Hudson in 1905: Newspapers

Gossips Note: The original plan was to present the businesses featured in Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., in the order in which they appeared in the booklet, but yesterday's realization that Galvan Partners or the Galvan Initiatives Foundation now owns both the buildings—346 Warren Street and 364 Warren Street—long associated with newspapers in Hudson has inspired me to offer today, out of order, the booklet's description of the newspapers that existed in Hudson in 1905: The Republican, which was headquartered at 346 Warren Street, and The Register and The Gazette, headquartered at 364 Warren Street.

The following are excerpts from Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.  

THE HUDSON REPUBLICAN--In 1819, the Columbia Republican, a weekly, whose name has been a synonym for clean journalism for nearly a century, was first published; in 1847 the Hudson Daily Star came into existence. Nearly thirty years later, William Bryan, then owner and editor of the Columbia Republican purchased and consolidated the Daily Star with his weekly paper, and the Hudson Morning Republican dates from that year--1876. 

Mr. Bryan lived to see his ambitions gratified, and his paper take a strong hold on the community where he spend his life. Henry R. Bryan, his son, succeeded to the control of the paper upon the death of this father in 1897. In 1900, the Bryan Printing Company, of which Henry R. Bryan is President, and Albert W. Fell, Secretary and Manager, was incorporated and took possession of the plant.

The Hudson Morning Republican has been but a series of successes. In the last five years it has been enlarged four times, each enlargement necessitating more machinery and equipment, until now it has the largest and best equipped newspaper, job printing and bookbinding plant in this section. It is known among the journalistic critics of the State as the best edited, made-up and printed daily in the Hudson valley, and it is the only morning daily in the seventy-five miles between Poughkeepsie and Albany. It is the only paper in this territory with a direct wire telegraph service, delivering to an operator in its own building a nightly report of the news of the world, and its telegraph news is several hours later than that furnished by the New York morning papers which are sent to Hudson. 

Every department is thoroughly equipped with modern machinery, embracing the latest Mergenthaler Linotype plant, and fast presses; expert workmen supervise the output of trained editors, who are guided and advised by a manager of long experience; all combining to make The Republican by far the leader in eastern New York journalism.

And as with the daily, so with the older weekly, the Columbia Republican has shared the prosperity of its younger brother and is a stand-by in the country homes and a welcome visitor to the hundreds of Hudsonians who have gone out to make their way through new fields. 

The circulation records of both papers are at all times open to the inspection of advertisers, and both far exceed in circulation any other papers between Poughkeepsie and Albany. They are both prominent and powerful factors in the political, commercial and home life of the city of Hudson and Columbia County. They maintain the traditions of their founders and have taught their readers that gossip is never news, slander never worthy of space, and that a kind word, when possible, is the word to be spoken. This policy has so carefully been adhered to that no Republican needs to be expurgated before being read, and the people know that if it is not in the Republican it hasn't happened or isn't fit to print.

The Republican was published in this building: 346 Warren Street.

THE HUDSON EVENING REGISTER--(Read in over 2,000 homes nightly)--Is one of two newspapers in a city of just a few more than 10,000 population, and the only evening paper in city or county. 

Established in 1866, it has since been a member of the Associated Press, and receives the only telegraphic service in its field.

The official Democratic paper. It covers over sixty suburban towns, containing news of each from local correspondents. Complete stock market reports.

THE HUDSON WEEKLY GAZETTE--(Read in over 3,000 homes weekly)--Is a weekly edition of The Register. It is the father of The Register, and "The Grandfather of them all," having been established in 1785.

The oldest paper in Columbia County, and one of the oldest in America, it has been read in hundreds of families for more than a century.

Our special care and pride is complete county correspondence. Another is good market reports. Another superior accounts of local happenings.

The Gazette is the official county organ. Its telegraphic service, exclusive in county, enhances it, and reprinted from our daily, its has greatest reading surface.

Columns for Children, Women, Suffrage, Education and Temperance Workers are features, and we use the Talmage sermon and serial stories.

These facts are convincing to the advertiser. We ask for a trial ad, and believe you will renew.

The Register and The Gazette were published in this building: 364 Warren Street

Galloway Gallery: Exhibit 30

With attention focused on the Galvan Initiatives Foundation's acquisition of the former Register-Star building, Galvan's purchase of another building just down the street slipped by unnoticed. In May 2012, Galvan Partners purchased this building, 346 Warren Street. The building was once filled with tenants, but it now appears to be unoccupied.

