Mallory, New York circa 1911

A Tour of Mallory, New York past and present

Mallory, New York August 2006

September 9th, 2006 Dear Reader, Today marks a special day in the history of the hamlet of Mallory, New York. Today, we have come together as a community to “Celebrate Mallory...yesterday, today, forever”. This day, sponsored by the Mallory Wesleyan Church and other members of the local community, has been set aside to remember the Mallory of the past and to celebrate the community today. We will spend time together as neighbors in a wholesome environment to build relationships and to remember the value of community pride and those relationships that dwell within it. We hope you have enjoyed the music, history, animals, food, and other activities that were planned for this day. This little booklet is only a beginning. In it, we hope to honor those who have come before us. There is much history that has not been included as of yet. Many families and friends, businesses and community organizations who have lived here and loved this little community over the years are not yet mentioned in this booklet. This is an ongoing project. It will take much time to research, interview, and coordinate all that made up Mallory. Today, it is our wish, however, to deliver a product no matter how small to inspire the community to come together to make our memories known. So, if you find you want to add to the information in this booklet, or you have a picture, map, or other item that would benefit it, please know that we are waiting to hear from you. This product is just the beginning of what we hope to offer in the future. Please remember when visiting these sites, that most are private residences. Please be considerate of their right to privacy. Thank you to all who have generously helped in supplying the information and photos included in this booklet. Mr. Verne House, Mrs. Roseland House, Mr. Keith Clark, Mrs. Sharon Gearsbeck, the West Monroe Historical Society, and Mr. Jim Klinger. Sincerely, Cindy Hampson Mary Jane Rettig Co-creators

MALLORY DEPOT A depot was established on the R. W. & O. Railroad (Syracuse Northern) and in 1871 the first train passed through Mallory, Ceremonies were held and dignitaries were invited, one being Jared Mallory. He was unable to attend because his wife was giving birth to twin daughters known to all as “Kit and Cad”. The depot had one of the longest switches because of the extensive business carried on at the time. Shipments of lumber going to Courbats Mill helped to produce planks for the Syracuse Plank Company, laying the first plank road from Syracuse to Sacketts Harbor. Passengers traveling to the Piquet and Courbat hotels, as well as Piquet’s Grove for holiday parties, added to the busy depot. (Historical Site number 1 on the Map)

HOTEL COURBAT HOUSE George Courbat built the Courbat House or Hotel Courbat on the west end of town. It sat on the now empty lot to the south of Mallory Wesleyan Church. It opened in 1901 and was operated by his brother Frank Oliver Courbat. Calling cards advertised many holiday parties for $1 an evening with “full orchestra music”. Some of the several proprietors are: Pierce, Button, Snow, Zimmerman, Powers, Breckheimer, Edmonson, Weaver, Barker, and Clark. One set of owners, Edmunson and Trouskie, furnished fine dinners, banquets and wedding receptions for the community. In later years, Keith Clark became owner until 1980 and proceeded to ensure the town’s history by displaying 8x10 photos of by-gone days. It made quick conversation by the patrons and brought back many fond memories. The hotel was eventually destroyed by fire on January 30, 1996. This was also known as the Mallory Hotel fire.

Courbat House was located at the current site of the Mallory Wesleyan Church sign

photo taken August 2006 (Historical Site number 2 on the Map)

MALLORY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 11 The first school in the town, of which there is any accurate knowledge, was taught in Caughdenoy by Peter Vickery. At this time Mallory was District #11. A former pupil of Wallace Rhines, Gladys Loren O’Mara, attended school here at the age of 5 in 1902. Upon graduating in June 1916, she returned to teach grades 1-4 with Jennie Ladd teaching grades 5-8. That fall during Christmas vacation, the school burned. Lessons had to be held in the old wagon shop, next to Lewis Morey’s general store on the northeast end of town. In 1919 the new school was built on the original site with the help of a loan. Miss Loren returned as Acting Principal while teaching grades 5-8. Some of the many teachers of whom there is a record were: Verda Loren, Gladys sister, Jennie Drohan, Bill Sellars, Irene Dunn and Carol Bristol. Mrs. Briggs was the last before it joined centralization in Central Square in 1954. At this time District 11 held meetings and sold the school house to Neal Parsons who remodeled it into a home. The furnishings were sold at public auction and $1,000.00 of this money was to go to oversee reconstruction of the pond dam and the balance to the Cemetery Association. The original building at the time of this writing was the home of the Mugglin family.

August 2006

(Historical Site number 3 on the map)

GEORGE COURBAT LUMBER PLANT NOW MALLORY LUMBER AND STEEL

In 1894 Joseph Courbat erected a planing mill on the north side of Main Street and in 1896 added a wagon and blacksmith shop. He later sold this business to George A Courbat. As the business grew, George was manufacturing berry and cheese boxes, tanks, silos, sashes, doors, brackets, sleighs and wagons. He made a wonderful contract with Standard Oil to furnish all sleighs for their operations in all of New York State. The main buildings, besides the wagon shop were the planing mill, a carriage store house and a lumber shed. The entire plant was heated by steam and lighted by acetylene gas. Having three wood lots with portable saws running continuously could not produce sufficient lumber to keep the mill in operation. Mr. Courbat traveled as far as Ottawa, Canada to enlist lumber to be shipped by train to Mallory. Each wood lot had a husband-wife home setup to care for the needs of the loggers, this adding more income to the small but industrious town.

