Owego Free Academy - Tom Tom Yearbook (Owego, NY)

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n . if.. H ' ' V' ffwqi -- ---- -uw, V .1-- ' ' ' it Y 7,721 .. 1 1 Q 1, -i9T'49'f'7Q- .f ' ff 'xi f fit 9 1 'figg-N Ut fl-A ' qi ' - is - ., B sf '. 1' J. , fi if ll ggi .., iuiitfwl tiiiimt .it i'lflg7l?f ! through the village park, and up Front Street. The cars were run bya switch under the stores on the river's bank, where their contents were readily unloaded into the arks. ln the fall of 1849, the New York and Erie Qwego, and for Railroad was completed to Qwego, and all shipping by river, with the exception of lumber, potatoes, and other such commodities, ceased. On the morning of September Q7,1849, a fire destroyed all except three of the stores on Front and Lake Streets. Qne hundred and four build- ings, exclusive of barns, were burned, entailing a loss of about s3oo,ooo. Nearly all the build- ings were of wood. This great calamity checked, but it did not permanently impair the prosperity of the village. The business men, without delay, caused the erection of the present substantial brick blocks in place of the wooden buildings, and progress was thereafter continuous. Before the nineteenth century Captain Luke Bates built the first tavern in Qwego and soon after, the Franklin l'louse was opened. The Qwego Academy was founded in 1828. The Qwego Gas and Light Company was or- The Tioga National Bank, located on Front Street was organized in January and began business April,1865, with a capital of S100,000. The Owego National Bank, located on Lake Street, was organized May 10, 1883, with a cash capital of 550,000 ln the course of years, the Qwego National Bank and the Tioga Bank consolidated and formed the Owego National Bank which is located on Main Street at the present time. From the best sources of information it is be- lieved that Owego was made a postoffice sometime during the year 1800, although the department records show no reports from the office previous to January 1, 1801. The attractiveness of Qwego today has its appeal to all who love the peace and inspira- tion which come from intimate contact with the gifts ofnature.Many . , creeksandglensand woods roads tempt the traveler the hi-'?F'ii 'ltfl,ilq lf,gZ,f hunter, and the an- -' llffg E-qwg .,,.' - 1 iii, mg' , ,, . gler to tarry awhile. til The Susauehanna ,--f ygijii I river sweeps in a MMFML ' - 1 ff!-J-it picturesque bend at s f A Y its 4. ' wyf M, + :E , ,. ' 1 -wi 1 J i I F wr- Ji ' I 'rfagsik Z 53 Gi' . . ty i' , y I' f' .i 5- A' ', ir.1ti,,5j,5lf' V, .,, k - '- yi,- YWQ-i ' 45? f lf'xifT fy ,,,,i 1 f ' eu ' 'Wy ig QM, 'l' tint, fr: i ,, r 1 'W .iittit l i M . 'Wt A iii A 1- ' irltfiff 11 ' lf- 1 . it't' . Pt .-'ii ganized March 20, 1856 with a capital Of S40,000. Qwego has al- ways been a com- munity interested in horse racing. The Owego Driving Park Association was formed in1871, leasing grounds for a fine half-mile track. lnterest in horse racing can still be seen every year at the County Fair. The center of trade at the time of early settle- ments was that portion of Front Street nearest to Church Street. ln the course of years many factories located in Qwego, foundries and ma- chine shops, harness factories, carriage factories, soap factories, glove factory, and several others. With the invention ofthe automobile and other machines, came the decrease of business in many of these plants. Today, we have the Endicott Johnson Shoe Factory which employs a great maiority of the Qwego people. The First National Bank of Tioga, located on Front Street was organized January 6, 1865, to supersede the old Bank of Owego, a state institution with SQ00,000 capital. The First National Banks capital was S100,000. The charter was renewed in 1885 for twenty years. several miles is navigable for sail boats and canoes. ln the early 1900's there were many steamboats on the river which carried passen- gers from Owego to l-liawatha lsland. The island was, at that time, a very popular summer resort and the older inhabitants of Owego will vividly remember many happy experiences which occurred on these steamboat excursions. Just across from l-liawatha lsland on the north side of the river, a new concrete highway runs by an interesting little house in which the Rocke- fellers lived, while John D. Rockefeller and his brother, William, went to school in the old Qwego Academy. Owego is also interesting as the home of General l'l. M. Robert, whose books on parliamentary law are'nation-wide authority. Thomas C. Platt, former U. S. Senator, was born and lived in Qwego. A favorite walk, of which hikers never seem to tire, takes one past Glenmary, and the home of the poet, Nathaniel Parker Willis, where hef produced many of his best poems. The inhabitants of Owego have a right to be proud of their little village, rich in pioneer an- cestry and the gifts of Mother Nature. is iw1iTT e , + g,,:. ' ' Ji f x l ifX Wt ' s't' n 45? ,,: A V '7 5' 'w' - . V gg : 1, I, bltyg' ' Irv- 1'-'nl -Jiiilc mtl- 'iii .1 5 li 'tu L1v'f.f..' .4 wi . fs. iii! QW M4617 5-rs..2f-H i-Wigfjf 'IW ,. I it 'Z .MW 'Lag-.i.-1, ' -lk S- Sri, if 1 ,'.m'fiii -'72 w U Y Q .53- aml 1- -- .r.i --.-f-i w Emi i in HT: X

