The Sterling Historical Society has published its first eighteen month calendar – the last of 2010 and all of 2011. The tradition of being a popular place for summer visitors was heightened by train travel. For example, The “Cato Picnic” occurred every August from 1900-1912. Special trains (typically two trains of eight cars each) started in Auburn with stops at Weedsport , Cato, Ira and Martville. The Ira Band, the Cato Drum Corps and the Cato and Meridian baseball teams would go “All Aboard!’ The round trip fare was 35 cents. Highlights of the day were group picnics, baseball games between rival teams, the bands alternating with concerts, dance hall, two steamboats and a merry go round that operated all day. The present day home of Pete and Pat Hanford is located where the old Ontario Hotel was located along with some 25 cottages, a dance hall, picnic grounds, a tennis court, a baseball field, docks on the bay and access to the railroad.

Hanford Story Includes Early Ontario Park History and today’s SOFA. The Hanford home built by Dr. J.B. Hanford is the home today of son Pete and Pat. Like “Doc” Hanford, the present Hanford generations make major contributions to the community. Pete and Pat have headed SOFA (Save Our Fourth Association) for eleven years. SOFA events are featured near the beginning of the calendar. Community recognition is expressed by a sign “Thanks to Our SOFA Heroes!” in Phillips Park.

Recent Meeting of Sterling Seniors Featured a talk by Pete and Pat about SOFA. Pete credited the hard work of all the committee heads and volunteers for the success of SOFA. Contributors to SOFA activities include Bay Betterment Association, the Red Creek Legion Band, the Fair Haven Fire Department, the Fair Haven Community Church and Mayor Wm. McVea for obtaining clean up services. Pete asked for ideas from the large audience to improve the event. People in attendance offered their own remembrances of the 4th. He also mentioned changes that are in the works for next year such as additional bands for the parade and a larger fireworks show. He assured everyone that the future of Fair Haven’s Fourth of July celebration is secure. The three day Fourth of July program attracts thousands of visitors to Fair Haven each summer. It is estimated the summer population of Fair Haven is some four times that of year around residents.

The Fun Places to Visit Calendar ($5) featuring twenty four places is available in Bayside Grocery, Savannah Bank , Fair Haven Gift Shop, Fair Haven Village Hall, Sterling Town Hall, Fair Haven Beach State Park among other places.

West Barrier Bar: “Eyesore” to “Dynamic Guardian” of the Bay

(Part V – after ownership is settled as reported in previous columns, part as marina, part as public park)

-by Jeff Baker

Person at Bar looking out to lake is Pat Cooper Maxon

Things went well at first. The entire personality of the area changed. Cedar posts were driven to mark the parking and picnic areas, tables appeared, a launch ramp was begun, and a “restroom” was built near the pier. But, when after two years state money stopped flowing, Cayuga County lost interest and adopted the attitude held by the village and town boards six years earlier; the park was an expensive liability. The “restroom” was the first to suffer. This type of facility, an outhouse really, designed for use by ecologically minded hikers on wilderness trails, was unable to withstand the onslaught of beach goers it attracted. When it became the target of abuse, it was locked up. Soon the cedar posts and picnic tables became firewood for beach parties; roadways deteriorated, garbage began to pile up and once again rowdies established conclaves near the pier where they could menace both boaters and beach goers. In spite of the efforts of concerned citizens like Bonnie Bridson, various civic and church groups as well as Butler prison crews to keep the litter under control, the deterioration proved unstoppable.

In a 1997 AUBURN CITIZEN article, Charlie Itzin called the park “an eyesore — known more for its drinking parties, broken glass, and dirty diapers than peaceful, scenic Ontario views.” He called it “the forgotten orphan of the county park system,” and quoted fellow Fair Haven resident Sam Colvin, “It’s still not a safe place to go, especially for women”. Dave Holdridge was no longer in office as legislator and ultimately, the county decided that concrete block barriers and a chain across the entrance would minimize the problems. The park remained in limbo until 2004 when a developer approached the county with an offer to purchase the parcel. County officials were considering the proposal when grass roots West Barrier Bar Tenders sprang up to lead opposition against it. The sale fizzled but community interest did not.

