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Person Street: Build a Whiskey Empire, Get a Street Named After You

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, East Side, tagged , , , , , on April 8, 2021| 9 Comments »

person st

Person Street

Person Street runs between two sets of railroad tracks in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood of Buffalo.  The street runs for three blocks south of Broadway, and then  jags at Broadway and continues another two blocks.  The two halves of the street do not line up.  This is because north of Broadway, the street was once known as Kuempel Ave.   Sometime between 1893 and 1900, Kuempel Ave was changed to Person Street.  Person Street seems like a generic kind of name.  But it is named after an actual person who also happened to be a Person – Charles Person.

charles personCharles Person was born in Alsace-Lorraine in 1827.  He came to Buffalo in 1841 at the age of 14.  He worked in a liquor business learning the trade.  At the age of 23, he started his own liquor business.

Mr. Person and his wife Sophia had 11 children.  The lived on Elm Street, which was still a mostly residential neighborhood at the time.  George Urban and his family lived around the corner on Genesee Street.  The Person family had grape bushes along the length of their property, with plum and pear trees in the backyard.  The children spoke German with their mother, who had come to Buffalo at 18 but Charles Person insisted on speaking English whenever he could to learn to master the language.  

Mr. Person’s business, C. Person’s Sons was the city’s “foremost whiskey rectifier”.  Charles started the company in 1850. He sold his whiskey wholesale from 390-392 Elm Street next door to the family home.  His firm was the largest liquor warehouse in Buffalo.  Their building is currently part of the site that is presently the Catholic Health Headquarters.  The company was well known, not just in Buffalo but throughout New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Two of their brands were Buffalo Club Whiskey and Riverside Whiskey. The whiskey business continued for three generations until prohibition.  For the two weeks before Prohibition started, the line outside of their business went for blocks, everyone stocking up on whiskey.  To understand the size of the business, when the doors closed, they still had 2,000 barrels of bonded whiskey remaining!  One of the grandsons reported that they kept the whiskey at his house, and that they still had stock into the 1940s!  During Prohibition, there were 4 attempted robberies at this house, so he had a special vault constructed to store the whiskey.   

Mr. Person held a lot of real estate throughout Buffalo and was the first person to own property on the street that now bears his name.  Mr. Person was Erie County Supervisor from the 4th Ward in 1873 and 1874.  In 1875, he was elected Alderman of the 4th Ward.  At the time, the 4th Ward encompassed Downtown between Eagle, Michigan, Goodell and Main Streets.  

Source:  Buffaloah.com 

Mr. Person died in 1885.  He left his business to three of his sons – Daniel, William and Frank.  The sons continued the success of the business.  When Charles first started the business, it was located in a space 20 by 30 feet.  The business grew to take up 60 times the space – a 4 story building with dimensions of 60 by 150 feet.  The building was described as including “elegant office and a distillation, packing, and storing area which employs an army of workers.”  In addition to their own whiskeys, they also sold imported wines from Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Hungary.  They were also the local agent for Cook’s Imperial Champagne, Pellich Gin, Sheboygan Mineral Water, and Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Beer. 

Son William Person was also Fire Commissioner of Buffalo for 18 years.  At  the time this was the longest anyone had held that title.  William ended up selling the remaining Person family lots on Person street in order to finance his son Eugene’s education at the University of Michigan.

Daniel H. Person was also a director of Meadville Distilling Company and of the Union Bank of Buffalo.  He was a member of the Harmonia Lodge No 699.  

Frank was the son who mostly managed the business.  Frank had 2 sons – Frank W. and two daughters – Clara and Flora.  Frank’s son and several of his nephews worked for the business.  Frank was director oft the Buffalo Automatic Smoke Consuming Company and the Freehold Savings and Loan Association.  He was a thirty-second degree mason.  

So the next time, you pass Person Street, think of the Person family…and maybe raise a glass of whiskey in their honor.

Want to learn about other streets?  Check out the Street Index.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the page to be notified when new posts are made.  You can do so by entering your email address in the box on the upper right hand side of the home page.  You can also follow the blog on facebook.  If you enjoy the blog, please be sure to share it with your friends.  

Sources:

  1. Smith, H. Katherine.  “Person Street Honors Land Owner Who Held City and County Posts”.  Buffalo Courier -Express.  October 1, 1939, Sec L-4.
  2. Mueller, Jacob.  Buffalo and Its German Community.  German-American Historical and Bibliographical Society.  1911.  Translated by Susan Kriegbaum-Hanks.
  3. White, Truman, editor.  Our County and Its People.  The Boston History Company, 1898.

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Come to America from St. Croix, Get a Street Named After You

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, East Side, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on September 19, 2019| 2 Comments »

smithSmith Street is a 2 mile long road on the East Side of Buffalo running from the Buffalo River to Broadway. Smith Street is one of the interchanges from the I-190 Thruway, Exit 4.

Henry Kendall Smith was born on the island of Santa Cruz (now Saint Croix) on April 2, 1811. His parents were Jeremiah Smith and Jane Cooper Smith, who were of English origin. At the time of his birth, the island was in possession of the English during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1815, following the peace between Britain and France, the island was once again a Danish territory. Mr. Smith, Henry’s father, was an architect and builder. While the English had occupied the Island, there had been prosperity. When Denmark returned to power, property values depreciated greatly and many plantation owners were ruined. The change in government caused Mr. Smith to lose a great deal of money. However, his social standing allowed him to achieve the rank of major in the Danish provincial army, which allowed him an income as opposed to financial ruin. One day, while passing through a fort, some quicklime was accidentally throw into his face. Following the accident, he was confided to bed for weeks and blinded for life. At the time, the family consisted of Jeremiah and Jane, along with two sons and two daughters. The family struggled to make ends meet. Mrs. Smith, was not discouraged by the family’s misfortune, and helped her children to look towards the future. A long litigation took place revolving around the accident. Eventually, rather than continue the ligation to get his fair share due to him, Henry’s father accepted a settlement of $1,500 from the party responsible for his injuries, in order to be able to educate Henry.

