Question: Here is another photo of the Four Corners at a later date than the photo from last week. Note the same building is on the southeast corner, but notice the trolley in the background in the middle of the road. Some of the buildings still exist; others are long gone. Learn more about it in next week’s answer.
Last week’s answer: The photo from last week showed the Four Corners sometime between 1881 and 1899. In 1881, James W. Upson purchased the Judge Bigelow store that was on the southeast corner of the Four Corners and moved it across Canal Street to the east of the American Hotel. He then erected the three-story brick block shown in the picture. The business was known as Upson & Donovan.
The last date (1899) comes from the fact that Sept. 25, 1899, was known as Trolley Day, since it was the inauguration of the trolley coming through Baldwinsville. The proof that this picture is before 1899 is that there are no overhead lines for the trolley’s power. Later pictures definitely show the lines coming across the bridge and turning right on Canal Street to take the trolley to its turn onto what is now Albert Palmer Lane. (Remember Genesee Street was Canal Street at that time.)
Be sure to note the warehouses along the south side of Canal Street. Also note that just beyond the Upson building there is no trolley ticket building there. That’s the site of our first public library which was housed in the trolley station (1948).The warehouses along the street backed up to the busy Baldwin Canal. This was previous to the Barge Canal (1908) and therefore our main port for conducting business.
Further back in the photo is a tower, way down by where Dunkin’ is now located. That was the Seneca Mill aka Wilkins Mill and Hart Mill. Did you also note the hitching posts all along the street in the foreground?
Geraldine Oemcke was the first person to contact the Messenger with the correct answer.
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.