Walkers on east channel wall

Prompted by public sentiment , the Village of Fair Haven and Town of Sterling boards took another look at the park concept and decided that a cooperative approach offered the best chance for a successful stewardship. They joined forces in an effort to promote and finance park development; it is anticipated that if the joint effort yields positive results, joint ownership is a possibility. The appointment of Pat Cooper to the newly created position of steward in ‘07 was a giant step forward.

She feels a real affinity for the land she patrols and the wildlife it attracts. Pat sees the West Side as a special place as do Dave Holdridge, Bonnie Bridson, Sam Colvin and Charlie Itzin along with countless others, looking back through the generations to the first residents of Sterling and Little Sodus in the early 1800s. The importance of West Barrier Bar as the bay’s dynamic guardian cannot be overstated just as the property’s potential to be a source of community pride cannot be denied. Here’s hoping community leaders are willing to meet the challenges involved in turning potential of the future into reality.

Note from “Out West Side Story”: “We are currently in the 3rd year of a 5 year agreement between Cayuga County and Town of Sterling and Village of Fair Haven. At the end of the 5 years the park will be jointly owned by the Village of Fair Haven and the Town of Sterling. Hopefully local control will bring stability to the park management. At this time there is a West Barrier Bar Park committee trying to navigate these uncharted waters of acquiring and managing a park. The committee’s focus is to continue management of the park as a more family friendly state than it has been in the not too distant past while maintaining its natural “feel”".

by Jeff Baker

Frank’s son, Allen, born in North Fair Haven, inherited his father’s business acumen as well as his West Bay Road property including the gravel bar. At the age of 22 he traveled to India where he worked as an agent for Standard Oil. Upon returning home, he managed the family ice business and achieved success as a shoe manufacturer, restauranteur, and banker. Despite the fact that his businesses were located in Auburn, he maintained an active interest in Fair Haven, building the cottage on the water on the east side of Eldredge Point in 1933 and purchasing the Lighthouse Reservation, when the Lighthouse Service transferred operations to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Easily spotted from the lake, the most interesting feature of the house is the watch room with its large picture window. (It was here in recent years that Elizabeth Eldredge, Allen’s daughter and Frank’s granddaughter,(See photograph,) hosted a Historic Site meeting of the Sterling Historical Society.) This room had its own entrance and was totally separated from the rest of the house because while on duty, the lightkeeper was not to be disturbed by the family.

In 1943, the lightkeeper’s position was abolished, and in ‘48, the Coast Guard removed the wooden lighthouse and replaced it with a 24 foot high, metal tower with a battery -powered light. A solar-powered light on a pole replaced the metal frame light tower in 1986. The old tower was taken to an Oswego junk yard but found its way back to to the west side to the Boathouse house marina, (now Fair Point Marina), where it stands today.

During the 30’s the bar became a popular recreational area as the site of the Tri Aqua Park dance hall with its stage, bowling alley, and restaurant–a smaller reincarnation of the Lake Breeze. The Lake Breeze was a large, two story building that Will Grant moved to the bar in 1907. For several years it was a destination for passengers aboard Grant’s tour boat, the DEWEY. As for the dance hall of the 1930s, Dorothy King remembers the beautiful floor and a time when dances were a large part of a young person’s social life. Allan leased out some of the buildings on the bar, a few of which stood into the ’80s. There was a fisherman’s cabin, a rental cottage, the dance hall converted to a boat storage barn, and the lightkeeper’s boathouse in the cove where the family’s Star class boat was moored.