At the age of 8, Henry was sent to Baltimore to study under Reverend Dr. Berry, a minister of the Church of England and a scholar. When Henry left for Baltimore, his father told him that he would now have to take care of himself and that it was his responsibility as to whether he would sink or swim. Henry reported replied that he would swim, and left behind his family forever.

For those who have seen the musical Hamilton, or know Alexander Hamilton’s history, Henry’s story will sound familiar. Alexander Hamilton was also from St. Croix, and was sent to America to receive an education after experiencing poverty early in life.

Henry_Kendall_Smith,_mayor_of_Buffalo

Henry Smith’s Mayoral Portrait

At age 17, he became a clerk at a wholesale dry goods store in New York City. In his free time, he would continue his studies of the classics, believing that there was another occupation out there for him, and that he would not be a clerk forever. One day, his employer told Henry that he was acting like a woman or a “clumsy boor”. So Henry told his employer that he could do the work himself, and left the store. Shortly prior, he had met Daniel Cady of Johnstown, New York. who was engaged in a trial in New York. After listening to Cady’s arguments and the reply by Ogden Hoffman, Henry was inspired and decided he would become a lawyer.

Henry traveled to Johnstown, found Mr. Cady, and asked to enter his office as a law student. At the time, lawyers did not go to law school, but rather learned the trade in a law office. Mr. Cady welcomed Henry into his office. Henry was devoted to his books and continued his studies under Mr. Cady until he was ready for his examination. While he was studying, he earned an income by teaching at a school. Henry was admitted to the bar in May 1832 and continued to practice in Johnstown. In October of that year, the Young Men’s State Democratic Convention met in Utica, and Mr. Smith was one of the delegates from Montgomery County. During the convention, he delivered a speech regarding the nomination of a gubernatorial candidate which gave him the reputation of an accomplished and logical speaker. At the convention, Henry met Honorable Israel T. Hatch, from Buffalo, who invited Henry to come to Buffalo.

Henry moved to Buffalo in spring of 1837, to form a partnership with Mr. Hatch. After working with Mr. Hatch, Henry also worked with George W Clinton, Mr. Williams, Isaac Verplanck and others in Buffalo.

At the breakout of the Patriots War in 1837, Henry was made Captain of one of the five companies of volunteers formed by citizens for the protection of Buffalo. He continued in the militia service for some time, passing through the ranks until he attained the rank of Colonel. When he was made Colonel, he was given a gold watch that had the inscription, “The citizens of Buffalo to Hon. Henry K Smith, the eloquent and efficient advocate of the Erie Canal and the rights of the City.”

In 1838, Mr. Smith was appointed District Attorney for Erie County. He resigned after seven months, because he was being requested so often for other civil business as a lawyer.

In 1844, he accepted the office of Recorder of the City of Buffalo, an office he held for four years. Subsequently, in 1846, he was appointed postmaster of Buffalo and held the office for two and a half years. In 1850, he was elected Mayor of Buffalo. He was nominated for state assembly, state senate and congress. In 1840 he was a delegate to the national convention which re-nominated Martin Van Buren for president (Van Buren lost that election to William Henry Harrison).

Mr. Smith married Miss Vorhees in spring of 1834. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Johnstown. Unfortunately, she passed away shortly after their marriage. In 1838, he married Miss Sally Ann Thompson, the daughter of Shelton Thompson of Buffalo. After 18 months, she too passed away, leaving behind a son, Sheldon Thompson Smith. Henry suffered greatly after the death of both of his wives. To deal with his grief, he focused on the care and education of his son, on his professional duties and politics.

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Mr. Smith had considerable musical talents. He taught himself to play the violin. He would often be found singing with his family and would sing the Star Spangled Banner, God Save the King, and other patriot songs on festive occasions such as the Fourth of July or St. Patrick’s Day. He was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal, during the time of Rev. Shelton, for whom Shelton Square was named.

Mr. Smith died on September 23, 1854, at age 43. He is buried in Forest Lawn.

During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a Proposed East Side Expressway that went through several iterations. The Expressway was originally planned to start at the Kensington Expressway at an interchange at Best Street, run along the south side of Humboldt Park, now MLK Park, and to continue along Walden Avenue. They then decided to shift the expressway south of Walden in order to preserve the Walden Business Corridor. The Expressway was going to run 2.6 miles and end at Walden Avenue near the City Line. The Expressway was included in New York State Highway Law 1957. In 1958, they decided that it would be better if they were also able to connect the Thruway I-190 to the Expressway with an additional route. This highway was thought to be beneficial to the planned opening of the Thruway Industrial Park and to help bring people into the struggling Broadway-Fillmore shopping district. At the time, Broadway-Fillmore was the 2nd most dense area, second only to Downtown in both size and value.

