HISTORY: Strykersville Sesquicentennial; Strykersville, Wyoming co., NY
submitted by W. David Samuelsen
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1808 - 1958
STRYKERSVILLE, NEW YORK SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
JULY 11-12-13
Published in July, 1958
Strykersville Sesquicentennial
PUBLISHED BY TRI-COUNTY WEEKLY PUBLICATIONS, Arcade, N. Y.
STRYKERSVILLE SKETCHES
Harry S. Douglass
Where the headwaters of Buffalo Creek begin their north and westward
flow from the township of Java into Sheldon, the village of Strykersville
spreads its mile-long street along Route 78. A community of some 500 persons
today, in name, a memorial to a pioneer who first cleared the forest at the
site 150 years ago.
Garrett Stryker came in the year 1808 from Richfield, Otsego County,
N.Y., purchased from the landed proprietors of Sheldon a lot of land
containing 360 acres at $2.25 per acre. This plot was in the extreme
southwestern portion of the township along the present Factory Road, running
west from the village, and included portions of the Charles Keem farm and
westward. By means of an axe he cut a tiny opening in the forest where he
built a shanty on the bank of Buffalo Creek, north of where the Strykersville
Cheese factory later stood. In 1810, so states the family record, he moved
with his family, consisting of a wife and eight children. The youngest child,
called Martin, was carried by his mother on horseback a part of the way. After
preparing a small piece of land the father was taken ill and his wife sowed it
to wheat, harvested it with a sickle and threshed it on a blanket.
One morning the ring of an axe sounded through the vast forest, a
welcome break in the stillness and loneliness of the wild frontier. Upon
following the sound of its source, Mr. Stryker found he had a neighbor, a Mr.
Clifford, on the present farm of Elmer Torge, on Route 78, about 1 ? miles to
the west. At the site of the village that same year, 1808, William Richardson
and Philo Stephens are listed as the only other residents. Stephens lived
opposite to the Strykers on the west side of the road about one-fourth mile
north of the center of the village. Mr. Richardson located his home where
Leonard Holmes now resides at the south end of the community. Timothy Kirby, a
very early arrival, located about one-fourth mile south of the Baptist Church
on the west side of the road. Calvin Rogers, another pioneer, came in 1811.
Garrett, founder of the settlement, found it necessary to go to mill at
present Griffin's Mills in Erie County, a distance of 15 miles, marked partly
by blazed trees. This was a four-day trip. During one of his early trips to
mill, provisions gave out at home and the mother curdled milk and crumbled in
maple sugar to appease the hunger of her little ones. Religious meetings were
held in their log house and she and her son Joseph were baptized in 1819 by
the Rev. Harmon, the first baptism that was administered in Strykersville.
Saloma Stryker, the mother, was the "ministering angel" to the sparsely
settled region; it was she who nursed the sick, encouraged the fallen, and
assisted when death visited a cabin home.
When the Sheldon militia was alerted into active duty during the War of
1812, Garrett Stryker marched with his neighbors to the defense of the Niagara
frontier. For years after the war the family preserved a cannon ball which
Stryker picked up at Buffalo the time it burned. He saw it rolling on the
ground, it having been shot over from Canada. When the first post-office was
established in the new settlement, the village and office took the name of its
pioneer. On his stone, now fallen, it says of him, "The first settler of this
village upon which he had the honor of conferring his name." He died June 16,
1845, at the ripe age of 77. Mrs. Stryker died February 26, 1841, aged 64
years.
Beside them, in the pioneer burying ground, were buried three children,
two daughters and the son, Joseph, who died June 26, 1828, when but 31 years
old. His epitaph, reflecting the sentiments of the bereaved, states
"This to the tomb her clearest half consigned
Two tender pledges by his side resigned
Afflicting is the widowed mother's fate,
Alas to mourn her offspring and her mate."
Of a family of twelve children born to Garrett and Salmoa, the last
surviving son was Martin, almost a life-long resident of the community who
lived just west of the creek beyond his father's old home. Martin's wife was
Chloe Sykes, a native of Rutland, Vt., who came to a farm north of
Strykersville with her parents in 1816. Her family suffered the privations of
pioneer living; the mother died when Chloe was seven years old, one of six
children of whom the oldest was but twelve years, and the youngest three
months of age. Neighbors furnished milk for the babe and if this was likely to
fail they substituted the Indian crust toasted and dropped in water. Their
beef was venison, when they were fortunate enough to kill a deer, their mutton
was the raccoon, their veal the woodchuck, their preserves were thorn apples
and mandrakes. When Martin and Chloe were married in 1835, they began
housekeeping in a log home, replaced six years later by a frame house.
THE CHANGING SCENE
Only fragments of information survive relative to Strykersville's
formative years. According to the 1810 census, but three were living at the
site, namely Mr. Stryker, Daniel H. Wooster and Lemuel Castle. It is known
that Shadrack Harris was postmaster in 1830. and three years later total
receipts at the office were $9.03 for a twelve-month period. It is said that
the first grist mill, erected on the west side of the village and run by water
power was built in 1820 by James Arnold, Calvin Kelsey, and John Wares. Back
in 1814, Calvin Rogers and Jacob Turner had erected a sawmill. The first
distillery, operated by Mr. Richardson, stood opposite his old home, while the
first stock of goods was brought in during 1827 by Isaac Bronson.
In 1836, it is stated the community had a grist mill, a carding and
cloth dressing mill, tavern, two stores and 15 dwellings. Seven years later
the Congregational and Baptist churches had been erected and the saw mill was
in operation.
By the midcentury, the community included more than a score of homes
along its main street, two blacksmith shops, a wagon shop, three saw mills at
water sites in the vicinity, a store at the corner of Plant Road and Main, a
grist mill in operation at the foot of the hill on the road to the present
cemeteries, a tannery, a school at the site of the present building, two
churches with parsonages, and a post-office. Strykersville became a busy
trading center by the Civil War days, had added a brewery and hotel to its
business establishments, offered the products of a shoemaker, cooper shop,
harness shop, and three emporiums offered wares.
The late Howard B. Bennion, Arcade, who lived in the village from 1876
to 1919, prepared a memo of recollections some years before his death in 1951.
Then, as now, the village limits extended about a mile, going south into the
Town of Java about one-fourth of a mile; the center being at the location of
the district school and the two portions being known as Up Town and Down Town.
The original frame school, long inadequate, was replaced by the present
two-room building, the old building was sold at auction and bought by the
Independent Order of Good Templers, and from them passed into the possession
of the Odd Fellows. Several years later, the store keeper at East Arcade
purchased the building, demolished it and rebuilt there and donated the
Strykersville land to St. Mary's Church. Mr. Bennion remembered that the site
of the Catholic church and school was an open space, and opposite, his father,
Owen Bennion, erected a hardware store, a dwelling and barn. The hardware
continues in operation and includes the village post office. Three-quarters of
a century ago, leading business men were Peter Reisdorf, who ran a saw mill,
cider mill, and cooper shop, and later a grist mill, all by steam power. Enos
P. Clapp ran a sash and blind factory on the Wales Road (Route 78), his power
being created by a team of horses traveling on a large round wooden wheel or
platform set at an angle; this property was used by several enterprises after
Mr. Clapp, and wound up also as a cider mill. By the Civil War period, Thomas
Battendorf, a brewer from France, established a beer-making business at the
north end of the village. On April 10, 1870, the brewery, and adjacent house
burned at a loss of $7,000. It was rebuilt soon after by John Metzer or Frank
Glaser at a cost of more than $9,000 for a hotel, barns and other buildings.