Mallory Lumber & Steel August 2006 (Historical Site number 4 on the Map)

METHODIST CHURCH In 1833, a Methodist class was organized with 40-50 members being added in 1842. A Sunday school class was formed in 1841 of which Milton Flower was a long time superintendent. As 1851 approached, a new Methodist Episcopal Society of Brewsterville was erected, later to be known as Mallory Methodist Church. Revivals and “work-bee” days were held to meet the needs of furnishing the Church. Money donations as well as material articles were donated by its members. The original building still stands, being remodeled into the home of the Tim Marshall family at the time this was written. This location is nearly in the center of town.

Building as it stands now August 2006

(Historical Site number 5 on the map)

Mallory Post Office In 1858 Jared Mallory, a prominent businessman, was responsible for the establishment of the first post office. Bishop Hoyt was the first postmaster. When he died in 1866, Lewis Morey became postmaster and operated the post office from his store and house. At this time the town was officially named Mallory after its most prominent citizen. The Mallory Post Office has survived many moves through the years because its location was determined by whoever was postmaster at the time. The present Post Office operates out of a small building that Postmaster Erma Towne had built specifically for that purpose. She served until 1971 when she retired. In 1972 Anita LeClair began as a postal clerk, moving up to postmaster five years later. She held that position until her retirement. Today the Post Office is operated by Postmaster Carol Ann Szack.

(Historical Site number 6 on the map)

MALLORY HOUSE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS UPPER HOTEL

OR PIQUET HOTEL At the east end of town on the present site of the Mallory Store, the Piquet Hotel, also known as the Mallory or Upper Hotel, hosted dances, parties and medicine shows where traveling salesmen sold their “elixir” to the public. They also held Saturday night dances as well as parties for holiday occasions. People came by train to dance and have fun. On one such occasion, as related by George Piquet to grandson Don, George patiently waited for a late train and questioned the conductor when it finally arrived. “Why so late?” The answer was “the train backed up three times to add cars to accommodate the many people coming to the Mallory dances.” Fire destroyed the building November 1974.

The Mallory Store now sits on the site of the old hotel

photo taken August 2006

(Historical Site number 7 on the map)

THOMAS MCEVEN BLACKSMITH SHOP, CHEESE FACTORY, GEARSBECK FARM SUPPLY

Jared Mallory’s cheese factory was sold to William Gearsbeck who converted it into a feed store. He finally sold to Welcome Gearsbeck and son Randall Gearsbeck later used it as a place to sell new and used farm implements. (Historical Site number 8 on the map)

PIQUET HOUSE

George Piquet was one of the early merchants in Mallory in the 1890s and was also a member of the Pine Grove Cemetery Association.

Current site of the old Piquet House August 2006

(Historical Site number 9 on the map)

circa 1909

J. W. GEHR STORE

This was one of the many early businesses in the hamlet. Notice the spelling of grocer on the sign above the door.

building as it stands today August 2006

(Historical Site number 10 on the map)

GEORGE A. COURBAT MILLS

In 1863, on the west side of the little hamlet, a young 21 year old farmer, Joseph A. Courbat, bought site and water rights to erect a home and saw mill. He operated this for many years and purchased the first threshing machine in the county, using a horse thread for power. When the steam engine came along, he bought the first one, using it to power his threshing machine. This made it possible for him to become portable and move to different localities in Oswego and Onondaga Counties to further his business. In 1887, the saw mill was replaced by a three story modern grist mill serving several purposes. It was equipped with water wheels for power and ground feed for flour as well as sawing logs for lumber. Along with custom grinding, they sold hardware, stoves, paints, fertilizers and all kinds of seeds. His eldest son Charles H. operated it until 1922 when Carl and Vere Bradbury bought it and renamed it Bradbury Bros. Mill.

This house stands near site of the mills. The house is also an early structure. You can see it in the right hand corner of the pictures on the cover. This picture was taken in August 2006. (Historical Site number 11 on the map)

1913

Pine Grove Cemetery In 1893, Pine Grove Cemetery Association of Mallory was organized. Burials are recorded as early as 1835.

(Historical Site number 12 on the map)

Piquet’s Grove South of the cemetery in nearby Pine Woods, Piquet’s Grove held many picnics and summer gatherings. Built with a large pavilion and small sheds selling wares and delicious foods, it resembled a county fair. The Grange held its annual picnic with as many as 5,000-10,000 people attending. Once a year, Mallory became a big center of the county. As late as the 1930s, picnics were still being enjoyed. At the time of this writing, the home of Nathan and Linda House was located on the original spot of the pavilion. (Historical Site number 13 on the map)