OACS Alumni :: Photos :: Old Oakfield Photos

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Old Oakfield Photos

18 images in this album

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Gallery: OACS Alumni :: Photos

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Album: Old Oakfield Photos

Street scene of Forest Avenue from a postcard sent in 1912. Judging by the way the shadows are falling, with the sun seeming to be behind and to the left of the photographer, the photo was probably taken in the early morning. The location was probably on North Pearl looking west towards Main. Clarification is solicited and encouraged.
Viewed: 546 times.

Webber Avenue looking south. This is an image from a postcard sent from Oakfield to Buffalo, NY, dated 29 July 1910. The postcard was published by C.A. Spear of Oakfield, and was printed in Germany. Note the young trees, and the utility line to the left, under the foliage. Is it electricity, telephone, or telegraph?

The building to the immediate right, which appears to be a large duplex, is the historic Colonel Cary residence. At the time the photo was taken in 1910, the home was owned by
G.H. Craft. Prior to 1893, the house was situated on the corner of Main and Webber, but was torn down and relocated to make room for the United Methodist Church.
Viewed: 573 times.

This image is from a postcard dated January 18, 1910, and was sent from Oakfield to Penn Yann, NY. The postcard was published by Farley Porter, Jr. of Elba, NY. The postcard states that the buildings are the "M.E." church and parsonage. Actually, the Oakfield Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in 1832 and later disbanded. The building as it exists today is the United Methodist Church, formed in 1829, and located at the southwest corner of the intersection of South Main with Webber Avenue. Its address is 4 South Main St. Unfortunately, someone has apparently taken a pencil and outlined the roofline of the church, in this otherwise beautiful color image.
Viewed: 519 times.

This is the First Presbyterian Church, located on North Main street. The image is from a postcard sent from Oakfield to Lynn, MA on July 15, 1908. The postcard was published by Birdsall Briggs of Oakfield, and was printed in Germany. The church was founded in 1833. It has been renovated, and does not appear this way today.
Viewed: 466 times.

U.S. Gypsum Plant, circa 1924
Viewed: 494 times.

Haxton Canning Company, from a postcard mailed in 1958. The canning industry has a long history in Oakfield. Some of the canning companies providing employment in Oakfield during the last century include AJ Tanner, George W. Haxton, Curtice-Burns, Agrilink, and Birdseye. Most of the canning operations have occured at the facility on Haxton Lane. This photo of Haxton's in the fifties should be familiar to many Oakfield alumni.

Viewed: 477 times.

Post Office (on Maple Avenue), early 20th century, later converted to the fire station, and now apartments
Viewed: 484 times.

The 1921-1922 Oakfield High School Oracle. In those days, the yearbook was little more than a paper pamphlet. Note that the Oakfield and Alabama school districts had not yet merged.
Viewed: 466 times.

The Elland dairy was located on south Main street, and for years was operated by Harold Hensel. There was a building with a walk-in cooler behind Mr. Hensel's house. The dairy was based on the honor system. A
customer would turn in his empty milk bottles, select his new milk supply, and write down his returns and purchases on a clipboard on the wall of the cooler. A quart of regular milk would come in a glass bottle, and there would be about two inches of cream on the top. The bottle was capped with a round cardboard cap that was pushed down into the mouth of the bottle. This is one of the caps used by the Elland dairy.
Viewed: 443 times.

The Oakfield Farms Dairy was located at the southeast corner of the intersection of south Main Street with Coe Avenue. The dairy served delicious ice cream cones and also served soft drinks such as root beer in a frozen mug. In addition, it featured home delivery of buttermilk, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, ice cream, and orange drink. This is a quart bottle filled with white sand (no, it is not 50 year old milk!).
Viewed: 488 times.

Photo of the negative used to make the
silkscreen to paint the emblem on the bottle. When a silkscreen became unusable due to excessive painting, a new one would be made with the negative.

Interestingly, the negative says "Oakfield Dairy Farms", unlike the bottle which says "Oakfield Farms Dairy". Which was it? Did the name change after I left in 1963? It was "Oakfield Farms Dairy" when I left.
Viewed: 422 times.

Blue Boy (George W. Haxton) Grapes Label, 1950-60
Viewed: 403 times.

Blue Boy (George W. Haxton) Can Cherries, 1950-60
Viewed: 434 times.

Here is a Blue Boy cola can from Curtice-Burns, successor cannery to Haxton's, probably from the sixties.
Viewed: 375 times.

Blue Bus schedule, Buffalo-Batavia-Rochester, with side trips to Oakfield, January 12, 1947
Viewed: 477 times.

This is an 1897 map of Oakfield produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS). It is from the Medina Quadrangle. The map scale is 1:62500, and the contour interval is 20 feet. Many streets have not yet appeared, including Bennett, Cary and Farnsworth Avenues. Note the railroad spur heading south along Garibaldi Avenue, ending at the western base of a hill which is 880 feet high. What was the spur used for?
Viewed: 468 times.

This is a revised map produced by USGS in 1922, with cultural overlays added. Bennett Avenue has appeared, as well as the east end of Cary Avenue. There is a symbol for a religious institution (a cross) near Triangle Park where the Cary Seminary stood. The Cary Seminary closed by 1905, was demolished and a new public school was built on the site in 1926. The gypsum plant can be seen near Judge Road, with a railroad spur leading from the main line. The crossed pickaxe symbols represent mines, in this case gypsum mines. Look at the 880 foot hill mentioned in the previous map and note there is a mine symbol there. Perhaps the Garibaldi Avenue railroad spur was used to haul gypsum ore from the hill to the plant?
Viewed: 482 times.

Here is a USGS map of Oakfield produced in 1950. Cary Avenue and Oak Street are complete and Farnsworth Avenue is emerging from the west. Look to the right of Triangle Park and note the school (it has a pennant). Haxton's cannery has appeared. A large number of bodies of water have been built in the lower center of the map, primarily to supply water to the gypsum and canning industries. Finally, note that the Garibaldi Avenue railroad spur is no longer there, and also note the 880 foot hill is now only 820 feet tall (there are 3 fewer contours = 60 feet lost). Perhaps the gypsum was mined out and it was no longer profitable to work the hill. But how about using the hill as a location for a rec pond and a landfill?
Viewed: 525 times.

Gallery: OACS Alumni :: Photos

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Album: Old Oakfield Photos