Hello and welcome.
This is a story about Cortland County, a story of time and the river. It is history and perspective--a story of where we have been, where we are, and a hopeful look ahead.
The history of Cortland County is the history of America in a capsule. We are a microcosm and we are a symbol. To look at Cortland is to look at the nation.
Let us take that look now....
Editor's Note: This introduction and the following script were accompanied by a slide show and narration by attorney John Folmer, Jr. The first presentations occurred during the month of October, 1987. The public service show was presented at the Cortland Historical Society's annual meeting, as well as to many civic and professional organizations. The script was written by Charles Gridley, the photography and sound mixing arranged by Rick Orrange. The music which accompanied the original presentation came from a variety of sources, including Classical, Broadway, and period sheet music recorded by Diane Ames. The slides of old postcards, contemporary photographs, prints and drawings are absent from this edited copy. The script came to CC from a dyed-in-the-wool local Republican Party official, who obtained permission from Mr. Gridley to edit and publish the script. The contributor recalls that former Republican County Chairman Bert Bertini was the prime motivator behind this interesting historical slide presentation.
In the beginning there was water and ice, one following the other, through the millennia of unrecorded history.
Out of this water and ice came Cortland County, forged of the geological progression of physical phenomena that boggle the mind. Out of the progression and retreat of the glaciers of 12,000 years ago was gouged the hilly and fertile terrain of Cortland County--terrain that has, in one way or another, affected the lives and fortunes of all who have come to live here. Water led to ice, ice led back to water. The water dried, the land emerged fertile, and then there were humans.
The first human visitors to Cortland County were Native Americans, who wandered to North America across a bridge of land that once connected this Continent with Asia.
Slowly they spread across the hemisphere, eventually establishing local tribes to our north. The names of those tribes--Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca--are part of our geographic vocabulary today. It is also interesting to note that the names of some of our common animals, such as skunk, woodchuck and chipmunk are derived from Native American language.
Although Native Americans did not live permanently in Cortland County, excavations have proved that they valued our river and heavily forested area as an important hunting and fishing place. They hunted in the Cold Brook region, Marathon and Harford. The next time you pass Mt. Topin near Preble, remember the legend that says this was a favorite lookout place for our first visitors.
Also rooted in legend is the probability that the first of Cortland County's distinguished visitors was the Native American, Hiawatha, the subject of Longfellow's epic poem, and in real life one of history's most extraordinary political leader
Until the Revolutionary War, Cortland County remained an otherwise unexplored Native American hunting ground. It was the Revolutionary War that gave birth to Cortland County, just as surely as it gave birth to the nation, but in quite a different way.
No battles were fought here. But after the Revolution the government was critically short of money and hard-pressed to pay its soldiers for their war services. To help meet the debt, the state legislature created what is called the Military Tract throughout the region, offering parcels of wilderness land to soldiers in lieu of cash. No other state tried this approach to budget containment.
Many of the soldiers quickly turned that land into cash by selling it to speculators downstate, who in turn sold it at a profit to adventurers who were willing to take a chance on what they might find in the wilderness.
Those first adventurers began arriving in 1791. They liked what they found here, and within 20 years the county was thriving. Homer was settled first, then the village of Port Watson along the Tioughnioga River. Currently part of the City of Cortland, Port Watson was an entity of its own in the early days. What is now the City of Cortland was then just a stop-over between the more important communities of Homer and Port Watson. In fact, present-day Cortland was once referred to as "Lower Homer."
At Port Watson settlers established an active shipping port. The primary trade products were lumber and wood products--quite understandable in view of our abundant forests. Products and goods were loaded onto locally made flatboats and poled downstream to the Susquehanna, and finally to Baltimore where they were sold. From these crude and picturesque beginnings, Cortland's economy and civilization grew steadily.
During the Civil War, Cortland provided troops for the 76th Volunteer Regiment, which fought at Bull Run and Gettysburg. At the battle of Gettysburg, Major Andrew Grover was killed. Casualties amounted to a third of the unit. (paragraph added during edit.)