There was a large hop yard on the property. Beer was peddled in eighths,
quarters and halves as far east as Hermitage, north to Cowlesville, south to
Arcade, and west to Sardinia. The product was aged in large hogsheads in deep
cellars, some one-half mile in length; ice was always put up in the winter in
ice houses, packed in sawdust, and when the season was mild with little ice
forming, the brewery would cut snow hanks into squares to store in the cellars
to save the ice crop. Mr. Glaser continued operation of the brewery until
August 13, 1909, when again fire swept the large hotel and brewery nothing
remained but the hotel sign. The brewery was rebuilt and flourished but a
brief time until Prohibition closed its doors forever. Lastly, the buildings
were used as a GLF branch of the Java Village feed mill, then closed. Cider
was made there seasonally also. Today, the edifice remains untenanted, a mute
reminder of a colorful local industry.
Richardson, Beebe Co., East Aurora, erected a large cheese factory by
the 1880's, and was reported to have made 55 tons of cheese soon after it was
put into operation. It was then one of six such factories in Sheldon. The
Strykersville plant was quite properly located on the north bank of Buffalo
Creek on Plant Street (named for a pioneer family). The old store at the
corner of Main and Park (now Perry), was first run by Hall & Stephens (within
Mr. Bennion's memory), then by Joseph Stanton, a former Supervisor, next by
Avery & Fisher, John J. Challis and others. This store carried a general line
of dry goods and groceries and ran a peddling cart on the road four days a
week summers only. Up Town had an undertaker and cabinet maker by the name of
Philip Humbert, who looked after Catholic people mostly. On April 24, 1883, a
fire broke out in his place of business. Mr. Humbert helped his wife and two
small children from the second floor, went back to get his papers, and fell
through the floor and was burned to death. During the same blaze the harness
shop and barn of B. M. Warner were destroyed.
Joseph Fisher's boot and shoe shop was a busy place in those days and he
employed two or more helpers; Mrs. S. A. Case made hats and bonnets for the
ladies; Truman Royce ran a marble shop, no granite was used but marble and
grey stone for bases and slabs; Amos Fuller's blacksmith shop, about where the
Legion building now stands, had stocks for shoeing oxen as those animals had
to be lifted by these timbers in order to shoe them. An apple evaporator works
was put into operation on Plant street just west of the corner; it was a sort
of stock company and survived many years; in 1881, for example, it took in
twelve tons of dried apples. Just east of Pioneer Cemetery, on Perry Road, was
a marble shop owned by a German. North of the village is Dutch Hollow Creek,
which makes picturesque Johnson's Falls, and here was located an important
shingle mill.
THE TOWN HALL
Residents of the village decided to build a Town Hall, funds being
raised by subscription and stock was given to subscribers at the value of $10
per share. The building became a two-story affair, the first floor was rented
to any and all kinds of shows and entertainments; the upper floor was rented
to the Good Templers until they bought the old school house, then the
Maccabees moved in to be followed by the Odd Fellows until they too moved to
the old school. The Hall did not succeed and was sold for debts, and a part
made into the apple evaporator and other buildings. Across the street was the
community's tin shop, started by X. Marzolf, and in the upper floor a
photographer made tin types and other photos; the building became a dwelling
and meat market. Mr. Bennion remembered many of the emporiums of trade in the
center of the village opposite the Baptist Church and extending down Mill
street to the cemeteries. Carriages, sleighs and wagons were turned out by two
shops, one run by L. M. Fox. The Chester W. Davis general store carried a
large stock and did a lucrative business, being successively operated by W. R.
Hoy, Watson Brothers and R. J. Watson. This is now the Dole store, Main and
Mill streets.
On the southwest corner of Main and Mill stood the old Andrew Kuster
hardware and tin shop and Dutch grocery under the same proprietorship, where
foods and beer were sold. Mr. Kuster erected a new store which contained the
post-office, and he was elected as Supervisor of the town; a son, Andrew J.
Kuster, succeeded in business until he sold his stock to Owen Bennion, who was
conducting a hardware store opposite the Catholic Church. A new black-smith
shop stood near the Baptist Church, run by S. Petz and later by Petz &
Daniels. Also opposite the Baptist Church was a saloon and near by a hotel run
by B. Marzolf, later by Michael Kirsch; the saloon was operated by William
Simons. South of the hotel was another carriage shop, the last place of
business until Owen & Howard Bennion built and operated a furniture store,
later selling carriages, wagons, farm tools, fertilizers, etc. Howard Bennion
succeeded as owner and continued its operation until 1919.
Mill Street, dropping sharply from Main and going west to cross Buffalo
Creek, was a beehive of industry for several generations. Conrad Hyman ran a
grist and saw mill near the creek, and during the early 1880's renovated the
establishment at a cost of $5,000 to the extent that his grist mill had a
capacity for grinding 400 bushels a day, and besides excellent water-power had
a steam engine for contingent use. The industry was later known as C. Hyman &
Sons. Like so many small town industries, it was burned not many years ago and
not rebuilt due to changing economic conditions. Across the creek was a cooper
shop whose history went back to Civil War days or earlier, and one of the
best-remembered proprietors was Peter Herrmann.
SOME LORE OF THE VILLAGE
Every village has a history of humor and pathos, and an event which Mr.
Bennion well remembered occurred in a little Dutch grocery up on Plant Street.
The proprietor was Henry Mertges. This was a favorite hangout for men who had
time to spare, time to speculate on the problems of the day, ears to catch the
latest bit of gossip, and inclinations to hatch plots on innocent victims. The
story is that the grocer got in a nice supply of small smoked hams, the aroma
from which was so enticing that appetites must be satisfied by hook or crook.
The best approach was deemed to be that of treating the proprietor to a
generous supply of local and imported brew, and when his powers of observation
were dulled to enjoy a feast. No sooner planned than accomplished. The hams,
crackers and other dainties vanished while the grocer played an unwitting
host.
Recovering from the deception. Mr. Mertges vowed to even things up.
Quietly he bought up a number of dogs, killed them and smoked the hams. When
all was ready, he passed out word that he had just gotten in another nice
supply of hams. The same gang gathered as before, the host helped them to
generous portions, and when all were congratulating themselves that the fare
was as delicious as the first stolen goods, the proprietor quite casually
announced the nature of the second meal. It is said that he was nearly lynched
by the gang, but it is safe to assume that it was a lesson never forgotten.
In the center of the village lived Deacon Joab Wooster, a good Baptist
and a professional millwright. His labors took him all over the countryside,
his reputation being enhanced by his excellent workmanship and the fact that
he outlived six wives, the seventh having survived him. His home is the
present Kindel residence. Speaking of deacons also reminded Strykersvilleites
of Deacon Melancthon Abbott, of the Congregational Church, and Deacon Benjamin
Rosebrook who came to town as a Bible tract peddler. Miss Marcia Robinson, a
spinster, decided to take him and he remained to add his voice to the choir of
the Congregational Church. All these men were pillars of their denominations.
