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Squires Street received its name from James S. Squires, a gentleman we learned about last June. Take a look at the link to his story to learn more about this entrepreneur who was responsible for the original clocktower building. https://www.facebook.com/CortlandCountyHistoricalSociety/posts/3160045764063047 (James S. Squires post from June 9, 2020) Today I’d like to talk a little bit about why Squires Street was named after Mr. Squires. By looking at the 1888 map of the village of Cortland, I found that he owned a number of lots on Tompkins, Owego, Squires, Park, and Duane Streets. In her book on the city of Cortland, former CCHS Director MaryRead More →

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Some folks asked about Wheeler Avenue after our post about Dr. Edith Flower Wheeler. Wheeler Avenue was not named after her, but it was named after Benson H. Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler was born on January 19, 1849, in Pitcher, and in 1880, he married Carrie E. Weaver, also from Pitcher. They moved to Cortland not long after their marriage, and they lived on Adams Street (now Homer Avenue) in 1883. The 1888 map of Cortland shows B.H. Wheeler as owning a property that has two different houses on it, one house appears to face Adams Street, and the other looks to be their home onRead More →

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Clayton Avenue was opened in the latter half of 1881 between land owned by Moses Rowley and James R. Schermerhorn. Moses Rowley had been farming in South Cortland before purchasing the property which had been previously owned by successive Randalls. The building, which today houses the Cortland County Mental Health Department, was built as a residence by William Randall in 1820. In 1825, he sold the property to his brother Roswell. Roswell lived there until his death in 1871. In 1865, Roswell conveyed the property to his son Henry S. Randall, and after his father died, Henry moved into the mansion until his own deathRead More →

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Hamlin Street was named after the United States Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. Hamlin was the vice president under Abraham Lincoln during his first term. In the 1864 election, Andrew Johnson was chosen to run as vice president. Our story could end there, but the original name of Hamlin Street was Gazlay Avenue. Why? Dr. Henry Champion Gazlay (1818-1900) was a physician in Cortland for many years. He graduated from the Eclectic College in Syracuse and began his practice in Truxton in 1841. He moved to Fabius until 1847, returned to Truxton, and then moved to Homer in 1857. He was a partner with Dr. EzraRead More →

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Grace Street is a tiny side street that started off life as Schermerhorn Street. I do not know why the names were changed, except that the news article that tipped me off on how to find out more about Grace Street had incorrect information, so that’s a reminder to always take newspaper information with a grain of salt! The article said Grace Street was named after Grace Walrad “whose father, C.P. Walrad, opened the street.” Right off the bat, I recognized Grace Walrad’s name and knew that C.P. was her husband, not her father because earlier this year I did some research on this family.Read More →

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Today we are taking a look at Reynolds Avenue, that crooked little street between Tompkins and Union Streets. Reynolds Avenue takes its name from Judge Joseph B. Reynolds (1775-1864), an early Cortland County settler to Virgil. When I started reading about Judge Reynolds, I couldn’t help but wonder why, if Reynolds started off in Virgil, was a street in Cortland named after him? Joseph B. Reynolds was born in Easton, Washington County, NY, and he came to Cortland County in 1808 at the age of 24. The only resources he had for his big adventure were the two cows he drove here. Once in Virgil,Read More →

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Woodruff Street was accepted as a new street on June 8, 1885, and was named after Madison Woodruff. The second portion of Woodruff was opened from Maple Avenue to Madison Street and was accepted on August 1, 1910. Madison Woodruff owned the tract of land there and operated a pottery on Groton Avenue. Madison and his wife, Hannah Russell Woodruff, came to Cortland in 1831. He began work as a journeyman in the pottery of Sylvester Blair, the original stoneware manufacturer in the area. He worked for Blair for several years and in 1849, he began his own pottery business. He constructed a brick buildingRead More →

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Myrtie (or Myrtle) Pearl Pennoyer was born on November 22, 1878, and immediately given up for adoption. She was adopted by George and Lydia G. Pennoyer and raised in Cortland. This little girl would live a long and productive life which touched both people who knew her and people who did not. George and Pearl had but one daughter, a little girl named Laura who would sadly die at 18 months. They raised a foster son and took in another child for a time. They opened their home to fresh air children over the years as well. Pearl was a member of the Twentieth CenturyRead More →

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You’ve never heard of Fitz Avenue? It is now called West Main Street, and the name seems to have changed somewhere between 1908 and 1910. The original name might have been Meyers Street, at least there is a reference that says so. The 1896 city directory has Fitz Avenue, and the 1888 map of Cortland has Fitz Avenue, but I’m not sure what year it came to be called Fitz Avenue. So, what is the history of this street? Fitz Avenue was named after Fitz Boynton. We mentioned Mr. Boynton last week in our look at Copeland Avenue. At the time I wrote up theRead More →

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Copeland Avenue takes its name from William S. Copeland, one-time proprietor of the Messenger House, the iconic hotel which used to sit on the corner of Port Watson and Main Street. Information on Copeland is scanty, but what I did find was that his former residence became the hospital when it had outgrown its buildings. William Copeland was born in Tully in 1819. Very little is written about him, but I was able to find that he married Harriet Emerson of Solon, in September of 1847. He kept a tavern in Solon for a time and eventually landed at the Messenger House in Cortland. AccordingRead More →