Portville As I Remember It When, cont'd
by Caryl O. "Dutch" Marsh, 1965
This is Page 2 of 2
by Caryl O. "Dutch" Marsh, 1965
This is Page 2 of 2
As I first remember on Brooklyn Street on the right hand side, there were no houses from the corner
house of Warners to the railroad track. The first house built was Fred Connors. (That is Cliff’s
father).
On the other side, where Guenther Funeral is, was a little old house set low on the ground. That was
the Throop home.
Next was Harry Holcomb’s home. It was located between Guenther’s and Truman Green’s. Next
place was the Beaver house. That is now Wolf’s.
On up to about where Allis Blakley now lives was an old house in which the Nick Henderson family
used to live. It has long been torn down.
Next place was owned by Fred Keller. This house burned down. A new house was built and it is
presently owned by Tom Wiles. Then next door was the Gibbon’s home. It is now the home of
Agnes Gibbon. Where the Miller Family is presently living was the home of Patrick Kaye. The next
place was the E. M. Bedford home. It is now owned by North.
Above the tracks were very few houses, but some of the old pioneers, Swedes and Irish, did live
there. Some of the names I remember best were the Kayes, Fitzsimmons, Cronins, Buttons, Luddens,
Vanburgs, Swansons, Andersons, Foxes, Leshys, O’Briens, Fitzgeralds, Steifvater, W. C. H., Billy
Johnson, Halpens, W. P. Roberts, Schifleys, Charley Sias, John James, and Jim Burns.
Mr. William Casey lived where Marie Sherry now lives. He belongs to the Catholic Church, but gave
the land next door to the Lutheran Church so they could build a new church.
Then there was Rev. Roulo and his two sons.
The first house by the railroad tracks on Brooklyn Street was Harry Phillip’s. He was station agent
for the Western New York and Pennsylvania R. R. for many years. The house is now owned by Mr.
Hendryxson.
George Barnard worked in the station also as a telegraph operator. He lived on Lillibridge Road.
Going up Temple Street as I first remember, the first place in the back of the now city building was a
building where the Portville Autograph was printed by Fred Tarbel.
Next was Archie MacDougald’s meat market.
The building where John Barber now lives was J. H. Warden’s furniture store and was once the Post
Office and also a funeral parlor. He had a pair of black horses to draw his hearse. It was always
driven by Henry Deming, who lived in the house next to the now Masonic Temple.
Between Warden’s store and Deming’s house was a millinery store run by Mrs. Deming and Mrs.
Dygert. On the second floor was Dr. McCarey’s office. This building has since been torn down and
replaced with a dentist office occupied by Dr. Harrison.
house of Warners to the railroad track. The first house built was Fred Connors. (That is Cliff’s
father).
On the other side, where Guenther Funeral is, was a little old house set low on the ground. That was
the Throop home.
Next was Harry Holcomb’s home. It was located between Guenther’s and Truman Green’s. Next
place was the Beaver house. That is now Wolf’s.
On up to about where Allis Blakley now lives was an old house in which the Nick Henderson family
used to live. It has long been torn down.
Next place was owned by Fred Keller. This house burned down. A new house was built and it is
presently owned by Tom Wiles. Then next door was the Gibbon’s home. It is now the home of
Agnes Gibbon. Where the Miller Family is presently living was the home of Patrick Kaye. The next
place was the E. M. Bedford home. It is now owned by North.
Above the tracks were very few houses, but some of the old pioneers, Swedes and Irish, did live
there. Some of the names I remember best were the Kayes, Fitzsimmons, Cronins, Buttons, Luddens,
Vanburgs, Swansons, Andersons, Foxes, Leshys, O’Briens, Fitzgeralds, Steifvater, W. C. H., Billy
Johnson, Halpens, W. P. Roberts, Schifleys, Charley Sias, John James, and Jim Burns.
Mr. William Casey lived where Marie Sherry now lives. He belongs to the Catholic Church, but gave
the land next door to the Lutheran Church so they could build a new church.
Then there was Rev. Roulo and his two sons.
The first house by the railroad tracks on Brooklyn Street was Harry Phillip’s. He was station agent
for the Western New York and Pennsylvania R. R. for many years. The house is now owned by Mr.
Hendryxson.
George Barnard worked in the station also as a telegraph operator. He lived on Lillibridge Road.
Going up Temple Street as I first remember, the first place in the back of the now city building was a
building where the Portville Autograph was printed by Fred Tarbel.
Next was Archie MacDougald’s meat market.
The building where John Barber now lives was J. H. Warden’s furniture store and was once the Post
Office and also a funeral parlor. He had a pair of black horses to draw his hearse. It was always
driven by Henry Deming, who lived in the house next to the now Masonic Temple.
Between Warden’s store and Deming’s house was a millinery store run by Mrs. Deming and Mrs.
Dygert. On the second floor was Dr. McCarey’s office. This building has since been torn down and
replaced with a dentist office occupied by Dr. Harrison.