Another odd man was Eri Balcom, a retired whaler, a short fat man, who used to
tell some tall stories of his early sea life. Hiram Cobleigh, one of the men
who manufactured carriages, used to tell tall stories, and was fond of
sponging his tobacco off his customers. Fred Lutenger, a German photographer,
had a farm at Hunter's Creeks, nearby. and would come to town to take pictures
three days each week, his first shop was Up Town in the undertaking rooms,
later Downtown in the Charles Spitz shoe shop. He must have gotten discouraged
as he hung himself on his farm.
One of the village's wealthiest men was Charles Richardson Sr., father
of Charles Jr., and grandfather of the Richardson Brothers who at one time
made cheese boxes, apple barrels, etc. at Java Village. The pioneer
Richardson. who died in 1867 at the age of 79 years, had come to the site of
the village in 1808. and settled where Leonard Holmes now lives. He was a
devout Baptist, but did "sample" the product of his distillery occasionally, a
practice that was frowned upon by the members, and did draw official censure
for his failings of the flesh. He owned all the land east of Main Street and
north well beyond the Baptist Church. He gave the land for the church and
parsonage. In granting deeds, he deeded only to the east bounds of the street
from his home to the church whenever he sold off lots for residences. He said
he wanted to be able to walk to church on his own property, and in addition,
each purchaser of a lot had to agree that he and his successors would keep all
fences in good repair. His distillery was set up on his farm and there he
converted grain into whiskey which sold for about 25 cents a gallon. While
much of his farm was in the town of Jaya, he also owned a large tract of land
on what was known as Saunders Hill. later as Marzolf Hill. He was so pious
that he would allow no work of any kind on Sundays nor permit anyone to read
except from the Bible or other good works.
Mr. Reunion also remembered an old Frenchman, Charles DeBancourt by
name, who lived on the Bartz road north of Plant's Corners. He was a cooper by
trade, also ran a small farm, was a tall man weighing nearly 200 pounds. Every
so often he would walk to Strykersvi11e, a distance of around four miles, and
stay all day. He would go marching home again singing old country marching
songs as he was a soldier when a young man. Amos H. Castle, Esq. was another
of the early settlers. very well off by the standards of those days. and
served as a justice of the peace for many terms. A familiar figure in the
vicinity was Chandler Barber, a surveyor, who traveled about in a two-wheeled
cart and made use of field notes prepared from those of Joseph Ellicott.
Location of a cabin or home to a good supply of water was most
essential. There was always a good supply of water on the east side of
Strykersville where the first wells were dug and stoned up. about three or
four feet in diameter and some about 25 feet deep. Water was drawn by an oaken
bucket Irv means of a wooden roll run by a crank and a two-inch wide strap: at
the surface the bucket caught on a trip that (lumped the water through a spout
and into the pail, all of which was attached to an open rack or crib. Later
chain pumps were used with wooden pump logs of cucumber wood, in length around
12 feet about 4x4. and bored with a two-inch hole. The logs were joined by
means of a wooden coupler bound with iron rings. Later. the same logs were
used in a suction pump operated by a handle and were known as stock pumps.
Subsequently. iron pipes were driven for water and several flowing wells were
located. some as deep as 127 feet, all of which flowed for years. The usual
method of locating a well was by means of a crotch stick plan employed by
certain individuals who made it a business of locating water.
On the Harvey Stevenson farm on the west side of the village was what
known as the "Robber's Cave." where it was reported a local tough gang
secreted their stolen loot. Mr. Bennion remembered around the year 1883, it
was still visible on the farm on the Creek Road west of Buffalo Creek. The
cave was west of the farm house at the edge of the woods. It was a slug-out
affair with a ledge of rock overhead, and 75 years ago there remained a door
of wood with a hasp to lock the same; about were bushes which almost obscured
the site. Boys bent on exploring the hideout were shooed away by the owner. It
is said that the gang of thieves used to operate throughout the vicinity,
stealing almost anything that looked like profit to them, including horses,
cattle, clothes from a wash line and made entry into houses and places of
business. One of the gang, the only one then alive, was one Beebe, an elderly
man with a head of red hair and a long beard. Apparently they were a clever
group, able to move goods rapidly from place to place. disguise them, and
dispose through other underworld outlets. 'Whether they were ever successfully
apprehended is not known.
THE CHANGING SCENE
Strykersville was destined never to have a railroad connection with the
outside world, but stood ten miles from a depot in East Aurora, eight miles
from the Pennsylvania at Protection, and 41 miles from the Tonawanda Valley
Railroad (Arcade & Attica) at Java Center. In 1883, there was strong talk of
an electric railroad line from East Aurora, via Strykersville, Java Village,
to lava Center, where it was to junction with the T. & V. RR. The route was
surveyed, and much preliminary grading done with hand labor and teams and
shovels. It was projected further to Lava Lake, where. it was thought, a busy
summer colony could be developed.
In spite of the handicap of no railroad, the community continued to
prosper as a trading .center with three churches, a school, and mercantile
enterprises providing the more essential services and goods. In the early
1880's, so a news clipping states, the village had not a single .dwelling of
brick or stone, but all frame houses and except for very few, well painted and
in good condition. Daily papers in English and German, and 601 weekly papers,
printed in English, plus 41 in the German and French languages were received
at the post-office. Another contemporary account states that a large part of
the population then were born in the vicinity and resident more than thirty
years. The pioneers were nearly gone but their original home-sites were often
occupied by their children. Literspersed with this New England stock were
Germans, many immigrants, but a majority also natives of the region.
The columns of the Attica News recorded a Cleveland and Hendricks rally
at Strykersville in the autumn of 1884. In an apple orchard adjacent to Frank
Glaser's hotel was erected a speaker's stand and picnic facilities were
available. Although it was a chilly Saturday, between 700-800 men and women
rallied to the Democratic banner. 'The Strykersville group, known as the
"Sheldon and Java Marching Club," received visiting clubs from Attica,
Protection, Varysburg, Wales Center and Cowlesville. A special train carried
the Attica club to Java Center, from which spot they were conveyed to Java
Village and there met by the Java and Sheldon boys. 80 strong, which number
was increased by visitors. At Java Village began she march along present Route
78 to Strykersville. The mounted Cleveland clubs from Protection and Wales
Center made a fine display, it was said. The entire company moved four abreast
to the music of Grover Barnum's Cornet Band of Cowlesville. The band played
during the evening, and one of the finest things heard was the song, "Sweet
Galilee." Two or three speakers enlivened the gathering by speeches, and the
whole affair was deemed as enthusiastic 'for "Honest Grover"
That same year, the Olean Times reported "Quite an oil excitement
prevails near Strykersville. A short time ago Quincy Whaley had a well drilled
to the depth of 100 feet and 'found gas in considerable quantities, while the
wastes smell strongly of oil. There is talk of organizing a company to put
down a test well." We have no further information on the 'progress of this
-boom" but it is symptomatic of the agitation throughout the area of Sheldon
and lava to locate oil or gas. Small quantities have been found as far south
as Curriers and in Humphreys Hollow to the north.
