Pioneer Record: Recent submissions

Now showing items 1-20 of 90

    • Burly Albionite Fools U.S. Customs Agents at Canadian Border 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2016-12-31)
      Frank Loveland, an Albion businessman, found himself under suspicion of theft by U.S. Customs Agents at the Canadian border in 1878. Their mistake earned Loveland a free lunch.

    • Communal Company Promoted Early Settlement in Carlton 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2018-07-28)
      On September 10, 1810, eight men from Stockbridge, Massachusetts signed a contract binding one another to a settlement on the Holland Land Purchase in Western New York. These men were unsure of what they would encounter ...

    • Bailey's Grocery was a Staple in Albion 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-03-25)
      Raised on a 240-acre farm on Transit Road, James Bailey entered the employment of Harvey Goodrich in the 1850s. After fifteen years of working in the grocery and dry goods business, Bailey started out on his own before ...

    • Albion Erects First Electric Pole Nearly 130 Years Ago 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-03-18)
      Wabash, Indiana became the first city to utilize electric streetlights and the Village of Albion installed a system to replace gas lighting nearly six years after. With a starting capital of $18,000, E. K. Hart, William ...

    • Medina Native Influential in Development of Pharmaceutical Industry 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-03-04)
      Perhaps one of the most frequently overlooked stories in Orleans County history is that of Silas Mainville Burroughs and the development of the pharmaceutical company that would become one of the largest in the world.

    • The Orleans Republican: Albion's Pioneer Publication 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-03-11)
      Established by Cephas McConnell in 1828, the Orleans Republican was established in the same year that the Village of Albion was officially incorporated. Due to its age, it was regarded as the pioneer publication of the ...

    • Renowned Portrait Painter had Connections to Orleans County 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-04-29)
      Regarded for his portraits of James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, Chester Harding was a respected painter during the early 1800s. Records show that he purchased a parcel of land in Barre, New York from the ...

    • The Great Fire of 1882 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-04-22)
      On January 13, 1882, Albion residents witnessed one of the most catastrophic fires in the history of the village when the northwestern section of the business district went up in flames. The loss, estimated at $151,000, ...

    • New York State Assemblyman Made Municipal Park Possible 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-04-15)
      Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1894, George Bullard defeated Democratic challenger Ora Lee and Prohibitionist candidate Relly Tinkham by a margin of over 1,400 votes. Bullard was regarded by political leaders ...

    • Remembering the Centennial of "The War to End All Wars" 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (2017-04-08)
      As the United States celebrates the centennial of the First World War, Orleans County recalls the sacrifices of those members of Company F, 108th Infantry from Medina and other parts of Orleans County. Howard Hinckley, a ...

    • Medina High School Boasted Successful Debating Team in 1910s 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-04-01)
      During the 1910s, area schools hosted debate teams consisting of male and female students. In 1916, the Medina High School's Ladies' Triangular Debating League Society debated the question of short ballots in New York ...

    • Medina's Empire Couch Company 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-01-07)
      A prosperous business venture at Medina, New York went south in 1931 when the Central Bank of Medina closed its doors due to the declining bond market.

    • Orleans Hotel Site of Prohibition-era Raids 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-05-27)
      While the United States "enjoyed" the consequences of the 18th Amendment, photographs of the Orleans Hotel show a bar void of liquor bottles and bar stools. In 1922 the Hotel was one of several businesses raided by Sheriff ...

    • Benjamin Lisk Bessac 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2018-08-11)
      Born on March 12, 1807, at New Baltimore, New York, Benjamin Bessac’s mother died when he was just 12 days old leaving his father a widower with an infant child. On October 2, 1825, Bessac walked to Lockport where he boarded ...

    • Oldest Photograph of Albion Shows Empire Block Before 1868 Fire 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-05-20)
      The "Old Empire Block" was one of Albion's more iconic structures in the downtown business district until a fire destroyed the structure in 1868.

    • Albion's Legion Band was Focal Point of Celebratory Programs 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-05-13)
      As a well-respected musical outfit in Western New York, the Sheret Post #35 American Legion Band traveled throughout the region providing concerts to communities and veterans organizations.

    • Motorized Fire Apparatus Made Albion's Department Best in the Nation 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-05-06)
      The purchase of a 90 horsepower Thomas flyer hose, chemical, and ladder truck in 1913 ensured that Albion's fire departments were equipped with the best vehicles in the United States. The addition of this Buick Model 30 ...

    • Department of History Holds Collection of 1893 World's Fair Tickets 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-09-30)
      The collections within the Department of History contain newspaper clippings, genealogies, published histories, and photographs, but a number of interesting artifacts and ephemera items serve as a window into Orleans ...

    • Gallagher Operated Pioneer Trucking Company in Medina 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-08-23)
      Purchased in 1906 from George Hall, William Gallagher started his moving business out of this building on North Main Street in Medina. Gallagher was also responsible for constructing segments of Route 18 and Route 5 in ...

    • "Bean King" Offered Fine Dining at Lone Star Inn 

      Ballard, Matthew R. (County of Orleans, 2017-09-09)
      The Lone Star Inn, "a quaint homestead with glass enclosed verandas, set on a knoll a few hundred yards off the Million Dollar Highway," was a fine dining establishment opened by Lewis Sands in 1923. The following year, ...