Chemung Canal Toll Collector

In the archives of the Montour Falls Library is a Chemung Canal toll collector's book from 1843.  There were two toll collection offices on the Chemung Canal.  One was in Horseheads and the other in Montour Falls, known then as Havana.  Above is a sample entry from the book.  At the top of the entry, it provides the name of the boat owner, G. Fauset.  But notice at the bottom of the entry the owner's signature is spelled differently as George Faucett.  At the top, the boat name is also given as the Reading, hailing from Seneca Lake.  It also shows that this boat was the 22nd clearance on that day.  The boat cargo is listed, along with where that cargo was destined.  Listed are 2 barrels of pork, some iron, 2 barrels of soap, and one barrel of tea all being shipped to Corning.  There is a load of furniture headed to Fairport.  At that time, Horseheads was known as Fairport.  Lastly is an entry for 3 barrels of flour.  The destination seems to be an abbreviated form of Corning.  Obviously, a toll collector had to be good at arithmetic to compute the toll due on each boat.  There were no weigh locks on the Chemung Canal, so each boat had to have a manifest listing the cargo and the weight or quantity of the goods.  Toll collectors had assistance thanks to tables that listed toll rates on different products, and tables listing mileage between the various destinations on the canals to help them compute the tolls.  Toll rates often were stated in mills, that is one-thousandth of a currency unit, in this case a dollar. So, for example, look at the Furniture entry.  The weight of the furniture was 400 pounds.  It would travel 17 miles.  The rate on furniture was 9 mills (.0009).  So the toll was computed like this:  400 lbs. X 17 miles = 6800.  6800 X .0009 = 6.12.  So the toll was rounded to 6 cents.  Notice that the boat itself also paid a toll, but apparently it was not figured in mills but in cents.  Thirty two miles to Corning at 2 cents per mile came to 64 cents.  Tolls collected in Montour Falls (Havana) were kept in the Bank of Havana, located in the Montour House.

The Little John

 




George Magee was a wealthy railroad and coal mine owner who lived in a mansion in Watkins Glen near the present site of the Elks Club (the Magee mansion was torn down in the 1960s).  The main business offices of his company were in Corning, NY, so every day George Magee traveled by rail from his home to Corning.  In the morning he took a train to Corning, but in the late afternoon he would return home on his own luxurious private car, the Little John.  The photo above on the left shows the private engine that transported Magee.  The engine would drop off Magee and then return to Corning with eight or nine passengers.  The Little John was also used for family outings and to inspect the tracks.  The private engine was rather unique.  It had a horn instead of a bell on it, and it had two cow catchers, one in front and one in the back.  It also had two large lights, one in front and one in back.  The steam powered locomotive could get up to 40 miles per hour.  Magee was sentimental enough about the little engine that he had a clock made depicting the Little John, which was part of the decor of his mansion.  The clock, shown above on the right, resides in the Schuyler County Historical Society in Montour Falls.  When the Little John was retired in 1912, it was sold for $25 and converted into a diner in Corning called the Little John Diner.  Later it was moved to Gang Mills and housed an antique shop.  The next time you are in the Schuyler County Historical Society make sure to check out the Little John clock.  If you left click on the photos you can view a larger version of them.

An Unexpected Visit

The first plane to land in Schuyler County touched down in early October 1919 when it experienced mechanical problems while participating in a transcontinental round trip race between New York and San Francisco.  While flying a De Haviland biplane over Seneca Lake, one of the two men on board noticed an oil pressure problem so they quickly found a place to land.  The plane dove sharply, just cleared a wire fence, and landed on the Beahan farm along County Line Road, just west of Watkins Glen.  Children at a nearby school saw and heard the plane and the teachers decided not to stifle their curiosity. They dismissed school so that all could rush to the scene.  As the pilots telephoned Ithaca to acquire the type of oil they needed, the children and other onlookers climbed all over the airplane with glee.  Mrs. Beahan arrived with sandwiches and coffee for the two flyers who expressed their gratitude.  The oil leak was fixed and the two men roared off again on their journey, waving to the crowd below as they flew over.  The plane soon disappeared into the clouds, and the throng of curiosity seekers were left with a great memory of the day the first airplane landed in Schuyler County. (left click on the photo above to see a larger version of it).