The Germans who settled in Sheldon by the 1830's were known as the
"Dutch," but it was some years before they moved into what is now the
Strykersville area. They were mainly farmers. very thrifty and excellent
citizens. In addition to general farming, they kept sheep and processed
quantities of wool. During the tannery era, they repaired to the hemlock woods
and peeled hark. Their society centered about the church at Straub's Corners,
at the crossroads store and tavern, in the parochial school at the Corners,
and at festivals and customs imported from the Fatherland. German Protestants
still people the area north of the village in what is known as "Dutch Hollow"
and there a church, tavern and store existed from the early days.
In the absence of any records; the earliest German residents of
Strykersville are believed to have included Conrad Hyman, residing on the Mill
Road, or Mill Street. west from Route 78 in the heart of the village. Mr.
Hyman erected a series of mills at a water site on Buffalo Creek. In the Bartz
Gulf. north of the village, and towards Johnson's Falls, Peter Reisdorf opened
a mill for processing timber. Andrew Kuster was an early merchant and John
Metzer 'was possibly the first owner of the brewery at the north end of the
village. In the course of time. these families populated many homes and farms,
but they, too, have been replaced by residents whose roots do not reach back
into the historical development of the village.
The name of Col. Arden Woodruff appears among the annals of the
Strykersville area. He attained a reputation as an abolitionist and was one of
the local operators of the Under-ground Railroad which aided slaves during
their northward journey. His home was a "station" into which were fed
fugitives from stations in Arcade, Warsaw, and Erie County.
Three cemeteries have been established within the village. The Pioneer
burying ground on Perry Road was in use as early as 1811 when a daughter of
Garrett Stryker, the pioneer, died November 1st at the age of three years. It
has been said that a daughter of Lemuel Paul was the first to die in the
settlement but no stone remains. This cemetery, surrounded by a crumbling wall
of stone, is completely overgrown with bushes. All of the pioneer dead were
interred here until the establishment of the present Strykersville Cemetery in
1867. As heretofore mentioned, Garrett Stryker and members of his family are
still there, as are such families as Balcom, Arnold, Emery, Farwell, McElwain,
Mason, Moore, Olds, Paul, Potter, Proper, Rogers, and Warner. Omri Warner of
Massachusetts who enlisted in April 1777 for nearly eight months and on
several occasions after, is the only Revolutionary soldier known to have been
buried here. His death occurred in the nearby Town of Wales, December 20.
1841. Some bodies were removed to the newer grounds and were found to have
been contained in old-style coffins, not caskets, and not in what was later
called an outside or rough box. An association maintains the present village
cemetery on Mill Street while St. Mary's Church uses an adjacent plot for its
(lead. These grounds have been given such care as economic conditions permit.
STRYKERSVILLE TODAY
Upwards of 500 persons reside today in what could be called the village
area. Many new homes have been erected in recent years which gives the
mile-long Main Street an air of residential prosperity. The once thriving
shops and stores have yielded to the march of progress and have gradually
dwindled in number and complexion. Among the enterprises today are a grocery,
bowling alley and hotel, the Hotel Crystal. a hardware in which the
post-office is located, a garage, four gas stations, a monument sales shop. a
radio repair shop, a bottled gas business and a saw mill. Anton Johnson
operates a welding and tank construction business not far from where Garrett
Stryker first settled; and the Marzolf Manufacturing Company produces egg
washers. Patented in 1933, these "egg scouring machines," were the development
of Norbert F. Marzolf who devised a novel device that is sufficiently simple
and economical to be employed by small scale poultry men. According to
information filed at the time of patent, the machine comprises a suitable
housing with inlet and outlet openings through which eggs are respectively fed
and discharged one by one. Included are such parts as a conveyor belt, a
motor, and a supply of cleansing solution which drips upon an array of fabric
scrubber discs that act upon the eggs. It handles various size eggs without
sorting, turns them and washes them in a solution not previously used.
Within the year past, Six Star Post 637, American Legion, has erected
new headquarters at the center of the village, opposite the Baptist Church.
Two churches remain, St. Mary's and the Baptist, a public school with two
teachers, and St. Marv's School are in operation. High school students are
sent by buses to Arcade and Holland. The community supports through its Fire
Department a band known as the "Band Excelsior," which snakes appearances in
parades in the neighboring communities. Residents are members of the
Java-Strykersville Kiwanis Club. Michael Valente, M. I). and C. J. Holden, D.
V. M. are available for professional work. The cotnmunin telephone system
includes service throughout much of Java township and is known as the
Gladstone exchange with dial headquarters recently constructed at Java
Village. The Genesee Valley Bus Lines have provided service along Route 20A
for some years.
So continues life at the headwaters of Buffalo Creek at a spot where a
century and a half ago Garrett Stryker, a farmer of German ancestry. first
began to clear the forest on his 360 acre. farm. About lay fertile farms and
as considerable traffic moves along Strykersville's Main Street it is evident
that a small-town atmosphere lends a quiet charm that is characteristic of
many western New York rural communities. As the community reviews its past in
a sesquicentennial observance this July there will be an awareness that Change
and Progress will come in the tomorrows as in the yesterdays.
STRYKERSVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH
As old as the community itself is the Strykersville Baptist Church,
which originated about Sheldon Center the very summer that Garrett Stryker
purchased land in the valley of Buffalo Creek. Church records open with this
statement, "Sunday the 17 July Elder Joel Butler preached and after sermon
came Joshua and Susannah Gates, William Stancliff. Sally Sanders and was
received after Baptism Communion in the Church ... 6 of August 1808-the Church
met inquired and found the union good."
Sheldon's first and most prominent settlers were among the founding
group that gathered to establish what was called the Second Baptist Church of
Christ in Sheldon. Included were such families as Marvin and Hannah Brace,
Levi and Rhoda Street, he the pioneer mail carrier; Deacon Seth and Abigail
Gates, parents of the Hon. Seth M. Gates, noted abolitionist and Member of
Congress; Edward and Lois Brau; Lemuel Castle; Sally Sanders; William and Lucy
Stancliff; Joshua and Susanna Gates; Robert and Margaret Carr; Job Matteson;
Catie Turner; Pelatiah and Affa Case; Bela Bibbins; Affa Loomis; Darius and
Elizabeth Cross; Ezekiel and Anna Harris; Ezra Luddon; Elizabeth Rockwell;
William Washburn; Justin Loomis; William Herrick; Abel Buel; Sary Brau;
Rebeccah Wording; Cyrus Andrus; Ammy Scovil; Susan Dingman; Asahel and Sarah
Hurlburt; Elias Gillet; Sarah Noys; David S. Wooster; Mary Hubbard; Parmela
Rawson; Polly Faunches; Capt. Charles B. Street, members of the Hamilton
family and many others. This organization held its meetings at the schoolhouse
situated at the north end of the present site of Strykersville and at
different places near Sheldon Center, and in the homes of some of the members.
