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Earlier today on the "I am From Chateaugay" page, Willard Selkirk posted a photo of a starch mill on the Marble River. This was an image Scott Durant had previously posted. Scott, by the way, has an amazing and vast collection of area historical photos.
Above is the Historical Society's high-resolution scan of the original photo, which was taken by Holmes Photo Studio of Chateaugay in the early 1890s. It is of the Jenkins starch factory on the Earlville Road. A photo of the area, taken this afternoon, is also posted above.
The starch mill was first built by Thomas Bennett around 1850. About 1870, he sold to Adams and Jenkins, who operated it as partners for a short time. It was solely owned and operated by William F. Jenkins from 1871 to 1891, when he sold it to G.H. Main and John Percy. Main's interest in the operation was soon bought out by Nathan Beman (the grandson of Nathan Beman-one of Chateaugay's founders). Beman appears to have been a silent partner as John and Elizabeth Percy operated it until 1893. They ceased operations that year and the mill never operated again.
Charles R. Green bought the vacant starch mill and five acres around it in 1910. The factory building was torn down the same year.
The farm at the top of the hill was owned by Alanson Green and later by Walter and Adelaide Silver. The farm obscured by the trees was owned by Charles Green, and later by Matthew Sheehan, James and Marilyn Jones and Neil and Shirley Cook. The farm on the very top right was owned by P. Bennett, and later by Spencer and Linda Dumont.
The mill dam can be seen to the center right with the penstock running to the mill building. At the center bottom is a spring covered by a pumphouse that sent water up the hill to the farms there.
The child in the buggy is believed to be Gordon Russell Green, son of C.R. Green. The man at the watering trough and the two women standing by the fence are unidentified, but the man and one of the ladies could well be Gordon Green's parents: Charles Russell Green and Cynthia Hawthorne Green. Gordon R. Green would eventually become the president of the First National Bank of Chateaugay.
More on this starch operation in an upcoming article in the Chateaugay Historical Society's newsletter entitled: Starch Factories in Chateaugay. This particular industry is noteworthy as Chateaugay was the top potato producing town on the Rutland Railroad. Not only were uncounted tons of potatoes shipped in bulk by rail, but an equally impressive tonnage ended up in local starch operations.
To view full size images and read captions, click on an image.
The first photo was posted this week by Willard Selkirk on the "I am From Chateaugay, New York" page. It is of the interior of one of the District Schools in Chateaugay. It is believed to be the school at the Forge. Note the design elements in the photo above; the tin ceiling, the moldings, high ceilings, and large windows (although the shades are drawn in this image). This image prodded my memories of school built in Chateaugay. Eventually referred to as the "old school", it sat on the east end of Church Street and began as the Chateaugay Academy which was built in 1879 (see second photo). Over the years, several additions were constructed. By the 1940s and '50s it was just referred to as "Chateaugay High School" (see third photo). It was closed in the fall of 1954, when the new Chateaugay Central School was opened on River Street. When centralization took place all of the 17 small, District (or "Country") Schools were closed, and all students eventually attended the new River Street complex (see fourth photo for a map of the 17 District Schools). The school on Church Street was considered as state-of-the-art when it was built in 1879 and the major additions that followed kept the building in top repair and filled with the latest educational resources and design details. The fifth and sixth photos show views from inside the "Old School" - the first is looking down on the main entrance as students were entering and the second is the music room. The seventh photo shows one of the elementary classrooms. The eighth image shows the old building during demolition in 1958. The final two photos are of the Church Street grounds after the old building had been demolished. Who knows how many hundreds (or thousands) of us skated at the rink on the Old School grounds? Kids would skate until their feet were too cold to continue, go into the skating house to warm up next to the stove, and go right back out and skate some more. Music blared from the speakers outside the skating house, the clear winter sky would display its twinkle of countless stars overhead, and skaters would go around and around on the rock-hard ice that was kept in prime condition by Doug Barnes, Jack Rosen, and so many others who ran the operation over the years. Cold conditions, but many, many warm memories of Chateaugay back in the day!!
To view full size images and read captions, click on an image.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the beginnings of the American Revolution, a ceremony was held at the Courthouse in Malone.
Yesterday, I attended the ceremony held by the Adirondack Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Chapter dedicated a monument to the known Revolutionary War veterans who are buried in Franklin County.
The granite marker is located at the back entrance of the county Courthouse in Malone.
Each township was listed along with its veterans' names. Chateaugay and Burke have a combined nine veterans noted.
This is a very meaningful and appropriate tribute to those who served during the War for Independence.
Thank you to the Adirondack Chapter, DAR for their efforts to make this monument a reality.
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