streets (Page 4)

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 →

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 →

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 →