History is a Mystery
by Lynne Belluscio

AUG. 6, 2001 - One thing for sure, if youíre in the history business, eventually you have to admit that thereís a lot of history thatís a mystery. Part of the problem is that people donít always record whatís going on. They might keep track of who signed the Declaration of Independence or who was governor, or who was the richest man in town, but somehow, someone forgot to write down why Jacob LeRoy was called Black Jake or why May Wait called her husbandís new dessert Jell-O.

Last week, one of the volunteers who works in LeRoy House in the afternoon found a list of 40 questions pertaining to Le Roy History. From some of the questions, I believe that the list was compiled sometime around 1950. Some of the questions are ambiguous:

"#33 What is the biggest fire you remember?" "#31 Can you remember when street lights were put up in town?" Some need a little digging, but the answers can be found: "#39 Who was in the last class at the old school? #8 How many names are on the monument? #9 Are there any descendants of any of these men?"

Then there are some questions that have easy answers:

"#2 Is there an old bell in the Village Hall?" (Yes there is and it was a "new" bell when the Village Hall was built. The money was raised by the citizens of Le Roy in 1914. See Pennysaver article "Going Batty in the Belfry" Oct. 15, 1990.)

"#11 Are the old cannons still buried in the park? #12 Why were they buried?" (They are not buried there. Originally they were on either side of the monument, but several ladies in town didnít like the thought that the cannons were aimed at the Baptist Church, so the cannons were buried. They were dug up during WW II and added to Le Royís contribution to the scrap drive.)

"#18 How did Lodi Bridge get itís name?" (It was named for Napoleonís Battle of Lodi and it was on the site of the present-day Clay Street Bridge. See Pennysaver article "Why Lodi and Much More" August 10, 1992.) And the old iron Lodi Bridge was moved to Munson Street and thus answers "#20 Is Red Bridge the oldest bridge in town?" (Yes it is because the old Lodi Bridge replaced the old wooden Red Bridge on Munson Street.)

Question #22 helped to date the list of questions because it was written before the old Le Roy Academy Building behind LeRoy House was torn down: "Is there an old airplane in the old academy building?" (Yes there was. It was the invention of Dr. Charles Olmsted who was related to Allen Olmsted who at one time operated a factory in the building. The plane was built in Buffalo between 1910 and 1912 and was brought to Le Roy for storage. Eventually it was moved to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. See LeRoy Pennysaver article "Olmstedís Monologue Construction" October 30, 1989.)

"#30 Where was the old electric light plant?" (It was located at the end of Mill Street where Tom McGinnisí A.S.A.P. is located now.)

" # 37 Where was the Lutheran Church?" (The old German Lutheran Church was located on the corner of Wolcott and Union Street.)

"#36 Where was the old circus lot?" Candy Bower had the answer to this. "Right next to my Dadís house on Summit Street."

"#15 Why is the park named Trigon?" The name was coined by the Rev. Samuel Cox, the Chancellor of Ingham University, who noted that it was not a village "square" and thus created the name because the "square" was really a triangle. Now I wasnít too sure I knew the correct answer to "#27 What was the first industry in Le Roy?" Iím going to guess that it was Platt and Stoddardís grist and flour mill.

"#21 What was the mill at Red Bridge?" (It was known as the Haskinís Mill, and the ruins could be seen for many years.) Iím not sure I know the correct answer to "#15 Why is the bust of L.M. Wiles in front of the library instead of Phineas Staunton?" I suspect that the memorial to Staunton was the large stone Staunton Conservatory. To commemorate Lemuel Wiles, who also taught art at Ingham, the alumnae dedicated the bust of Wiles. It was only after the Conservatory was demolished and the stone used to build the Library that the Wiles bust remained as a monument to the art professor.

Now onto some difficult questions. I do not have a clue about "#19 Where is and what is the significance of the ash tree?" The huge tree on Summit Street was an elm tree. I think this may be a reference to a tree that was planted on the south side of the Lodi Bridge in memory of Henry Clay ñ but I canít remember where I read that.

And hereís another quandary: "#24 Where did all the marble stones come from which were found in the boiler room floor in the old school building?" Perhaps someone remembers being in the boiler room ñ where the museum parking lot is now. Iím on the trail of an answer to "#34: What is the stone marker in back of the Jell-O garage?" I called Kermit Arrington today and he remembers seeing the marker with a brass plaque or plate and he has also seen a map with information about the marker, so stay tuned that historical mystery may be cleared up.

And finally, question "#40: Why are the old salt shafts out Wolcott Street filled with oil?" Holy Moses!! I think these are the salt shafts that were dug in 1892 for the Lehigh Salt Company in an area known as Beaver Meadow. One shaft was 802 feet deep. (See "Looking for Lehigh and Beaver Meadow" Pennysaver article Feb. 3, 1992.) The mine did not operate for many years and was closed before the end of the century. The huge breaker building was dismantled in 1904 and the shafts were eventually covered over. Apparently they were filled with oil .. . by whom and why and are they still? Question #40 needs an answer.