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| Steamboat St. Lawrence |
Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, August 26, 1896.
THOUSAND
ISLAND PARK.
Its Attractions, Diversions, etc., Described By
a Cortland County Visitor.
To the Editor of the Standard:
SIR— Pursuant to promise I send
you a few jottings concerning this somewhat famous summer resort, where I
joined my family on the 12th of August, and have since been engaged in
beautifying our cottage and enjoying myself generally.
On arriving at Clayton one will
find a steamboat awaiting him, the natural drift of which is down the river on
the American side. It is better to arrange so as to arrive at Clayton Wednesday
or Saturday evenings for the pleasure of the trip on the river will be
heightened by the illumination of most places along the route on the two
evenings named.
The main points and stopping
places in their order are as follows: Round Island comes first and contains the
famous Frontenac hotel and a few elegant cottages, of which Syracusans have the
lion’s share. This is considered a Baptist Island. Then, crossing the river and
a little further down, is Grinnell island, which has upon it the very large and
nearly new hotel called the Murray Hill House, which has a very commanding appearance
— also the Pullman House and several neat cottages. Next is Wells island, which
is about ten miles long, this being the bonanza of all the isles. Although
there are a few farms on this island, its grounds are mostly very neatly
shaded.
It contains about 600 cottages,
four large hotels, a tabernacle that has a seating capacity of about 1,400 people,
besides several boarding houses, a number of stores, a school and many other
buildings. Thousand island park which is the chief place upon this island, from
its central location, ease of access and picturesque scenery, probably attracts
more sojourners than any and all other places along the river. This is a Methodist
Episcopal place, it being controlled by that society but we are informed that
there are negotiations pending between the society and the Folgers, who
represent the New York Central Railroad Co. for its purchase.
Then you cross the river and
pass a few miles down to Central park and Point Vivian, which are very pretty places.
A little farther down is Alexandria Bay which is the oldest resort on the river
and has for years been a favorite for many of the wealthy nabobs of this
country. It is at this place that Mr. George J. Mager of Cortland, the
well-known dry goods dealer, is said to be the owner of a hotel. It is my humble
opinion that his resort is unequaled for its natural scenery by any place on this
continent.
Fishing, bathing, playing lawn
tennis and croquet, dancing, boat riding, swinging and lounging are the
principal diversions. Those who are of a literary turn of mind also find their
wants supplied of which I will speak later.
Now as this is a place of much
water, our thoughts very naturally turn toward the inhabitants of that element—the
finny tribe. First, and as I am not a crack oarsman or fisherman, rather than
relate our own experiences I will speak of what I have seen and heard. On
visiting the dock almost any evening, one will see many a nice catch come in of
bass and pickerel, varying in weight from three to ten and twelve pounds, and
occasionally a muskallonge [sic] weighing very much more. It is said that this
season has been very prolific of fine catches.
It is currently reported here
at the park that the steamer St. Lawrence, on her way up the river this
afternoon, spied a monster whale, and as soon as the news reached the ears of
the sports here a party was quickly organized and equipped with the necessary
and requisite paraphernalia with which this island is well supplied—including
all the modern devices known to whale fishery—and then started out and are now
in hot pursuit— the class of sports known as the ''freshmen," of course
being the lead— and they confidently hope and expect to capture the whale before
the(ir) sun sets.
As to the literary part of the
enjoyments here, much of it is of a very high order, and there is just enough
of it to give spice to the occasion. The famous poet, Will Carleton, gave a
recitation a few evenings since at the Tabernacle, the program including a
composition on the river St. Lawrence and other selections which were most excellent.
There was also a mock court
trial on the evening of our arrival, the case being a breach of promise suit,
which was conducted with all the solemn and apparently realistic fervor
imaginable in the trial of a criminal in a court of justice. Judge Vance of
Potsdam presided, the attorneys being a Mr. Newton of Worcester, Mass., and the
poet, Will Carleton.
The sermon of Chancellor Day
of Syracuse, at the Tabernacle last Sunday, was laden with much rich thought and
delivered in a graceful and fervent manner. It made a deep Impression upon the
vast audience.
Last Tuesday, being state
grange day, here brought a large crowd of people to the park. Dr. Searles gave
the address of welcome and said, among other things, that his speech would be
characteristic of the gold man in its brevity as the other fellows wanted 10 to
1. He was responded to by O. H. Hale, master of the New York state grange.
Hon. J. H. Hale, past master of
Connecticut state grange, was the principal speaker, and gave a fairly
Interesting discourse, which, however, was much too lengthy. He is a large
peach producer, having 600 acres in Florida now under cultivation. We observed
one line of thought advanced by him which was in direct opposition to the idea advanced
by many grangers, viz: That the capitalist is their common foe. He cited cases
wherein great capitalists had been their best friends.
We noticed that J. D. F. Woolston
of Cortland, past member of the state committee, was present, who took part in
their counsels and was also booked for a part in the public exercises, but was
shut out by the very lengthy speech of Mr. Hale, much to our disappointment. We
had the pleasure of listening to a poem prepared by him for the occasion
afterward, which we pronounced very good indeed.
We have not yet determined how
long our stay will be here, as we go, by request, to the Republican state
convention on Tuesday. Yours truly,
B. F. L.
Reference:
“Mr. Mager is by birth Alsacian-French, having been born near the city
of Strasburg, France, on May 8, 1837—“ Grip’s Historical Souvenir of Cortland,
pages 174,175.
Syracuse Chancellor James R. Day: http://archives.syr.edu/exhibits/leadership_day.html
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