Hudson in 1905: Part 14

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

H. F. KOSTER--Grocer. No. 403 Warren street. The Store conducted by Mr. Koster is very well known in this city. It was established twenty-five years ago, and was formerly under the management of Mr. Kennedy. For high class groceries of all kinds there is no better place to trade. Mr. Koster has the interests of his patrons at heart, and the best of service is guaranteed. The premises occupied are large and well adapted to the business in hand. The store is fitted up with strictly up-to-date fixtures, suited to a most excellent display of the stock carried; for a neat and orderly arrangement of goods is a leading attraction in any store. When the eye of a customer is pleased, his patronage is pretty sure to follow. Mr. Koster's stock  comprises everything in the line of staple and fancy groceries, canned and bottled goods of all varieties, flours, country produce, and green goods. The leading brands of teas and coffees are always in stock. There are six clerks employed in the conduct of the business, and by them all orders are given prompt and accurate attention. For the accommodation of the public goods are delivered to any part of the city free of charge.

Gossips Note: It's not entirely clear where Mr. Koster operated his grocery store. The address given--403 Warren Street--indicates that it was located in the upstreet half of the building at the corner of Warren and Fourth streets, where Hedstrom & Judd now is. There's photographic evidence that at some time before 1888, the tailors and clothiers Tilley & Aldcroftt occupied the first floor of the entire building. Was the store subdivided in 1880, when Mr. Koster started his grocery store? Or perhaps Mr. Koster's grocery store was at 405 Warren Street, where Aprile's House of Beauty is now located. 

An Interesting Development

There's been an ongoing kerfuffle about Chief Ellis Richardson's contract, the crux of which is Richardson's desire to have the City continue to pay in full for his health insurance after he retires. In the latest development, it seems that his current contract, which was put into place in 2005, has been judged to be invalid by city attorney Carl Whitbeck, because it was signed by Cappy Pierro, then Police Commissioner and also mayor's aide and now an alderman from the Fifth Ward, but it was not signed by the mayor or approved by the Common Council. Tom Casey has the story in today's Register-Star: "City attorney: Chief's contract invalid." 

Not to Be Missed

Hungry in Hudson's review of a Taste of Hudson, complete with tantalizing photographs: "did you Taste?"  

Happy Anniversary, Greenport

Calling itself "the forgotten town," Greenport is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its creation today. In his article about the celebration, which appeared in the Register-Star yesterday, Billy Shannon attributes the founding of the Town of Greenport to Oliver Wiswald. Unfortunately, he got the name wrong. It's Oliver Wiswall, and the creation of Greenport was more an act of secession than of founding. 

Captain Franklin Ellis, writing in 1878, describes Oliver Wiswall as a "public man of great energy and activity." He was an alderman in Hudson in 1822 and 1823. In 1824, he took over the Hudson Weekly Gazette, the newspaper started by Ashbel Stoddard in 1785. Wiswall was mayor of Hudson in 1827 and 1828, but nine years later, he was leading the effort to separate the "outlying territory" of Hudson from the "compactly built portion of the city." Here's Ellis's account of the creation of Greenport:

The name is supposed to have been determined by Oliver Wiswall, who assisted in procuring the act authorizing the formation of the town. Its significance arises, perhaps, from the beautiful appearance of Mount Merino, as it projects, with its rounded summit, to the view of boatmen coming from the north; its slopes and its heights, covered with green verdure, marking from a long distance above the entrance to the port.

Mt. Merino, in the Catskills--Sanford Robinson Gifford

The town was formed May 13, 1837, and was composed of the outlying territory of the city of Hudson, leaving to the latter only a narrow tract, beyond the compactly built portion of the city. The people in the remoter portions of the city territory had for many years been opposed to sharing the heavy financial burdens incident to the city government. The cost of paved and lighted streets--of public buildings--of city improvements generally, was being paid in proportion to their assessments by the citizens four and five miles distant equally with those in the city proper. This became very burdensome, and the movement for a town organization acquired finally a controlling power, and was successful in procuring the authority of the Legislature to organize.

There is no doubt that there was some reasonable argument on both sides. It is true that perhaps nine-tenths of the people of Greenport--weekly and many of them daily--enjoy all the city improvements, and therefore it was argued that they might justly be required to pay for them. Yet there was danger that useless and unnecessary expenses would be voted by the compactly settled portion of the city despite the protest of the "rural districts." The farmers were successful in releasing themselves from this danger. The movement, too, had an immediate practical result. Charles Hollenbeck states that the taxes went down nearly one-half the next year after the town was organized.

It is due to the citizens of Hudson to add that they made no very determined nor prolonged opposition to the formation of the town. Those friendly to the organization of the town and active at Albany in supporting the measure were, besides Mr. Wiswall, Jacob R. Hollenbeck, Michael W. Hollenbeck, Jones (sic) H. Miller, Christian Happy, John Tompkins, and probably there were others.

Gossips Note: Oliver Wiswall's home on Mount Merino, which in 1878 Ellis described as "somewhat neglected, and its fine buildings scarcely occupied," will be the setting for the benefit reception following Historic Hudson's 2012 house tour on October 6, "Rooms with a View." 