Over the years, Cortland has seen a number of interesting and perhaps surprising businesses and industries come and go. Some because of technical advances, some for economic reasons, and some because of obsolescence. And so this pattern of creation and passage continues today.
In the early part of the 19th century and continuing to the introduction of the automobile, Cortland was known and prospered from its considerable production of carriages and carriage-related products. A number of highly successful carriage and wagon manufacturing companies sprang up here, making Cortland a nationally known leader in the transportation industry, a role it was destined to play for many years. Of course, there were spin off businesses. The age of the horse as transportation required the care and feeding of the horse. Cortland companies produced fine lines of quality harness goods, and provided for more mundane needs of the beast.
As the century moved on, so did the mode of transportation. Cortland kept pace with the times. The trains came, and the trolleys came, lacing the county with a network of tracks that would broaden the horizons of increasing numbers of people and fuel the growth of industry.
The trolleys meant more recreational opportunities for the people, and the trains meant a wider range of markets for our manufacturers. For almost a century, the rail lines were the life lines for the county, as they were for the nation. But as all things pass, so did the age of the steam engine and railroad in Cortland County. That steaming, throbbing pace of transportation exists no longer. It is romance, and a memory.
While the rail did not signal the demise of the horse and carriage, both as a mode of transportation and as part of the county's industrial base, the introduction of the automobile surely did. At first dismissed as a toy and fad, the automobile would have the most profound impact on Cortland and American social patterns of any invention up to that time.
Although much of Cortland's prosperity has been tied to the transportation industry, we never went in for automobile production. We certainly bought and sold them. But we did manufacture trucks, and succeeded brilliantly.
We're getting ahead of ourselves here. Our early days were not all work. While the people of Cortland have always been, and continue to be, dedicated to their
professions-- whether it be agriculture, manufacturing, education or retail trade-- we have never been so totally absorbed with work that we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves.
As it is today, Cortland has always had a diversity of leisure time activities-- something for everyone. In the early days, for example, you might have taken a stage coach ride for business or pleasure. Later on, perhaps a more comfortable outing by trolley car. One popular trolley car destination was Little York where, dressed in your Sunday suit, you could rent a canoe and paddle around the lake.
In addition, there was always the County Fair to look forward to. Far different from today, wasn't it?
There were other pleasures too. You could watch a circus. If you enjoyed music, there was plenty of that just about everywhere. On warm summer days you could attend an open air concert. In winter, you might spend an evening by the fire and "spin some discs," as this in-home entertainment would be phrased later. Then there was the opera house. It wasn't the Metropolitan, Covent Garden or La Scala, but what it was, was typically mainstream America. Nearly every community had one. Cortland had one. Homer had one. Marathon seems to have had two.
In the days before television, there was live entertainment in the form of travelling acts, Vaudeville, minstrel shows and the like. It's gone now but not entirely forgotten.
We have been looking at Cortland's early history but now let's start looking ahead as the 19th century matured and faded into the 20th century. As the 20th century progressed, so did Cortland. We had struggled through the early years, and we had prospered. At the end of the Spanish-American War, the United States and most of the world was at peace. Our problems were over, or so we thought. We were ready for a comfortable sail into eternity.
We settled into a new and glorious era called the Gilded Age. It was an era of prosperity, comfort and excess such as mankind had never known. It was a time of leisure and elegance. Not everyone prospered equally, of course, but at no time in history have they.
For a growing number of people it was a time of peace and beauty that would continue, we thought, forever. In our complacency, we didn't doubt it. There was no reason to. It was a time to get on with life, and enjoy it. And enjoy it we did! We worked, of course, and we worked hard. But we knew how and when to relax. Time seemed to stand still for awhile. There was breathing space.
The Gilded Age, to some, conjures up a vision of staid primness and restraint. To some extent it was. But it is an often misunderstood era.
Beneath that veneer of strict stuffiness--of starched collars and whalebone corsets--it was an age of excitement and exuberance. It was a modern-day Renaissance of exploration, of leaping medical advances and most notably, great inventions. It was an era of optimism and joy.