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One of the plans for the East Side Expressway and Smith Street Spur

The Proposed Smith Street spur would start at the East Side Expressway with an interchange at Miller Avenue, and continue southwest along Memorial Drive to Fillmore Avenue, then would follow Fillmore to Smith to the Smith Street interchange of the I-190. Reports at the time said that this spur of highway was “essential to the lifeblood of the East Side”. More than 300 houses were planned to be demolished as part of this Smith Street Spur proposal. The plan was debated for many years, with various alignments discussed and fought over. Elmer Youngmann, the District Engineer for the New York State Department of Public Works (for whom the Youngmann Expressway – I 290- was named) was against putting the spur down Memorial Avenue due to the high costs of the road due to the private properties along the route. Neither the East Side Expressway in this alignment nor the Smith Street Spur were ever built.

Want to learn about other streets? Check out the Street Index!

Sources:

1. Proctor, L.B. “Sketches of the Buffalo Bar: Henry K. Smith”. Published in Buffalo Courier & Republic, 1869.

2. Viele, Henry K. “Sketch of the Life of Hon. Henry K. Smith”. Published in Buffalo Courier & Republic, May 25, 1867.

3. Rizzo, Michael. Through the Mayor’s Eyes. Lulu Enterprises, Inc. 2005.

4. The Proposed East Side Expressway and Proposed New Arterial Route. Buffalo: 1961.

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Build a House that Refuses to Get Torn Down, Get a Street Named After You

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2016| 6 Comments »

Coit Street

Coit Street

Coit Street is a street in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood on the east side of Buffalo, running between Broadway and Howard Street.  The street is named after George Coit, and is only a few streets away from Townsend Street, named after George’s good friend and business partner Charles Townsend (we’ll learn a little about Charles today, and more about him later).  George Coit was called “one of the eminent fathers and founders of Buffalo”.  He resided in Buffalo from June 1811 until his death in May 1865, watching the pioneer settlement rise into a village, rebuild after wartime burning, and grow into a great city.

gcoitThe Coit family arrived in America between 1630 and 1638.  George Coit was born on June 10th, 1790 in Norwich Connecticut.  He learned the druggist business and worked as a clerk in a store with Mr. Townsend (later Judge Townsend) in Norwich.   They came to Buffalo together in 1811 to run a drug store.  For more than 40 years, Mr. Coit & Mr. Townsend worked together in co-partnership.  They quickly were able to buy property at Swan and Pearl Streets, where the built a store.   The day before the Burning of Buffalo, Mr. Coit drove with Mr. Townsend and a wagon full of their goods into Williamsville.  When they arrived back in Buffalo following the burning, they procured a small wooden building on Erie Street which had survived the burning. Their store was in business until 1818, when they sold the business to Dr. John E. Marshall and they entered the shipping business.  They successfully operated several businesses involved in shipping and trade, along with Buffalo Car Works. Their first warehouse was at the foot of Commercial Street, at the mouth of Little Buffalo Creek, where they built a dock and a frame building.  Mr. Coit married a sister of Mr. Townsend, Hannah, on April 4th, 1815.  Hannah and George had eight children:  Sarah Frances, Charles, George, John, Frances, Nathaniel, Eliza, and William.

Wedding of the Waters at the Buffalo History Museum...depicting Governor Dewitt Clinton with Samuel Wilkeson, George Coit and Charles Townsend at the opening of the Erie Canal

Wedding of the Waters at the Buffalo History Museum…depicting Governor Dewitt Clinton with Samuel Wilkeson, George Coit and Charles Townsend at the opening of the Erie Canal

In 1818, Mr. Coit, along with Mr. Townsend, Samuel Wilkeson and Oliver Forward, secured a bond and mortgage for a state bond for the construction of the Buffalo Harbor.  By 1821, the channel was deep enough to allow for vessels, proving the Buffalo Harbor was successful, despite many people’s concerns about their experiment to build the harbor.  The four men worked together to build the harbor and lobby the legislature to ensure that Buffalo would be the terminus of the canal, not Black Rock.

During the Canal-era, the Buffalo waterfront was a slew of various slips, many owned by private businesses.  The Coit Slip was located near the end of the Erie Canal.approximately parallel to Erie Street.  The slip was filled in when the Erie Canal was filled in during the 1940s, but a portion remains behind Templeton Landing (formerly Crawdaddy’s/Shanghai Reds).  The land around the Coit Slip was owned by Mr. Coit and Mr. Townsend.  The Coit Block/Coit Building (also referred to as the McCutcheon Building) was located at the southern end of Commercial Street adjacent to the western edge of the Commercial Slip.  The Coit Building was located there from pre-1840 until its razing around 1947.  Portions of the Coit Building’s foundations and other features were uncovered during the archaeological investigations during the Erie Canal Harbor project (which created the Commercial Slip and Canalside).  The recreated building housing the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park and Museum was built on the site in 2008.

Map Showing Different Canal Era Slips. For reference, Erie Street's alignment has shifted towards the south. Commercial Slip is the one that has been uncovered at Canalside (click to view at higher resolution)

Map Showing Different Canal Era Slips. For reference, Erie Street’s alignment has shifted towards the south. Commercial Slip, near the center of the map, is the one that has been uncovered at Canalside 
(click to view at higher resolution)

Mr. Coit was a member of the Buffalo Historical Society, the Buffalo Board of Trade, the Buffalo Water Works Company, as well as other organizations.

