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The six schools of Oakfield village from 1828 until the present. In the insets from left to right are the former location of the log schoolhouse at 6 South Main (1828-1853), the Cary Seminary at 1 North Pearl (1844-1925), the former location of the school built in 1851, on Drake Street behind the seminary building (1851-1893), the school at 10-12 Webber Avenue (1893-1973), and the school at 1 North Pearl (1926-1973). Parenthetical dates are years served as schoolhouses. Of the five older schools, only Webber Avenue and Pearl Street remain standing, today apartments and senior/handicap housing respectively. The first two insets are from old postcards, the third from Google Earth, and the last two from Genesee County tax records online. In the background is the current school as photographed in 2004 by '82 alumnus Jeff Drilling. In many communities including Oakfield, when a new high school is built, the old high school becomes the new elementary school.
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| Determining the location of the schoolhouse built in 1851. When Oakfield's first schoolhouse built in 1828 at 6 South Main Street became outdated, the village decided to replace it with a new schoolhouse in 1851. The new school was used along with the Cary Seminary until the Webber Avenue school was built in 1893. The 1876 map of Cary shows the new schoolhouse on Drake Street behind the Cary Seminary building (top left). To find its location in the context of the current village, we appeal to a recent satellite photo (upper right). We register the map with the satellite photo and make the map half transparent so we can see through to the satellite photo beneath (lower left). We observe the 1851 schoolhouse sat approximately on the rear driveway of the Pearl Street School (lower right). Photos respectively from the 1876 atlas of Genesee County, a 2006 aerial photo of the village from TatukGIS Viewer, a translucent overlay produced with Adobe Photoshop, and a Google Earth streetside image.
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| Top: Genesee County historical waymarker for the demolished Cary Seminary, located on Drake Street at the Pearl Street School. Bottom: detail of the Cary Seminary waymarker, with the intersection of Drake and Main in the background. Photos from Genesee County bicentennial archives.
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Aerial view of the Pearl Street school, onetime location of the Cary Seminary. Photo from the 1940 Oracle. To the right of the school is St. Michael's Hall, former residence building for the Seminary, demolished in 1965.
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| Inscription over the front door of the Pearl Street school, built 1925-26. Photo from the 1945 Oracle.
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| Harrison Williams, high school principal during the first two decades of the Pearl Street School. Howard Bain succeeded Mr. Williams in 1948. Mr. Williams' photo, dedication, and signature are from the 1942 Oracle.
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Oakfield school principals in the early 1960s. From the left, Mr. Robert Beswick (high school), Mr. Herbert Slocum (elementary school) and Mr. Howard Bain (district). From the 1962 Oracle.
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| The cover of the first Oakfield yearbook, the Oracle of 1919-20. Photo from the 1945 Oracle.
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| A postcard view of Main Street before automobiles came along, about 1900. The Gann Brothers grocery was at 39 Main, currently home to the Village office.
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South Pearl Street, then called South Street, about 1905, from a postcard. To the right is Triangle Park. The Oakfield Book Club sponsored and funded the park's construction. The houses at the left are respectively 8, 6, and 4 South Pearl Street. The streetside step-up at 8 South Pearl was used for easy access to horse-drawn carriages. Note the fancy finial on the roof of 6 South Pearl. The house is still standing, without the finial.
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| The four Oakfield hotel proprietors in 1917. Shippey built and operated the West Shore Hotel, which stood at 35 South Pearl Street for many years. It has been replaced by a one story brick building which was once a barber shop, and is now an apartment. Wilson built a hotel in 1906 on the location of the fire-stricken Oakfield House, adjacent to the Pearl Street railroad tracks. Known for many years as the Wilson Hotel, it is today called the Oakfield Hotel, owned and operated by the Scopano family. Zirbel was a local blacksmith who operated the Arnold House, with blacksmith shop out back, later a mechanic's garage. I do not know the history of the hotel out on the Lewiston Road. Anybody? From the 1917 Ledger of New York State Excise Tax Records.