Photograph of the Oliver Wiswall House courtesy Historic Hudson

Hudson in 1905: Part 13

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905. 

F. R. TOWNSEND--Funeral Director. No. 426 Warren street. In the twenty years in which Mr. Townsend has been established in business in this city, he has always maintained the high principles of a calling of this nature. Mr. Townsend is an embalmer or extraordinary skill and ability, and has gained a high reputation among the people of Hudson. His apartments are finely appointed and arranged with an elegant salesroom in the rear of the office, where a fine line of caskets and other appointments familiar to this special business are carried. Mr. Townsend has his own hearse and wagon, and with his long experience in this sort of work and the number of years he has been in this city, has become well known not only for this reliability in cases requiring his services, but for the care and personal attention which he gives to every detail. Mr. Townsend engages one assistant. Residence, No. 519 Warren street. Both phones at office and residence.

426 Warren Street today--Louisa Ellis

Hudson in 1905: Part 12

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

TILLY [sic] & ALDCROFTT--Merchant Tailors and Clothiers. Corner Warren and Fourth Sts. This well-know firm has been established in business here since the year 1856. Its name has become a by-word for the best of everything produced in their particular line. Clothes secured at Tilly & Aldcroftt's fit well, look well and wear well. Complaints are an unknown quantity at their place of business, for they do not give their patrons the smallest chance to utter a syllable of dissatisfaction. Some twenty or more skilled and experienced workmen are employed by this house, all of whom are artists in their line. The store is large and well adapted to the finest display of goods. The proprietors take special pleasure in showing samples and having prospective buyers look over their goods. The lowest prices are quoted, and all work is guaranteed to give the utmost satisfaction. The good will of the managers is extended to all the patrons of the house.

Tilley & Aldcroftt before 1888

Fourth & Warren today--Hedstrom & Judd and Face Stockholm

Bringing Temptation Closer

It started as a pop-up shop during Winter Walk last year and stayed on, offering high-quality artisan chocolate in all forms at its outpost location on South Front Street. But now the Chocolate Bar is moving in with Verdigris Tea Shop at the corner of Warren and Second streets. On Saturday, September 15, there will be a celebration of "marriage" of the two shops. Guests are invited to sample a two-tone wedding cake paired with wines from Fairview Wines & Spirits and to taste custom-made chocolates from Christopher Norman. The celebration takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. at 135 Warren Street.

The Acquisition of Hudson

The news that it was to happen came in February. The Register-Star moved out last month. Now comes the news that the Galvan Initiatives Foundation has finally closed on its purchase of 364 Warren Street, but it's still not known what the plans for the building are. The announcement appears in today's Register-Star: "Galvan closes on 364 Warren St."

News on the Historic Preservation Front

The word is that the Galvan Foundation has withdrawn its appeal to the Common Council for a review of the Historic Preservation Commission's decision regarding the Robert Taylor House. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean Galvan has abandoned the idea of moving the house. It seems they intend to make a new application to the HPC for a certificate of appropriateness to move the historic house from its original location along what was once South Bay to 21-23 Union Street. 

Hudson in 1905: Part 11

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

E. W. HEERMANCE--Empire Steam Laundry, No. 715-717 Warren street. Telephones, Columbia 168, H. R. 80-D. An enterprise that has contributed largely to the comfort and convenience of the residents of Hudson and vicinity for the past two years is that known as the Empire Steam Laundry. Although established many years ago, the present proprietor, upon coming into the management, renovated and improved the plant so as materially to increase its utility and capacity for work. It is now one of the best and most important institutions of its kind in the county. The plant consists of one large floor equipped with all the latest and most improved laundry machinery, which is manipulated by a working force of five experienced hands. Both the gloss and domestic finish are used. A good business is done, and one wagon is in use to call for and deliver laundry to all parts of the city.

715 Warren Street today--B's Hats

Common Council Hearing on Rental Properties

Last night, the Common Council Legal Committee held a fact-finding hearing about rental properties in Hudson. Aldermen John Friedman (Third Ward) and David Marston (First Ward), Council president Don Moore, and city attorney Cheryl Roberts made up the panel hearing the comments; Mayor William Hallenbeck, Police Commissioner Gary Graziano, Fire Commissioner Tim Hutchings, Code Enforcement Officer Peter Wurster, and Hudson landlord Phil Gellert made up the panel offering the comments. Tom Casey reports on the meeting in today's Register-Star: "Viewpoints shared on city housing."

Casey's report requires one correction: Friedman did not say he wanted city code to elevate problematic addresses; rather he said the goal was to see how city code could alleviate the problems.

The hearing went on for two hours, and Gossips will make no attempt to report everything that was said, only some interesting information that emerged from the discussion.

