Question: This whistle, one of many, represents a long period in Baldwinsville history. Do you know anything about its use?
Last week’s answer: The group of men in last week’s photo appears to be dominated by a large man standing in the center and wearing a leather apron, the typical garb of a blacksmith. Horse blankets, harnesses, and wagon wheels are also part of the stock in trade. A portion of a two story brick building is visible in the background.
The subject of the photo is the blacksmith shop of Hilton & Eggleston. The shop was located on the north side of Canal Street, now East Genesee Street, between the Four Corners and Virginia Street The brick building in the background is Morris Machine Works. The photo was taken circa 1890.
Blacksmiths played a key role in the development of every emerging community. They met the essential needs of everyday life from hinges and nails to horseshoes and wheel rims. The first listing of local blacksmiths was recorded in 1846. It included Jeremiah Fink (1818-1868) whose shop was on Canal Street.
By 1865, Richard W. Hilton and Lewis Eggleston lived in Baldwinsville and had married sisters Helen and Mary Jane Fink. Blacksmiths Hilton and Eggleston entered into a partnership that would last almost 40 years.
Post Civil War Baldwinsville was a thriving community. The railroad had arrived in 1848 and the depot was a short distance to the east. Canal Street was about to transition into a highly industrialized and bustling thoroughfare. Hotels were springing up and Morris Machine Works was about to move from the south side to Canal Street.
Hilton & Eggleston’s shop entrance faced the west. The south side of the building faced the street and the Baldwin Canal. In the photo may be seen the remnants of a large faded painted sign advertising “D. Douglass, Blacksmith.” Douglass may have been affiliated with the shop at some time.
The first Morris company buildings on Canal Street were located east of Virginia Street. The growing business steadily expanded its campus to the west. By the time of the photo Morris enjoyed a global clientele and needed to expand further. A foundry was to be part of the new structure. The blacksmith shop was in its path. Hilton and Eggleston sold their property and were offered positions in the new Morris facility.
They formally dissolved their partnership and both men joined Morris but left after a couple of years. Richard Hilton passed away in 1909 at the age of 70. Lewis Eggleston passed away in 1921 at the age of 78. Both are buried in Riverview Cemetery.
Morris Machine Works has also passed away but one of its buildings remains today. Once the site of Hilton & Eggleston’s blacksmith shop, the former MMW erecting shop now houses multiple businesses including Empower Federal Credit Union and Laboratory Alliance of CNY.
Email your guess to [email protected] or leave a message at 315-434-8889 ext. 332 with your guess by noon Friday. If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s newspaper, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