George Coit's Grave

George Coit’s Grave

Mr.  Coit died in May 1865 and is buried at Forest Lawn.  More than 50 Coit relatives are buried in the plot near George’s grave.  At a memorial before the Buffalo Historical Society in July 1865, Mr. William Ketchum said this about Mr. Coit:  “Although Mr. Coit had lived to see Buffalo grow up from an insignificant village to become a large and populous city, his own chosen dwelling being, as it were, in the very heart of business, he preferred to remain in his old home, and continued to occupy his plain, unpretending residence on the corner of Pearl and Swan Streets, where he had first pitched his tent more than 50 years ago”

Coit House

The Coit House on Virginia Street

The house which Mr. Coit had built is still standing here in Buffalo today and is considered to be the oldest house in Buffalo.  The Coit House is estimated to have been built around 1818, shortly after the Burning of Buffalo in 1813/1814.  The house was originally located at 53 Pearl Street.  The house was moved around 1867 to its current location on Virginia Street between Delaware and Elmwood Avenues.  The house had seem some changes over the years, including being converted into apartments, but has been restored to relatively close to the original layout of a single family home.

In May of 1962, the Coit House was improved by a group who wanted to help the neglected building.  Organizations such as the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce and the City of Buffalo Division of Conservation worked with volunteers to repair clapboard, paint the building and trim the trees.   During the late 1960s, the building was slated for demolition as a part of the Allentown-Lakeview urban renewal project.  This prompted the creation of the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier in May 1969.  The Landmark Society worked to restore the building and then help to sell the building to a new owner with a deed stipulation that would prohibit modification of the historic restoration of the building.   The house was purchased by Henry and Linda Priebe, who lived there for nearly 30 years.  The house went back on the market in 1999 when it was purchased by the Allentown Association.  Major renovations were completed on the building, which was then purchased by Gerhart Yakow, and is now owned by Tim Boylan and Sue-Jolie Rioux Boylan.  It’s a beautiful building and if you get a chance to visit, you should take the opportunity!  The wide plank boards in the floor on the third floor will make anyone interested in history and/or architecture swoon.  The Boylans are wonderful stewards of the building, you can tell they care very deeply about the history and heritage of the house.

One of the best parts about writing this blog is the feedback I receive from my readers.  While I can’t always respond to it all, I appreciate every single one of the comments, messages and feedback I receive.  I’ve had descendants of some of the families reach out to me; I’ve had people email me photos, mail me prints, and I love all of it.

I first “met” Coit family member Susie Coit Williams about four years ago, when she first commented on my blog.  We’ve emailed back and forth, as she was trying to get a historic marker at the Coit House.  The marker finally was installed and was dedicated during an unveiling ceremony on May 21st, 2016!  Here are some photos from that event!

Mayor Brown and Councilman Fronczyk proclaiming it George Coit Day in Buffalo!

Mayor Brown and Councilman Fronczyk proclaiming it George Coit Day in Buffalo!

 

Susie Coit Williams unveiling the historic marker

Susie Coit Williams unveiling the historic marker

Coit House finally has a historic marker!

Coit House finally has a historic marker!

It was a great opportunity to celebrate the history of George Coit, whose story is so ingrained in the fabric of the City of Buffalo!  It’s excited to know that the house is in good hands for the future, and that Mr. Coit’s life is remembered for all who pass down the street!  Take a walk by and check out the marker and think for a moment on Mr. Coit and the life he lived here in Buffalo.

To learn about other streets, check out the Street Index.

 

Sources:

  1. Smith, H. Perry.  History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County.  D. Mason & Co Publishers:  Syracuse.  1884.
  2. Brown, Christopher.  The Coit House Mystique.  June 2007.
  3. Grasso, Thomas.  The Erie Canal Western Terminus – Commercial Slip, Harbor Development and Canal District.  Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation.

 

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What do Three Museums, a Social Club, a Hospital and a University Have in Common?

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, East Side, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2015| 7 Comments »

fillmoreFillmore Avenue runs north-south through the East Side of the City of Buffalo, between Seneca Street in the south to Main Street in the north.  The street is named after President Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States.

Millard Fillmore was born in Locke, Cayuga County, New York on January 7th, 1800.  His parents, Nathaniel Fillmore and Phoebe Millard were among the pioneer settlers of the so-called Military Tract.  Nathaniel was a farmer and built a log cabin for his family.  Millard worked on his father’s farm and attended local schools until he was 15 years old.

Millard Fillmore portrait from the National Portrait Gallery

Millard Fillmore portrait from the National Portrait Gallery

In 1815, Millard served as an apprentice in a carder and cloth-dressers business in Newhope, New York (carding is the process of preparing wool for use as textile).  While working for the shop, he began to self educate himself, reading everything he could get his hands on.  When Millard was 18, he taught school for the Town Of Scott for a term.  He decided that he wanted to study law, and entered into the law-office of Judge Walter Wood at Martville.  In 1821, he arrived in Aurora to teach a winter school in East Aurora.  In 1822, he came to Buffalo and taught at a district school while also studying law under Asa Rice and Joseph Clary.  While in Buffalo, one of his students was  Alvan Dodge.

In Spring 1823, Mr. Fillmore was admitted to practice in the Court of Common Please, and opened his office in East Aurora.   The Fillmore house in East Aurora is now the Millard Fillmore Museum.  In 1827, he was admitted as an attorney of the Supreme Court and became counselor in 1829.  In 1830, he moved to Buffalo to form a law partnership with Joseph Clary.