Cortland blossomed. Like the entire country, we were on parade, in step with a confidence and enthusiasm that previous generations could not have imagined. But it had to end.
As always, one era gives way to another. We assumed that our age of peace, prosperity and leisure, our age of waltzes, ice cream socials and striped awnings would last forever. But the skies were clouding over, and once again the winds of war were beginning to blow. Our structured, complacent world would come crashing down on us with an intensity that would numb the senses.
The start and end of World War 1 was a period of time most wanted to forget. Some never did. We honored our dead, the sun came out, and once again we went on with daily life as we had known it before the war. We went on living, and we lived with an exuberance that bordered on frenzy.
America's cares and worries were over--definitely now. We threw out our Victorian furniture both figuratively and literally, and we Charlestoned our way through a wild, irresponsible decade. We had Prohibition, and we had Depression. The last war and its ramifications merely paved the way for another war, more fierce and on a broader scale than anything that had happened before.
The horror and destruction was far away, but the effect on Cortland was immediate and personal. We did our best to support the "war effort." There were victory gardens, ration coupons, scrap metal drives and war bond drives. Americans and Cortland gave what they could and how they could. They gave their country fighting men and women, which was the biggest sacrifice.
It wasn't easy for those overseas or stateside. But through it all, there was unity of purpose, spirit, patriotism, a willingness to sacrifice--all toward an end that we knew was possible and just. Once again, our patriotic community effort and sacrifice paid off. By working together, we came through.
With the war over and victory buoying our spirits, we settled into the second half of the century with a happy sense of relief. The war that had put an end to so many lives also set the stage for a restart of progress and carefree happiness. Dwight Eisenhower replaced Queen Victoria as a world symbol of confidence, peace and prosperity.
Not since the halcyon days of the Gilded Age had there been such a sustained economic upsurge of growth in Cortland, coupled with confidence in both the present and the future. Future prospects seemed boundless. Our expectations soared higher than the tail fins of our cars. We were living the American Dream.
Business prospered and people prospered. Life was pleasant, and it seemed like there was opportunity for all those who wanted it. That shouldn't come as any surprise though, for Cortland historically has provided opportunities for its residents.
Let's go back a bit and look at some of the noteworthy people Cortland is proud to include among its native sons and daughters--people of achievement, who made Cortland more than just another spot on the map. George Washington never slept here, but an impressive number of interesting people have, and an impressive number of prominent people were born here.
For example, we've had our educators, such as Andrew Dixon White, who was co-founder and first president of Cornell University. He was born in Homer. Nathan Miller, a governor of New York State, lived in Solon. We claim Alton Parker as a native son. There is a city school district elementary school named after Mr. Parker. He ran against Theodore Roosevelt for president. We all know who won. We never made it to the White House.
McGraw's Daniel Lamont served as Secretary of War under President Cleveland. Lamont's boyhood home is beautifully preserved today as McGraw's public library. We've had scientists, such as Elmer Sperry, whose many inventions, including the gyro-compass, had a profound impact on marine and aviation industries. In his lifetime, he was granted more than 400 patents.
We've had our artists, too. Perhaps the most distinguished was Francis Bicknell Carpenter, born on a farm near Homer. Carpenter painted portraits of a number of United States presidents, and actually lived in the White House for a period of time. His most famous painting--The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation--was a sensation in its time, and it has the distinction of hanging in the Capitol Building for all to view and enjoy.
Cortland can be proud of another native son artist, Jere Wickwire, who also achieved national stature. His work was exhibited in galleries across the country, and still is. We're proud that some of his excellent art work can be seen here in Cortland at the Suggert House, home of the Cortland County Historical Society.
We've had our musicians, as well, including song writer William Dillon, whose credits include "I Want A Girl, Just Like The Girl, Who Married Good Old Dad" and "Sweet Sixteen." These songs may strike some of us today as old-fashioned and perhaps even corny, but they were wildly popular hits in their day. We had another musician of note, popular bandleader Pat Conway, of Homer.