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| 17 Maple Avenue Portville, NY 14770 www.portvillehistory.org |
Portville, New York
Across Colwell Street on Main, D. E. Page had a harness shop with living quarters upstairs. That
was the place my wife was born. Some years later, C. F. Townsend started a hardware store there.
Next was Producers Gas Company’s office. A Mr. Fox lived upstairs. Later, Henry Jacoby and
family lived there. This is where the dry cleaning plant is now.
Where the American Legion is now was Herm Rice’s drugstore with Fred McGraw at the soda
fountain.
Next was Carr’s barbershop. The Carr family lived in the rear. They had five kids. They were Het,
Sue, John, Dorty, and Pete. As they used to say, “Quite a string of Carrs.”
The next building was the home of Robert Jacoby. He was the father of Henry and John. This
building was moved down in back of the now Atlantic Gas Station, which is now the home of the
Cradducks.
Next was the home of the McGraws – Fred, Charlie, and Lill, who was our librarian for many
years. Charlie was a telegraph operator for a newspaper in Rochester, New York.
The next place was the home of Del Burdick. (Now the Charles Bauer home.)
Then the D. E. Page home. That’s where I got my wife.
Well, that takes us up as far as Dodge Creek on the west side of Main Street. Now we will start on
the east side of Maple Street.
The first house on the corner (now Dr. Bing Hackett’s house and office) was the home of Mike
Mohan. Next, the Methodist Church, the oldest church in the village.
was the place my wife was born. Some years later, C. F. Townsend started a hardware store there.
Next was Producers Gas Company’s office. A Mr. Fox lived upstairs. Later, Henry Jacoby and
family lived there. This is where the dry cleaning plant is now.
Where the American Legion is now was Herm Rice’s drugstore with Fred McGraw at the soda
fountain.
Next was Carr’s barbershop. The Carr family lived in the rear. They had five kids. They were Het,
Sue, John, Dorty, and Pete. As they used to say, “Quite a string of Carrs.”
The next building was the home of Robert Jacoby. He was the father of Henry and John. This
building was moved down in back of the now Atlantic Gas Station, which is now the home of the
Cradducks.
Next was the home of the McGraws – Fred, Charlie, and Lill, who was our librarian for many
years. Charlie was a telegraph operator for a newspaper in Rochester, New York.
The next place was the home of Del Burdick. (Now the Charles Bauer home.)
Then the D. E. Page home. That’s where I got my wife.
Well, that takes us up as far as Dodge Creek on the west side of Main Street. Now we will start on
the east side of Maple Street.
The first house on the corner (now Dr. Bing Hackett’s house and office) was the home of Mike
Mohan. Next, the Methodist Church, the oldest church in the village.
Then, the Smith Parish home, the home of Fred and Frank and their Mother. She was a little old
lady that always wore what looked like a doily on her head. This home was made into a library by
some public spirited citizens.
Across Temple Street, on the corner where the city building now stands, was an old wooden
building in which a store and Post Office were run by Wm. F. Holden. When the new building was
built in 1904, the old one was moved over on the next lot. The new fire house is located there now.
When the new fire house was built, the building was torn down.
lady that always wore what looked like a doily on her head. This home was made into a library by
some public spirited citizens.
Across Temple Street, on the corner where the city building now stands, was an old wooden
building in which a store and Post Office were run by Wm. F. Holden. When the new building was
built in 1904, the old one was moved over on the next lot. The new fire house is located there now.
When the new fire house was built, the building was torn down.
William Holden in front of his Post Office in 1894
Next was Tom Cox’s barber shop. We always got a kick to see Tom’s wife sitting by the window,
smoking her clay pipe. Nowadays, it looks funny to see one that does smoke a pipe.
Trenkle’s blacksmith shop was next. This is Kayes’ garage now. The Trenkles, Jacob the father,
Jake Jr., and Nick, were the blacksmiths. They were pretty rugged men. Next to the shop was their
home and in the rear was a large livery stable. When I was five or six years old, this stable burned to
the ground. Several horses were lost.
After that, the Trenkles built another stable in the rear of their shop between Tom Cox’s barber shop
and the blacksmith shop. It was torn down after the automobile came into use. Trenkle’s house is
now the home of Mr. Spring.
Perry Bigalow and family lived in the next house. He was a boss at the Basket Factory.
On the property where Mina Gattuso now lives was a large old wooden opera house and skating
rink. This was a busy place with all the road shows, medicine shows, and home talents. This was
owned by Mike Mohan. It was finally torn down and part of the lumber was put into Mina’s house.
Just above that, next to the creek, was the village jail. It was a little building made out of 2 x 4’s laid
flat on top of one another. Inside was five or six bunks with straw in them so the prisoners and
hobos could sleep comfortably.
Across the bridge (we called Gaston’s bridge because Mr. Gaston had a wagon shop on the north
bank of the creek) on the west side of the road and on the corner of Brooklyn and Main was the old
Troup (Throop) house. Later, this house was torn down and replaced with one built by A. N.
Stevens (now Guenther Funeral Home).
