in 1853 to form the
New York Central Railroad Company.
a«fttled by men, car for every five people. The mai|sfoot or on horseback, ehines here use up enough gasoline
oanal, or in some to fill the city's Woodland Reservoir
18 of ths steam rail- one and a half times a year, and
there is still a canal provide IS per ceat of the employ—a new one—and men travel long ment of the ritj • again well over
distances by steam railroad or the national average, walch Is tf
per cent
through the air.
But
for common day-to-day
No industry, no form of transportransportation and for tn»"y cf
i
a
their distant trips, Syracusans ars sudden derelopraent than did the
helplessly dependent on the inven- automobile, product of eenturies of
tion of the past SO years—the auto* boy* and study, and of a generation
mobile.
of "tinkering" by Amtrieui and
Today there are two motor T«- Frenchmen and Bngllshmen and
htcle* for every nine pertons in Gtormana, It is only since the dream
Syracuse, ic-mewhat above ths talfntWaine a reality* that Americas*
average of the United States of one hare stepped into the ran.
•
A—
|
Section K—Page 3
Telephone 2-3111
£ Utica and Auburn Roads Ran FIRST ELECTRIC TROLLEY IN SYRACUSE STREETS
In Washington Street, Depot
In Vanderbilt Square
Once men walked.
Today they ride. Wherever they want to go, theyride.The
hone, which for centuries carried men on their backs or in
rickety carriages, now is forgotten as a means of practical
in America.
•
•
SYRACUSE JOURNAL
Telephone 2-3111
Legislature.
Third Ward
t l . 1S8S.
Railway opened th» first el«otrio
Pond Blocked Way
THE WENONAH, OF THE THIRD WARD RAILWAY, FIRST ELECTRIC TROLLEY IN SYRACUSE
Hn« in the city. That spelled ths
early of
roads
to ijoom Of the horse ear, and on Oct.
the went
city. mainly
The secBusiness Was Apparently Good, Judging from the Number of Passengers on Platform and Peering from Window. thaThesuburbs
•>
i «
ond road went to Geddes, past the j j t 1900, the last CAT rolled up
1J
~ Green st. under the strength of a
old baseball grounds at Lakeside
Park. So popular was this route horse.
during the ball season in the The building era of street rail*
seventies that cars were toppled ways was also a time of consolidafrom their tracks by the weight of tion. In 1889 there were 11 street
passengers on the platforms, and car lines ln the city and one under
the fans gleefully piled out to re- construction. Then on May 22, 1890,
place them on the wooden stringers. the Consolidated Street Railway
Organization of Independent roads Company was formed, and H abthrough the streets of the city fol- sorbed most of these.
Its great
Forty -two men representing five political organizations ArrtV
lowed in rapid order. The first line rival was the People's Railroad, or1
tion at Geddes.
within the city limits came in 1866, ganized in 1887 by Utica interests,
have served as mayors of Syracuse. Harvey Baldwin was the
under the direction of "William H. which bought up two of these lines
first
mayor of
first mayor
of Syracuse,
Syracuse, and
and he
he was
was elected
elected as
as a
a Democrat
jjemocrai)
iunder the direction O1 » » » and
offered a rariety of special
But his Genesee services to win public favor.
station
whatstation
is nowhadV adoors
n d e r b^U t : ^^u t J ' ' n e ^ 1 8 o 3 v J«*1[™ ™ o n t h s l
back in 1848. The term of the mavor and other elected city i Dr. David Holbrook of Jamesvtu. |H. Smith, a . ^ e ™
f
*«*£
Square. in
This
{0 med
Railway followed
the
ina n
1802.
th«
. before the New York Central was' roamed
^ county
^ w o back
When
lve,
d d wofficials was one year np until 1886, when Willis B. Burns. * " the
County.
firstofphysician in the
P ^ ' - j ^ ^ r that
S S . was
t Railway
on theM down- Merged Into One Line
limits
of;
a
Republican,
was
elected
for
the
first
two
year
term.
Two
residents in the
discontinued after ytnaneial mishaps dogged the
92
to
it
in
the duration of office until 1937, when Rolland B. j
ains.
