OACS Alumni :: Photos :: Old Oakfield Photos, Volume 2

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Old Oakfield Photos, Volume 2

20 images in this album

[slideshow]

Gallery: OACS Alumni :: Photos

Album: Untitled

Album: Old Oakfield Photos

A Bird's Eye View of a Portion of Oakfield, photo from the Batavia Times, special edition entitled "Illustrated Genesee County and its Industries", published in 1907. The photograph was most likely taken from the bell tower of the Presbyterian Church on North Main, looking south. Visible in the top right center, over the buildings which currently house the Village Offices and portray the village mural, is the high school on Webber Avenue. To the right of the high school, and in the distance, parts of the US Gypsum plant and the AJ Tanner cannery located on the West Shore tracks may be seen.
Viewed: 440 times.

Main Street, Oakfield NY - From the Batavia Times special edition published in 1907. The view is from the south looking north. The bell tower of the Presbyterian church can be seen over the post office, which was then located in the Smith block at the corner of Main and Mill St. (now Forest Avenue). On this side of Forest Avenue on the right side of Main, across from the post office, is the building which would become Peterson's Drug Store later in the century. Continuing toward the viewer, other buildings on the right side are the Arnold House and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). The second floor of the IOOF was used for high school basketball competition until the Pearl St. school was built in 1926.
Viewed: 456 times.

Bennett Avenue, from a postcard published about 1908. Postally unused, but reverse bears message "The house marked X is where I board. Geo. N." The postcard was obtained from the estate of Senator Thomas Day. The view is from the east end of Bennett Avenue, looking west towards North Main St. The three houses on the left, from left to right, are respectively 20, 18, and 6/8 Bennett Avenue. The house barely visible at the end of the avenue is 73 North Main St. The three houses on the right are 11, 13, and 15 Bennett Avenue. It is worth mentioning that the 1904 map of Oakfield does not show Bennett Avenue, but the 1922 USGS map does. The postcard could be date-bracketed by checking village tax records for the date of construction of the most recently built house of the six shown, and for the oldest house not yet built. Coincidentally, as of October 2004, the house marked "X" (18 Bennett Avenue) was for sale for $39,900, and the real estate listing indicates it was built in 1905.
Viewed: 439 times.

Oakfield High School on Webber Avenue, from a postcard sent 8 August 1908, from Oakfield to Batavia. Published by Albert Wilson of Buffalo, NY. Postcard was printed in Germany, and available for purchase at Briggs Pharmacy. Birdsall Briggs was the Oakfield pharmacist at the time. The school building was built in 1892, and served as the high school from 1899-1925, until the Pearl Street School was built in 1926. Later, the bell tower was removed, and the building was used to teach kindergarten and elementary grades until the 1970's. The building has since been converted to apartments.
Viewed: 394 times.

Another view of the Oakfield High School on Webber Avenue, from a postcard sent from Oakfield to Buffalo on 20 June 1910. Published by C.A. Spear of Oakfield, NY. Spear was a general merchandiser and insurance writer in Oakfield. He also published the postcard entitled "Webber Avenue Looking South", shown elsewhere in this gallery. Perhaps not surprisingly, he owned property on Webber Avenue.
Viewed: 359 times.

The US Gypsum plant, Oakfield NY, from a postcard published between 1908-1912. Postally unused. From the studio of the Eastern Illustrating Company, Belfast Maine.
Viewed: 367 times.

In the Gypsum Mines, from a postcard published between 1908-1912. Postally unused. From the studio of the Eastern Illustrating Company, Belfast Maine.
Viewed: 386 times.

Promotional dairy pick distributed by George Lesso of Oakfield, circa 1950. Back in those days, milk came in glass bottles with a circular neck. A cardboard cap (see the Elland Dairy photo) was mechanically pushed into the center of the neck to seal the milk. On the outside of the neck a metal cap was crimped around the edges to provide further sealing. The metal caps were sometimes difficult to remove, resulting in lacerated fingers and mild oaths. Dairy picks such as this one eased the task.
Viewed: 343 times.