Across Brooklyn Street was the Col. Warner home. It is now the Shell Gas Station. There were no
more buildings from there until we got to the house of Mrs. Smith and her son Sid, who took care of
J. E. Dusenbury’s race horses, owned now by the Steinbachers.
Up Elm Street was the home of Dan Shine.
Above Mrs. Smith’s was another Smith. He was mush head Smith. That house is now owned by
Mrs. Buckles.
Next home was W. T. Fox’s. His neighbor was Ras Brown. This home is now Chet Matheny’s.
John Bell, brother of Mrs. Smith Parish, lived where Tony Wilson, Jr., now lives. There were no
houses until Henry McDonnald’s. It now belongs to the Ryan family. That takes us up to the White
House Road; first house above that was Shivers.
One railroad that went through Portville was the narrow gage road. The track was much smaller and
so was the rolling stock. These tracks crossed the W. N. Y. and Pa. R. R. at White House. There
were no automatic signals at that time. A man by the name of Bell lived next to this crossing. Every
time a narrow gage train came along, he would flag them over safely. He was known as Target
Bell. He carried that name for a good many years.
smoking her clay pipe. Nowadays, it looks funny to see one that does smoke a pipe.
Trenkle’s blacksmith shop was next. This is Kayes’ garage now. The Trenkles, Jacob the father,
Jake Jr., and Nick, were the blacksmiths. They were pretty rugged men. Next to the shop was their
home and in the rear was a large livery stable. When I was five or six years old, this stable burned to
the ground. Several horses were lost.
After that, the Trenkles built another stable in the rear of their shop between Tom Cox’s barber shop
and the blacksmith shop. It was torn down after the automobile came into use. Trenkle’s house is
now the home of Mr. Spring.
Perry Bigalow and family lived in the next house. He was a boss at the Basket Factory.
On the property where Mina Gattuso now lives was a large old wooden opera house and skating
rink. This was a busy place with all the road shows, medicine shows, and home talents. This was
owned by Mike Mohan. It was finally torn down and part of the lumber was put into Mina’s house.
Just above that, next to the creek, was the village jail. It was a little building made out of 2 x 4’s laid
flat on top of one another. Inside was five or six bunks with straw in them so the prisoners and
hobos could sleep comfortably.
Across the bridge (we called Gaston’s bridge because Mr. Gaston had a wagon shop on the north
bank of the creek) on the west side of the road and on the corner of Brooklyn and Main was the old
Troup (Throop) house. Later, this house was torn down and replaced with one built by A. N.
Stevens (now Guenther Funeral Home).
Across Brooklyn Street was the Col. Warner home. It is now the Shell Gas Station. There were no
more buildings from there until we got to the house of Mrs. Smith and her son Sid, who took care of
J. E. Dusenbury’s race horses, owned now by the Steinbachers.
Up Elm Street was the home of Dan Shine.
Above Mrs. Smith’s was another Smith. He was mush head Smith. That house is now owned by
Mrs. Buckles.
Next home was W. T. Fox’s. His neighbor was Ras Brown. This home is now Chet Matheny’s.
John Bell, brother of Mrs. Smith Parish, lived where Tony Wilson, Jr., now lives. There were no
houses until Henry McDonnald’s. It now belongs to the Ryan family. That takes us up to the White
House Road; first house above that was Shivers.
One railroad that went through Portville was the narrow gage road. The track was much smaller and
so was the rolling stock. These tracks crossed the W. N. Y. and Pa. R. R. at White House. There
were no automatic signals at that time. A man by the name of Bell lived next to this crossing. Every
time a narrow gage train came along, he would flag them over safely. He was known as Target
Bell. He carried that name for a good many years.
View of White House south of Portville (which is in the distance). P.R.R. and P.S.& N.R.R. crossing, "WH" Tower, Old
Shawmut Target house on opposite side of track, center. Directly over and to the left is home being constructed by C. W.
Evans. On extreme right is farm home of H. D. Lowe. Taken from roof of Northwestern Leather Co. by C. W. Evans, 1920.
Shawmut Target house on opposite side of track, center. Directly over and to the left is home being constructed by C. W.
Evans. On extreme right is farm home of H. D. Lowe. Taken from roof of Northwestern Leather Co. by C. W. Evans, 1920.
The Masonic Building was the WCTU building.
Next was our house, where we were all born. The next house was the old Fairchild Homestead and
now is occupied by Mrs. Carr. In the rear, James, Jr., had a printing shop and, of course, the feed
mill and shingle mill.
Where Weaklands live now was Wes Van Wart’s blacksmith shop. I remember seeing them shoe
oxen. There was a contraption that was strapped to the ox around his belly and wound up so his feet
would all be off the ground. In this way, he could not kick.
John Nagel had a wagon shop in back.
Herbert Keyes lived in the Baldwin house. Dr. Rowley had an office and residence where Fairbanks
now live. Next place was a little old house that sat low to the ground on the lot where Archie Davie
lives now. This was Prior’s. The house was torn down and a new one built.
Where Mr. and Mrs. Rose now live was the home of Hershel Stowell. He had a blacksmith shop in
the rear. Later, Squire Hawks lived there.