From its onset, discipline within the group was strict and while usually
they "found the union good" there were discords. Gossiping members were
summoned to prove their charges; Sister Cathie or Cathy Turner, wife of the
first settler at Turner's Corners, was complained against for allowing balls
in her house and for "un-Christian conversation" against those who leveled
criticism concerning her public character. In the course of the dissension it
was thought that Mrs. Turner, apparently a woman of business capabilities,
ought not to have acted in business affairs "as her husband ought to rule his
own house." She had brought suit against .one of the members, an act which was
inconsistent with the covenant of the church. It became a splendid tradition
within this church and the Strykersville body to encourage young men to enter
the ministry. On September 1, 1810, the record stated "Br. Case Mod. for the
Day Br. Carr was called on to know his mind with respect to improving in
publick the Church gave him live to Speak and teach in publick as his mind
should be Led 3 appointed a Conference at his house on the 18 instant ..."
October 6, 1810, at a meeting apparently in the home of Lemuel Castle,
Esq., "a number -of Brethren from the first Church (Attica) met in a General
Meeting with us and a refreshing season it was ..." This was the very first
gathering of Baptist churches in western New York and the initial step in the
creation of the Holland Purchase Baptist Association, which at one time
included numerous churches west of the Genesee River. On February 2. 1811,
Seth Gates was chosen as deacon and was thereafter, both in Sheldon and
Warsaw, known by that title. On the first 'Wednesday in June 1811, at the home
of Mr. Castle, with Messrs. Carr. Case, .Stancliff and Gates as delegates from
the Sheldon church, a Baptist Conference was formed, the formal beginning of
the Holland Purchase Association. On August 1, 1812, the Sheldon Church set
the yearly conference at Mr. Castle's in the month of October. In subsequent
months -there are references to dealings with the Attica and Willink (Aurora)
churches. In November. 1813, the church met for business, but adjourned to
attend the funeral of Miss Fales. At "Candle light" the meeting resumed.
Military activities incident to the War of 1812 and the invasion of the
Niagara Frontier interrupted the serenity of the Sheldon settlements. In
December. 1813, it was voted that ,covenant meetings begin at one o'clock P.
M.. and that members of the church "are at Liberty to join in a society by the
name of a baptist religious society." On January 9, 1814, the clerk wrote
"this Day was a Day of alarm and great fear of the British and indians and no
meeting was attend ..." Monthly meetings continued during succeeding weeks of
anxiety but no record was kept other than the dates and the usual words, "the
union good." Throughout the remainder of 1814-15, until the signing of the
Treaty of Ghent, religious activities were at a low ebb, summed up succinctly
in the record (4 of Novr. 1815), "the union good and from this to the 3 of
June 1816 the Church was in fellowship and kepp the stated meeting but
reciev'd no Members ..." On May 31, 1817, upon receipt of a letter from the
brethren in the northern part of the Old Town of Sheldon, permission was
granted for them to erect a church by themselves.
Church financing in 1821 was determined by a vote "to estimate the
property of the Brs. .of the Church for the purpose of raising such sums of
money as should be thought proper by an average tax. Appointed Brs. Buel and
Stancliff to make the estimate." This was an early recognition of the
"ability-to-pay" theory of taxation. That February the church voted to raise
_$45 to be appropriated for the support of preaching by Elder William Herrick.
On September 17. 1827, and "after hearing the Request of the Brethren living
at the :South West Part of this Church to be Set of as a Distinct Body.
Resolved to call a Council, consisting of Elders and Brethren from the Church
of Aurora, I & 2 in Sheldon Bennington and Orangeville for the above purpose."
Forty-eight members were granted dismission, October 7, that year, as
constituent members of a new church to be known as the Wales and Sheldon
Church, and with that action, the Strykersville Baptist Church was born of the
parent body. Frequent meetings of the older church were held through 1836, and
but two items appear thereafter, the last. January 4, 1840.
From an 1871 historical sketch of the Strykersville Church, it is stated
that the first Baptist settler in the settlement was Deacon Tilton Eastman,
who located on the later Charles Mason farm, about the year 1818. "He became
the originator (under God) of the first Baptist worship in this community,
being a devout man and fearing God with all his house. "The neighbors were
collected and public worship was held in private homes and barns. Garrett
Stryker's barn, on the west side of Buffalo Creek, was used as a place of
worship for some time. Rev. Elias Harmon and Rev. Mr. Goodrich, were among the
first to preach the gospel to the people." The Rev. David S. Wooster
alternated with the Rev. Harmon and supplied the people from time to time.
The Baptist Church of Wales and Sheldon (the Strykersville Baptist
Church after October 14, 1833) was formally organized at a council which met
at the Strykersville schoolhouse with representatives of five neighboring
churches in attendance. Rev. Harmon was moderator while the Rev. Whitman
Metcalf preached the recognition sermon from Acts 9, verse 31. The following
November, the Rev. Daniel S. Wooster became the first regular pastor. Fourteen
males and thirty-four women constituted the chartering group of the church.
They were Elder David S. Wooster, Tilton Eastman, William Richardson, Dexter
Bolkcom, Samuel Cook, Samuel N. .Cook, Norman Besse, Peleg Havens, Jr.,
Charles Reed, Record Reed, Jacob S. Sisco, Martin .Stryker, Amory Barber, and
Ithamar Ackley. Also, Salome Stryker, Sally Bennett, Sibyl ,Lawrence, Laura
Ward, E1la Mason, Mahala Eastman, Hannah Stryker, Fanny Richardson, Jerusba
Stevens, Margaret Eastman, Lois Eastman, Anna Wooster, Persis Westcott, Susan
Aimes, Candace Godfrey, Almira Moore, Lydia Havens, Harriet Lee, Sophronia
Wares, Mary Stevens, Betsey Potter, Alzina Potter, Louisa McElwain, Rhoda
Lawrence, Hepsabeth Warner, Fanny Sisco, Anna Stevens, Chloe Cook, Desire
Bolkcom, Susan Besse, Sarah Besse, and Roxana Cook.
At the first meeting of the new church, convened October 5, 1827, about
a mile west of the north end of the present village at a schoolhouse, five
persons were received as members. Church and covenant meetings were held
variously in Wales, in schools in Strykersville and near the present site of
lava Village, known at first as Gurney's Mills. In the fall of 1827, the
church tried affiliation with the Holland Purchase Association at a meeting in
Pike Hollow; it was also decided that a roll call of members be taken at
covenant and church meetings and those not present were to give a written
excuse for non-attendance. Tilton Eastman was named ,deacon and Nial Eastman,
clerk, that year. Tithes were levied in proportion to one's ability, and for
the two brethren not in agreement with the plan, they were permitted to pay
according to their own pleasure. Arrangements were made for bestowing "a
reasonable compensation on Bro. Havens for bedding and boarding Bro. Townsend
while laboring with them this season." Only male members were allowed to vote
and church business was to be conducted with closed doors. Th- first pastor,
Rev. Wooster, was granted a salary of $50 per year for preaching one-half the
time at "the Center," (schoolhouse), one-fourth time in Wales and one-fourth
in the south school near Java Village.
The church prospered in membership and Christian influence. Like the
parent church, the Strykersville group had to cope with the evils incident to
intemperance due to the large number of distilleries. Men, after uniting with
the church, fell back into their old habits and it sometimes became necessary
to appoint a committee to labor with these brethren, and, if possible,
persuade them to return and "Resume their travel with the church." Sometimes
this was of no avail and in a few instances it was the sad ditty of the church
to withdraw the hand of fellowship from him.