, completion of a line between Buf- Fabius were particularly disturooa
isome years.
rivals until they were joined into
Mn the present town of DeWitt.
In the meantime there was being f a , Q & n d A t t i c a m a d e j t p o s s l b i e to !b y o n € b r u i n whose great weakness Marvin became the city's first four-year mayor.
i The efforts of the Syracuse City th Syracuse Rapid Transit Railmoving
to
JamesviUe.
•scanned another railroad along a
throueh trains between Buffalo!
_ _ i:i _ ,
ui...- ~t—
Railroad .Company to route a line, w a y Company, operating all the
The Republicans have elected 22*
Albany, wun a. tuanKB HT>_^B- i
•»«".• "i
-"• Holbrok's
* • « - - e a r l y u p payette st. to Salina faced an I street railways ln the city, by conof Dr.
1,
the
Democrats
18,
the
B.
Burns,
Reroute, less direct than that of the sayy only at Rochester. On Jan. 81.1 After several depredations it
patients were amongst the Salina i n s u r n iountable obstacle. The route solidation Sept 1, 1896. Later this
2. The "Loco Focos." a local
West Shore road,
village pioneers, a third of whose ^'passed the house of Alderman John [became part of the New York State
1?43,
the seven roads operating agreed that bruin's next theft f a r t i o n _ J n l g - 5 e l e c t e d L y m l n
1888-1889—William B. Kirk, DemOneida and Rome and
—
_.v_ wanted
« a ntoH no
nn street
«tr»*t ear
CUlDallnavf
In 1909.
alons? that route got together at w o u j d brand him "Public Enemy g te vens and tne Progressives put ocrat.
ill'of swamp fever and. Crouse.
who
Railways, in
1909.
miles. On July 1, 1S3T,
settlers
before
his
home.
So,
despite
in
agreed to run two N > 1>,&_^ s i ? n a l i z e a n immediate Louis Will in office in 1915.
Fares Taried through the years,
ague in 1793. Dr. Burnett of Salina dignation meetings, the council from the books of 25 tickets for a
of Syracuse pave momentous con
between the ^
^ ^ ^ . ^ ^
^
^ ^ h . _ mayors^ o< ^ y r a c u ^ h e i r 1890-1891— Willism Cowie, Repubmoved in during 1797 to aid in t h e , b l o c k e d t h e ^ ^ u m l l a detour waa dollar sold by the original Central
nrr
ain-i
jjtuiTj
« «
- •
political amu
_
1893-1»5—Jacob
work.
'arranged.
Gjty line to the six and eight-cent
.w^..
-t---•-•
ierr::.mis. The trip took 25 hours stole a shoat and proceeded t o w a r a j o f / l c e f o ! i o w .
Ames, Repubingtonn tsthe
forvanaerDiu
the
^ u » - .""Z'and
cost
$11.50
in
first
clas*
A
v
e
r
.
.
.
184»—
Harvey
Baldwin,
Democrat.
I'""fares ot the post-war period. A
P
o
m
r
P
B1
I
Dr.
Wi.Ham
Veedham
who
™
ff
SerVUe
apha2ard
V d
nal on the Vanderbilt
^square^ _«;
A v e r - P o m p P V Hill under the pressure of -|84»—Hsrvi
o s t , n . 5 < ) l nf i r s t c i a s e .
threat of municipal operation and
1 » » — Elias, Leavenworth, Whig. I 1896-1901—James K.
was used by this railroad a l o n ga^n d c^
^ on ^ 3Mmman
^ £hage
_
r
run
K.
McGliire, com* to Onondaea \a!ely in 1793
several investigations led to a
1«5O-Atfred
H.
Hovey,
Democrat.
Democrat.
with the Auburn & Syracuse.
^ m j ] ^ a f ih o u r
, ^ i n t r e p i d deputy sheriff with
._„-_
of Danforth
and Onondaga
„ „ „ . „ „ , icw ^, . . „ „ „ , the
..._ ^._
J
,
1
,
^
i.
i^
^
_
•
Another
line,
connecting
the
rilpresent
1851-Heraoe Wheaton, Democrat/
1 « « - 1 « > B - J . y B. Kline, Repub
li
j
Needham
two
years
later,
also
much
Valley,
boasted
a
"djmmy
steam
!
t
were
adopted,
with
the
10c
a
n
r
a
M
and
was
followed
by
Dr.