Wurster offered the information that there are more than 600 rental apartments in Hudson. He revealed that 50 percent of Gellert's apartments turn over in less than a year. He outlined the following as a typical pattern of code enforcement's involvement with rental units: tenants fall behind in the rent; they receive an eviction notice; the tenants then ask the code enforcement office to inspect the property to establish that it is substandard so they can argue that they should not have to pay the past due rent. "You can set your clock by that schedule," said Wurster.

In his comments, Gellert complained that it takes too long to get a bad tenant out of an apartment, pointing out that after eviction notices are served, bad tenants continue in the unacceptable behavior that triggered the eviction in the first place.

There was some discussion about who had the power to declare a building a safety hazard and order it demolished. According to Friedman, the code gives this power to the fire chief. Wurster asserted that "the mayor is the ultimate person to say that a building needs to come down." In the discussion of condemnation and demolition, Hallenbeck talked about how some cities took possession of dangerous and derelict buildings, stabilized them, and then sold them for the cost of the stabilization--generally describing, without naming any particular city, the Community Land Bank program that the mayor of Newburgh has initiated in that city. At the end of his comment, Hallenbeck added that this took money, implying that the City of Hudson had no money available for such a program. Later in the discussion, Hallenbeck made the observation: "There is an expense to the City when you want to aggressively attack something."

Hutchings pointed out that at least one life could have been saved if a rental inspection law had been in place before a disastrous fire on Robinson Street nearly ten years ago. He explained that a new tenant had moved into an apartment before the prior tenant's belongings had been removed. Those belongings had been packed into boxes, which had been stacked in a hallway blocking an exit from the building.

Graziano made the point that there is not necessarily a correlation between buildings with fire and safety code violations and locations that the police department considers problematic. He reported that the police had been called more than 200 times to the same locations within the past eighteen months and concluded that "certain landlords rent to problematic people."  

At the end of the meeting, when comments from the audience were heard, Timothy O'Connor talked about a particular building on lower Allen Street, where "successive tenants are constant problems," and recommended the City consider enacting an "Animal House law," which holds landlords responsible if the police are regularly summoned to their building.

The Balance of Nature

There's a letter to the editor in today's Register-Star that reports on the consequences of removing the feral cats from the area that was once the Furgary Boat Club, made necessary by the eviction of the humans from that area: "Furgary cats."

"One Word: Plastics"

Remember The Graduate and the advice given to Benjamin Braddock at his graduation party? 

Well, plastics are in Hudson's future. A plastics company calling itself Phoenix Hudson is set to begin operation in the former Hudson Fabrics building at the north end of Second Street. What they do is plastics extrusion. Tom Casey has the story in today's Register-Star: "Hudson nets new plastics company." In the article, company president John Tonelli is quoted as offering these reassuring words: "No fumes, no air or water pollution. We just take the plastic and melt it into different shapes."

The photograph is a still from The Graduate.

Mystery Solved

Gossips has been puzzling over the location of the New Curtiss House for a few days now, and this morning city historian Pat Fenoff provided the evidence that laid all the questions to rest.

It's a detail from the 1911 Sanborn map, showing the corner of South Front and Allen streets. It confirms that City Hotel was on the south corner of Allen and South Front streets, the New Curtiss House was on the north corner, possibly with its entrance on Allen Street, and the Franklin Square Hotel was at 42 South Front Street. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Hudson in 1905: Part 10

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

EDWARD S. NICHOLSON--Dealer in Granite and Marble Monuments. 26 Allen street. This is the oldest establishment of its kind not only in the city of Hudson but in the entire county as well, and one that has always held a leading place for those in need of anything in this line. The fine display of finished material in the showroom and yard is ample proof of the artistic workmanship done here. Stones of any dimension are turned out in the most approved patterns and artistic embellishments. The business has been established here since 1835, and the examples of the establishment can be seen in the burial places throughout the adjoining counties. Mr. Nicholson is a thoroughly practical man himself, and one who has spent many years at his calling, and the prices charged for his products are always in reason to their actual cost and the percentage allowed for good workmanship. See him when you are in need of anything in this line. 

26 Allen Street today

One Accusation Fits All

Tonight, there is a fact-finding hearing at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Landlords, tenants, representatives of the police and fire departments have been invited to give testimony on the issue of rental property in Hudson, with the goal of gathering information to make changes to the city code aimed at improving the health and safety conditions of rental units in Hudson. The hearing was organized by Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward), chair of the Common Council Legal Committee.

Now it seems a tenant facing eviction from an apartment on upper Warren Street, in the Third Ward, is accusing Friedman of conflict of interest. The accusation seems to be based on the fact that Friedman, who is an attorney, is representing the landlord in the eviction action against him and therefore should not have any role in the Common Council's efforts to ensure the habitability of apartments offered for rent in the city. Nathan Mayberg has the story in today's Register-Star: "Tenant takes issue with alderman."