Fillmore House on Franklin Street

Fillmore House on Franklin Street

He lived at 180 Franklin Street in Buffalo (near Franklin and Huron…the house has been demolished).  He practiced law until 1848, when his duties as a politician forced him to give up his private practice.  The firm he was a part of still practices in Buffalo today as Hodgson Russ, LLP, one of Buffalo’s oldest law firms.

Mr. Fillmore was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1828.  He served in the Assembly until 1832, when he was elected to Congress.  He served in Congress until 1842, when he declined renomination.  In 1847, he was elected New York State Comptroller, and in 1848, he was elected Vice President of the United States.  When President Taylor died in July 1850, Millard Fillmore became President of the United States.

President Fillmore came into his presidency at a critical period of national affairs.  He took great pains to complete his presidential duties with what has been described as unswerving conscientiousness, purity and patriotism.  In 1856, Fillmore was nominated for the Presidency by the National American Convention, but he did not win the election.

Millard Fillmore House on Niagara Square

Millard Fillmore House on Niagara Square

President Fillmore retired from public life after his presidency.  He passed his days at home in Buffalo advancing scholarly activities.  After his presidency, he and his new wife, Carolyn decided that the Franklin Street house was not fit for a former president.  He purchased a large mansion on Niagara Square in 1858.  His house was located where the Statler Hotel is today.

Millard Fillmore contributed significantly to Buffalo’s growth and development.  He helped to frame the charter that established the Village of Buffalo into the City of Buffalo.  He was one of the founders of the University at Buffalo in 1846, and served as the school’s first Chancellor, a position he served until his death.   While Fillmore was a Unitarian and is often criticized for being “anti-catholic”, he contributed substantial money to the construction of St. Joseph’s Cathedral.   During his time in Congress, he secured funding to enlarge the Buffalo Harbor and to expand the Erie Canal.  He helped to found the Buffalo Historical Society (now the Buffalo History Museum) in 1862 and served as its first president.  He served as Chairman of the Buffalo Committee of Public Defense and helped incorporate the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy (now the Albright Knox Art Gallery).   He spearheaded a campaign to raise money for Buffalo’s Society of Natural Sciences (now the Buffalo Museum of Science).  In 1867, he helped to found the Buffalo Club, the city’s first exclusive social club, and served as its first president.  He contributed financially to the construction of the Buffalo General Hospital, which opened in 1858.  In 1870, he served as President of the Buffalo General Hospital.  From 1870 until 1874, he served as a trustee of the Grosvenor Library, one of the predecessors of the Buffalo Public Library and one of the nation’s most comprehensive reference libraries.  He founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and served as its vice president.

Millard Fillmore as Captain of the Union Continentals

Millard Fillmore as Captain of the Union Continentals

During the Civil War, Fillmore denounced secession and supported the Union War efforts.  He commanded the Union Continentals, a corps of men over the age of 45 from Upstate New York.  The Continentals trained to defend Buffalo in the event of a Confederate attack.  The corps performed military drill and ceremonial functions at parades, funerals and events.  The Union Continentals guarded Lincoln’s funeral train when it came through Buffalo, and continued operations following the war.  Fillmore remained involved with them until his death.

Millard Fillmore died on March 8, 1874.  He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Since 1937, a celebration to honor Fillmore’s legacy in Buffalo occurs every year at the Fillmore grave on his birthday.   His home in East Aurora is a National Historic Landmark and operates as the Millard Fillmore House Museum.

Fillmore Grave Plot

Fillmore Grave Plot

When Frederick Law Olmsted designed Buffalo’s park and parkway system for Buffalo, Fillmore Avenue was extended to Abbott Road and upgraded south of Best Street as a parkway.  In Olmsted’s plans, the Avenues (such as Fillmore) were designed with a single drive lane with a double row of trees on either side.   The thoroughfare was linked by Abbott Road (now South Park Avenue) to Heacock Park, an existing park in South Buffalo.  Heacock Park forms the start of the South Buffalo park system.  The difficulties in creating a parkway connection were complicated by the Buffalo River and numerous railroads.  Buffalo City Engineers argued that if there was an at grade railroad-crossing, the road could not be considered a parkway.  Alternatives included a bridge which would have carried Fillmore Avenue over the railroads and the Buffalo River into South Buffalo.  The design of Fillmore Avenue was never fully realized and Fillmore Avenue was opened to commercial traffic in 1906.

To read about other streets, check out the Street Index.

Sources:

  1. Hillman, Jordan.  “Millard Fillmore:  Buffalo’s Good Samaritan”.  National Portrait Gallery.   May 5, 2011.
  2. Smith, Lester, editor.  Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Millard Fillmore Papers.  Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.  1974.
  3.  White, Truman, Editor.  Our County and Its People:  A Descriptive Work.  The Boston History Company.  1898.
  4. Buffalo Park Commission.  The Projected Park and Parkways on the South Side of Buffalo. 1888.

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A Little Street Named for A Big Man

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , on November 12, 2012| 2 Comments »

The Courier Express called Rich Street “a little street named for a big man”. The street runs between Genesee Street and Best Street near Martin Luther King Junior Park on the East Side of Buffalo.