Gordon
1852—si
aeon
C.
Woodruff,
DemJohn
iofti iono_Ai. n r R«h«. RtBub- to do to c?re tor settlers in the engine" for a time, that attracted j ^ ^ ^ g j , f a r e co ming Feb. 10, 1937.
iKW-isiw—Aian o. r o w , n«puo ; t h e n ' u n , . p a l l t ) V r e g i o n e a s t o fOnon- the attention of everyone. But the'
first postmaster.
Transfers from one line to anWilkinson, who
the had
la^>er an S o m e
consolidations of these huge packet of papers, including the! 1863—Dennis McCarthy, Demo~^
publicity-wise promoters, JUSTUS;
.
1910-1913 - Edward Schoeneck,. d «lea
a . LLa,<e.
ake.
^
Justus
other were the
roads had been effected by April J,-warrant for bruin's arrest.
When the settlers started moving Newell and Matthias Britton—they I
Pr0Ject o f A l d e ^ m ^
Republican.
1864—Allen Monroe, Whig.
w a g gQ e n r a ? e d t h a t ,
185J,
when the Legislature passed
CharleswhoE.
Candeehisof
the
Sixth
pushed
idea
through
1855—Lyman Stevens, Loco Foco. 1914-1915— Louis Will, Progre* in to Syracuse proper—in that por- also put loud bells on the horses— • ward,
j
t
t
h
e
d
e
p
u
t
y
a
n
d
tion that became the village -the gave up this spectacle when it the Common Council oh April 1,
1 1866-1857—Charles F. WHIiston,,
a poem, was president of the S y r a - - ^ & p t a u t h o r i z i n g t h e m e r g e r o f
1897.
cuse & Utica Railroad. The ener- ^
^ ^ ^ ^i Q r a i l r o a ( J g or _h<;3'nirthe'packet,
,unged
which the a n g ^ Democrat.
,
1916-1919-Waifr R. Stone, Re same condition prevailed. Among proved too great a strain on the
the earliest w Dr Zibia Swan, wooden rails.
A revolutionary move came in
bear seized
1858-Willl.m Winton. Democrat, publ.ean.
getic Vivus Smith served as its first g a n i M > d o Q r o u t e s b € t ^ . e e n t h e H u d . gabbed
him. in his jaws, prevented
-1920-1921—Harry H. Farmer, Re who built a tiny frame structure OP Passengers put up with some odd
It
W
U
; ^ f 7 o r t B t h a " h . " a S r o S . n o p . ,on River region and the Great him from sinking his teeth into the
1859-Ehas W. Leavenworth, Rethe Walton tract in 1S07. but 'lied service in those days, making small Sept. 4, 1924, with the introduction
publican.
•were located here instead of in Lakes. By July 7 the agreement officer's neck. One of the pursuers P " 1 ^ ^ ^
Walrath, within a year at the age of 41. He complaint. The three lines on E. of the first bus into the system.
^ R . p u b l i c . n . •' 1 9 2 Z . 1 M 6 - John
H.
was succeeded in the community bv Genesee, University and Lodi ets. This was along a new route, coverUtica. providing the city with an h a d b e e n I n a d e b y t n e r e a . d y rail1861-1862—Charles Andrews, Re- Democrat.
Jonathan Day. who settled at shared four cars between them. The^ing the distance from "Warren and
important
industry.
road directors
arrived in time to dispatch the bear p u b | i e a n #
1926-1929—Charles G. Hsnna, Re
y
M
.drivers would cover one route and.Water sts. to James and thence to
fered
a fatal
wound. deputy sufJ J l r s f puS runt h aon"?.
F
o
l
X
o
i
Th,
was
but
a
beginning
of
the
^
h
an
«
_
befo^tb.
1863—Daniel
Bookstaver,
Demopublican.
