The town lost yet another foundational business, the oldest of all, in 1928. I have written elsewhere about the history of the Schaghticoke Powder Mill, founded to make gun powder for the U.S. military in the War of 1812. I won’t go into all of the details here, but on March 16, 1928 at least 7,500 pounds of gun powder blew up at the mill, killing four men and doing considerable damage to the village of Schaghticoke. This was the end of powder making in Schaghticoke. It was one of those events that people who were within earshot would remember for the rest of their lives.
An earlier Powder Mill explosion, photo by Delbert Seymour for the Troy Times.
So what was the village of Schaghticoke like around 1920, besides being smaller? One way I can tell is by looking at the ads in the “Schaghticoke Sun.” There were definitely fewer ads for local businesses than in the issues of 1894 and 1913. And there wasn’t as much variety. On the other hand, there were new enterprises connected to the automobile. There were several grocery stores: Charles Sample Modern Cash Store, The American Cash Grocery, and the People’s Cash Grocery all had ads. R.C. Gunner’s son William still had a bakery next to the Presbyterian Church. There was a People’s Cash Hardware, and Empire Mill and Coal, located where Agway is now. Edward Smith ran an outlet of Troy Quick Shoe Repairing. Jacob L. Button, Frederick Askins, George Sample, and Elwood Stewart were insurance agents- which seems like lots of insurance men in a small community. Tellingly, there were ads for two auctioneers: Jay F. Herrington in Valley Falls, and Charles Ensign in Stillwater. There was at least one auto repair garage, run by R. N. Sherman, who also sold Oldsmobiles. Delbert Seymour was an electrician doing work on houses and selling electrical supplies. Edgar Tulloch did house wiring. G. F. Beecroft sold tulip and hyacinth bulbs. I have mentioned the confectionary and candy store of Robert Barth previously. Edward and Morgan Beecroft were wholesale butchers, Albert Hurley a butcher. There was an undertaker, Alexander Diver, who retired in 1924 and was succeeded by Frank T. Harrison. Like Diver, Harrison sold home furnishings. His 1926 ad in the “Sun” advertised “a complete line of floor coverings.” John Casey, Lawrence Henderson, and Arthur Shurtless were listed as hotel proprietors. There were a couple of saloons, run by Edward Dwyer, Robert Johnston, Jeremiah Tatro. There were still several blacksmiths. Patrick Tierney had a clothing store. Elbert Van Buren had a pharmacy. E. Deane Vincent (1882—1932) was an attorney- who lived at least part of his life in Schaghticoke, alternating with Lansingburgh. He died in the village in 1932.
So, people could still shop for all of their needs in their village. There still wasn’t a bank. The retail stores were a combination of long-time operators plus some new people. A couple dared to open after the closure of the woolen mill with its loss of hundreds of jobs.
Patrick Tierney (1868-1918) had a clothing store in the village from at least 1905. A little note in the newspaper in 1917 noted that he had closed his store. Perhaps that was due to illness, as he died the next year. But his wife Alice McGuirk Tierney started the store again. An ad in the “Schaghticoke Sun” in November 1920 for “Tierney’s Clothing Store” said they had “cold weather necessities: mackinaw coats, fleece lined vests, gent’s furnishings”. The store only went out of business after her death in 1942. (Troy Times Record May 5, 1942)
Photo from Delorres Tullock Berney- I am not sure if this is the correct grocery as several had “Cash” in the title
Edward O’Connor (1863-1930) was proprietor of the American Cash Grocery in the Buffett Block, at the northeast corner of Main and 4th Streets. He was born in Pittstown, but lived in the village of Schaghticoke from the time he was a young man. He married Mary Butler there about 1885. He worked in various jobs until about 1905 when he opened a grocery store. An ad in the “Schaghticoke Sun” in July 1920 read: American Cash Grocery: remember you get real groceries and real service at this store. Edward O’Connor and Son.” Michael worked in the store with his father through 1920, but by the 1925 NY Census, the store had closed, Edward was working as the school janitor and Michael was a salesman. After Mary’s death in 1928, Edward lived with Michael in Lansingburgh, where he died in 1930. He is buried in St. John’s Cemetery.