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Ill When James Mc- Master first came intotheSusque- hanna valley, in 1784, and visited the scene of his former exploits as a soldier of the revolution, he little thought the land which appeared to him the most desirable as a home farm would ever become the site of one of the most pleasant vil- lages of the stateilnor did he then believe the land on which he made his pitch would ever be selected as the seat of justice of one of the best interior agricultural counties of New York. It was the general fertility of soil and the de- sirable situation of the land, the first consider- ations that presented themselves to a farmer's mind, that impelled pioneer McMaster to select this spot as the site of his future home, and it made little difference to the indians whether he se- lected lands on the east or west side of the Owego creek, the north or the south side of the Susquehanna, but if early tradition and record be true, A the worthy pioneer had previous knowledge of the productive character of soil, for in 1779 he had helped to destroy the lndian TIIRY ' 0F narrow road ran from the river north through where Lake Street now is, extending through the lot occupied by the Times office,and on up the valley of Qwego creek. This was known as the Lake Road, as it led from Qwego to Cayuga Lake. ln 1802, the vicinity of Lake Street was a wilderness of pine trees. The high- way now called Main Street extended from where Park Street now is to the Cayuga Lake trail CMcMaster Streetl and was known as Second Street, and also 8ack Street. Another road be- gan near where the Ahwaga l-lotel now stands and ran diagonally across open fields to the northwest corner of the park. Paige Street was at that time only a lane. These streets mentioned were the only streets in the settlements prior to 1800, ln 1802, the Qwego and lthaca Turnpike was opened and it village standing onthe site James McMaster lived L :f,5,,'fA, 'Mfr f'7:2fFf:1-1 D ti . N it . 5 g I .- i ' i17 'fi!l f :'c' 3' K v SME, f N L 1 i X X K X X M7 41 7 7mlirp,...'ii,i of his proposed home. to see Tioga county created and organ- ized and to see the little village settle- ment started. ln memory of this worthy pioneer a village street was named after him, leadin northward from Mgain Street to the corporation line. It is interesting to know that his home was on the site now occupied by Mrs. G. l-l. Pumpelly. ln the narrative of early village life, we must not forget to mention the names of Amos Draper and James McQuigg who did a great deal towards molding the fine village which we now have. Many of the settlers who came after these men had been soldiers in the Revolu- tionary war. The maiority came from the eastern states. They were an excellent class of people, of good family connections, and some of them wealthy. The first regularly laid-out highway through the village began at the ufording place on Qwego creek, below where Main Street now crosses, and thence extended east on the present course of the street to McMaster Street, thence down to Front Street, and easterly on that thoroughfare to and beyond the village limits. When the first survey of the town was taken, a by - - . . g was laid out as an 'fi . A - Ex, ' ' ' , ex ft is - A 3 incorporated hi h- E 394 way in 1807. -?he llizgl' 1- following streets f J--r?iZlXff'is'i?MtQ5'ii-i- were lfmid omg but BX were itte etter than lanes: Mc- Master, Academy, Fox, Ross and Paige Streets. ln 1827 the village was incorporated and in the course of years following, these lanes were made into highways and more streets were laid out. During the war of 1812, the lthaca-Qwego Turnpike was of great value as a means of bring- ing supplies to the Atlantic seaboard by way of the Susquehanna River, an important artery of commerce at that time. Large quantities of salt, plaster, and other commodities were brought down Cayuga Lake by boat, thence drawn by team to Qwego, and here loaded on arks and shipped down the river to the Pennsylvania and Maryland markets. As the river was so impor- tant, most of the first stores were built on its bank. The business of transporting merchandise from lthaca to Qwego attained such great pro- portions that, in 1828, a number of capitalists residing in lthaca and Qwego, chief among whom was James Pumpelly, obtained a charter from the legislature to build a railroad between the two villages. This was the second railroad chartered in the state and one ofthe i 71-45 A-'ii Q - h d 5 ,Z .-gut, first to be c artere inthe country, It was -1111 opened tothe public it April, 1834. It en- r, ' tered the villa e at I the north and! ex-

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