Horses of Schenectady County

An account book from Edward Ellis made us think about just how entwined horses were with life in Schenectady County. Whether for transport, work, or recreation, horses were an inseparable part of daily life and photos from our collection show just how important they were. Edward Ellis was the third son of John and Mary Ellis. Edward succeeded to the presidency of the Schenectady Locomotive Works after the death of his brother Charles. He was also one of the residents responsible for bringing the Edison Machine Works to Schenectady. The account book runs from 1865 to 1896 and is a list of horses that Ellis bought and sold throughout his life. Towards the end of the account book, we found a few pages of newspaper clippings that explain why Edward was so interested in horses, horse racing. One of Edward's prized horses was named Ambulator. Ambulator is described as "not only a highly bred colt, but he is a race horse of the highest quality...He is not only fast, but he is game, and his owners believe that it will be no trouble for him to go a mile in 2:15 the coming season."

A listing for Edward Ellis' horse Ambulator. This seemed to be a pretty fair price as he was offered $3,000 at a later date. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library and Archives.

Ambassador was the mother of Ambulator and also a fine race horse. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library and Archives.

A photo from the Barden family file showing a young girl riding a pony. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library photo collection.

The Hathaway Livery was located at 324-26 South Center Street (now Broadway). Hathaway's, started in 1890, was one of the premier livery services in Schenectady. The horses seen above were pure whites used mainly for funerals and parades, in the case of this photo, a parade. Hathaway Livery was not just used to haul people and Edward Hathaway hauled scenery for the Van Curler Opera Company. The mass production of cars sounded the death knell for many livery businesses. Hathaway's survived until shortly before World War I. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library photo collection.

A horse drawn hearse on the frozen Mohawk River showing the iron bridge to Scotia in the background. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle photo collection.

This photo shows an interesting view a horse drawn plow on restricted land on an island in the Mohawk. This land is possibly the Isle of Cayugas which can be seen on Google Maps. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle photo collection and Google Maps.

An interesting colorized image from 1912 showing two horses in front of the Schenectady County Coal Company. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library photo collection.

A horse and dog combo from our collection. Unfortunately, not much else is known about this photo. Courtesy of the Grems-Doolittle Library photo collection.

Of course, where you have horses, you have horseshoes. The two photos above show some of the blacksmiths in the area. The first photos is of Lynch's Blacksmith Shop on Broadway and the second is the Glenville Village Blacksmith. Courtesy of Doolittle Library photo collection.

Found in a 1917 issue of the Daily Gazette, you can't help but feel a bit sorry for this mate-less horse. Courtesy of fultonhistory.com

The Best Brooms in the World: The story of the Whitmyer Broom Factory

Broomcorn from Schenectady County's Flag.

The symbols on the Schenectady County flag represent industries that helped build Schenectady. The DeWitt Clinton and the Schenectady boat symbolize the railroad and canals that made Schenectady into a shipping hub. The lightning bolt and atom represent General Electric and American Locomotive, two of Schenectady’s most prominent industries. The last symbol on the flag has been confused with a sheaf of wheat, but is actually broomcorn. Before the rise of GE and ALCO, Schenectady County was known for farming broomcorn and manufacturing brooms. Schenectady County was the largest grower of broomcorn, and one of the largest producers of brooms in New York State in the 1800s. Much of the work on broomcorn farms was done by Germans who would also work in the broom factories during the winter months. This work prompted Germans to immigrate to the area in the 1840s through the 1860s.

The Whitmyer Broom Factory after a fire. The factory was located on Washington Avenue and Cucumber Alley.
From the Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

The Whitmyer’s family immigrated to Schenectady from Germany in the mid-1800s and proceeded to find work in the broomcorn fields and factories. Brothers Charles, Christian and William all worked in Otis Smith’s broom factory who owned a broom factory on the corner of Washington Avenue and Cucumber Alley in Schenectady. Their wives, Louisa, Mary and Mary also worked for Smith as the broom industry brought opportunities for both men and women. According to Isaac Whitmyer, Christian Whitmyer’s son, Otis Smith employed about 120 men and 124 women. He also states that, in the corn fields, men would go through and break the stalks off while women would follow and cut the tops off for use in the manufacture of brooms. In the factories, women trimmed and sorted the corn according to the size of the cuts.