Seen at Union and Second Streets

In the area of the city most affected by the acquisitive touch of Eric Galloway.

Reviewing the Stats

Gossips achieved a new statistical high in August: 55,901 pageviews. The previous record was set in May 2012, with 52,119 pageviews. 

Galloway Galley: Exhibit 29 Revisited

Last week, Gossips reported that Galvan Partners owns 618 State Street, the house next door to the proposed site of "Galvan Quarters." Gossips was promptly informed--by someone in real estate and someone in city government--that this was not true. The property has been subdivided, but both parcels are still identified as 618 State Street. The parcel that Galven Partners owns is the one in the rear, on which this building which faces the alley is located.

The photograph of 618 State Street appeared on Gossips for less than a day before the post was withdrawn for revision, but that was long enough for a reader with a very good eye to note the similarity between 618 State Street and the central part of 67-71 North Fifth Street. 

It is generally believed that 67-71 North Fifth Street was originally a single house to which wings were added on either side. Since it is not uncommon to find houses of the same design, built by the same builder, in different locations in a city, it is quite possible that 618 State Street and the original part of 67-71 North Fifth Street were essentially the same house, constructed by the same builder following the same design.

Hudson in 1905: Part 9

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

E. D. & H. C. NIVER--Wholesale and Retail Grocers. 803 Warren street. In the 38 years in which this firm has been established here in this city it has always held an enviable place among the merchants of Hudson, and the patronage the house has always enjoyed has been such as to require the employment of a large force of people at all times. This firm makes a specialty of handling groceries of all kinds , both heavy and staple, and a complete line of farmers' supplies. The building occupied by them is of ample dimensions to accommodate a stock of this character, being two stories 24x101 feet in dimensions, with a large warehouse in the rear and a potato cellar 24x68. For the accommodation of their out-of-town customers they have a large shed in the rear of the store for sheltering teams. All orders receive prompt attention, and mail orders shipped the same day as received.

803 Warren Street today

The First Labor Day

This engraving shows the first Labor Day observance in 1882 at Union Square in New York. The unrealistically enormous flags flying from the tops of buildings are reminiscent of this photograph of Warren Street, showing similarly large flags flying from the rooftops, raising the question, once again, of whether this image of Warren Street might have been doctored.

It Was a Real Nice Clambake . . .

Our temporary obsession with the Curtiss House--old and new--continues, with this account from the Hudson Evening Register for October 14, 1915, of the clambake held annually at the hotel.  

ANNUAL CLAM BAKE AT THE CURTISS HOUSE

Many in Attendance--It Will Continue  This Evening 
Up to Midnight

An affair looked forward to by many residents of Hudson and vicinity is the annual clambake at the New Curtiss House at South Front and Allen streets, of which the popular Frank T. Langlois is the proprietor. The splendid reputation acquired by the bakes of the past is always an indication that those of the future will be even more meritorious, for Mr. Langlois aims to make each affair surpass the preceding one, if possible.

The bake at the New Curtiss house last year was partaken of by hundreds. It was deliciously prepared and served in the most efficient manner. This late afternoon the seventeenth annual bake at this well known establishment was opened. Many were present to enjoy the first pans full of clams, chicken, fish, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and numerous other delicacies. The bake was excellently prepared and it was no fault of anyone but the diner if he or she didn't get sufficient. It seemed to be bigger and better than ever.

From 4 o'clock this afternoon the bake will be open until midnight and large crowds are expected throughout the evening. Everything has been conveniently arranged to handle the diners. Special apartments for the ladies have been arranged also. During the evening there will be music and plenty of singing.

Hudson in 1905: Part 8

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

MENA HAHNE--(Successor to E. Volk.) Dealer in Groceries of all kinds. 14 South Front street. Though an old established business in Hudson, the present proprietor has only has it for the past year, but in that that space of time the business has wonderfully increased and reflects great credit on its new proprietor. The stock carried comprises everything in the way of canned and bottled goods, spices, teas, and coffees, and the prices charged here are such as to convince those who never traded here that this it the place to go for good quality and low prices. The large business done gives employment to four people, and a delivery wagon is always ready to carry your orders at all times.

14 South Front Street today

Of Interest

Relevant to Hudson's ongoing discussion of housing, economic diversity, and concepts of social engineering, Will Doig has an article today in Salon assessing the early success of Chicago's innovative mixed-income housing developments: "Chicago's housing experiment." 

Hudson In 1905: Part 7

The following excerpt is from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

WILLIAM F. SAUSBIER--(Successor to M. Baier.) Manufacturer and Dealer in Portieres, Draperies, Wall Coverings, Upholstering, and Cabinet Making. Mattresses made to order. 554 State street. Phones 114-W. In the two years in which Mr. Sausbier has been proprietor of this business he has built up an exceedingly large trade and one that is an evidence in every way of the quality and value of his product and stock. The different lines of goods handled and manufactured require the occupancy of several buildings and a store, all of which are of ample dimensions to allow for the large business done. These comprise a cabinet, mattress, upholstering, and finishing shop, in all of which a number of skilled workmen are employed. A specialty of Mr. Sausbier's is the making of antique furniture to order in any style, and some of the samples of designs carried by him are models of artistic skill.