Rich Street gets its name from Gaius Barrett Rich, who was nicknamed “Great Big” because he weighed more than 300 pounds.  Mr. Rich was a prominent bank during the early years of Buffalo’s development.  He was born in 1790 and opened a store in Clapp’s Mill (in Wyoming County) in 1827.   Mr. Rich then founded the Bank of Attica and in 1840, expanded his banking into Buffalo.  His bank was located in the Spaulding Exchange, at Main Street and The Terrace.  The bank kept the Bank of Attica name until 1892, when it was renamed Buffalo Commercial Bank.  Ten years later, Buffalo Commercial Bank merged with the Marine Trust Company.  He also founded Western Savings Bank of Buffalo, and was president of the bank from its founding in 1851 until his death in 1861.  Western Savings Bank became Western New York Savings Bank, then Niagara County Savings and Loan, then Buffalo Savings Bank, then Goldome.  The bank was liquidated nearly 150 years after its founding in 1991 and assets were sold to Key Bank, M&T, and East New York Savings Bank.  [side note:  someone should write a blog just on Buffalo Banking History, it is fascinating stuff!]

Mr. Rich’s home was located at Main Street and Barker Avenue, which was Buffalo countryside at the time.  He had greenhouses on his property, and was the first Buffalonian to raise “hothouse grapes”.  He owned real estate throughout the City and was one of the founders of North Presbyterian Church.

Gaius  and his wife Aphia had 7 children.  One of Gaius’ sons, named his son Gaius Barrett Rich II.

Gaius Barrett Rich II was the owner of the G. Barrett Rich house, built in 1890.   The house is still located on Main Street near Riley.  G. Barrett sold his home in 1921 after his wife died.  It was part of St. Vincent’s Orphanage, and was used as housing for the nuns who ran the orphanage.  Later, it was used as part of ECC City Campus prior to ECC moving in to the Old Post Office (its current location).  It was vacated by ECC in 1984.  Most recently, the building is used for Little Portion Friary, which is a temporary shelter for the homeless.

Many members of the Rich family are buried in Forest Lawn, including Gaius and his wife Aphia and Gaius II and his wife Cordelia.   So the next time you are driving past Rich Street, think of Gaius and his family, and know that more than 100 years ago, people thought of a banker, not whipped topping when they thought of the Rich family!

Don’t forget to check out the Street Index to learn about how other streets got their names!

Source:  “Rich Street Honors Memory of Banker” Courier Express, September 25 1938, p2.

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Polonia Park: 100 years of change

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2012| 3 Comments »

Sanborn Map depicting Polonia Park in 1925

While researching Curtiss Street, I noticed that there was Polonia Park marked on some of the maps.  I have a great interest in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and the area around the Central Terminal in particular, and I had never heard of this before.  I got sidetracked from my street researching and ended up finding out some interesting stuff which I would like to share with you all.  I know it’s not a street history, but hopefully you all will enjoy these tidbits of information as much as I do.

Polonia Park was located on Curtiss Street prior to the Central Terminal’s construction.  The park was purchased by the City in 1913 at the same time as the land for Schiller Park, Willert Park, an extension to Riverside Park and an addition to Lanigan Park.

In June 1916, the Buffalo Live Wire (a publication published monthly by the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce) posted that “A well-prepared city plan is indispensable to the intelligent acquisition of park properties, and if we enjoyed the guidance of a city plan in our recent campaign for additional parks, we would not now be wondering why we purchased, at a cost of $60,000, Polonia Park, consisting of lands useful for neither park nor playground.”

The article did not elaborate on this, but my guess is that because the land had been part of the railroad corridor, it was ill-suited for parkland.  Railroads use a great deal of pesticides to keep foliage from blocking the tracks, as can be seen when abandoned railroad corridors are still free from most grasses and shrubs long after the trains stopped coming through.  The West Shore Railroad, which connected Buffalo to New York City formerly cut through this park, following approximately the path which Memorial Drive follows today.

Despite the reports that the land was not useful as a park, the park was used during the early 1920s, as there are reports in the newspapers of baseball scores for games played in Polonia Park.

August 24, 1924
Buffalo Morning Express

By March of 1925, the property was owned by the Buffalo Board of Education as the intended site of the Peckham Vocational School.   Peckham Vocational was located at the corner of Peckham and Townsend, however they originally started out in the Adam Mickiewicz Library on Fillmore while the original school was being constructed.   As this ad from the Buffalo Morning Express, August 29, 1922 shows, there were four vocational schools in Buffalo at the time.  This was the time when many students would go out in the world to work after they completed 8th grade.  Vocational schools were a way to continue your education, while also learning a useful trade.

Ad for Vocational Schools
Buffalo Morning Express, August 29, 1922

Peckham Students

Peckham Vocational was a source of pride for Buffalo’s polish community.  The residents of Polonia were concerned that the high schools located in Buffalo were overlooking their community, so the residents rallied successfully to open a school in their neighborhood.  Peckham Vocational opened in 1911.  Board of Education had plans to build a new school and was about to let the contract to build when the railroad approached them to purchase the property to build what at the time was being called the “Fillmore Station”.   In exchange for the Polonia Park property, the Board fo Education received the property at the corner of Sycamore Street and Koons Avenue.  Peckham Vocational School was renamed Emerson Vocational School in 1937, after the school’s superintendent.  The school operated at its Sycamore Street address for 62 years until 1999.  Since then, the building has been remodeled and renamed Harvey Austin Public School 97, and operates as an elementary school.

After I posted my post on Curtiss Street, Marty from Forgotten Buffalowas kind enough to share these pictures of another planned park in Polonia.  It was clear that the people who lived in this neighborhood wanted a park, since they used the land that the chamber of commerce called unsuitable for a park as a park, and then plans were development for this park around 1938.  For reference, this map north is towards the bottom.  This land is currently the residential neighborhood between the Central Terminal and Broadway.