Opera Houses

The Odessa Opera House (shown above) once stood at the corner of what is today Merchant Ave. and Main Street in Odessa.  Opera houses were the center of activity for many local communities in the 19th century.  Havana (Montour Falls) also had an opera house, as did Watkins Glen.  The building that houses Jerlando's Restaurant in Watkins Glen today was once the Freer Opera House.  The opera house in Montour Falls was torn down in the 20th century when the roof collapsed.  The opera houses did more than host musical performances.  They also were venues for plays, conventions, political meetings, graduations, movies, and even sporting events such as wrestling matches and basketball games.  Suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt once spoke at the Freer Opera House.  The Odessa Opera House also housed the fire department.

What Could This Be?

When cleaning out some spaces at the Schuyler County Historical Society recently, this long pole (shown in photo above) was discovered.  It was not labeled in any way, so the Historical Society is curious as to what it is.  It is long, over 10 feet in length, with a metal point fastened to one end and a round knob carved into the other end.  Some have suggested it may have been used to pole canal boats, or it may have been used on steamboats to push away from docks or to push smaller boats away.  I am hoping some visitors to the blog may have some ideas concerning its use.  I welcome your input!

The Ghost Shirt

     In the archives of the Montour Falls Library is a Ghost Shirt from the 1890s.  It was part of a  religion begun by Wovoka, a Paiute Indian.  The religion taught that if one wore a Ghost Shirt and performed the Ghost Dance while firmly believing in its power, then the ghosts of past Native Americans would return, the bullets of the whites could not kill them, the buffalo would return, the Native Americans would gain their land back, and the white people would vanish. The U.S. military feared the religion would promote uprisings among the Native Americans, and took steps to discourage Ghost Dances.  The massacre that occurred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890 was a direct result of that effort to curtail the practice.  When Chief Big Foot and his band left one reservation to travel to another, with the purpose of performing a Ghost Dance, the 7th Cavalry (Custer's old unit) intercepted them and planned to escort them back to a reservation.  The group encamped along Wounded Knee Creek.  The soldiers disarmed the Indians, and later began a search for any weapons they had missed.  During that search, a gunshot was fired.  The soldiers responded indiscriminately with lethal effect, killing many men, women, and children.  Those who fled were pursued and shot in the back was they ran.  What was called the Battle of Wounded Knee was really a massacre of defenseless people.  The massacre also killed the religion of the Ghost Dance.
     On the Ghost Shirt from the Montour Falls Library (shown below) are symbols that look like Nazi swastikas.  They are actually a Native American symbol that represents the "whirling log of life," which represents well-being and good luck.  In the 1930s and 1940s, Native Americans were discouraged from using the symbol in artistic expressions, but it is seeing a revival today.

The Name That Almost Wasn't

The name Schuyler County sounds so familiar to us today, but it almost didn't happen.  That was not the intended name for the county.  When parts of Steuben, Chemung, and Tompkins Counties were taken to form this county, the plan called for the new county to be named Webster County, after the famed Whig politician, Daniel Webster.  That name was rejected and the name Montour County, honoring the local Seneca Indian woman Catharine Montour,  was endorsed by some, but that idea quickly faded. It was finally decided to name it in honor of Revolutionary War general, Philip Schuyler.  At least Catharine Montour and Daniel Webster once set foot in the county, Schuyler had not.  But, Schuyler won out.  The legislature passed the bill, and the governor signed it.  Creation of the new county quickly opened another can of worms--would Watkins or Havana (Montour Falls) be the county seat?  The two towns would battle over that for more than a decade.

Philip Schuyler

from Schuyler County Historical Society files

Watkins Glen and Little Big Horn

At the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana is the grave of James Quinn, one of the soldiers killed with General Custer at the 1876 battle.  According to records, Quinn was born in Watkins in 1850.  He enlisted in Buffalo, NY on February 13, 1872, listing his occupation as a boatman on the canals.  Quinn was described as five feet six-inches in height with blue eyes and red hair.  I have checked census records for Schuyler County during that time and have been unable to locate James Quinn.  The only James Quinn I unearthed was a young man who was too young, and he was still living in Watkins at the time of the battle.  So, the James Quinn who met his fate at Little Big Horn is a mystery.  Perhaps he did not use his real name when he enlisted as some men did at the time.  If anyone has any more information about James Quinn, please let me know.

General George Armstrong Custer

Old Surveyor's Pin

Along Cass Road, just before it connects with Rock Cabin Road, an old surveyor's iron pin is visible on the rock ledge (see center of photo).  When Aranthus Everts performed a survey to lay out the streets of Watkins Glen for Dr. Samuel Watkins in the 1830s, he placed several pins such as this one to use in his surveying.  This one still survives.  It was used to lay out Fourth Street in Watkins Glen.