!
then go on to the next. The last Shotwell Park. At the time there
n four
onths
July 1S39, less
—
crrowth of the New York Central,
crat!^
1930- -Rol.and B. M a r v . * C A N A | _ AND SAUNA
ST.
u n h M l n w
ear, at
at I10
p.m.,
m., wouia
would iravci
travel aiuug
along ,j were
"
'
•
ear,
U p.
" - * - -20- trolley., routes ln the State
after The** Journal was founded.
It spread westward from Buffalo,
1864—Archibald C. Powell, Re- Republican.
t n e rout
MARKED
DIVISION
e
only
go
far
as
there
were
iRailways
service inside Syracuse.
publican,
In 1*5"'. when a rival company a n d moved to New York City by
T> «
ie-n n,- * c. J - ... 4 passengers. Then it would come j First of the major moves to re1865-1867 — William D. Stewart,
was being formed with the threat! the Hudson River Line. In SyraBefore 18aO. Clinton St. divided ^ ^ d o w n t o w n f o r t h e ^^t^, p u c e trolleys with buses came with
Democrat.
of building a railroad from Syra- cuse, during the 1570s, two new
the city between east and west crowd.
•
ithe substitution of the Burnet av.
1868—Charles Andrews, Repubcuse to Utica by a more direct. roads were started. Both the Syrasides, and Division S t was the The company didn't expect any- j lines in January, 193S. In the next
lican.
route the so-called Syracuse & cuse, Chenango & New York Railnorth-«outh boundarv
one to want to come downtown at;f' v e years there were 14 more re1869-1870—Charles
P.
Clark,
ReUtica'Direct Railroad Company was; road, through the Chenango Valley,
".
™ !'
„ - • . . that hour of the night.
-placements by bus service, ToT
When the Wieting Block burned publicsn.
orzanized to construct a shorter and the Syracuse & Northern, to
E.
Carroll,
In
that
year.
Dr.
Amos
*
estcett.
.
usinj
C a r M n i c e c o n t i n u e d to c a g u a l g e t h e r
with
n e w Mryic*
1871-1872-Francis
rovte by way of Vernon. That cut Watertown. later became parts of on the cold night of Jan. 5, 1S56- Democrat.
then
alderman
and
later
mayor,
fashion"
until
the
boom
of
1S86.
-buses,
there
were
21
routes
covered
wlth t h e
down running time from a sched- the New York Central,
thermometer hovering at
1873—William J . Wallace, RepubWhen the Empire House reopened sponsored the move to make Salina Some cars used a single horse, and by bus and only six by trolley by
ule that took from three and a half
So. Too. did the We,t Shore
zero—rWilliam | j c a n ,
at about the time Syracuse became g t a n r l t n eE r i e c a n a j t he dividing others used teams. Smelly oil lamps the close of last year.
an,
V
V
•
Wrich ort".ed a route to New \ork
F. Graves, Demo- a cjty, with thts structure that still i j n e s .
provided lighting, and heating was
Altogether the routes of the Stats
the glove
1874— Nathan
stands, it was known as "dry goods
irregular. William J . Hart, super- Railways covered 93 miles in the
to four hours.
^
^
,
.
.
^
^
^
g
belon
c
-n
s A
w a r !e<J t<j: o d e r e e s
to supply crat.
1875—George P. Hier, Repub- row." from the number of dry goods
_ _ o i p » i « p PUARITY
intendent of several lines, installed city, and the mileage of operation
SoeedU Engineer!
ultimate disposal of the road, on Kirkpatrick bousrht out
stores located in the street floor of
oluN u r wHAml I
stoves, which were believed to be'came to well over six million a year,
A't*OUE* a t-am carrvinir a Ppe- i e a s c - tr' ' h ec " t r a l system.
supplies of three stores
Although a t.a.xi
.
Another roa 1 that started in mid*;,.„<•,~v,tCr«
the block.
Onondaga chiefs went about the first in any American street Over 22 million passengers used the
vsi- ivB rnvprri" once
.