Inside of the Whitmyer Broom Factory. In 1947, Harvey Whitmyer was the sole operator of the factory. From the Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection

In the 1860s, the Whitmyers bought Otis Smith’s factory and started C. Whitmyer & Company. The Whitmyer brooms were considered some of the best in the United States and they even won 1^st prize at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1892 for their exhibit. The city directories also show that a Henry Whitmyer owned a broom making factory on 19 North Street in Schenectady. C. Whitmyer & Company was still listed in the 1900 city directory, well past the decline of many other broom manufacturers in Schenectady. By 1902, C. Whitmyer & Company had gone out of business, but Whitmyer brooms were still being produced by Henry Whitmyer. The business stayed in the Whitmyer family until Henry’s grandson Harvey died in 1947. After Harvey’s death, the Whitemyre Broom Company was bought by George Kranick. Surprisingly, Kranick kept the broom making tradition alive and ran the factory as a one-man operation until the mid-1960s.

Close-up of a broom before it is "wound"  from the Whitmyer Broom Factory DVD. From Grems-Doolittle Library Video Collection

 

Screenshot of the label George Kranick used on his brooms from the Whitmyer Broom Factory DVD. From Grems-Doolittle Library Video Collection

The Grems-Doolittle Library recently received a video that shows George Kranick making his brooms in his factory on 150 Front Street in Schenectady. In the video, he’s using the same machinery, techniques and even the same labels that the Whitmyer’s would have used to make their brooms. It’s an interesting snapshot of a craft that is rarely practiced anymore.

Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew

Portion of exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew, on display at the Mabee Farm Historic Site through March 13, 2015. 

From the moment beer first entered New York in 1609 aboard Henry Hudson's Halve Maen, it has shaped our history, our laws, our culture, and changed many lives. The exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew explores the impact beer has had in the area, from the early Dutch settlers and winding through history to the two Schenectady County microbreweries of today.

In this 1670 land agreement, the oldest original document in the collections of the Grems-Doolittle Library, the Mohawks gave a tract of land to the Dutch settlers in exchange for sewant, beer, and gunpowder. Image from Historic Manuscripts Collection (LM 384).  

Beer was instrumental in the local community from the earliest days of European settlement. In fact, beer helped to purchase much of the land now in Schenectady County. In 1670, the Mohawk gave a sizable tract of land to the Dutch in exchange for beer and other trade goods. As to who was the first brewer in Schenectady, there is no clear answer. The most likely candidate would be a miller. They often took a portion, normally 1/10th, of the grain as payment and converting the grain to beer was a common practice. A 1698 map of Schenectady shows a brew house as one a few labeled buildings. The first documented brew house in Schenectady is from 1706, owned by Johannes Sanderse Glen, although he was likely not the first. Breweries became so prolific along Union Street that prior to the Revolutionary War, parts of Union Street were known as “Brewer’s Street.”

Inn sign for Jacob Mabee's Inn, which was once located at the Mabee Farm Historic Site. Taverns and inns were a place for people to gather together, in addition to getting a drink. From the collections of the Schenectady County Historical Society. 

Early taverns and inns like the one found at the Mabee Farm were immensely important in pre- and post-Revolutionary America. They were a place where people gathered to argue politics, conduct business, eat a warm meal, exchange the news of the day, find safe refuge while traveling, or simply enjoy a cool, refreshing drink with family or friends. Because these venues were so popular, brewers traveled between these business and brewed large batches of two hundred gallons or more at a time. Innkeepers then kept these in storage and served small quantities to their patrons.

Brewing supplies on display in exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew.

As Schenectady grew through the 19th century, beer continued to be an integral part of daily life. The 19th Century saw the rise of the neighborhood brewery in the Capital Region. The names of names of many area brewers in this era are known, thanks to newspapers, city directories, and other sources; however, there is little detail about or their beer. We do know from Daniel Shumay's book Utica Beer that Schenectady beer was "rated as the best around," and sold for the then-hefty sum of $5.00 per barrel.

Beer bottles made for local and regional bottlers, on display in the exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew.

You can learn more about the role of beer and brewing in Schenectady County's past at the exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew, now on display through February 7, 2015, at the Franchere Education Center at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction. A peek at the exhibit and some of the artifacts, documents, and images on display are included here. For more information about the exhibit, please contact our Educator/Assistant Curator Jenna Peterson or call 518-887-5073.

Another view of a portion of the exhibit in exhibit Hops & Hogsheads: Beer from Colonial to Craft Brew, on display at the Mabee Farm Historic Site through March 13, 2015. 