Charles Renwick (1866-1919) married Lottie Lewis in 1898 and had opened a grocery store in the village of Schaghticoke by 1900. He and Lottie had a daughter named Olga. When they married, Lottie also sold insurance and real estate. Charles committed suicide in 1919. Lottie did not operate the store afterwards. But Lottie ran her house as a rooming house, specializing in rooms for teachers.
Renwick house- from Delorres Tullock Berney
The January 9, 1920 “Schaghticoke Sun” reported that P.R. Cunningham and Son had purchased the “Renwick block.” This was Patrick R. Cunningham, who began the People’s Cash Hardware about that time with son George. He had begun the business elsewhere, as the “Sun” reported that they moved the fixtures from another location. They intended to add a gas pump in the front of the store and supply free air for tires.
As of the 1905 NY Census, Patrick Cunningham, 47, an Irish immigrant as a child, was a farmer on the Easton Road. Wife Margaret was 49, and they had three children: Eliza, 18; George, 16, and Catherine, 13. Patrick was still a farmer in 1910, so he turned to retail hardware in late middle age. Though the “Schaghticoke Sun” ad named Patrick and George as partners in the store, the 1920 Census said George was a postman. He was listed as a hardware merchant in the 1925 census, but was a postman by 1930 and water commissioner in 1940. I don’t think the store was long-lasting, but I have not found when Patrick died. He was not buried locally, and his name is quite common in the area, making him difficult to find. I know that Margaret Cunningham died in 1943.
In the “Schaghticoke Sun” of 1926, C. O. Lawrence announced he carried a general line of hardware in his store on Main Street. The 1920 US Census recorded Charles as a farmer in Easton, the NY Census of 1925 as a salesman living on Main Street. The 1930 US Census gave Charles’ occupation as “Hardware merchant”, but by the 1940 census, he was a “laborer.” So this store was also relatively short-lived.
Another basic business in the village of Schaghticoke was the barber shop of George H. Viall, Jr. George was born in the village in 1891, the son of George H. and Victorian Viall. George was a barber by the 1910 Census, as age 19. In 1918 he married Sarah Williams, daughter of Reese and Jennie Williams. She had worked in the Cable Flax Mill before her marriage. They had two children, Reba, later Reba Bevis (1919-2008), and Clifford (1920-2009).
George Viall, from Gary Viall
Sarah William, from Gary Viall
from Gary Viall- the Viall Barber shop- in Baker’s Block 1912
George was the backbone of the local fire department. He was elected chief in 1913 and retired in 1949 when he moved from the confines of the village to his farm, across from the fairgrounds. According to an article written at that time, George’s customers knew they may be abandoned mid-hair cut in case of a fire. George also traveled to outlying farms to help with fires with the village equipment, often as a one-man fire department.
from the Troy Times Record
One store was a second-generation business. Edward Winslow (1863-1919), his brother Albert, and sisters Ellen and Margaret ran a grocery store on the south side of the bridge over the Hoosic River in Schaghticoke. His father William James Winslow had a store there by 1855. William’s father, James, was an Irish immigrant. Thinking of the store’s customer base, on the one hand the store location was good as it was right at the end of the bridge, but it was a toll bridge for many years, so customers from the village would have had an extra cost to shop there. But there were tenements for mill workers located near the Catholic Church and closer to the Brigg’s mill on the south bank of the river. Their residents plus the residents of the large residences on modern route 40, belonging to the owners of the powder mills, would have been the shoppers.
Winslow’s Store- photo from Shelley Jonesthis photo from the north shows the Winslow store in the middle right. The road to the bridge passed right in front.
After William died in 1894, his children stepped up. Edward was always listed as the grocer in the census. An ad in the 1894 “Schaghticoke Sun” listed “Winslow Brothers: oranges, raisins, candies for Christmas, Turk’s Island Salt, canned goods. Goods delivered to any part of the village. We make a specialty of BB Java Coffee, best in town. Agents for ‘Queen of the Household Flour.’” Unlike many other businesspeople, I can find no mention of the Winslows’ involvement in community activities. Edward died in 1919. The year after, his brother Albert was listed in the census as a grocer, but by the 1925 NY Census, he had gone to work in the Cable Flax Mill, so presumably the store closed. None of the siblings was married.