Next house was Gearre’s and where Bob Bartley lives was the Geo. Myers home. Next to him was
Charles Lewis’ house. It now belongs to Curtis’.
Now, the store was that of Tony Hotton. This was a grocery and dry goods store.
Starting down at Main Street on Temple was Van Wart’s house where Dr. Wormer lives. The old
house was torn down. Next, where Miss Harriman lives, was the old Petra home.
The next four-apartment house was the Portville house, a hotel. Later, Frank Cansen lived on one
side and had a drugstore on the other side.
Next place was J. H. Warden’s. Then the Farmer’s Hotel was next. Farmers would drive to town to
do their shopping and get their feed ground. They would leave their horses and wagons in the Hotel.
It is now Champlin’s.
Where Ralph Barnes now lives was a long low building that was Holcomb’s grocery store, later
Holcomb and Fairchild’s.
I can remember seeing a two-wheeled cart out on the front porch. They used it to deliver groceries.
Next door was Addison Holcomb’s home, now Hayes.
Where Brunners live was an old house later moved over on Maple Street. As I remember, it was the
older Warden Family. Later, F. E. Tyler built a new house. (One of the best built houses in town.
Being in the lumber business, he had the best material to work with.
Next was our house, where we were all born. The next house was the old Fairchild Homestead and
now is occupied by Mrs. Carr. In the rear, James, Jr., had a printing shop and, of course, the feed
mill and shingle mill.
Where Weaklands live now was Wes Van Wart’s blacksmith shop. I remember seeing them shoe
oxen. There was a contraption that was strapped to the ox around his belly and wound up so his feet
would all be off the ground. In this way, he could not kick.
John Nagel had a wagon shop in back.
Herbert Keyes lived in the Baldwin house. Dr. Rowley had an office and residence where Fairbanks
now live. Next place was a little old house that sat low to the ground on the lot where Archie Davie
lives now. This was Prior’s. The house was torn down and a new one built.
Where Mr. and Mrs. Rose now live was the home of Hershel Stowell. He had a blacksmith shop in
the rear. Later, Squire Hawks lived there.
Next house was Gearre’s and where Bob Bartley lives was the Geo. Myers home. Next to him was
Charles Lewis’ house. It now belongs to Curtis’.
Now, the store was that of Tony Hotton. This was a grocery and dry goods store.
Starting down at Main Street on Temple was Van Wart’s house where Dr. Wormer lives. The old
house was torn down. Next, where Miss Harriman lives, was the old Petra home.
The next four-apartment house was the Portville house, a hotel. Later, Frank Cansen lived on one
side and had a drugstore on the other side.
Next place was J. H. Warden’s. Then the Farmer’s Hotel was next. Farmers would drive to town to
do their shopping and get their feed ground. They would leave their horses and wagons in the Hotel.
It is now Champlin’s.
Where Ralph Barnes now lives was a long low building that was Holcomb’s grocery store, later
Holcomb and Fairchild’s.
I can remember seeing a two-wheeled cart out on the front porch. They used it to deliver groceries.
Next door was Addison Holcomb’s home, now Hayes.
Where Brunners live was an old house later moved over on Maple Street. As I remember, it was the
older Warden Family. Later, F. E. Tyler built a new house. (One of the best built houses in town.
Being in the lumber business, he had the best material to work with.
The house where I live now was owned by Mark Comstock, lived in by Walt Wayman. Mark
Comstock lived in the Hackett house. That was the last house.
Across the tracks was Hotton’s Feed Mill.
Up on the hill was the home of J. E. Dusenbury. He had some race horses in those days – and a race
track where he trained his horses in back of the Presbyterian Manse. Ed, Pilo, and Syd Smith were
his trainers and caretakers.
On the south side of Temple Street, above the tracks, was the old Hotton place. Tony and Adam and
their mother lived there.
I think the next place was the Wright home, now Cliff Chaffees.
Next door, Nick Hotton and family lived there, now owned by Gerald Griffin.
Next was an old tannery house in which two families lived – on one side, Ben Carlson lived. He had
two daughters, Tillie and Millie.
Then, where Vic Anderson lives, was a building for an office for the old tannery. These two places
have been torn down and replaced with new homes.
Then, of course, was the old tannery building. Just above the swing bridge on the creek banks was
the Bowlsbys family. This was a long, low building. We used to refer to it as the “Seven Kitchens.”
Next was the home of John Fox. On up the creek bank was a house where the Farleys lived. Then
the place where Joe Slavage lived was right on the creek bank about where the present bridge is
located. In the old days, the bridge was farther up the creek where the old buttments are still visible.
Across the bridge was a little settlement called Mayville. I recall some of the old families that lived
there as the Williams family, Schifleys, McMannuses, Jack Cooper. These places have all been torn
down and replaced with some new ones.
Up Lillibridge Road was the C. K. Wright house on the hill on up where the village water pumps are
now located. This is where Pete Anderson lived. His daughter was Elma Anderson. This place has
long been torn down.
On the other side of the street were the homes of Frank Keller, Jake Booth. Jack Morgan lives there
now. Next was Ed Pilo. Next to him was George Barnard who was the telegraph operator at the W.