554 State Street today

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

It seems standard practice for Galvan Partners to fell every tree on the lot soon after acquiring a property. This practice has been witnessed time and again--at 25 Union Street, 123 Union Street, 9 Union Street, 356 Union Street. So it's puzzling why Galvan Partners has not removed a tree behind another other of its Union Street holdings: 238 Union Street. 

Unlike other trees Galvan has felled, all of which were living and some of which were heritage trees to be valued for their antiquity, this tree is dead. Neighbors are concerned that if the tree should fall on its own, it would take the utility lines to their houses down with it.

Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

Trying to solve the mystery of the exact location of the New Curtiss House, I turned to one of my favorite resources: the old newspapers digitally archived at fultonhistory.com. There I discovered this account, which appeared in the Hudson Evening Register for April 15, 1881, of the abduction of a thirteen-year-old girl from Albany. Curtiss House, before it was the New Curtiss House, plays a major role in this bizarre story. 

ABDUCTION

May Adams, of Albany, the Victim

How it was Done and How it Failed

Told Her Father was Injured in Railroad

Accident--Dressed Up in Long Clothes--Rail-

roaded to Hudson, Germantown, Po'keepsie

and Back to Hudson--How She Saw Through

to Plot and Reached Home

The Albany Argus of this morning contains four columns of the history of a girl named May Adams, of that city, aged thirteen years. It is a strange story, and in many respects beyond belief. Without going into detail about the origin of the plot as told by the girl and published in the Argus, we will simply tell our reader that while at home, in the temporary absence of her mother and father, the child was informed by a man that called at the house that her father had been injured near Poughkeepsie by a railroad accident and he wanted to see her; also that her mother had preceded her and was on the way to Poughkeepsie. The girl was told to get ready at once and meet her informer, who gave his name as Macgreggor, at the depot, which she did. We here quote from the Argus:

The man bought a railroad ticket for New York and gave it to May, telling her that they would go on it to Poughkeepsie, but the conductor would think they were going to New York, and therefore would not suspect that they were going to the accident. He also said: "We have missed the 5:35 train. Your mother caught it and left word here for us to come on in the next train. You will need supper. I will take you to a house in Quackenbush street. You will get your supper there. It will be paid for. You will also ask the lady to let you go to a room to change your dress. Then you put on your mother's skirt over your skirt and a shawl. You will need them to be warm; besides, you must disguise yourself or they will know you and not let you go to your father."

The Man and May went to Quackenbush street. The house was a respectable lodging one. May took only a cup of tea, as she had no appetite. A kindly woman showed her into the back parlor. There she did as the man had told her, putting on the shawl. The change made her look like a young woman.

It was now about 7:15.

May sat in the depot. The Man sat by her, till the 10:30 train was about to start. Four detectives, detailed to watch and scan the depot, in order to find her--for her loss was now known--certainly did not find her there, and did not make any announcement which would enlighten the waiting girl, who thought she was going to meet her father.

The man said to her then: "You go on the train. Take the first seat you find empty. Put your bag under your head, lie down and go to sleep. I will wake you when we get where your father is."

May did as she was told, all but the going to sleep. The Man sat in the seat behind her with Another Man. May closed her eyes but didn't go to sleep. It seemed as if she was asleep.

After the train had been going for some time, May caught broken parts of the conversation between The Man and The Other Man like this:

The Man: "I'll say she is my step-daughter."

The Other Man: "You'll have to be careful."

The Man: "Oh, I'll be careful."

May passingly distrusted, but remembered The Man had told her they would have to act as if they were not related to any one in the accident, else she could not get near her father.

When the train reached Hudson, The Man and May got off. The Man told her they'd have to take another train to get to the accident, and couldn't do so till morning. They went to the Curtiss House.

It was now twelve midnight.

The Man took May to a room, having registered his name as J. M. MacGreggor and hers as May Le Du, saying to the clerk she was his stepdaughter.

Upstairs in the room, The Man told May she could go to bed, that she would have the room to herself, and that in the morning he would take her to the accident. He then took out a small bottle and told her "to drink it; it would make her strong." She said:

"I won't drink it; I don't want to drink it."

He said: "But you must."

She said: "I won't."

He seized her by the wrist of the right hand and pressed it, so that a ring of bruises is now on it. She struggled away from him. He then struck her on the fleshy part of that arm, but not so as greatly to hurt her.

The Man then laid the bottle on the table and said: "I am going to leave you now. If you haven't drunk that when I come back, it will be bad for you." He locked the door on the outside, put the key in his pocket and went away.