In the ’50s, Allan became aware that another party claimed ownership of the gravel bar. It was the State of New York, no less. He first ascertained that the Federal Government had no claim of ownership, then began a dialog with state officials. When he died in 1957, Allan Jr. ,my uncle , had no desire to pursue the issues involved, and all communication with the state ceased until the early ’70s when I reestablished contact with the NYS Office of General Services. Eventually, they directed me to the Real Property Division of the Department of Environmental Conservation. I had recently purchased the east side of the bluff and the bar from my uncle’s widow and was using the old boathouse as the office for the Boathouse Marina earning a sentence in Ray Sant’s “Trails, Sails and Rails”, “Jeff was a college teacher who returned to Fair Haven to start a boat business on the west side.”

Negotiations with the DEC were cordial but slow, and the issues involved complex. The Baker/Eldredge claim was defined by English Common Law, and Roman Law. Simply stated, these principles hold that accreted property becomes part of the upland property on which it builds. On the other hand, state lawyers maintained that the property in question was the bottom of Lake Ontario washed ashore and therefore belongs to the state because the state owns the lake bottom. Things were further complicated by the fact that some of the accretion was “forced”. Both arguments had legal merit, and it became apparent that any litigation would be lengthy and expensive. What made matters worse was the west side’s growing reputation as a “no man’s land”. Local residents avoided the area. It had become a magnet for vandals, drug dealers, and other outlaws, in spite being a regular stop for the state police or sheriff’s deputies when looking for “the usual suspects”. Three years of negotiations with the DEC led to a compromise whereby the state recognized private ownership Boathouse Marina Site and agreed to reroute the pier access road around the marina; and I relinquished claim to ownership of the 17 acres between the marina and the pier. There was also a non compete clause. Other topics covered in the document dealt with buffer zones, and most importantly, the best use of the 17 acres between the marina and the pier. It was obvious that the undeveloped acreage with the lake shore on the north side and the bay shore on the south was an ideal location for a recreational area offering water access to the public.

circa 1920s Frank Eldredge and granddaughter, Elizabeth Eldredge

Fair Point Marina,West Barrier Bar Park, Channel, Lake Ontario, upper; Little Sodus Bay, right lower

left, Hallie Sweeting, Judy Snyder

New Town Historian

The Sterling Town Board appointed Judy Snyder as Town Historian at its July 19 meeting. She succeeds recently deceased Hallie Sweeting. and has been active for many years in helping maintain official records She has already served a number of genealogical inquiries. Judy continues to serve, as she has for many years, as treasurer of the Sterling Historical Society. Currently, she is also Chair of the Sterling Historical Society Board of Trustees.

by Jeff Baker

The construction of a range light at the south end of the pier in 1896 signified the completion of the west side project. Little sister to the outer light, the range light replaced the pole mounted light that marked the channel entrance from the bay side and helped boat captains navigate its length at night. It is not far fetched to see those two beacons as symbolizing the boom years of the late 1800s and early 1900s when Fair Haven experienced its greatest prosperity thanks to the railroad and related shipping. .

The man whose name is most closely associated with the bar during the latter part of those boom years was Frank Eldredge, my great-grandfather. Frank was a Horatio Alger figure who began his pursuit of the American Dream as a telegraph operator for the Leigh Valley Railroad in North Fair Haven and achieved success as a businessman and politician. As a shipping agent for the railroad, he had his finger on the pulse of the community and because the family lived on the second floor of the depot, he was always near the center of activity. He served several terms as Sterling Town Supervisor and Cayuga County Treasurer, earning a reputation as Fair Haven’s “First Citizen” along the way.

In 1904, he purchased Hunt’s Point (Eldredge Point) and built a house there for his wife Jennie, fulfilling a promise made during a courtship picnic. He owned a number of local businesses including Eldredge Coal and Ice, Garrick Coal and Ice and Eldredge -Robinson Shipping. He was one of the area’s largest employers, especially in the winter when the “Big” ice house was in operation, His popularity was further enhanced by his love of horse racing and his sponsorship of local sports teams and community picnics. Frank knew that when the government acquired the property for the Lighthouse Service from S.R. Wells, it had failed to purchase the land on east side of the bluff, the piece that included the bar.