Some hunting badges issued by the Oakfield Rod and Gun Club in the sixties and seventies.
Viewed: 358 times.

Scotch goose call, manufactured in Oakfield. Not sure, but I think you use it like you are playing the bagpipes.
Viewed: 333 times.

Receipt for a civil war bond redeemed in 1864, written by Mr. Fidinger of Oakfield to Mr. Ingalsbe, town supervisor.
Viewed: 366 times.

Stamped Envelope with 2 cent Washington stamp, cancelled at Oakfield, NY on 2 July 1887. Sent to Alfred Tyler, Shelby Mills, Shelby Center, Orleans Co., NY from Chamberlin & Wiedrich, a dry goods and grocery store located on Main St.
Viewed: 337 times.

OHS commencement program and graduating roster for the class of 1938. The event was held on 28 June 1938 in the Pearl Street school auditorium.
Viewed: 336 times.

1829 map of the portion of Genesee County where the town and village of Oakfield would eventually appear. At that time, they were both part of Elba township. The village of Oakfield was called "Plain Brook", although it does not appear on this map. The Lewiston Road (today state route 63) may be seen leading NW from Batavia to Alabama, passing through Plain Brook. Note that the village of Elba was then called Pine Hill. From "A Map of the County of Genesee" published by David H. Burr.
Viewed: 339 times.

1839 map of the area we know as Oakfield, revised from the 1829 Burr map. In 1837, Plain Brook's name was changed to Caryville, to honor Colonel Alfred Cary, an early benefactor of the village (Cary opened the first store in 1833 and funded the Cary Seminary in 1840). The "Oakfield" shown on the map is not the village we know, but is instead the hamlet known today as Five Corners. The town of Oakfield did not yet exist; it would be created from the town of Elba in 1842.
Viewed: 360 times.

1866 map of the village of Cary (the name by now had been shortened from Caryville). The village became incorporated and its name unofficially changed to Oakfield in 1858, but it's name still appears as Cary on this map. At that time, Maple Avenue was known as Chaple (sic) St. and Forest Avenue as Mill St. Map from the New Topographical Atlas of Genesee and Wyoming Counties, by S.N and D.G. Beers, Philadelphia.
Viewed: 432 times.

1876 map of a portion of the town of Oakfield and the village of Cary. The name Oakfield became official in 1882, by an act of the state legislature. Map from the Atlas of Genesee County, by Everts, Ensign & Everts, Philadelphia.
Viewed: 385 times.

1904 map of the village of Oakfield. At that time, Forest Avenue was known as Mill Street. Note the high school on Webber Avenue (see the postcards elsewhere in this gallery) and the Cary Seminary just east of Triangle Park. Also, note the AJ Tanner Cannery and the US Gypsum Plant near the West Shore railroad tracks in the south part of the village. Map from the New Century Atlas of Genesee County, Century Map Company, Philadelphia. A much larger (900x1275 pixels, 275k) and more-detailed version of this map may be seen here.
Viewed: 440 times.

1995 map of Oakfield, the most recent offered by the US Geological Society (USGS). This map is a revision of the 1950 USGS map shown elsewhere in the gallery. The revisions are shown in a light red color. For example, Farnsworth Avenue now has been completed to North Pearl St. Note that the railroad tracks in the south part of the village have been removed.
Viewed: 386 times.

1998 aerial image of the Oakfield area. The image combines data from the optical and infrared portions of the spectrum. Certain crops and surface materials reflect light and emit heat with specific signatures, producing different colors and textures in the image. Note the large school complex in the upper left of the image. How far we have progressed since Webber Avenue and Pearl Street.
Viewed: 480 times.

Gallery: OACS Alumni :: Photos

Album: Untitled

Album: Old Oakfield Photos