_„
mittens to tne firefighters,
Among the merchants were Seth dressed in the worst JCS a sign of'car.
street t r a n s p o r t a t i o n systems'
cial message b> the goien.L. J.J^ Cen*-:ry was tr.e- Syracuse & Bing(Eleazar H.) Williams, famed for charity.
New roads followed the boom. On annually.
itmade
wentthe
fromrun
Albany
Auburn
over to
the
original h a r , : t o r i c p e n e d the vear after the
P. S. Stoddard. an insurance man
7 < twoSyracuse
hours and
a q u anearly
r t e r - orir-.nal New York Central consoli- whose company had covered the
seven—the
& Utica
route
ln twoanhoengineer
jrs ana wr.o* made mad a t i o n . It was linked to the earlier building, persisted in remaining'publican.
discharged
fast run in three and a quarter; Syracuse
Rice, and Phelps & Lee. There wen;,
culties both
caused
carr bv the use of wide coat, giving him the appearance of crat.
hours.
22 dry goods stores in "the village;
It was at this t.me that the Syr- gauge rails by one and standard a snow man before the building
1883-188&-Th O m.. Ryan, D.mo then.
acuse & ftica decided to double
g-auge by the other.
'
burned down.
crat.
track its \ r.e throuah Washington
Crowds Toppled Cars
Pig-Stealing Bear 42 Men Have Served as Holbrook First
Aroused Fabius Mayors of Syracuse County Doctor
ed at DeWitt
In 1792
'Protetted' Deput^$
W arrant
trfZ w J ' c L S S ioni'wltHi^- f" ™f™* ™° -ration
»
*£?*** !v? l?Z
First Run in '39
Mergers Permitted
III 22 STORES
-BUT
NOT
Wilkinson
a s r.rr^.••'.•T-.'
tn ^ - i
c
r
route
\^^V^^mii^ '2
Bought Mittens
For Firefighters
gt Some time earlier, tr.e demand^
of its passengers for a car in which
thev could carry n - i r ^ a ^ s r-a.ie / "
Syracuse back t* Utica >d > : . n
NOT.
THEY COT THERE, ANYWAY
A STREAMLINE IN THE WHOLE DESIGN-
t.-.e
constriction of a f a t car
Tr.is
was the first so-ca ..M freiz..* car
the forerunner of today's tremendous freight huMr.rss which is t.-.e
backbone cf f-e Natmn's ra-.roads
Amon? other r a r r i a d enterprises
Syracuse '.n the earliest days
in
two betwrsn t h - viilaee a r d
were
the Onondae? ptor.e Q'.iarnes.
It
was to the ? M * - : s e ?tcn« Railroad
Company, which ™*» successful.
that credit <va« tv." '•' •--•rtT.T.r.e
the
Auburr. <v Syracuse
from
Geddes Into the citv rrcr^r and the
depot at Vanderb..t Square
But
al. w a s not W<>1". for the Au-
burn & Syracuse.
It and another
road connecting Aub-.:rn and Rochester were rr.er.acp--! by th« incorporation in IMS of a line designed to c-onstr-je? a direct route
between Syracuse *n4 Rochester.
T h * so-called Direct Railway wa»
able to save 23 rr.i:e» because the
Auburn-Rochester had been constructed with the -rain idoa cf proriding local Mrv.ce to v.l'age*
along the wa>
Thie ir.cve wa» f-irrs'a ->d V y thf
Jncorporatir.n in 1 '<•>' cf rr,° R~c-Ra-.-r.v1 Cr.rr.'7Jit •'"•r. to c o n pany, with « - ;
to
: n ' anil *r.
•tryct « dir«sri
ail rlfhta d the Direct Raii-
THE DEAN RICHMOND, WHICH RAN ON WOODEN RAILS, AND MADE GOOD TIME AT THAT
This Locomotive of the New York Central Lines Was Named After Dean Richmond, a Syracuse Salt Boiler Who
Later Made a Fortune
STEPHAN A. BRAYTON STANDS IN FRONT OF NO. 266
Father of Dr. Harry Brayton Pictured NUtre Than SO Years Agoat Time He Was in
Charge of N.Y.C.R.R. Shops Here