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| The Arnold House Hotel (left) and Odd Fellows Hall (right), from a postcard, circa 1930. The Arnold House was demolished in 1965. For many years in the early to mid 1900s, Searls Grocery and General Merchandise was located in the Odd Fellows. The Odd Fellows today houses the Post Office and was temporary home to the Oakfield Historical Museum before the recent acquisition of 7 Maple Avenue.
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The Arnold House, from a postcard, circa 1930. Out back was a service station. I can almost hear the rat-tat-tat of Thompson machine guns and the smashing of illicit moonshine bottles.
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| The West Shore Hotel, from a postcard dated about 1907. Collaboration with Darlene Warner and Sam Scopano confirms the hotel stood at 35 South Pearl Street, across from the Buccieri store at the intersection with Stevens Street. Look out for the spook in the upstairs window! The location as it appears recently is shown in the inset at right.
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| Distribution of the Shippey estate. From the Oswego-Palladium Times, dated 19 January 1953. George Shippey, proprietor of the West Shore Hotel for decades, died in 1951 and his widow Alice followed him in 1952. Her will is described here. It is unclear where in Oakfield her house was located, although conversations with Darlene Warner indicate that the Shippey summer home may have been located at 33 South Pearl Street, adjacent to the West Shore Hotel location.
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The Oakfield Hotel (background image) at 49-51 South Pearl Street is owned and operated by the Scopano family. Originally on this location was the Oakfield House (upper right inset), which burned in a fire in 1905. The following year, on the same site, Fred Wilson built the hotel bearing his name (lower right inset). In the early 1900s, there was a lucrative business at the hotel due to its proximity to the West Shore Railroad Depot. Sadly, passenger train service to Oakfield was terminated many decades ago, and the tracks next to the hotel were removed in the 1970s. In 1976 the Scopanos added a bowling alley annex to the hotel, which is a nice facility. Inset images from postcards, background image from Genesee County tax records.
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| Top: The West Shore railroad depot on the Pearl Street tracks, about 1905. Image from a postcard that recently sold on eBay for $113 (no, I did not bid). Bottom: A Penn Central locomotive in front of the decaying West Shore Depot, in 1972. Photographer unknown.
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| At the corner of Main and Forest Avenue, the Smith block circa 1900 contained the post office and Griffin grocery (top photo). This is a great photo. It may be snowing, based on the white dots and the heavy clothing worn by the citizens. That may be the Isaac brothers on the right in their blacksmith regalia. Or Constable Tilley at the post office. Also, it is possible that C.H. Griffin (in shirtsleeves) is standing in front of his shop. The Smith block was named for the family of W.H. Smith, a local blacksmith and wagon merchant who had a shop on Main Street. Today (lower photo) the Smith block is the local branch of the M&T Bank. Upper photo from notecards published by the Oakfield Historical Society. Lower photos from Genesee County tax records.
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Top photo: the Smith Opera House (light-colored building) was built in 1898 and burned to the ground in 1902, but was rebuilt within the decade. It was Oakfield's movie theater during the era of silent films, and hosted musical events, other forms of entertainment, and village gatherings. It burned again in 1932 at the advent of the "talkies", but sadly this time it was gone for good. The village may have considered it obsolete, since an auditorium was available at the Pearl Street school as of 1926. Information was derived in part from the 2009 Oakfield calendar published by the Oakfield Historical Society. Bottom photo: Invitation to the 1900 High School commencement ceremony, held at the Smith Opera House.