November 12, 1831, Charles Reed was named deacon, and the next July,
Stephen Emery was chosen to the same office. On March 31, 1834, the Rev.
Wooster resigned, to be followed by the Rev. James Reed, May 1834 to May 1836.
Levi Reed of the congregation was granted a "license to improve his gift in
word and doctrine." Martin Stryker, clerk for three years, resigned and he was
succeeded by H. B. Rounds, who held the post from February 17, 1833 to
September 17, 1853. In a plain and legible hand, Mr. Rounds kept a complete
and illuminating record throughout a score of years. In 1835, Rounds was
chosen a deacon, also served as a choir leader and at his death left legacies
to the church and to missionary agencies. Back in 1935, a female "Domestic and
Foreign Mission Society" was aided in educating men for the ministry and
during the Civil `Tar the group sent aid to the soldiers and the Freedmen
through the "Christian Commission."
Charles Richardson Sr., an early benefactor of the church, also left
legacies amounting to $2,500 to different benevolent Baptist societies,
besides giving $1,000 to the University of Rochester in its early days.
A series of revivals and additions to membership marked the pastorate of
the Rev. Reed, while in March 1836, Articles of Faith and Practice were
adopted, and used for generations of members. In February, 1836, a society was
formed with the following board of trustees: Charles Reed, Charles Richardson,
H. B. Rounds, Dexter Balcont, Calvin Rogers and James Stryker. The present
church site was agreed upon. Mr. Richardson donating it as his partial gift.
Calvin Rogers was named a committee to circulate a subscription for the
erection of a building, and in January 1837, he was able to report the promise
of sums amounting to $2,542. It was "unanimously resolved to give the job of
building the said meeting house, or house of public worship, for the said
Baptist Church and Society, to Calvin Rogers for the sum of twenty-two hundred
dollars ($2,200), to be built fifty-one (51) feet long by forty (40) feet
wide, of good materials, with a porch, session room, belfry and steeple; the
whole to be well finished and painted, agreeable to a drawn plan and written
contract." During the next two years the work was in progress. Although the
church had applied to the Holland Purchase Association the year of its
formation, it was affiliated with the Genesee River _Association until
September 1836, when it was admitted to the Holland group at a time when it
reported 119 members. The Rev. Edward Covel served the church briefly through
1836-37, when he left and the Rev. Eliada Blakesley preached for nine months
after January. 1838, salary $300 per year.
DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH
The builder, Mr. Rogers, having advised that the church was completed
early in 1839, plans were set for its dedication. It is presumed that Mr.
Rogers followed a usual custom of standing on his head at the highest part of
buildings erected by him; at least that tradition has persisted concerning
other edifices erected by him. The 18th of April was a day set apart for the
consecration of the church. Rev. Whitman Metcalf of Sardinia led with the
invocation; and also gave the dedication prayer and sermon from Psalms 26,
verse eight. Congregational singing and group numbers by the choir provided
the ministry of music. It was voted to hold monthly covenant meetings on the
first Saturday before the first Sunday of each month, a practice continued
well into the 20th century.
With a new church, the congregation was without a pastor until the
engagement of the Rev. Dexter P. Smith during the summer of 1839. He was a man
of strong faith and great zeal and during the six years of his pastorate, he
baptized 132 persons. On a single day, after revival meetings in neighboring
schoolhouses, there were 92 standing in the aisles of the new church waiting
to receive the hand of fellowship from the pastor. During the winter of
1841-42. Amy J. Barber described the situation thus: "Sabbath after Sabbath in
mid-winter the Buffalo Creek was visited where Elder Smith baptized men and
women, boys and girls, old and young. In order to do this it was often
necessary to cut holes in the ice, but these people cared little for the cold,
for their hearts were burning with divine love." Of the converts that season,
four were destined to enter the ministry of the Baptist denomination: Rev.
Darius Paul went to the mission field in eastern Iowa where he served churches
for more than twenty years; the Rev. Alfred B. Satterlee died in the mission
field in India: Rev. Charles Read served several churches but died young also,
while the Rev. Daniel Read, D.D. became president of Shurtleff College, Alton,
Illinois for several years, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Brooklyn,
and churches in Minnesota and Illinois, and climaxed his career as pastor of
the First Baptist Church, Los Angeles.
Pastors after the resignation of the Rev. Smith were the Rev. Chauncey
Wardner, 1843-47, during whose stay ten persons residing at North Java were
received by letter and at their request were then set off as a branch of the
Strykersville Church at North Java, and Rev. Wardner preached there one-fourth
of the time. The Rev. Harvey Munger labored with the church from September
1847, until December, 1848, when he left for the West as had Rev. Smith. He
was succeeded for a period of two years by the Rev. C. Garrison, who left the
church in the spring of 1851. That same spring, Dr. James Ives was selected as
a deacon, an office he held nearly_ thirty years until his death. He also
served as church clerk and Sunday School head besides being church treasurer
for the last 25 years of his life. ht addition to all these other duties, he
found time to take a leading part in the church choir as a tenor singer. He
was the fortunate possessor of a quaint old lap organ which he carried to and
from each service, and which he pumped with his elbows while he played, and
added his voice to the choir. In 1851, a bell, costing $300, was procured from
the Troy Bell Foundry and hung in the belfry, and in September of that year
the Holland Purchase Association met in the church. During the fall and winter
of 1851-52, the Rev. James Reed served as supply pastor.
On June 5, 1852, the church extended a call to the Rev. A. S. Kneeland.
His pastorate was extended to thirteen fruitful vears during which 158 were
baptized. Within two weeks after December 24, 1853, $1,000 was pledged to
erect a parsonage; the present site was secured from Mr. Richardson, and a
$700 pastor's residence was put up.
For some years German Protestants had lived in the vicinity. During
1855, the church persuaded the Rev. Anton Hausler, a young licentiate, to work
among them, and to support :him for that purpose for one year. His labors
yielded many converts and the Strykersville .church continued its support
until the spring of 1863, when the German group was recognized as an
independent organization under the name of "Holland German Church", with a
meeting-house at Hunter's Creek near Strykersville.
The Rev. Kneeland resigned in the spring of 1865, closing out a most
successful pastorate, during which 154 were baptized, 42 of them being
Germans. He had been assisted after the Rev. Hausler, by the Rev. C. Rantz,
who had immigrated from Germany and labored among his fellow countrymen on the
West Hill and at Hunter's Creek. Meanwhile, three other Strykersville Baptists
entered the ministry, namely the Rev. Jonathan Harrington, the Rev. R. A.
Shaw, and Rev. Marcus Mason. The Rev. Mason, together with his wife, went to
Assam, where among uncivilized tribes they erected a mission station. With the
help of another missionary couple, they began the translation of the native
Garo language into writing, and in turn into a native Bible. During a visit to
America, Mrs. Mason died from the effects of her overseas tenure, and she was
buried at Strykersville. Rev. Mason returned to the mission field with
machinery and there established a native industrial training school; in
addition he invented machines adapted to the needs of the natives. His sister
later assisted him.
The successor to Rev. Kneeland was the Rev. S. Keves, who came in Mav
1865, and after .an all too brief pastorate died July 8, 1868. The church
clerk, H. M. Clark, died a few days .before and the church lost faithful
pillars. but they had seen the renovation of the buildin.-?completed. For a
time, there was no pastor, but in succession, the Revs. George Lewis, J. P.