N. Y. & P. station. The last house, a three story building was the old Prince home.
At that time, there were no improved streets in the village. The first one was on Maple Street. I think
this was paid for by the Dusenbury family.
When the street cars first came to town about 1898, the tracks were laid as far as Livingstons. That
was the village line. For some reason, they were not allowed to enter the village so for a long time,
the passengers had to walk to the city line to get a street car for Olean. Then sometime afterwards,
around 1900, the tracks were laid along the west side of Main Street as far as the Delaware house,
which is now the Mobil station. That was the end of the line for some time. There was a waiting
room in the hotel. Later on, the tracks were finally laid up the center of Main Street from the
Presbyterian Church to the bridge at Brooklyn Street. From there on up, the tracks ran along the east
side of Main Street to the White House crossing over the P. R. R. This was the end of the line for a
long time because the railroad would not let the street car company put tracks across their line.
After a long battle with the railroad, the street car company finally went up to the crossing at night
with teams of horses and men pulled the rails out and put in the crossing without the railroad’s
consent.
Of course, the rails in those days were much smaller than today; but I remember seeing rails bent
where the horses had pulled them out.
Well, they finally got across and laid their track as far as Ceres, where they had the same thing to go
through to get over the Shawmut railroad. The old street cars finally went out of business in 1926.
Up Maple Street from Main was Mike Mohan’s residence. His house was located on a corner. The
next place was Charles Mohan’s, Mike’s brother. The house has been torn down for sometime. Bing
Hackett has a garage on the same lot. Neighbors of Mohans were the Coopers. It was the house
where Mrs. Rider lived. The next place was a double house. There was a family by the name of
Holcomb that lived on one side. The man’s name was Dick Holcomb. The house was torn down a
long time ago. The Linderoth residence was at one time the home of Dr. McCarey. Smith Parish
built a home where the Childs family is presently living.
Charles Bradley lived where Lewis Phillips now makes his home. He had a son, Frank Bradley, who
was a little older than I was. When I first started to talk, I guess I couldn’t talk very plain so Frank
Bradley said I talked like a Dutchman. He started to call me Dutch and I have been called that ever
since.
The next place was Dr. Winterstein’s house. The McLarneys live there now. Doc was a great
fancier of good horses. He always had a nice team and buggy. In fact, he had a better looking barn
than his house. The next house was Calvin Smith’s. He was a bookkeeper in the old tannery. After
the closing of the tannery, he went into the grocery business.
Mrs. Reid occupies the house in which Jenny Baker once lived. The Catholic Church was next door
with Father Dollen as priest. He was also the priest for the Catholic Church in Bolivar. Next was the
home of Helen Dusenbury. She was Duncan Dusenbury’s mother. That brings us as far as the W.
N. Y. & P. tracks.
Going back down Maple Street on the north side, we will find the home of the Underwoods. At one
time, it was the home of Bruce Fairchild. Next door was the place we started kindergarten. It is now
Dunc Dusenbury’s office. Next was the W. E. Wheeler home. It is now owned by his daughter,
Mrs. Tim Pfeiffer.
Toddy Anderson’s home was once the Colwell home. He was a holder of a lot of real estate in the
village. He owned all the houses, with the exception of one, on Colwell St. That is where it got its
name. The only one he didn’t own was the one owned by Leamon Gayton at the very end of the
street.
The next place on Maple St. was the E. G. Dusenbury home. It is now Sprague’s. The old house
was torn down. The Sprague family built a new house, but the barn is the same. Only the one end
has been remodeled for his son to live in.
Next to the railroad tracks was the Presbyterian Manse. Rev. Samual Clark resided there.
At the very end of Barrett Street near the river, lived an old Irishman by the name of Dick Barrett. He
used to deliver the mail from the Post Office to the trains. Usually, he would use a wheelbarrow to
carry the mail in.
All the papers came in by train. We kids that peddled them had to meet the trains to get our papers. I
peddled the Buffalo News. Harry (Squeeky) Carlson had the Buffalo Courier. Sometimes it was
pretty late before we were through, especially in the winter time.
Some of the mayors that served Portville in my time were Dr. McCarey, W. A. Dusenbury, Eugene
Hooker, Nick Trenkle, Cliff Chaffee, Clyde Blakley, Orson Hatch, Edward Johnson, and the present
Mayor McCollough.
I think Portville is fortunate to have good water works, a good sewer system, three million dollar
dikes around the village to stop floods.
Years ago, before the dikes, we had floods once or twice a year which flooded our Main Streets. We
had plank sidewalks then. When the water came up, these walks would float and people could still
walk on them.
In 1905 and 1906, cement walks were built by Mr. Erdel. He was a contractor from Silver Creek,
New York.
Years ago, there was a bandstand built on Typnahdi hill above where the village reservoir is located.
The Village band would play concerts.
I remember as a boy we used to go upstairs in the WCTU building to listen to the band practice. It is
now the Masonic Temple. The Masons met upstairs over J. H. Warden’s store and later over Parish’
s store.