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| The evolution of 40-42 Main Street (where the current pharmacy is located) over the course of a century. It is called the Martin block, since a merchant named H.C. Martin had a general merchandise store there in the 1880-90s (upper left). In the same building was Alfred Caple (1846-1897), Oakfield tailor. The Martin building, a wood frame structure, along with most of the business section of the village, burned in the great Oakfield fire of 1895. It was rebuilt in brick, as decreed by a new village ordinance ordering all business structures north of Water Street to be brick. Tenants of the new building included C. A. Spear Merchandise and J. A. Cooper Bakery (upper right). In 1927, Glenn Peterson (lower left) moved his pharmacy into the building (the same year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs for the Yankees). He had started his business across the street at 61 Main in 1926. Peterson Drug operated at 40-42 Main for many decades thereafter. There was a soda fountain at the pharmacy. Today, 40-42 Main remains a pharmacy (lower right). Photo credits respectively from the 2009 Oakfield Historical Society Calendar, a postcard circa 1910, the 1976 Oakfield Bicentennial History book, and Genesee County tax records.
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| The Isaac business on the corner of Main and Water streets, about 1890. Emmanuel Isaac was a blacksmith in Oakfield during the late 1800s and early 1900s. His house still stands at 22 Main (lower left). It is located to the right of the Odd Fellows Hall as you face the building. His shop was at the location of 5-7 Main (lower right). Upper photo from notecards produced by the Oakfield Historical Society. Lower photos from Genesee County tax records.
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Catholic services in Oakfield have been held at several locations since 1900. Early services were performed in private homes by an itinerant priest from East Pembroke. In 1905 Reverand Walsh purchased the German Methodist Episcopal Church at 31-33 Maple Avenue (upper left), which was used for services until late 1913, when a new church at 32 South Pearl Street was completed (lower left). The Pearl Street church offered mass on the second floor, with the first floor reserved for community functions. In 1930 the church at 55 Maple Avenue, St. Cecilia's (background image), was completed and is still in use today as part of the Padre Pio Parish. The Pearl Street church was demolished in 1945. Information obtained in part from Nancy Bow's article in the Genesee County 20th Century in Review history book. The Pearl Street image is from a postcard circa 1920. The other images are from Genesee County tax records.
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| One of Oakfield's earliest newspapers was the Oakfield Reporter, which operated from about 1890 through the early 1900's. Darlene Warner, 1962 OACS alumnus and past president of the Oakfield Historical Society, has determined the newspaper was located near the location of her flower and gift shop at 21 Main Street. Here is a picture of the Reporter building (top) about 1900 and its location (bottom) as it looks today at 11-13 Main Street. A small frame building at 7 Main Street (to the left of the Reporter) may be seen in both photos, and still stands today. It is very old, village tax records date it to 1824. The Reporter plant burned in 1909 and the business was sold to the Batavia Times in 1910. The county tax records do not indicate when the current 11-13 Main building was constructed. The Reporter photo was scanned from the cover of the 2009 Oakfield calendar published by the historical society, and the lower photo is from the Genesee County online real property system.
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| Promotional flyer for Billy Russell's magic act, performed at the Pearl Street school auditorium, circa 1930. The event was sponsored by the high school's Future Farmers of America.
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Diagram of the Blue Bus line between Buffalo and Rochester, circa 1945. There was bus service from the corner of Clinton and Elliott in Batavia to Oakfield. The village bus stop was at Peterson's pharmacy. Note there was also a stop at the gypsum mines.
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| Two postcards from the early 1940s, depicting generic country scenes, not necessarily of Oakfield.
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| An Oakfield Grange ribbon, front and back, circa 1920. The Wiki definition: "The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also simply styled the Grange, is a fraternal organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being". The grange was opposed to cattle drives. It also encouraged the development of electricity to rural areas.
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Sign advertising roofing materials for sale at Frank A. Hackley's hardware at 37 Main, circa 1930. Milford Olmstead bought out Hackley in 1946 and operated the hardware store until his death in 1955. At that time Alvin Hilchey took over. Today 37 Main is part of the village office complex.
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| Matchbook covers for early 1950s Chevrolets, promoted by Gerald Tumulty's dealership in Alabama.
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| Matchbook cover from Oakfield Farms Dairy, owned and operated by the Scroger family for many years, on the corner of South Main and Coe Avenue. Among other things, the Scrogers made great root beer floats (chilled mugs of root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream).
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