New Park Design For Park North of Central Terminal

Sadly, this park was never built.  While the residents of Polonia had successfully rallied to get a school built in their neighborhood in 1911, it seems that they were unable to rally enough support to build a neighborhood park.  Perhaps because it would have involved tearing down houses?

Recent efforts have occurred at the Central Terminal to build an urban habitat in the vicinity of the former Polonia Park.  The Urban Habitat Restoration project is working to reclaim the land which was used as a parking lot during the height of the Central Terminal’s use as a train station.  This project is working to restore some of the landscape, using native plants and green sustainable methods.   For more on this project, check out the Central Terminal Website here.

Over the course of  the past 100 years, this piece of property has transformed from railroad corridor, to park, planned use as school, to use as a parking lot, and now is being restored back to natural landscape.  Not too shabby of a history for our little piece of land that was once known as Polonia Park.

 

Learn about the history of other streets in Buffalo by checking out the Street Index.

 

Sources:

  1. “Buffalo’s Towering Temple of Transportation”, Greg Jandura.  accessed online, July 25, 2012:  http://www.trainweb.org/wnyrhs/nyctermpt1.htm
  2. “Council Wants Action on New School Tract”  Buffalo Morning Express March 21, 1925, pg 11
  3. Buffalo Live Wire, Vol. VII, No. 6,  June 1916, published by the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce.
  4. “Again Central Secures Delay” Buffalo Express Dec 14, 1905
  5. http://www.buffaloschools.org/m/content.cfm?subpage=39590
  6. Bucki, Carl,  “Polish Vocational School Was The Source Of Community Pride”.  Am-Pol Eagle.  Access online: http://ampoleagle.com/polish-vocational-school-was-br-the-source-of-community-pride-p5222-147.htm
  7. Plans for park designed by Joseph Fronczak provided by Marty Biniasz.

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Is Curtiss Street named after Curtiss-Wright Airplanes?

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2012| 12 Comments »

Curtiss Street
Present Day Alignment

Curtiss Street is runs along the railroad tracks near the Central Terminal.  The street follows the curves of the railroad, which has been there since at least the 1880s.  The streets in the vicinity of the Terminal have changed a bit in the last 100 years.  More information about other streets will be coming in other blog posts.  Since the construction of the Central Terminal, Curtiss Street has run underneath the Terminal at the curve.  (click photos to enlarge for easier reading)

Curtiss Street in 1889

Curtiss Street in 1925

Curtiss Street in 1950

People often believe the street is named after Glenn Curtiss, known for Curtiss Aeroplane Company.  However, Glenn Curtiss wasn’t born until 1878, and the street was named by at least 1889.  While it would have been very interesting if the street had been named in honor of an 11-year-old who ended up being as remarkable as Glenn Curtiss, this was not the case.   I was unable to find any concrete evidence linking Glenn Curtiss to the other Buffalo Curtiss family.  If anyone has any information of their linkage, please let me know in the comments.  But no, Curtiss Street is NOT named for Curtiss-Wright airplanes.

Curtiss Street is named for Charles Gould Curtiss.  Mr. Curtiss was an officer of the Lancaster and Depew Land Company, which developed Curtiss Street and several other streets in its vicinity.

Mr. Charles Gould Curtiss was born in 1827 and grew up in Utica, New York.  He ran the news stand at the Utica Rail Station while he was a boy, and eventually became a produce salesman.  At the age of 23, he formed a connection with a wholesale grocer, which brought him to New York City.  He made many connections while in New York. For a short time, he became an executive of Breckinridge County Coal Oil Company in Louisville Kentucky.  He worked to substitute coal oil for sperm oil. The discovery of petroleum caused the business to fail, as the coal oil was no longer necessary.

In 1857, Mr. Curtiss came to Buffalo to join Levi Willard in the insurance business.  In 1873, he organized a barley and malt firm that continued to operate for nearly half a century.  Charles and his wife Amelia lived in a large stone house at 63 West Huron Street.  He kept his horses at Efner’s Livery Stable at Franklin and Chippewa, and it is said that he rode his horses through Delaware Park on a daily basis.  At the time, the roads were only paved as far as North Street, so riding to the park was a ride out to the country.

In 1882, Charles was a delegate to the Democratic Convention where his friend Grover Cleveland was nominated for Governor.  After his election, Cleveland appointed Mr. Curtiss to the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo State Hospital for the Insane.  The Curtiss family also kept a farm at Delavan and Main Street where he raised chickens and kept a cow.  He felt that “the country was the best place for growing boys”, so he spent a great deal of time on the farm with his sons Harlow and Alexander.   Although his own schooling was limited, Charles felt an education was important, so he sent both sons to college.

Alexander Curtiss House
(currently the Ronald McDonald House)

Alexander studied medicine at the University of Rochester after coursework at Cornell.  Dr. Curtiss (Alexander) was in charge of the first hospital established in Denver, Colorado.  Following the birth of his first son, Colman, Dr. Curtiss returned to Buffalo and became a surgeon for Buffalo State Hospital.  Colman eventually ran his grandfather Charles’ barley and malt firm.  Colman was president of the company when it went under due to prohibition.  Following the closure of the malt firm, Colman worked in insurance for John Hancock Life Insurance Company.  Colman married Sally Cary, daughter of Trumbull Cary (another prominent Buffalonian).  Alexander and his family lived at 780 West Ferry, the house which is better known today as the Ronald McDonald House.