Let us not forget sports in this traditionally sports-minded community. A highlight was the brilliant career of Truxton's John J. McGraw, who achieved national prominence as manager of the New York Giants baseball team. There may be some people today who remember that the Giants came to Truxton in 1938 for an exhibition game to raise money for a monument dedicated to John McGraw. Truxton treasures that monument today.
Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born in Homer in 1818, and became an early leader in the Women's Rights movement. It is ironic that while Amelia Bloomer worked courageously for women's equality, she is today remembered for her contribution to the frivolous world of fashion: the "bloomers."
Famous too, and a bit infamous, was Homer's David Hannum, who became known to the reading world as David Harum in Edward Noyes Wescott's famous and thoroughly enjoyable novel of the same name.
A wily and probably shady horse trader, the picturesque Hannum also showed his devious astuteness as an investor in and promoter of the Cardiff Giant hoax. It was profitable chicanery of the highest order then, but all is forgiven now. The passage of time has cast a merciful veil over the deeds of the past.
But the past is not the whole story here. What about recent years, and what about the future? It is too soon to evaluate the recent past fairly and, of course, impossible to do more than speculate about the future. But a realistic look at our community requires us to try.
As we look at the present, and even at the immediate past, what DO we see? What
has happened in the last twenty years or so? We've looked at our earlier past with a bit of romance, but we don't romance the present day. No generation ever has. At best, we take what we have for granted, if and when it suits us, or we lament the situation if it does not.
As important as it is to look back, it is equally important to pause and appreciate the quality of life we enjoy "right here in River City." We can look, for example, with great pride at our educational opportunities. Cortland has always been concerned with providing education to anyone who wanted it.
We began in the American rural tradition with the one-room school house, such as the one in Marathon that is preserved as a museum. We have continued our interest in education to the present time: we are the home of a nationally recognized college. Did you know that it used to be located where the county courthouse is today?
Cortland County has been very progressive in its forward approach to education. We didn't stop at the elementary level of the primitive school house, but we moved on to establish a number of private academies for those who aspired to college or technical careers.
Long before the possibility of an organized women's movement occurred, we in Cortland established the Cortland Village Female Seminary in 1828. Not
nineteen twenty eight, but
eighteen twenty eight, when women were traditionally expected to mind the house and children and never-mind much else.
Perhaps most astonishing in Cortland County's forward tradition of educational opportunity was the New York Central Academy located in McGraw. The school was incredibly progressive in its time, having a policy of admitting women and minorities.
Besides our educational heritage, which continues today with a shared community college and BOCES, we have inherited much more. We have museums, such as the Suggett House, which makes available to the public its extensive archives of the county's past history. And the 1890 House, which offers us an in-depth look at life in an earlier time, and which is becoming widely respected as an authoritative resource center for the Victorian period.
Carrying on our traditional interest in Live Arts, we enjoy the summer offerings of the Cortland Repertory Theatre, which offers comedy and drama ranging from the familiar to the new at the historic Little York Lake pavilion. Theatre at the State University is also part of our cultural resource, as are the many fine concerts the college presents each year.
We don't have the stocks and pillories which were once sources of public punishment and amusement in New England, but we do have
public hangings.
That's right! But ours, either fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal point of view, are
hangings of the art gallery nature. We enjoy showings at the Cortland Arts Council, at the Ruth Dowd Fine Arts Center and in the gallery of the Cortland Free Library.
We have a multitude of outdoor opportunities as well, making Cortland a wonderful place to live all year. Skiing, hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, hiking--you name it, and Cortland has it.
From past to present, Cortland is a nice place to live. As to the future, who can ever know?
Most important, as long as we truly care about our community and as long as we work with a cooperative spirit, there always will be hope for the future.
If the past be prologue, Cortland will be a place future generations will want to call home.
However we view our past, and however we enjoy or cope with what we have now, one thing is certain. There will be change. For as we have seen,
history is change.
We should bear in mind that, above all things, change is the very nature of life--and its hope.
The slide program concludes with a succession of historical and modern images of Cortland accompanying the song "Memory" from the musical Cats. Where possible, the slides relate to the lyrics.