Islip. Rev. P. J. Wardner as supply, A. Maynard until 1874, Rev. R. H. Colby
until 1877 and :the Rev. Thomas Seyse were in Strykersville. September 26-27.
1877, were the dates of a semi-centennial to which former members and pastors
were drawn. Record Reed was the only member of the church still in affiliation
after fifty vears. In October 1883, the Rev. Seyse resigned and his successor
in 1884 was the Rev. D. D. Lowell. During the summer of 1888, the new Baptist
Church at Java Village was completed and dedicated as a chapel of the parent
,church on October 25th. In November 1891, about 50 members took letters from
the old .church and organized themselves into the Java Village Baptist Church,
and were so recognized. December 15, 1891. The Java Village church cost
$2,500.
in May 1888, the Rev. 1. Gilchrist opened a pastorate of nearly 21/2
years, and he was followed by the Rev. W. A. Huntington, who was the first
pastor to be regularly assigned also tto the Java Village church. After one
year, the Rev. E. H. Hovey served both churches for two years and was followed
by the Rev. T. T. Hammer. Rev. Seyse came again in September 1897, and
continued until his deatb in 1903. Recent pastors have been the Rev. Alexander
Dewar, 1904-08; Rev. F. J. W. Chubb after May 1909; Rev. Alfred Jeffries
around 1915; Rev. John Bauer; Rev. Benjamin Croft for eleven years; Rev. David
Thompson, and lastly as supply, the Rev. Robert Wacker. In November, 1957, the
last regular services were held, and with but fifteen members left, it is
doubted that the 150-year old institution will ever reopen. Probably the
aggregate membership of the church would approach 10,000, and few rural
parishes can point to a record of achievement insofar as membership going into
the ministry is concerned. The parent church, formed but five year., after the
first settlement in Sheldon radiated an influence that reached into the lives
of many, and it is the painful duty of the present generation, perhaps, to
write the final chapter to a glorious history.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
For some four decades following the first residence of German Catholics
in the vicinity they journeyed to Straub's Corners, Sheldon, to attend mass,
and in the churchyard there are buried the pioneers who left the fatherland to
escape military conscription and political restrictions of despotic
governments.
It is written that in the summer of 1865, Bishop Ryan commissioned the
Rev. Martin Phillips to organize a new parish at Strykersville. At that time,
he was pastor of St. Vincent's Church, Buffalo, and was chosen for the task
inasmuch as relatives lived in the village and they promised to board and room
and assist him until the new parish would be able to support their pastor.
Father Phillips came in November of that year and secured the town hall, which
had recently been erected, (no longer standing) for the use of the Catholics
of the area on Sundays. There he said the first mass, November 8. 1885. The
services on this occasion concluded with the singing of the hymn. "Holy God.
We Praise Thy Name", which expressed the jubilant feelings of the congregation
as they faced the future with the prospect of a church and pastor of their
own. On the following Sunday. Father Glaser. Andrew Kuster, Peter N. George
and Martin Winch were elected trustees and preparations were made to erect a
church.
The cornerstone of the new and present building was laid on the 23rd of
May, 1886. The building was ready for dedication on the 4th of September of
the same year and the ceremony was performed by Bishop Stephan Vincent Ryan,
D.D. of Buffalo, assisted by Rev. J. Sorg, the Rey. Dr. Hoelscher, the Rev. F.
Fromholtz, the Rev. J. Reilly, the Rev. T. Ohrich, the Rev. T. Voss and the
Rev. P. Trauscht. Father Phillips was succeeded by the Rev. Frank Trautlein,
who remained but a short time when he was succeeded by the Rev. Adolfus
Bergmann. and then Father Jac Bubenheim came for a short period, until the
Rev. Anthony Adolph was appointed pastor.
Father Adolph remained pastor until September, 1891, when Rev. Aloysius
Huber was named to the parish. As in nearly all the smaller parishes, the
pastors of Strykersville remained only a short time in this parish. The Rev.
John B. Stemler succeeded Father Huber after a few months, and then came Rev.
Gerard H. Gysen. The Rev. Anthony Adolph came for a second time, to be
followed by the Rey. L. Bastian, who remained until 1901. The Rev. Jacob Franz
arrived that year, organized several societies in the parish and was the first
to advocate a school. St. Mary's elementary school did not open until the fall
of 1908 after the Rev. Anthony Veit became pastor. The school came under
charge of the Sisters of St. Francis, Williamsville, and has been under their
guidance ever since. Enrollment avera;cs about 100 and demands a faculty of
about three teachers. The Rev. Francis Dehlinger became pastor in 1912, and
remained until 1920 when his successor was the Rev. John Marencovick. During
this 21-year period, Father Marencovick organized the Holy Name Society. He
left St. Mary's in 1941, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Charles G. Gampp,
organizer of the parish's Altar and Rosary Society. Father Joseph J. Vogel
succeeded Father Gampp in 1946, and then in 1951 he was followed by the Rev.
Joseph E. Kocher. He served the parish very ably until his sudden death,
November 7. 1957. The Rev. Eugene Wagner is now serving as parish
administrator.
St. Marv's has a churchyard where annual picnics have been an occasion
for the -reunion of former residents of the community and friends of the
parish. Doubtless at the formation of the church, a cemetery was laid out just
to the west of the Strykersville community burying grounds. The earliest
tombstone death found is that of Andrew Kuster, who died October 30, 1885, a
few clays before the formation of the parish. For some years the upper floor
of the school was used for public gatherings, dances and social events, but
increasing attendance at the school has necessitated conversion of this
facility into classrooms.
STRYKERSVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
At a meeting held in St. Mary's hall, June 11. 1913, the present Fire
Department was organized as a volunteer company to replace an earlier
unofficial fire brigade appointed at meetings of the community. The first
officers elected were James Barber, president; Charles Kihm, vice-president;
L. A. Phillips, secretary; and Howard B. Bennion, treasurer.
Department officers elected included David Carter, foreman; Albert
Glaser, William Hersch, Frank Smith and Ivan Richardson, foreman; Mr. Bennion,
Ernest Holmes and Elvan Richardson, trustees; Herman Fromholzer, fire alarmer;
and Rev. Fred Chubb, second fire alarmer. Other charter members included Roy
Watson, Edward Fontaine, Harry Hersch, Floyd Musty, Jacob Kensinger, Albert
Brass, Millard Holmes, Paul Marzolf, Henry Keyser, Roy Richardson, Roy Carr,
Charles Keem and August Metzer. Early members included Father Dahlinger as
fire alarmer, Jacob Herrman, Charles Stryker, Frank Unger, John Kensinger,
Peter Kihm, Dr. Frank Paul, Herbert Merlau, Earnest Barber and Maurice Brass.
Dues were $1.00 a year.
Committees were appointed to produce a hook and ladder wagon, to buy
ladders, pails, ropes, axe pike and other tools necessarily connected with the
fire wagon. The total cost of these accessories was not to exceed $60.00.