On the Fourth of July, the young fellows would celebrate by what we called shooting anvils. The
Trenkle boys, Nick and Jake, and Henry Jacoby and others would take two heavy anvils from their
father’s blacksmith shop. They would place one right side up and put gunpowder on top. Then they
would place the other one upside down and put a fuse to the powder and light it. Then they would
run. When this went off, there was a terrific explosion. The top anvil would fly up in the air about
ten or twelve feet.
Once I remember Henry Jacoby didn’t get away fast enough and was injured. He was laid up for
sometime. I also remember back about forty-five years when the IOOF Lodge put on a fireworks
celebration in back of the Presbyterian Church by the old canal. They had all the fireworks laid out on
the ground. In shooting them, they were somehow ignited all at once. Rockets, Roman Candles, and
all began to go off all over the ground. People scrambled behind trees and buildings. Fortunately, no
one was hurt, but it was quite a sight.
Portville was always fortunate to have good doctors. When I was a kid, we had Dr. McCarey, Dr.
Winterstein, and Dr. Rowley. There was also Dr. Henry Hackett, an uncle of Dr. Clifford Hackett.
In later years, we have had two Dr. Hacketts and three Dr. Wormers.
Postmasters that I can remember are Wm. Holden, J. H. Warden, Harry Holcomb, John Cronin, Jim
Cronin, and Harry Fairbanks.
Years ago, there were a lot of tramps on the road. There wasn’t any automobiles to thumb a ride so
they had to walk from town to town or jump on a freight train. These tramps would go to back
doors and ask for something to eat. I remember my father was a poor master in those days. When a
tramp came along and wanted lodging for the night, he would take them to the town jail and fix a
bunk filled with straw and let them stay all night.
Back years ago, there was a small settlement at each end of the village. We used to call the north end
Gordons. At the upper south end of Main Street was Mersereau’s. Up Dodge Creek where Duncan
Dusenbury’s farm is now located was called Mayville. The reason for these little settlements was that
the saw mills were located near by.
As I look back now, I can think of only two or three people in the village that were born and brought
up and lived here any longer than my wife and I. So you see that makes us real natives.
This may have sounded foolish to some, but it has given me a chance to reminisce and that’s what
you do when you get as old as we are.
One of the old characters I well remember in Portville was Geo. Fitch, the old tinsmith. He built and
repaired eave troughs or anything made of tin. He had a two wheeled cart he pushed around the street
with his ladders and an oil pot for soldering eave troughs.
There was another old timer we used to get a kick out of and that was John the mule driver. He was
an old man that drove a team of mules with an old wagon around the streets buying old rags, papers,
bottles, and metal. Any old junk he would buy.
Another man who used to come to Portville often was an old Indian Medicine man by the name of
Rolling Thunder. He used to put on shows and sell his medicine. Every time you bought a bottle, that
would entitle you to so many votes for some young lady who was to be made queen of the show.
The medicine he sold was good for snake bites or chapped lips or anything that was your trouble.
I have enjoyed writing this and hope someone will enjoy reading it.
Almost everyone that I have spoken of has since passed on, but the old town goes on and probably
will for a lot more years.
Dutch Marsh
1965
I would like to add a little history of Portville that is not all old.
The first water system was built in 1896 with one reservoir. Water from springs was added later.
Sewers were built in 1950.
The present dikes were also built in 1950.
The fire house was built in 1914.
The city building in 1904.
The First National Bank in 1963.
The Baptist Church in 1963 and 1964.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1849.
Fire destroyed the old church in 1895 and was rebuilt in 1896.
The new school house on Main Street was built in 1905. It was later enlarged to twice the size. Now
a new school was built in 1949 on Kaye’s farm at the end of School Street.
A Swedish Church was organized in 1903. It was built a short time after.
THE END
Comstock lived in the Hackett house. That was the last house.
Across the tracks was Hotton’s Feed Mill.
Up on the hill was the home of J. E. Dusenbury. He had some race horses in those days – and a race
track where he trained his horses in back of the Presbyterian Manse. Ed, Pilo, and Syd Smith were
his trainers and caretakers.
On the south side of Temple Street, above the tracks, was the old Hotton place. Tony and Adam and
their mother lived there.
I think the next place was the Wright home, now Cliff Chaffees.
Next door, Nick Hotton and family lived there, now owned by Gerald Griffin.
Next was an old tannery house in which two families lived – on one side, Ben Carlson lived. He had
two daughters, Tillie and Millie.
Then, where Vic Anderson lives, was a building for an office for the old tannery. These two places
have been torn down and replaced with new homes.
Then, of course, was the old tannery building. Just above the swing bridge on the creek banks was
the Bowlsbys family. This was a long, low building. We used to refer to it as the “Seven Kitchens.”
Next was the home of John Fox. On up the creek bank was a house where the Farleys lived. Then
the place where Joe Slavage lived was right on the creek bank about where the present bridge is
located. In the old days, the bridge was farther up the creek where the old buttments are still visible.