"Your Paper, For You, And In Your Interests:" The Schenectady County Farm Bureau News

The farmer speaks his mind to the politician on this cover of the Schenectady County Farm Bureau News dated October 1950. With rolled-up shirtsleeves and newspapers and periodicals within his reach, the farmer is portrayed as being as well-informed as he is strong. Image from the collections of the Grems-Doolittle Library. 

The Schenectady County Farm Bureau News is one of the many interesting local periodicals we have in our holdings. The Grems-Doolittle Library holds a complete run of the periodical, and its subsequent titles, from the inaugural issue in 1918 through the year 1973. If you're interested in seeing issues of the Schenectady County Farm Bureau News, please visit the Library or contact our Librarian for more information.

The Farm Bureau movement began in New York State in 1910, when the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce proposed a farm department of their local Chamber, to "extend to farmers the same opportunities for cooperation enjoyed by the businessmen of the city." John Barron was hired by the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce as a county agent in 1911. His charge was to make an agricultural survey of the county, inquire of local farmers what problems they were having and try to help them find solutions, to work with local farmers to identify best farming methods and systems, crops and stock, and implements and tools. From this origin, Farm Bureaus spread throughout the state and throughout the nation.

Executive Committee of the Schenectady County Farm Bureau Association in 1928. Standing, left to right: William Mc Michael, R.H. Schrade, E.A. Gasner, J. Hilton, Earl Jewett. Seated, left to right: Clarence Johnson (Manager), H.L. Varian (Secretary/Treasurer), Jacob Feuz (President), John Ennis (Vice President), B.J. Waldron. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

The Schenectady County Farm Bureau was organized in January 1918. The Schenectady County Board of Supervisors appropriated $2,500.00 for the purpose of establishing the Bureau. Fred Briggs, who operated at 210-acre dairy farm in Duanesburg, was chosen as the organization's first President. The organization began with 275 members. Soon after, in March, Theodore Clausen was chosen as the organization's manager. Initial meetings were held at Delanson, Esperence, Pattersonville, Mariaville, Glenville, Rynex Corners, and Bramans Corners to engage local farmers with the Bureau.

A few months after the Schenectady County Farm Bureau was formed, the organization released the first issue of the monthly newsletter Schenectady County Farm Bureau News. A column welcomed readers to the new publication by declaring, "This is the first appearance of your paper, and we are very glad to announce that we mean to make it YOUR paper. It is to be an expression of the local conditions as local people see them . . . It is to be a paper which will spread through Schenectady County the real spirit of co-operation and broadness of purpose, which understands the old adage, 'that which benefits my neighbor, benefits me.' . . . It is your paper, for you, and in your interests." The first issue of the Farm Bureau News sought to connect local farmers with the organization, and the authors were forthright in addressing the concerns of local farmers who felt that perhaps "the Farm Bureau does not amount to a row of pins anyway." The front page of the first issue listed 10 reasons for joining the Farm Bureau, and reassured farmers that they'd see visitors from the Bureau to talk with them: "don't be a bit discouraged if you see a Ford running into your yard with two or three men aboard. Guess it is the Farm Bureau, not a corps of book agents."

First page of Schenectady County Farm Bureau News for August 1918. Image from the collections of the Grems-Doolittle Library. 

Soon, the Farm Bureau News was in full flower. In its pages, legislation and government rulings on agriculture were explained, agricultural fairs, demonstrations, and shows were promoted, and local farmers shared tips on a variety of topics from record keeping to fire prevention to dealing with sheep scab and onion smut. An Exchange Column was soon established for farmers to buy, sell, and trade with each other, and farmers along with the Bureau cooperated in finding placements for farmhands seeking work. Meetings, Farmers' Institutes, picnics, and celebrations were organized and publicized. The Farm Bureau News also featured a number of advertisements from local businesses, selling merchandise from horse blankets to phonographs.

Throughout the years, the Farm Bureau News emphasized the cooperation of local farmers and the farmer's role in helping to standardize practices with his fellows, in farming techniques as well as in the business and financial management of his farm. One 1927 article encouraged local farmers to take an inventory of their business and file a credit statement when asking banks for a loan -- even if they didn't need to do so to secure a loan; in so doing, the "men older in the game" would "set a most excellent example" for the young farmers starting out and seeking loans. By the early 1930s, the idea of setting a good example for the "young fellow" was extended to children and teenagers, as the Farm Bureau News began to dedicate one page of its paper to local 4-H clubs. Members were reminded to post their membership sign prominently at the front of their property on a tree or barn; to do so "tells the world who lives at your place and that you believe in farmers joining together to advance their own interests."

