Homeward Bound

When I first posted this photo, I didn't know where this bridge was located. However, since then, I and others, have figured out that this is the old Rochester Street bridge, before Rochester Street was realigned as Route 31. What is left of this street today is Moore Place.

The above photo of the school group is looking east. The old church steeple can be seen off to the right.
Bill Hecht sent around the bottom photo and I was able to place it as the same bridge. This was taken from the upstream or south side, looking downstream. I believe you can just see the old Erie Canal Aqueduct in the background. This view may have been taken from the first Erie Canal Aqueduct. 

St Pauls Episcopal Church

The real photo postcard gives us a good view of the P.E. Church (Protestant Episcopal) (also called St Paul's) that stood on Rochester next to St. John's Catholic Church. I had posted another view of St John's here that shows the house and church.
So when was the church torn down? I can't find it in the paper.

Rochester St and Miller's Store 1925

 

There are a series of photographs taken of the big 1925 winter storm when about three feet of snow fell on Port Byron and the region. Here is one that is seldom seen.

Miller's Store was in the second building from the corner. It is also listed as a grocery, so it may have had food. Miller's was ready for the big storm with a full line of coats, boots and even a heater.

St John's Church

A view of St John's that I have never seen before. Don Gallagher wrote;
"Rochester Street in foreground. Left to right- Episcopal Church, St John's R. Catholic Church, then Wellington (Bill) Bush home. Owasco Outlet on right side of picture. The Episcopal Church was torn down and a house built there. The Bill Bush home was torn down and a two story cement block building was erected there. This picture was probably taken in the late 1920's or early 1930's."

After I wrote the above post, I ran this photo with the following in the Auburn Citizen;

I really enjoy seeing photos of Port Byron and Mentz that are not the usual downtown scene. The photo I include today shows the Wellington Bush home, which was located next to St. John’s Church on Rochester Street. We also get a nice view of the Episcopal Church.

This is part of the Gallagher collection that I have been featuring on the Lock 52 Historical Society blog. Don wrote that the photo was taken in the 1920’s or 30’s and that the house was later torn down to be replaced by a two story cinder block building. (The block building was seen in the 1950’s air photo I featured last year.) After checking, I see that Wellington lived in this home in 1920, but lived in Wolcott in 1915. Wellington was listed as owning a repair shop.

In doing a quick search for Mr. Bush, I think Don may have gotten the date a little wrong. It is clear in the photo that Rochester Street is in its current location. After checking, I see that in 1929 Mr. Bush was involved in a dispute over the State taking his property so they could straighten Rochester Street. So I think the photo might date from the late 1930’s, or even into the 40’s. It has been such a long time that things were changed that we might forget that Moore Place and a part of River Street was once Rochester Street.

And after the article ran in the paper, Lucille Hitchcock called to say that this house was moved, not torn down. It was on the corner of King and Rochester until a few years ago, when it was torn down. I then found, quite by accident, this newspaper account. (PBC August 14, 1947) This just goes to prove that you shouldn't take everything as written in stone, even if it is written on the back of a photo.

 

For all you canal buffs out there, this house is sitting in what is now a parking lot that was built over the Clinton's Ditch canal aqueduct.