Over the past week bridge work continued on Broadway. Division street was dug up Thursday as well. Concrete is poured trucks stop by regularly, forcing one lane traffic on Broadway in front of the Presbyterian Church.
NYWorks continues digging up soil at the former Martel’s Auto. A sizable crater has formed in between Top Dogs and former service station’s building. I’ve seen a few pre-dawn dump truck loading sessions on my way past.
Horses were a topic. There were two runaways of horses with cutters but no damage was done. At the Elbow on the ice, John Brett’s “Billy Button” won three heats of four from H. C. Hall’s “Sure Thing.” The proprietor of H. C. Hall’s hotel added to his livery stables four fine horses, two barouche sleighs, and a first class single turn outs.
Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – March 7, 1974 – Title Unknown
In the mid and later 1800s there were horse and stock farms around the village of Whitehall. There were many valuable horses owned and a stock breeding business. Some horses were owned by the farmers; others were pastured for out of town owners. A visit was made to George H. Buel’s farm (Austin) and the W.B. Woodward farm across the road. Mr. Buel owned George Barney, a bright blond with a black mane and tail of Morgan ancestry. His descendants were of the same color and grace of motion. Mr. Buel also owned Barney Henry, a black stallion of ancestry from Ethan Allen Jr. and Black Hawk. George Ingall’s pet, an old grey gelding was stabled at the Buel farm. Across the road was W.B. Woodward’s farm, known as the Bascom farm. This was a horse breeding farm. He stalled Ethan Allan Jr., Jack Frost, Francis E. Fish’s two year old filly and Mish Collins’ black colt. Mr. Woodward wintered horses from as far away as Troy, Saratoga, Brattleboro, and Albany. A common saying at this time was “All we need is a track to initiate the movement (racing).
In 1874 on Poultney Street there was a pair of grey mares owned by Mike Nichols, three year olds. These were of Banner stock, one of which showed great promise. Frank Douglas on the Gibson farm had a handsome bay team, four year olds.One was a Hamiltonian colt. There was also a two year old Ethan Allen Jr. which
showed promise.Sheep: Sheep were at one time very important in Washington County and were on Whitehall farms. Perhaps this shows why they disappeared. In 1874 Jerry Brown and Robert Mytoll had flocks of sheep. One night dogs killed eighteen. They must have been large dogs and savage, for the sheep were torn and some had the hides almost torn off. The dogs had bitten at the head and torn the hide off. At the same time George S. Griswold at South Bay had three killed, one with an especially long fine wool. Jerry Brown had 200 acres of land valuable for sheep raising and Robert Mytoll 75-100 acres. They said they were getting rid of all their sheep and would not raise any more.
Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – July 7, 1988
October continues getting cold as the first killing frosts have started to brown up the shorter grass. A thick fog settled over the village several days this week, including some frost for some window scraping on the morning commute. Several wind storms have removed a bulk of the leaves from the trees. Sunrise is now later in the day as we approach winter.
The former Martel’s Auto has seen some activity. NY Works has begun excavation of soil. After excavation, the soil is removed. The excavation activities will likely reduce the probability of the temporary truck inspection stations that have been set up in this area.
The Town of Whitehall recently decided that it may be moving into the Skenesborough Firehouse, and occupying a majority of the “carpeted” space. This move will take the Town offices from the canal building to the firehouse just a few hundred feet up the road. The Town of Whitehall has been occupying the canal building since a neighboring fire forced them from the previous office, now currently occupied by City Steaks and Seafood.
In other town discussions, recently the town decided to discontinue payments for free electricity offered on the canal wall behind the museum. This will reduce canal wall boat parking, but hopes to increase use of the two Marinas below lock 12 to the north, whom recently announced their pending closure.
Interest in horses has increased lately in Whitehall as well, as in other parts of the country. An interesting TV program that has attracted many is called The American Horse and Horseman and appeals to the owners of Whitehall’s quarter horse, standard breed Morgan and App but in Whitehall 100 years ago the Morgan breed held the
leadership. These horses seemed to be owned by Whitehall’s business men. On the Bascom farm one mile south of the village was kept a famous horse Ethan Allen Jr., owned by S.B. Woodard. This horse and his line furnished many of the horses in this area.
His genealogy started with Justin Morgan, that tough versatile animal brought to Randolph., Vt., in 1795 from Springfield, Mass. an “unbroken two year old runt.’’ From
him in line was Sherman bred in Lyndon. Vt., and noted for his endurance and docility; Black Hawk. Sherman’s greatest son born in Essex county; Ethan Allen born in 1849 in Ticonderoga to become the fastest trotter in the world and from whom every Morgan living today can be traced (his mother was owned by F. A. Leland, an itinerant peddler through Hague, Schroon Lake and Whitehall); and Ethan Allen Jr. whom W. H. Cook of Ticonderoga raised.
Mr. Bascom in 1874 was raising at least seven colts. All sired by Ethan Allen. Jr. Across the road was George H. Buel brother of Julio Buel of fishing tackle fame and
noted in his own right as a good farmer. He was one of the sheep raisers of the town. He was keeping horses owned by W. F. Bascom, an Insurance man in the village and some of his own.
H. C. Hall in the Manville Scribner & Co. lumber business owned a driving horse of the Lambert line. He is noted in the directory as a “Horseman”.
E. W. Hall owned a sorrel horse, a trotter “Mystery”, a matched pair of family horses, and a tandem team of the Ethan Allen stock. He was a slate manufacturer, a drug
store owner and owner of the Hall Mansion on West Mountain. George A. Hall a hardware merchant owned a matched sorrel team with white faces
and white legs of the Black Hawk stock.
The Honorable F. E. Davis, a dealer in all kinds of lumber, had a span of matched horses, very fast travelers.A. Martin, a village trustee and dealer in lumber in the steam mill on the east side of the lake, owned a span of English draft horses.
N. Collins, a milkman and farmer, had a well matched roan team.
Joseph Arquette, who owned a meat market, drove a fast trotter while John Brett, a feed store proprietor, had two trotters of the Black Hawk line. Supervisor George Brett and B. H. Baldwin drove trotters.
William Pardo, a barber, had a gelding of the Columbus stock. The farmers Francis Fish, Warren McFarren, Frank Douglass, George and Frank Bartholomew owned fine
colts of the Ethan Allen stock.
Hannibal Allen, town clerk and owner of a hardware store, went to the Hambleton man blood which was an out breeding of the Morgan Line not now allowed. David
Bartholomew of the Yule Hotel owned one of this line. George Griswold in the tin ware business and H. G. Burleigh of the transportation line had trotters of the Lambert stock.
Dr. Holcomb’s horse was not listed as to line but he always had a good horse to be able to attend to the sick at a distance Whitehall does not have any monuments to horses as does Crown Point. A 12 foot statue in the village square as erected to honor Pink, Col. John Hammond’s horse which was in 88 skirmishes and 34 battles of the Civil War. He descended from the Black Hawk line. Another statue is at Penfield Museum for Billy, wounded at Gettysburg and owned by Col. James A. Penfield. He was a grandson of Black Hawk.
An interesting item for horse lovers, or not, is that Ethan Allen was taken by his later owner to Rhode Island and from there to a western ranch where he made a contribution to the quarter horse breed. The American saddle horse is also indebted to the Morgan as is the Walking Horse.
Early newspaper items tell of the trotting races on the ice, road racing and ownership of fine horse flesh in Whitehall. Mr. Wilkins said ‘Our town is famous for its
handsome ladies, its fine looking, genial, gallant men and for its gallant stock particularly that noble animal, the horse.”
Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – December 26, 1974