Across the bridge was a little settlement called Mayville. I recall some of the old families that lived
there as the Williams family, Schifleys, McMannuses, Jack Cooper. These places have all been torn
down and replaced with some new ones.
Up Lillibridge Road was the C. K. Wright house on the hill on up where the village water pumps are
now located. This is where Pete Anderson lived. His daughter was Elma Anderson. This place has
long been torn down.
On the other side of the street were the homes of Frank Keller, Jake Booth. Jack Morgan lives there
now. Next was Ed Pilo. Next to him was George Barnard who was the telegraph operator at the W.
N. Y. & P. station. The last house, a three story building was the old Prince home.
At that time, there were no improved streets in the village. The first one was on Maple Street. I think
this was paid for by the Dusenbury family.
When the street cars first came to town about 1898, the tracks were laid as far as Livingstons. That
was the village line. For some reason, they were not allowed to enter the village so for a long time,
the passengers had to walk to the city line to get a street car for Olean. Then sometime afterwards,
around 1900, the tracks were laid along the west side of Main Street as far as the Delaware house,
which is now the Mobil station. That was the end of the line for some time. There was a waiting
room in the hotel. Later on, the tracks were finally laid up the center of Main Street from the
Presbyterian Church to the bridge at Brooklyn Street. From there on up, the tracks ran along the east
side of Main Street to the White House crossing over the P. R. R. This was the end of the line for a
long time because the railroad would not let the street car company put tracks across their line.
After a long battle with the railroad, the street car company finally went up to the crossing at night
with teams of horses and men pulled the rails out and put in the crossing without the railroad’s
consent.
Of course, the rails in those days were much smaller than today; but I remember seeing rails bent
where the horses had pulled them out.
Well, they finally got across and laid their track as far as Ceres, where they had the same thing to go
through to get over the Shawmut railroad. The old street cars finally went out of business in 1926.
Up Maple Street from Main was Mike Mohan’s residence. His house was located on a corner. The
next place was Charles Mohan’s, Mike’s brother. The house has been torn down for sometime. Bing
Hackett has a garage on the same lot. Neighbors of Mohans were the Coopers. It was the house
where Mrs. Rider lived. The next place was a double house. There was a family by the name of
Holcomb that lived on one side. The man’s name was Dick Holcomb. The house was torn down a
long time ago. The Linderoth residence was at one time the home of Dr. McCarey. Smith Parish
built a home where the Childs family is presently living.
Charles Bradley lived where Lewis Phillips now makes his home. He had a son, Frank Bradley, who
was a little older than I was. When I first started to talk, I guess I couldn’t talk very plain so Frank
Bradley said I talked like a Dutchman. He started to call me Dutch and I have been called that ever
since.
The next place was Dr. Winterstein’s house. The McLarneys live there now. Doc was a great
fancier of good horses. He always had a nice team and buggy. In fact, he had a better looking barn
than his house. The next house was Calvin Smith’s. He was a bookkeeper in the old tannery. After
the closing of the tannery, he went into the grocery business.
Mrs. Reid occupies the house in which Jenny Baker once lived. The Catholic Church was next door
with Father Dollen as priest. He was also the priest for the Catholic Church in Bolivar. Next was the
home of Helen Dusenbury. She was Duncan Dusenbury’s mother. That brings us as far as the W.
N. Y. & P. tracks.
Going back down Maple Street on the north side, we will find the home of the Underwoods. At one
time, it was the home of Bruce Fairchild. Next door was the place we started kindergarten. It is now
Dunc Dusenbury’s office. Next was the W. E. Wheeler home. It is now owned by his daughter,
Mrs. Tim Pfeiffer.
Toddy Anderson’s home was once the Colwell home. He was a holder of a lot of real estate in the
village. He owned all the houses, with the exception of one, on Colwell St. That is where it got its
name. The only one he didn’t own was the one owned by Leamon Gayton at the very end of the
street.
The next place on Maple St. was the E. G. Dusenbury home. It is now Sprague’s. The old house
was torn down. The Sprague family built a new house, but the barn is the same. Only the one end
has been remodeled for his son to live in.
Next to the railroad tracks was the Presbyterian Manse. Rev. Samual Clark resided there.
At the very end of Barrett Street near the river, lived an old Irishman by the name of Dick Barrett. He
used to deliver the mail from the Post Office to the trains. Usually, he would use a wheelbarrow to
carry the mail in.
All the papers came in by train. We kids that peddled them had to meet the trains to get our papers. I
peddled the Buffalo News. Harry (Squeeky) Carlson had the Buffalo Courier. Sometimes it was
pretty late before we were through, especially in the winter time.
Some of the mayors that served Portville in my time were Dr. McCarey, W. A. Dusenbury, Eugene
Hooker, Nick Trenkle, Cliff Chaffee, Clyde Blakley, Orson Hatch, Edward Johnson, and the present
Mayor McCollough.
I think Portville is fortunate to have good water works, a good sewer system, three million dollar
dikes around the village to stop floods.
Years ago, before the dikes, we had floods once or twice a year which flooded our Main Streets. We
had plank sidewalks then. When the water came up, these walks would float and people could still
walk on them.