Another second generation business was the butcher shop/grocery of the Sample family. Brothers William, Fred, George, and Charles Sample inherited the business from their father Robert, an Irish immigrant. An ad in the “Sun” in February 1920 was for “R. Sample’s Sons: Cash paid for country beef, pork, veal, and chickens.” That Christmas the Samples advertised aprons, dolls, handkerchiefs, books, hosiery, games, fancy cheese, and many kinds of exotic fruits and nuts.
Sample’s store c. 1910- before the boys took overad from 1926 Schaghticoke “Sun”Interior of Sample’s store- Charles behind the counter, Robert to the right, Fred to the left from Gary ViallCharles Sample and George Viall in front of Sample’s=- from Gary Viall
A story in July reported that the delivery truck of R. Sample’s Sons was in an “automobile smashup” at the four corners- that is the junction of Route 40 and 67 at the north end of the village. Evan (Madawg) Jones, a 40-year-old father of many children with wife Edith, was the Sample’s driver.
In October 1920 the “Sun” described a robbery at the Samples’ store. Liberty bonds (issued in World War I) and cash adding up to $300 were stolen. $200 in bonds belonged to Charles Sample. $50 in cash belonged to Delos Healey; $16 to the Presbyterian Church; and $35 to Fred Sample. (Delos Healey was a local laborer.) Not content with emptying the 400-pound safe, the thieves took it away in a wheelbarrow belonging to the store. It was thrown from the Spook Hollow Bridge (on route 40 just south of the bridge over the river) onto the railroad track. One of the most important losses for the Samples must have been their account book, which was ruined. Sadly, the thieves were three teenage boys: James Lesson, son of local electrician Frederick Lesson; Llewellen Jones, son of Evan, the delivery driver for the Samples; and James Armstrong, who had just moved to Mechanicville. Lesson ran away from home to Troy in the aftermath. He was arrested there, confessed, and turned in his partners in crime.
The third generation took over the Samples’ store when William’s son Robert, who had returned from service in World War I to work as a bookkeeper in a collar shop in Troy, stepped up after his father’s death in 1923 and took over the family business. He ran it until his retirement and died in 1969. The 1925 NY Census listed his uncle Frederick as a dry goods merchant on Main Street in the village and uncle George as the postmaster. George was also the town clerk in 1920. The Samples were very active in the local community. Robert was a member of the Victor Lodge and the Charles Waldron Post of the American Legion, where he served as Commander.
A 1914 tragedy resulted in another park for the village. On December 1 (Troy “Daily Times Dec 1, 1914) the American House burned. The hotel, where the World War I memorial is today, was a 3 ½ story building with double-decked piazzas on three sides, surrounded by elm trees. It was “for many years one of the most famous hostelries in the northern part of the county.” The fire was discovered about midnight by Charles Sample, returning home from a barbershop. (What was he doing at a barbershop at midnight?) The wind carried the embers, threatening residences on the east side of Main Street. Hoses were strung from the Cable Flax Mill. Water was poured on Alexander Diver’s furniture store, and Edward Conner’s grocery, plus several homes. All were saved. The home of village president C.W. Purdy on School Street was threatened, and the barns in the rear of the hotel caught on fire.
American House, c. 1900 This is a photo from Dick Lohnes, but Antoinette Anderson has a similar one in her collection.
This is a much earlier photo of the American House- note the cupola, fence, and verandas.
