Steuben County Historical Society

There's a story (probably too good to be true) that basketball got started with a couple of peach baskets made in Penn Yan. At any rate the game caught fire almost instantly, being ideal for the small high schools that dotted the country in those days... needing only small teams, small spaces, and scarcely any equipment. Basketball also became a vehicle for women's athletics, as society began to support a more robust and well-rounded life for women. Camp Arey, on the east shore of Keuka Lake, was a pioneer in the new field of summer camps, AND in science education for girls, AND in girls' sports, as we see here.

Jane Schryver shared this photo of a daredevilin' man making a spectacle of himself on the railroad trestle bridge (Pittsburgh, Shawmut and Northern) in Stony Brook State Park (Town of Dansville). And let's bear in mind that the photographer is ALSO risking his own neck for this shot! The "Shawmut Line," as they called themselves, did not run very many miles in Steuben County, confined to the very northwest corner. Coming in at a stop called Moraine, it ran northeastward through Doty, Stony Brook, Rogersville, and Perkinsville to Wayland, with a spur from Moraine through Burns and Arkport down to Hornell.

Thanks to the pandemic their traditional schedule was about six months off, but in September the Steuben County Legislature approved three 2020 inductees to the Steuben County Hall of Fame. This year's class includes Duane Eddy, who was born in Corning in 1938 and started playing guitar when he was five. He and his family moved to Arizona when he was in his early teens. He started performing professionally when he was 16, and since then has been honored with a Grammy Award (1986), multiple gold records, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994), and Musicians Hall of Fame (2008)... among many others! Congratulations to Duane Eddy from the folks of his former home. (Twang!)

When Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933, with millions unemployed and homeless in the Great Depression, he put people to work with construction projects, including the 1935-36 Glenn H. Curtiss Memorial School in Hammondsport. Up until then Hammondsport used the old Academy building, much of which went back before the Civil War. The new school was so cutting-edge that it even had television... we imagine by closed circuit, within the building... well before the general public got a peek, at the 1939 World's Fair. Curtiss School served well into the 21st century, and is now in private hands. (Dave Edsall collection)

"My brave lad sleeps in his faded coat of blue; in a lonely grave unknown lies the heart that beat so true." Richard Hill of Savona has very kindly shared this photo and information: "The 24th NY Infantry was recruited in Oswego county, but contained at least two Steuben County natives. The man on the left is 2nd Lt. Ten Ecyk Pawling, a Bath native. 2nd Lt. Pawling was killed Aug 29, 1862 at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run. Lt. Pawling is buried Bath's Grove Cemetery. The man... in the center is Capt. Orville Jennings, from Oswego county. Capt. Jennings was wounded at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run. The man on the right is 1st Lt. Richard L. Hill, a Steuben county native, born in the town of Wayne. Lt. Hill was severely wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor June 6th, 1864. He was left for dead, but was rescued the next day. He was transported to a hospital in Washington, recuperating for nearly 6 months. He eventually moved to Corning, and died there in 1902. He is buried in Corning's Hope Cemetery." Thank you very much, Richard, for sharing this with us. See more

Election Day 2020 From Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863 "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish fr...om the earth." We are thankful for the right to vote! Here are a few pictures of when I went to vote this morning in the Town of Rathbone. There was a bit of a glitch with the computer system just before I voted, but she got it all taken care of, and we were on our way to cast our ballet. Go out and vote today. The poles are open until 9:00 PM in Steuben County. See more

Looking back 86 years ago on Election Day here in Steuben County. "Steuben County to be "Dry" for Nine Hours Election Day." The Evening Leader, September 12, 1934. MHS/JF 11/3/2020 ~ Please go out and vote today!

Magee House is closed for election day! But from our artifact collection we present this campaign scrim, created to razz William Jennings Bryan when he orated at Bath's Pulteney Square in 1900 on his second presidential quest, running as an anti-imperialist. New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt, who was running for vice-president with McKinley, also campaigned in Steuben that year. Whoever lettered this piece apparently succumbed to force of hundred-year habit and started to put down 1800, rather than 1900.

Much of Steuben County is snow-dusted this November morning, which justifies us in trotting out this March, 1966 photo of a County blower on Hornby Road, at the Cummings farm. Hornby was created from Painted Post (now Town of Corning) in 1826, and gave up land to create Campbell (1831) and part of Orange (now in Schuyler County, 1842). Wonder how much snow lies in our future by the time THIS March rolls around?

Addison, NY, Eben S. Chatfield, Owner of Addison Foundry on Tuscarora St. Posted 10/31/2020. MHS/JF Janie L Ferguson

When Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouting (then called Girl Guides) in Savannah, Georgia back in 1912, girls from the Female Orphan Asylum formed a large part of the membership. That tradition continued at the Davenport Asylum for Female Orphans (usually called the Davenport Home), which operated from 1864 to 1958 in Bath, across the bridge from our Magee House. While there were other Girl Scout groups in the village, Silver Birch Troop was explicitly the orphanage troop, where activities included frequent hikes to Mossy Bank, sometimes followed by picnics.

We are sad to relate that Carol Reynolds passed away on October 17. She and husband Harry (a former board member) have been long-time members, supporters, and volunteers... here we see her at the 2005 History Fair. Many of us think of Carol as Sally Patchin, from her frequent portrayal of Wayland's basketry, art, and crafts dynamo. She was active in Girl Scouting, girls' softball, Wayland Historical Society, school board, and much more. Safe journey, Carol. Give our best to Sally Patchin.

Addison, NY Beauty

Earlier this month we looked at the oldest known photos of Steuben County. This one we can't date as precisely as we'd like, but we do know that it was taken between the summer of 1868 (when the brand-new Corning Flint Glass Works was built) and 1875 (when they added a third furnace and stack). There's a crowd of workers at the left, but if it's possible to pull out any detail on them, we don't have the technology. This stereoscope card was used with a special hand-held viewer to give the illusion of depth -- the 20th-century "View Master" used much the same principles.