In 1905 and 1906, cement walks were built by Mr. Erdel. He was a contractor from Silver Creek,
New York.
Years ago, there was a bandstand built on Typnahdi hill above where the village reservoir is located.
The Village band would play concerts.
I remember as a boy we used to go upstairs in the WCTU building to listen to the band practice. It is
now the Masonic Temple. The Masons met upstairs over J. H. Warden’s store and later over Parish’
s store.
On the Fourth of July, the young fellows would celebrate by what we called shooting anvils. The
Trenkle boys, Nick and Jake, and Henry Jacoby and others would take two heavy anvils from their
father’s blacksmith shop. They would place one right side up and put gunpowder on top. Then they
would place the other one upside down and put a fuse to the powder and light it. Then they would
run. When this went off, there was a terrific explosion. The top anvil would fly up in the air about
ten or twelve feet.
Once I remember Henry Jacoby didn’t get away fast enough and was injured. He was laid up for
sometime. I also remember back about forty-five years when the IOOF Lodge put on a fireworks
celebration in back of the Presbyterian Church by the old canal. They had all the fireworks laid out on
the ground. In shooting them, they were somehow ignited all at once. Rockets, Roman Candles, and
all began to go off all over the ground. People scrambled behind trees and buildings. Fortunately, no
one was hurt, but it was quite a sight.
Portville was always fortunate to have good doctors. When I was a kid, we had Dr. McCarey, Dr.
Winterstein, and Dr. Rowley. There was also Dr. Henry Hackett, an uncle of Dr. Clifford Hackett.
In later years, we have had two Dr. Hacketts and three Dr. Wormers.
Postmasters that I can remember are Wm. Holden, J. H. Warden, Harry Holcomb, John Cronin, Jim
Cronin, and Harry Fairbanks.
Years ago, there were a lot of tramps on the road. There wasn’t any automobiles to thumb a ride so
they had to walk from town to town or jump on a freight train. These tramps would go to back
doors and ask for something to eat. I remember my father was a poor master in those days. When a
tramp came along and wanted lodging for the night, he would take them to the town jail and fix a
bunk filled with straw and let them stay all night.
Back years ago, there was a small settlement at each end of the village. We used to call the north end
Gordons. At the upper south end of Main Street was Mersereau’s. Up Dodge Creek where Duncan
Dusenbury’s farm is now located was called Mayville. The reason for these little settlements was that
the saw mills were located near by.
As I look back now, I can think of only two or three people in the village that were born and brought
up and lived here any longer than my wife and I. So you see that makes us real natives.
This may have sounded foolish to some, but it has given me a chance to reminisce and that’s what
you do when you get as old as we are.
One of the old characters I well remember in Portville was Geo. Fitch, the old tinsmith. He built and
repaired eave troughs or anything made of tin. He had a two wheeled cart he pushed around the street
with his ladders and an oil pot for soldering eave troughs.
There was another old timer we used to get a kick out of and that was John the mule driver. He was
an old man that drove a team of mules with an old wagon around the streets buying old rags, papers,
bottles, and metal. Any old junk he would buy.
Another man who used to come to Portville often was an old Indian Medicine man by the name of
Rolling Thunder. He used to put on shows and sell his medicine. Every time you bought a bottle, that
would entitle you to so many votes for some young lady who was to be made queen of the show.
The medicine he sold was good for snake bites or chapped lips or anything that was your trouble.
I have enjoyed writing this and hope someone will enjoy reading it.
Almost everyone that I have spoken of has since passed on, but the old town goes on and probably
will for a lot more years.
Dutch Marsh
1965
I would like to add a little history of Portville that is not all old.
The first water system was built in 1896 with one reservoir. Water from springs was added later.
Sewers were built in 1950.
The present dikes were also built in 1950.
The fire house was built in 1914.
The city building in 1904.
The First National Bank in 1963.
The Baptist Church in 1963 and 1964.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1849.
Fire destroyed the old church in 1895 and was rebuilt in 1896.
The new school house on Main Street was built in 1905. It was later enlarged to twice the size. Now
a new school was built in 1949 on Kaye’s farm at the end of School Street.
A Swedish Church was organized in 1903. It was built a short time after.
THE END
Basket Factory at White House. On extreme left is the bridge over Oswayo Creek. The house in the rear and at the right end
of Factory Main Building was purchased by C. W. Evans from John Mohan, brother of Mike. Lew Sanderson was the
occupant at the time. Taken by C. W. Evans, 1920.
of Factory Main Building was purchased by C. W. Evans from John Mohan, brother of Mike. Lew Sanderson was the
occupant at the time. Taken by C. W. Evans, 1920.
Portville Methodist Church, as it was originally designed
Municipal Building with Post Office (1904) next to new Fire Hall (1914)
| Sisters Roseltha Dygert and Elnora Deming (nee Prior) |
| Home of Mr. & Mrs. Frank E. Tyler on Temple St. (later Aloi's and now being restored by Sue Payne) |
Photo above from Robert Fairbanks, grandson of Dutch and Isabel Page Marsh.