The “Sun” went on to describe that the American House had been erected more than 100 years earlier by John Buffett. It was a “true stagecoach inn.” When run by John W. Downs it was a “mecca” for horseman at a time when George Haner’s stock farm was in Melrose and the Schaghticoke Race Course- located where the high school track is now- was on the National Circuit. That would have been in the 1890’s. George Haner’s farm was on the west side of Pinewoods Road. On the 1880 census he was listed with 22 horses, a very large number for the time. Augustus Downs ran the American House after John, then Harry Clifton, J.C. Spafford and George Taylor. For the last four or five years before the fire, the hotel was unused, with only the bar open, operated by Charles Ray, then Lawrence Henderson. It had been totally vacant for the six weeks before the fire, though a group of citizens had an option to buy the building, hoping to make it a factory. The newspaper suspected arson as there was a strong smell of tar. In 1920 William Weatherwax gave the southern part of the American House property to be a park for the village, dedicated to the veterans of World War I. Apparently by that time the Village Improvement Society was moribund, as the editor of the “Schaghticoke Sun” proposed a Schaghticoke Clean-Up Club with the approach of spring. (“Sun”, February 6, 13 1920) The community organized to raise money for a monument in honor of local veterans of World War I. I feel it is remarkable both that the veterans were honored so close to the time of their service, and that they themselves organized to help each other through the American Legion, so soon after their war experience. (After the Civil War, it took at least 15 years for their veterans’ organization, the Grand Army of the Republic, to organize.) In June 1920 Village President George Seymour was made president of the committee. The size of the memorial was to depend on the amount of money raised, a very practical plan. By August the Red Cross had given $300 to the fund and the Adelphian Club at the high school $100, a large amount for a few students. The Cable Flax Mill trustees donated $50.
top- early photo of the monument, bottom-2018 John Kelly in uniform, Scott Rice, village mayor, Bill Fogarty, town councilman. Note the bayonet is gone from the rifle.
Despite this fast start, the monument was not erected until after 1923. The Troy “Times” of August 1, 1923 reported that $1,600 had been raised to date. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Charles Waldron Post, American legion “took the lead ….ordering a bronze statue and a table from Harrington & Mallery of Saratoga Springs” for that price. The money for a base still needed to be raised, “not considered a hard task.” They hoped to have the monument dedicated on Armistice Day. Despite the information that the Ladies Auxiliary had done the ordering, the article went on to say that Rodney Winans was the Chair of the monument committee, E. W. Wiley the Secretary, and J.W. Banker the treasurer.
Schaghticoke Driving park ad 1888
The valiant efforts of the village of Schaghticoke to bring new business to town finally bore fruit of sorts when the Rensselaer County Agricultural and Horticultural Society purchased the land at the corner of Route 40 and 67 from Lawrence Brockett. The owner of a lumber yard in Johnsonville, he had purchased the property, the Searles farm, a few years earlier to cut the timber on it. He had worked with the officers of the Fair before. His lumber mill buildings, the former axe factory in Johnsonville, had been used for a minimal fair in fall 1920. Some sort of fair had to be held that year, to avoid losing future state aid for the event. Before World War I, the fairgrounds had been at Rensselaer Park in Lansingburgh. While the fair was on hiatus during World War I the grounds were sold to a developer, leaving the officers without a location in 1920. Once the Brockett land was purchased, the fair was set. Schaghticoke has been the site of the Rensselaer County Fair ever since. There was a competing fair in Nassau until the two agricultural organizations joined in 1945.
Alexander Diver, c. 1930
Two prominent local men, Alexander Diver and J. W. Richards were officers of the Agricultural Society at the time. Along with Edward Doen, superintendent of the power company, they were on the Schaghticoke committee seeking businesses as well (Troy Times Jan 20, 1921). I have written of them before. Diver was the local undertaker and had served as town supervisor. Richards was the long-time editor of the “Schaghticoke Sun” and the Town Clerk during the 1920’s. Certainly having Diver and Richards double as officers of the agricultural society must have given Schaghticoke an edge during the search for a new fair location. Another advantage was that the Schaghticoke Driving Park was across the street, where the Hoosic Valley track is now, so people interested in horses and racing knew the village well. Harness racing was part of the fair until after World War II. Of course the fair is only held for a week each year, not the kind of business the economy of the village really needed, though the fair grounds were and are used sporadically the rest of the year. I think if you asked people today why they are familiar with Schaghticoke, they would say because of the fair.
1922 newspaper article
partial list of just the chicken portion of the poultry which could be entered.
The Rensselaer County Agricultural and Horticultural Society worked hard to improve the fairgrounds, “expending considerable money in improvements before this year’s fair, which will be opened Labor Day and will be continued for five days and evenings.” (Troy Times June 7, 1922) They purchased the grandstand on the Watervliet Arsenal baseball grounds and moved it up, and built an exhibition hall 100 feet long. Cattle sheds for 200 head of stock were built. From the start the town of Easton, Washington County, was included in the catchment area for exhibitors, as it was so close.
History of the Town of Schaghticoke 