Ethel Mann Curtiss House
(100 Lincoln Parkway)

Harlow was a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and studied law under Grover Cleveland.  Harlow became a lawyer and became an extensive real estate owner throughout the City.  Harlow and his wife Ethel were prominent in Buffalo during the early 1900s.  Ethel was originally Ethel Mann, the daughter of Matthew Mann, the doctor who operated on President William McKinley after he was shot on the Pan-Am grounds in 1901.  Harlow was influential in the development of the Curtiss Building at the corner of Franklin and Huron.  Ethel was considered a community leader as well, she worked with the Buffalo Council of Campfire Girls and conducted programs to develop leadership skills for women.  Ethel and Harlow lived at 100 Lincoln Parkway.

Curtiss Building
Franklin and Huron Streets

The Curtiss Building at Franklin and Huron Streets was designed by Harlow’s brother-in-law, Paul Mann, and was built in 1912.   The building is also known as the King & Eisele Building due to a jewelry firm which located in it during the 20s and 30s.  It was later known as the Hoelscher Building after the Hoelscher Building Corporation which was located there from the 1940s until the 1990s.  Mark Croce currently owns the building and had plans for a boutique hotel about 5 years ago.  However, the project appears to be at a standstill.

COMING SOON:   I became intrigued by the old maps when I saw the land where the Central Terminal now sits was once a park.  Coming later this week:  What was Polonia Park?

Sources:  “Curtiss Street Memorial to Trade Board Head, Developer” Courier Express Oct 22, 1939 sec. 6. p 10.

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Have a street named for you, have successful descendants.

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2012| 3 Comments »

Woltz Avenue is a street running about three-quarters of a mile between Walden Avenue and Broadway in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.   The street is named after a family that had three generations who all held public office in the City of Buffalo!

Woltz Avenue is technically named for Charles Woltz, who was on the Council at the time when the street was named.  The street was originally named Bowen Street.  The German residents of the neighborhood would confuse Bowen with Bone, so many of them called the street knoche, which is the German word for bone, leading to confusion.  So while Charles was president of the Council (1893-1895), a petition was drawn up to change the street name, however the petitioners failed to give suggestions for what to name it.  When the Council granted the petition, they opted to name the street after their President.

Charles was born in Alsace-Lorraine in 1853.  When the Germans acquired that territory in 1870, he came to America because of his aversion to German militarism.  Years later, when he returned to visit his brother, he was immediately thrown into jail for evading compulsory service in the German army.  His brother effected his release, however Charles never returned to his homeland again.

Charles was secretary of the Erie Land Company, which developed Woltz Avenue, Loepere and Mills Streets.  He was also an officer of the Genesee Land Company, which developed Montana, Colorado and Nevada Streets.  He was active in the Republican Party and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention which nominated William Howard Taft for the presidency.

Charles wife, Eva, came from Germany in a sailing vessel that took forty days to cross the Atlantic.  Charles and Eva lived at 1125 Genesee Street, which is near the street that would bear the Woltz name.  In 1890, the Woltz home is listed in the Buffalo City Directory as “Woltz Saloon”.  Charles enjoyed fishing, and he would often take trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the day with his neighbors to go fishing.   Charles died in 1924 and is buried in Forest Lawn.

Charles and Eva had two sons, Charles J. and George.  Charles J. was born in 1878 and was a graduate of Buffalo Law School and continued the real estate business established by his father.  George was born in 1886.  In 1901, George began his career as an office boy, and worked his way up and became a Judge.  He served for 11 years as Assistant District Attorney, and then served more than 20 years on the bench.  He was affiliated with 32 clubs and organizations in Buffalo, including Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Buffalo Consistory and Shrine, the Buffalo Athletic Club, the Elks, Oddfellows, Orioles, the Humboldt Club, Republic organizations and four German singing societies.  George lived at 755 Best Street.

George’s daughter (Charles’ granddaughter), Eva Woltz, was born in 1906 and became an attorney and clerk of the City Court.  Eva passed away in 1965 and is buried in the family plot alongside her father George and her sister Emilie.

Source:  “Three Generations Memory” Courier Express July 23, 1939, sec 5 p 5.


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Three Streets Named After One Person!

Posted in Broadway-Fillmore, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

In the Broadway/Fillmore neighborhood, there are three streets running between Broadway and Genesee Streets:  Guilford Street, Reed Street and Wilson Street.

All three of these streets are named for Guilford Reed Wilson.  Mr. Wilson was a pioneer coal dealer and an early member of the Buffalo Board of Trade.  He was born in Burlington NJ in 1813 and was educated in Philadelphia.  He was associated with lumber interests in Corning in his 20s.  He came to Buffalo at the age of 25 and embarked in the iron and coal business.  He was also director of several local banks and a member of the Board of Trade.  He was also one of the earliest members of the Buffalo Club.

Mr. Wilson acquired extensive real estate and owned and developed the tract of land through which Guilford, Reed and Wilson Streets were cut.  He owned the land along with other prominent Buffalonians – the Rich and Townsend Families.  He was married to Jane Townsend, daughter of Charles Townsend (a judge and prominent Buffalonian himself).  After their marriage, Wilson and his wife lived in Judge Townsend’s mansion at Main and Tupper Streets.  Mr. Wilson remained in Buffalo until his death in 1977.

Sources:

  1. “Three Streets Honor Pioneer Coal Dealer”Courier Express Dec 25, 1938, sec. 7 p 8.
  2. Memorial and Family History of Erie County.  The Genealogical Publishing Company:  Buffalo, NY 1906.

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