watertown

The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch

February 28, 2023 by Dave Waite 1 Comment

There was a story that had been passed down in the Minthorn family for generations. It told of how an ancestor had hidden her two infants under the roots of a tree to save them during the Revolutionary War attack on Cherry Valley, NY, in 1778. It was said that in her zeal to quiet her children, the youngsters were rendered unconscious, being revived only after the attackers had departed.

While this story is most likely fiction, there is some truth mixed in. [Read more…] about The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch

Under Threat: Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church, Watertown

June 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church is a testament to the struggles and achievements of Watertown‘s African American community. Its original congregation was formed in 1878, consisting of many railroad workers, some of whom were formerly enslaved and many who were active abolitionists. Under the leadership of Frank Thomas, for whom the church is named, members of the congregation built the church themselves in 1909.

Descendants of Frank Thomas continue to live in the community, linking the past to the present. From its early days and connections to the Underground Railroad to its consistent use for worship service through 2012, the church long served as an anchor for the African American community of Jefferson County. [Read more…] about Under Threat: Thomas Memorial AME Zion Church, Watertown

Trail Cam Helps Nab Poacher

February 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

According to a press release issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, on January 20th, a Watertown man paid a $700 penalty in the town of Watertown, Jefferson County, for unlawfully taking a white-tailed deer with the aid of a bait pile. [Read more…] about Trail Cam Helps Nab Poacher

Watertown’s Perpetuball Motion Machine

March 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The Salmon Run Mall in Watertown, NY is home of a fancy, frilly, frivolous contraption that has attracted admirers since the mall opened its doors in 1986. Generations of families have grown up watching balls move through mazes of tunnels, striking bells and bouncing through barriers. [Read more…] about Watertown’s Perpetuball Motion Machine

Some Sackets Harbor Ice Boating History

February 21, 2019 by Jeannie Brennan - Constance Brennan Barone 1 Comment

During the years of the War of 1812, winter ice played an important strategic role between the combatants on Lake Ontario. At the eastern end of the lake, decision makers at both Sackets Harbor, the US military headquarters, and Kingston, the center for Upper Canada forces, anticipated invasion opportunities across the frozen lake, and each spring anxiously waited to commence naval operations after the ice left their harbors.

In March 1815, at Sackets Harbor the US Navy commander extended a cordial invitation to a former War of 1812 British adversary, but the lake needed to be ice free: “Commodore Chauncey presents his Compliments to the Marquis of Tweedale, will feel extremely [sic] happy to see the Marquis and his friends at Sacketts Harbor and will with pleasure send them to Kingston the moment the ice will allow a passage.” [Read more…] about Some Sackets Harbor Ice Boating History

Watertown’s Ketchup Murder Case

August 26, 2018 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

In late July 1934, the average life of Watertown’s Vincent Sparacino took a sudden, drastic turn, becoming anything but humdrum. Vincent was an Italian immigrant who came to America in 1906 when he was 16 years old. The family settled in Watertown and operated Sparacino & Company, a fruit wholesaler that later branched out into vegetables. By the late 1920s Vincent and his brother Tony were partners in the business with other family members. Vince was a hands-on guy, frequently driving a delivery truck to customer sites around the city.

On many days after finishing work and taking supper, he drove to a nearby grocery store, parked outside, sat in the front passenger seat, and played the car radio. His good friend of many years, Patsy Carbone, ran the store, and whenever there was free time, Patsy came out to visit. [Read more…] about Watertown’s Ketchup Murder Case

The Silhouette Lady of Bedford Gardens

January 9, 2017 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

A century ago, an emerging North Country artist made a name for herself in Jefferson County, but it was the many names she wore through seven decades that made her story so difficult to trace. She began life in North Dakota in 1883 as Phoebe Alice Weeks. During her marriage (around 1910) to Carl Warren, she was known as Phoebe W. Warren. During her second marriage, to Lewis Perry Hazlewood of Sackets Harbor in 1916, she was known as Phoebe Hazlewood (often misspelled as Hazelwood), but her middle name appeared variously as Alice, Weeks, and Warren, or the initials “A” or “W.” Decades later, there was a third marriage to Henry Morse, during which she again was described by various names, the most common of which were Phoebe Hazlewood Morse and Phoebe Weeks Morse.

What’s most important of course, is that she did in fact make a name for herself in the art world. From the time she was very young, Phoebe gravitated towards artwork created by cutting out paper shapes, which were then displayed over an offsetting background. For instance, a cutout from black paper was presented over a background of white paper. The method was known generally as silhouette. [Read more…] about The Silhouette Lady of Bedford Gardens

Two Jefferson County Men Who Made Good in Illinois

August 1, 2016 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

A pair of North Country men, born just a few miles apart in Jefferson County, left New York in their adult years and settled about 65 miles apart in Illinois, where each left his lasting mark. Together, their names were also attached to an institution in Arkansas that lives on nearly a century and a half later.

John Budlong was born in February 1833 in Rodman, New York, about eight miles south of Watertown. The Budlong family has many historical connections dating back to the Revolutionary War. John attended several of the best schools in the region: the Rodman Seminary, the Jefferson County Institute at Watertown, the Adams Institute, and Falley Seminary at Fulton in Oswego County. At the age of 18 he began a wide-ranging teaching career, working in North Carolina, Texas, and Missouri before returning to Rodman, where he continued teaching and began studying law. [Read more…] about Two Jefferson County Men Who Made Good in Illinois

The North Country Man Who Threatened A President

July 14, 2016 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

When presidential historians and scholars rate America’s greatest leaders, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is among the few who nearly always appear among the top five, along with Washington and Lincoln. While others certainly served admirably, those three achieved elevated status by facing stern tests of leadership during great crises in our history: the battle for independence, the fight to preserve the Union, and in FDR’s case, both the Great Depression and World War II.

It’s less well known that Roosevelt very nearly didn’t serve as President due to assassination attempts prior to his first inauguration. One of those stories brought ignominious headlines to the North Country over a period of several months.

Roosevelt first won the presidency in November 1932. The 20th Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933, officially establishing January 20 as the new inauguration date for all future presidents, and making FDR the last President to be inaugurated on March 4. He very nearly didn’t survive the waiting period. [Read more…] about The North Country Man Who Threatened A President

Watertown’s Wizard of Show-Business (Conclusion)

March 30, 2015 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

In 1920, Charles Giblyn produced his first film for William Fox. (If the name sounds familiar, William founded Fox Film Corporation in 1915, the forerunner of today’s Fox TV and movie units.) The film, Tiger’s Cub, allowed Giblyn a homecoming of sorts. With his lead actress, Pearl White, who reportedly had the widest following of any star worldwide at the time, he came north for filming in Port Henry, about an hour south of Plattsburgh, where he once lived.

After producing a few more movies, Charles was sent to the West Coast on behalf of Fox, where he continued working. For a brief period, he assumed leadership of the Motion Picture Directors Association, but when Fox reassigned him to more movie projects back East, he surrendered the top spot with the MPDA and headed for New York. [Read more…] about Watertown’s Wizard of Show-Business (Conclusion)