Meetings were set for the first Monday of each month and the practice has
continued these forty-five years. The salary of the secretary has continued
little more than the $2.50 each year since 191x. An alarm system was devised,
consisting of a series of rings on the church bells, the number of strokes
indicating the part of the village where the fire was located. Fire laddies
absent without excuse were fined 10c for each offense; drills and marching
practices were scheduled; and George Marzolf and Mr. Phillips were instructed
to build something in the shape of a sled to haul the pump in case of snow.
The first alarm answered was to a fire at the home of Charles Hyman, and so
states the records, "the company gave a good account of themselves."
Beginning in September 1914, it was decided to construct upwards of
three reservoirs about the village as fire protection. Funds were solicited
for a downtown reservoir. Apparently it was the fall of the year, three years
later, before one was completed between the parochial school and the parsonage
of St. Mary's Church. Meanwhile, a whistle on the Strykersville ~Creamerv was
readied as an alarm, and Februarv 9, 1917, the company purchased for $300 an
American LaFrance engine No. 10.
Talk had begun that a fire hall should be erected and early in December,
1918, it was -voted to purchase a lot from Frank Brass for 5100. Six days
later the Strykersville Evaporator works burned to the ground after the
company had been summoned at 3:00 A. M. The surrounding buildings were held
safe, but the evaporator was beyond help. Throughout 1919. the department
resolved to construct a hall, but the issue was not resolved. On August 11,
1920, the Wyoming County Volunteer Firemen's Association held its annual
convention in the village. 'The ladies auxiliary, known as the "Helping Hand
Society." raised funds to purchase land 'for the fire hall. Finally, in 1921,
a purchase was negotiated from Mr. Brass, and work began with volunteer labor.
July 9th. Later these donors were compensated up to 50% of the usual wage
scale, and during 1924-25. the upstairs meeting room was completed. On
December 8, 4925, the department purchased for $5,100 a pumper and chassis,
and the hall was wired for eelectricity the following year..
Today, the Department consists of two high pressure pumpers and an
ambulance equipped with an inhalator and respirator, the later handled by an
emergency squad of the 95-man company. A portable generator is in readiness.
The fire district covers all of the town of Java west of the Cattaraugus Road,
the village of Strykersville, and in Sheldon township south of Ambrust Road
and area west of Frink's Corners, to the Erie County line on Route 78, and
west into the Town of Holland. At two A. M. one day in 1949, the Phillip's
blacksmith shop beside the Fire Hall burned and in turn set the hall aflame.
Only by sheer luck was the equipment saved and the damage to the hall limited
to 92,500_ Resides the Kihm Evaporator fire, above mentioned, the destruction
of Hvman's feed mill in the village rates as a major conflagration since the
formation of the department. A call was answered at the time of St. Patrick's
Church fire in 1923 at Java Center and to numerous farm fires in the vicinity.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF STRYSERSVILLE
Organized on the 3rd day of October, 1825, the Second Church of Christ
of Sheldon became known in later years as the Strykersville Congregational
Church. The society carne into being at the request of members of the Sheldon
First Church, at Humphrey's Hollow, who were resident in the southwest part of
the township and desired a house of worship more conveniently located to their
homes. The Presbytery of Geneva granted its consent and the Rev. Hugh Wallis
was named as commissioner to organize the new church, if thought expedient to
do so.
The Rev. Wallis found that circumstances were such that a new church
should be formed with the following as constituent members: Daniel Smith, Omri
'Varner, Elijah Smith, Social Rolph, Nathan 'Varner, Samuel Kelsy, Milo
Warner, Justus Ward. Betsey Kelsey, Betsev Olds, Martha Warner, Cvnthia Tlim,
Lucy Grover, Electa Smith, Candace Waterman, Marv Loomis and Silence Ward.
These persons gave their assent to articles of faith and a church covenant and
were declared to be a regular church. Milo Warner was selected as deacon and
Omri Warner as clerk. The church continued to worship in the old Strykersville
school house and in private homes until December 30, 1835, a day when their
new meeting house was dedicated and the church entered upon a series of daily
meetings during which there were a considerable number added to the
membership. Officially, the body was always known as "The Concord Society of
Strykersville." having been so incorporated, January 14, 1834.
The church had a half-century of varying success, but beginning about
1883, there was considerable informal discussion that the church be removed
from Strvkersville where there had been a decrease in numbers and a decline in
financial support. The regular 1883 annual meeting voted to instruct the
trustees to procure a court order for the sale of the society's property in
Strykersville with a view of removal to Java Village. Due to protests from
members in Strykersville, the matter was placed in the hands of a referee. A
ruling was made that the legal trustees up to January L. 1884, were Myron
Warner. R. H. Smith. and L. M. Fox and thev continued as trustees into 1885
and their legally elected successors then took office. Meetings were held by
opposition groups and the matter took on the complexion of a complicated legal
tangle, each side claiming to be the legally constituted church. The pastor
was then the Rev. William B. Mucklow.
In January 1884, the trustees posted public notice that services would
be moved to Java Village the following Sabbath, and on the 20th of that month
they were so held by the trustees, pastor and others on the alleged ground
that they were dispossessed of their accustomed place of worship. A minority
continued to sustain worship in the Strykersville Church and the membership
rolls held names of persons worshipping at both places.
The matter dragged through the courts and church councils until July 20,
1886. when an Ecclesiastical Ex-parte Council was convened to advise on the
dispute. The council, represented by clergymen from churches in western New
York advised that the Java Village group be entitled to the records and all
property peculiar to the church, as distinguished from the society. The Java
group was urged to incorporate, and the parsonage and barn and lot in
Strvkersville, together with the Warner Legacy, be their property. The
Strykersville group was to be known as the Congregational Church in
Strykersville and they were to retain the meeting house and lot. It was
further recommended that all suits be withdrawn and that Christian charity be
extended to all factions in the strife. The council did not sanction some of
the methods taken by the minority to achieve their rights. Necessary enabling
legislation to carry out the recommendations was signed by the Governor more
than a year later. It is said that the parsonage burned. The Java Village
Congregational Church was formally separated from the parent group, January
20, 1884.
Following the division of the church, membership in the old church
averaged about fifty. In January 1888, the Concord Society approved the
transfer to the Java Village group of the parsonage, lot and the legacy. Five
years later, January 9, 1893, a new constitution was adopted. For some years
there was irregular preaching. The church sheds were used by communicants of
nearby St. Mary's and apparently by the public, as the records show concern
over their care. During the 1898-1900 period, repairs were made to the
interior, the old organ sold, and new one purchased for 5100. The Rev. Edward
Roberts, pastor of the Curriers and Java Village churches supplied for several
seasons. The last meeting of records came January 20, 1906, a time when around
thirty-three were on the church roll.
Gradually, we are informed, the congregational body was dissolved as
members died or removed from the community. Services were no longer held and
the sheds were rented for storage. Upon petition to the courts and by a
special act of the Legislature, the trustees, B. M. Balcom, G. W. Shearing,
and Howard B. Bennion, arranged a public sale, Mav 15, 1914, of the church
edifice and grounds together with the personal property consisting of an
organ, chandeliers, lamps, and stoves. The building was sold, demolished, and
the site today on the west side of Main Street is the residence of Joseph
Herrman. The proceeds of the sale were placed in a trust fund for the use of
the Strvkersville Cemetery. Thus, in its 90th year ended the career of the
Concord Society of Sheldon.