Crowd in attendance at the Schenectady County Farm Bureau's 20th anniversary celebration in 1938. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

From the beginning, New York's Farm Bureaus had partnered with the College of Agriculture at Cornell University. In 1955, a congressional order separated the Farm Bureau and the Cornell Cooperative Extension. As a consequence of this change, the title of the Schenectady County Farm Bureau News was changed to the Schenectady County Agricultural Service News, and was published by the Agricultural Department of the Schenectady County Extension Service Association (still later, the periodical would be know as the Schenectady County Cooperative Extension News). While the titles changed, the emphasis on moving toward better practices for farmers through education and cooperative help among farmers endured through the years.

“Schenectady Brooms Keep the Nation’s Homes Clean:” Brooms and Broomcorn in Schenectady County

Broomcorn growing along the banks of the Mohawk River at Schenectady's shore around 1870. The old Burr Bridge that connected the foot of Washington Avenue with Scotia can also be seen in this photograph. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

Today, Schenectady is often referred to as “The City That Lights & Hauls the World,” due to the presence of General Electric and the American Locomotive Company. Before that, the common phrase was “Schenectady brooms keep the nation’s homes clean.”  In the mid-1880s, Schenectady was the leading producer of both broomcorn and brooms. At its peak, the county led broom production in the United States, sending out one million brooms a year to all parts of the nation.  Schenectady brooms won several prizes at the Philadelphia Centennial World’s Fair in 1876.

A "Best Parlor" broom made in Schenectady by H. Whitmyre Jr. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

The tradition of broommaking thrived in the Mohawk Valley in the 19th century with brooms first being hand-bound on farms and later being manufactured on a larger scale. Many families in Schenectady County grew broomcorn and contributed to the area’s growing industry. The flats and islands of the Mohawk River provided ideal conditions for the broommaking boom that occurred New York during the mid-1800s.

Notice of auction of Maalwyck Farm in Scotia, one of the many local farms where broomcorn was grown. Image from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

According to the Gazetteer of the State of New York, Schenectady County produced more broomcorn than any other county in the state during the first half of the 19th Century. Half of New York State’s entire production came from Schenectady. In 1880, Schenectady County’s broomcorn production peaked at 1,500 acres.

Interior of Whitmyre Broom Shop at 150 1/2 Front Street in 1947. Owner Harvey H. Whitmyre (left) looks on as an employee works. The Whitmyre factory had a long history in Schenectady and stayed in business throughout most of the 1970s. The building is now a condominium. Image from Larry Hart Collection.

Six years later, it had dropped to below 500 acres. Eventually, competition from farmers in the Midwest proved too strong for New York farmers who stopped growing the crop in the last decades of the 19th century. Although Schenectady was no longer a leading producer of broomcorn, it remained a significant manufacturer of brooms into the 20th century. The Whitmyre Broom Factory in Schenectady remained in operation into the 1970s.

You can learn more about the history of brooms, broomcorn, and Schenectady County's role -- agriculturally, industrially, and in everyday life -- at the exhibit Swept Away: The History and Culture of Brooms, now on exhibit through January 2014 at the Franchere Education Center at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction. A sneak peek at the exhibit and some of the artifacts on display are included below. For more information about the exhibit, please contact our Educator/Assistant Curator Jenna Peterson or call 518-887-5073.

Image of exhibit Swept Away: The History and Culture of Brooms, open now through January 2014 at the Franchere Education Center, Mabee Farm Historic Site. 

Broom machine - The broom machine, also known as a winder, holds the broom handle in a vice while a hollow shaft rotates to wind string or wire around the broomcorn laid alongside the handle. The machine is operated by a hand crank or a treadle, turned in a constant motion to keep the vice spinning. Broomcorn is added around the outside of the handle to fill out the broom to the desired shape and size. Between each layer of broomcorn, the winder rotates the handle, pulling the wire tight enough to hold the last layer in place.  

Sewing vice - A broom sewing vice consists of two jaws that can be tightened by a screw or lever to hold the head of the broom in place. As the vice tightens, the broomcorn is compressed so that it can be sewn flat. The Shakers created the first vice to flatten brooms in the early 1800s. In 1861, Schenectady resident T.C. Hargraves developed an improved version of the broom sewing vice. His patent submission explained that his invention was “intended for the purpose of holding brooms while the stitches are being put in to hold the corn below the handle.”