East Main St scenes from long ago

Rene Elliott shared these photos and wrote:
The post office, not sure who whiskers is, possibly the Butternut Valley Mutual Fire Insurance agent? The other picture was taken after a Linn tractor had plowed the road, and Gage's had moved to the corner store from the building at right with the big porch (1923?), and the E.R. Hunt feed store (once Payne's "Otsego Hotel") has had the front remodeled. It was cold enough to see a horse's breath on the far right. One car per two teams of horses, gives you an idea of what traffic was like.

Eventually the Post Office was moved west on Main St and a gas station was built in front of it. About 1992 the portion of the building that had been the Post Office was torn down. Photo by Rene Elliott.

A man connected with both the Butternut Valley Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Morris Post Office was Edwin C. Miller. You can see his name on the 1911 listing for the insurance company organized in 1904 for a state report above. He was also involved with another insurance company, Safety Co-Operative Insurance Company. A photo of him is posted on his findagrave memorial.

http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92747033

Finally his appointment in 1916 to be postmaster of Morris is recorded below. The presidential appointment came about because the Post Office had moved up from 4th class to 3rd class. Third class post offices provided a salary for the postmaster and a presidential appointment. The Oct. 4, 1916 Morris Chronicle newspaper takes note of the change in col 3 just above halfway down.

I saw this copy of a postcard for sale in the Morris Hall of Frames on Main St. Saturday and couldn't resist it. It shows the current Gates-Cole agency building as E. R. Hunt's Feed Store with a second and third story plus pillars. I don't know what year it was taken but all the flags in the snow banks make me think it was taken on New Year's Day. I looked up E. R. Hunt in the Morris Chronicle and found the add below on page 3 of the Dec 4, 1912 edition. I will put the whole newspaper page in the files section so you can read it.

Rene M Elliott
Well first of all, why would they have flags out in the snow? George Washington's birthday? The star field on the flag can tell you the vintage, they switched on the next July 4th after each state was added to the Union. This looks like it is the pre-1912? What is now teh frame shop I think was Gage's and then to extreme right Melnick's/Welch? E.R. Hunt was cheesemaker down East Side Road who rebuilt the original cheese factory there, believed presently to be the barn that sets back in where the old millrace ran from the Butternut to the lower factory ground. Hunt was still making cheese and selling feed in 1917-1918 when H.H. Linn was hauling freight with one of his smaller prototype tractors. Later on that feed store became GLF (Grange League Federation) and had a "Alf The Elf Says Feed Elmore Yourself" when its a step Elmore Feed Store (branch of an Oneonta concern) and managed by the Benjamin who rented the Dave Old's house on South broad. Dave Olds told me when he bought the house c. 1952, the back porch was insulated with feed bags, and he wasn't sure but thought Benjamin might have stored or sold feed out of there at one time. Further to the left you can see the water fountain/trough in front of what was teh post office, with E.C. Miller insurance office upstairs? Steps visible to the stone block extreme left, barber shop, and feed store of Niles & Elliott (Ed Niles and George Elliott Jr.) who used the large barn up back where Ara Sprague and John Lennox later ran a feed store. The stone block was owned by a man in Mt. Upton who later committed suicide and Niles & Elliott bought the building. Did you notice the man with his hands together, background center, who looks like he is making a snowball? That might explain why the kid at left has snow on his hat brim? What is really, really interesting, is on the roof of E.R. Hunt's feed store? Cupola? You used to be able to see the footers of the pillars in the pavement in front of the building.

Elmore Milling Company also has a sign on the building.

Main St Looking East

Main St Looking West -- Shared by Donna Davenport on facebook - Otsego House Hotel on left, later called Payne's Hotel

Main St looking west. At first look I thought that the woman was the fountain.