In 1912, he bought the property including that portion known as the “Bar” from Henry Harrison to be a base of operation for the Eldredge-Robinson Sand and Gravel Company. Longshore drift provided an endless supply of stone for the crushers at a time the local construction and transportation businesses were eager customers. Evidence of the mining operations remained into the 1950s. During the high water of 1952-53, when most of the pier was under water, the old gravel pits flooded and became carp habitats. When the water receded, the trapped fish provided great sport for local boys with spears, bows and arrows. Alas, by the 1920s, the boom had pretty much run its course and Frank began selling his various enterprises. In 1926, he tried to interest the Finger Lakes State Park Commission in purchasing the bar for a park. A survey prepared when the sale was being considered depicts property lines, Lighthouse Service rights-of-way, the range light and even some of the original groyne timbers east of the range light. Instead, in 1927, the Commission bought land on the east side of the channel for Fair Haven Beach State Park. We don’t know how close Frank’s idea came to becoming a reality, but it’s worth noting that our barrier bar “almost” became a public park as early as the 20’s. Frank died in 1928.

by Laura A. Decker

Come down Memory Lane with me with the big iron horse that came down from Auburn twice daily, stopping along the way to Fair Haven. This is through the eyes of a child. I remember the whistle that blew when it came under the old bridge on what is now known as the Cosgrove road. The bridge is long gone now. My brother, Howard Liddle and I would stand on that bridge when the train went under it while the steam came up between the boards. That Iron Horse was not like the ones today. It was big and black and was coal fed. I remember its smoke stack with its trail of smoke going with it. The “Y” in back of the barn was where the railroad cars were left that didn’t need to go to Fair Haven.

I would stand on the front lawn and wave at the engineer and conductor as they went by. I can still see him sitting in the window of the train with his arm leaning on the sill of the train as it goes by, waving back at me. I didn’t know him, but I felt like he was my friend by the way he waved.

I saw many people walking those tracks, as people didn’t have the cars those days, and they did a lot of walking. They walked to meet the train, to get the mail, to school, to Fair Haven, and Martville to do their shopping. They walked to the Junction where Floyd Rudd was the ticket agent. He and his wife, Ottie, lived in the old hotel (a private residence now), where Ottie was Post Mistress. The address was Sterling Station back then.

Sherwin Hill tells me he remembers jumping on the 7:00 morning milk train with other boys and riding to the junction from Fair Haven. I can see Mrs. Wyman and her three children, Joe, Stanley and Helen, carrying her market basket heading for Fair Haven to get groceries. My grandfather was going for the mail. My Father and I would walk to Martville to get his hair cut at Rufus Blanchard’s barber shop. He played pool at the pool hall in Martville next to the store, then stopped off at Harold Howland’s Red and White for groceries he put in a feed bag and carried home on his shoulders.

Two people who walked that track, every school day, were my brother Howard and I. We walked to the Junction then took the road (Sterling Station Road) up the Keville Hill to the school.

One morning the train was late. Our Mother had to send us to school down those tracks. She sat us down and preached to us good on what to do if we met the train. I still remember her words. “Go down the bank quickly and turn your back on the train; don’t look at it or you would be sucked into the wheels.” We heard the whistle, saw the big black engine coming at us under the bridge. It saw us too, its whistle blowing. I am sure the engineer’s heart came in his throat … But we did just as Mother told us to do. Of course my brother had his big story of how he saved me. But don’t you believe it. Mother was very glad to see us when we got home from school.

“Fair Haven, Fair Haven, the Land of the Free and the Home of the School Teachers”

Marion Rudd used to take the train from the Junction and Lucille VanWie got on at Ira Station and went to school in Cato. Francis (Wall) McIntyre took the train to business school in Auburn. Naoma Brown and Marie Bower Frost were a few teachers that took the train. Harry Brown was a baggage man on the train. He would come through the passengers’ car when he got close to Sterling or Fair Haven saying “Fair Haven, Fair Haven, the Land of the Free and the Home of the School Teachers.”