There was a window open about two inches at the bottom in the room. May took the cork out of the bottle, tilted the bottle up at this window-opening, and held it slant until all the liquid in it ran out. She then placed the bottle empty on the table. The man soon returned; saw the bottle empty, but asked no questions. He then told May she had better get to sleep and he left the room locking it as before.

May was not further disturbed that night in any other way. She slept a little, but was nearly all night worrying and praying for her father. 

Very early in the morning The Man, having knocked on May's door and told her to get ready to go, put her on a train and got off with her in a place called Germantown, eight miles from Hudson. The Other Man was on the train. He did not sit near or speak to May and the person who was with her; but that person would occasionally go and talk with him. May perceived he was accompanying them. 

At Germantown May was taken to a house where a woman was. The woman told her her hair must be parted, and parted it and did it up in a bunch behind her head. May had never worn her hair any other way than straight back from her forehead and free on her shoulders. The change still further disguised her.

May was then taken from Germantown to Poughkeepsie in another train. The Man did not take her off at the platform, but took her out of the station yard, to the river bank. He whistled, and a man came out from behind a bend, with a small boat. The man and May got in the boat, and the boatman rowed them across the river. The Man forbade May to ask questions. On the other side of the river a close carriage was waiting. May was put in that. Attempting to raise a curtain to look out, The Man rudely told her "Do not do that." He then got into the carriage, took a fur collar, with a silver buckle to fasten it, out of his pocket, and put it on his neck. From under the seat of the carriage he took a tall "stove pipe" hat, and put his soft one, that he had worn heretofore, in his pocket. This greatly changed his appearance. He then securely fastened the curtains tightly down all around, got out, shut the doors of the carriage, mounted the box and drove the horses at a furious speed for some distance. How long, or where, the girl cannot estimate.

When the carriage stopped May was taken into a house and set to work to write a copy of a bill of items amounting to $262, due A. T. Stewart & Company. The name of the person to whom the bill was made out was cut off. The girl was required to copy the items and figures. She did so and was left alone in the room at work.

The man and The Other Man were in the next room. The door was a little ajar. They were earnestly talking. May heard The Man say:

"I shall take her to New York."

Then she felt certain that, accident or no accident, she must get back to Albany; she also felt certain that she must do what the men told her to do, until she could have a chance to get back to Albany.

The Man took the copy of the bill May made and said "she did not write well enough."

May does write a nice child's hand.

May was then put in the carriage as before and driven to the riverside. The man who had rowed them from Poughkeepsie rowed them across as before. The Man, followed by the Other Man, put May on a train again and took her back to Hudson. She reached Hudson with them after three o'clock Tuesday. They gave her a pocketbook with two one dollar bills and two fifty cent pieces in it. The pocketbook was of the ordinary kind, but had a German silver plate on it marked "J. M. McG." They also placed in her hand $2.85 in change, and told her to enter the depot and buy a ticket for New York.

She said nothing, but went and bought a ticket for Albany for sixty-five cents. She put the ticket in the pocketbook and held the $2.20 change in her hand. Coming out of the station, she walked straight up to the second man, who had followed her and the Principal Person, and handing him the $2.20, said: "Give that to Mr. McGreggor, and tell him that I do not want any of his money." "Mr. McGreggor" was not visible, but was doubtless near by. The person described as the Second Man did not seem surprised. He said:

"Now you had better go to the Curtiss House again and wait till the train comes. Here is a boy: he will carry your bag up there."

A station boy did so, as requested, and when May got to the Curtiss House she felt for the pocketbook, intending to pay the boy out of one of the fifty cent pieces; but she found she had lost the pocketbook.

She looked around the floor of the office room for it, but in vain. An old and kindly looking gray haired man said to her:

"Miss, what is your name?"

May: "May Adams, of Albany. Allston Adams is my father."

The Old Man: "What have you lost?"

May: "A pocketbook with $3 in it and a ticket for Albany."

Here the contiguous and listening clerk of the hotel broke in with--

"Your name is not May Adams. It is May Le Du."

May: "I tell you my name is May Adams. Allston Adams is my father. He lives at 84 Willett street, Albany. My grandmother lives at 183 Washington avenue, Albany. I have an aunt living in Ferry street and another in Greenbush." 

The Clerk: "Did you not come here this morning early--at midnight--with two men?"

May: "Yes."

The Clerk: "One of them registered as McGreggor. He put you down as his stepdaughter, May Le Du, on the register. Girls that come to hotels at midnight with men will say anything. You haven't lost any money or any ticket."

The Old Man: "How much money have you?"

May: "Fifty cents." [That the man gave her at her father's house the afternoon before.]

The Old Man: "And you want fifteen cents more to get another ticket for Albany?"

May: "I need that much more. I will take your name, if you will give it to me, and give you my father's name. He will send you back the amount, sir."

The Old Man: "I don't know how it is with your being May Adams and May Le Du. But, I will give you the fifteen cents, and your father can give it back to me again."

May wrote on the inside of a leather cover of an adjustable dairy [sic], "Charles W. Cone, Hudson, N.Y., April 12, 1881, fifteen cents," took the money, went to the depot, carrying her luggage, and with the sum made up to sixty-five cents bought another ticket to Albany. Her words and situation followed her, on the tongue of gossip, from the hotel to the depot. 

While sitting there the baggage man, Mr. Miller, or Mr. Fuller, came to her in his shirt sleeves and said:

"You want to go to Albany? you look hungry; the Albany train won't be along for some time; go back to the Curtiss House; I'll pay for all you want to eat; you can get your father to repay me; here is my address," giving it to her.

He took her to the Curtiss House, and said to the clerk laconically: "Give her a much as she wants to eat, and I'll pay for it."

May ate a hearty meal, and needed it.

She then went back to the station and sat down. The baggage man said to her, "Now I have to work further down the track; but I'll try to send a man here to watch things for you. You be careful to take no train but the one to Albany. Ask only the men you see at work for the company round here. Don't ask any others, and don't talk to them."

He then went away, but pretty soon the clerk of the Curtiss House, who had suspected May, came up and said: "The baggage man told me to see about you. I'll put you on the Albany train. See that you get off at Albany, and that you get home."

The clerk was as good as his word. He found an acquaintance on the train who was going further than Albany, and said to him: "This girl wants to go to Albany. She has been put in my charge. You sit in the seat behind her; see that she gets out at Albany and that nobody disturbs her."

This was done and May Adams got to the Albany depot at 9:05 Tuesday night, and walked into her father's house at five minutes of ten that night, bearing carpet bag, shawl and umbrella with her.

Every statement about Hudson city is found to be completely true. The traces beyond there are receiving examination and concur with every statement made. May can identify every location except the ground traversed in the covered carriage opposite Poughkeepsie.  

The addresses furnished by kind people in Hudson are in their own writing.

*****

All the relevant details have been given. The abductors did not injure the child in any way. The only attempt at it was to make her take the sleeping potion, which she frustrated, as told. 

May Adams is a child of strictest honor in word and act. This confirmed narrative is made out precisely by her own account in detail. The formation of it into words and sequence, with the examination and verification of fact and evidence, is the work of the writer. Except for that literary labor, the statement is hers--and it is found to be true by examination, as well as felt and known to be true by anyone who comes into relations with her, in her thorough ingenuousness of childhood, and in her intensely vital, vivid and self-evidently accurate statements of her experiences.

She had never traveled by railroad, to speak of, before. She relates movements which concur exactly with the time tables. She read the names of stations. She brought home evidences that corroborate every word. Here is a tale impossible to invent, and impossible to be even mistaken in.

Then the girl's straightforwardness saved her, made friends for her, and at the same time gave the conspirators notice that they had failed or that the chances were against them. "McGreggor" never showed in sight after the girl gave his companion the money and the curt message, at Hudson. The companion never showed in sight after he had directed the girl to go back to the Curtiss House. When they counted the change and found $2.20 had been returned out of $2.85, they knew that the missing sixty-five cents was the price of a ticket from Hudson to Albany. 

The girl's head had got in line with her heart. She was bound home.

The conspirators disappeared.

Hudson in 1905: Part 6

The following is an excerpt from the booklet Illustrated Hudson, N.Y., published in 1905.

HERMAN H. REDLINGHOUSE--Tin, Sheet Iron, and Copper Worker. No. 11 North Sixth street. Hudson River Phone. Mr. Redlinghouse has been the proprietor of this establishment for just one year. The business was formerly conducted by Mr. E. H. Davis, who was manager for the twenty years previous. The present owner, however, is a man thoroughly competent to carry on the successful work of Mr. Davis, and has already proved his capability and efficiency during the short time during which he has had control of the business. Mr. Redlinghouse is a tin, sheet iron and copper worker of no mean ability, understanding thoroughly the trade in its every phase. An important specialty is made of furnace, cornice and skylight work, contracts for which Mr. Redlinghouse will complete at the lowest rates possible, at the same time doing the work with promptness and accuracy. Four assistants are employed by Mr. Redlinghouse.

11 North Sixth Street today

Gossips Note: The Warren and Wetmore building at 560 Warren Street, designed for the Hudson City Savings Institution and now occupied by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the County Clerk's office, was completed in 1910. The addition to the building, which stands where 11 North Sixth Street once stood, was constructed sometime later. The following picture shows how the corner of Warren and Sixth streets and the row of buildings on the west side of Sixth Street between Warren Street and Prison Alley must have looked in 1905.