Salt, Boats and the Erie Canal

Friends of Salt Point & Lansing Historical Association

Salt from the 425 million years-old deposits half a mile below the earth’s surface has been harvested from brine well refineries (table salt) and a few deep mines (rock salt) around New York from the early 1800s to the present. Salt was transported to market first by early rough roads and for decades by boats on lakes, rivers, and the first two iterations of the Erie Canal.

Ithaca and other places became boat-building centers that provided various kinds of boats for transport of goods via Cayuga and Seneca Lakes to the Erie Canal and points beyond. What do we know about boat transport of our local salt products?

How did the third and much-improved Erie Canal (Barge-1918) compete with railroads and later, over-the-road trucks, to carry salt to various markets?

Come find out on Wed., March 13 at 7:00 PM at Lansing Town Hall.

Donna Scott is a Director of the Friends of Salt Point and a life member Lansing Historical Association. Retired from Cornell University, she has many interests including the history of bicycle development, old houses, and salt production in Lansing and New York State. She is also an officer in the Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Finger Lakes and a member of the Cayuga Bird Club. She lives at Kendal at Ithaca and previously lived on Lansing Station Road in Lansing.

World War II Letters To Soldiers

The following letter was sent out 82 years ago to all service men and women from Lansing. It was just at the beginning of our involvement in WW2 and some of the description is very telling for that time. The letter was written by the town historian (Susan Howell Haring) and the Methodist Minister (Clayton H. Birch). The following is submitted through efforts of Bill Martin and John Howell. We have 6 letters in all that were sent through the war period and we will submit the others in future newsletters.

Ludlowville, N. Y,

Jan 11, 1942

Service Men and Women from Lansing Township;

All over the world

Dear Friend:

Those who we are sending this letter to, you all are increasing in number. The postage on this one is paid by Mrs. Hall who has taught school in Lansing Township for a good many years. Others who have made or are making contribution of time, money or information are countless. The Student Association of the Lud. H.S. are adding their bit, too.

Mrs. Haring and I continue to serve. When you folks come back you can thank all those who helped. Right now we are so deeply indebted to you that we cannot express it in words. You are filling our place, and we can only fight this war from our homes and our jobs. But we are with you. A very small percentage of the folks at home are doing any kicking at all no matter where the pinch comes but there are a few who cannot see the need for some of our sacrifices. They selfishly wish to win the war by doing everything they did before the war and more, too, because they have increased spending power. But, thank the Lord, they are few and far between. I know because I have been working with the Rationing Program and if there are any kicks, I guess I hear them.

To let you know what is going on here at home: we have been stopped in the Eastern States from using our cars for pleasure, at all. Among the present rationed articles are coffee, typewriters, stoves, rubber boots, as well as gasoline, fuel oil, tires, and cars. To be added are canned and bottled fruits, fruit juices, vegetables, etc. But there are a lot of things we can still get. And we are not in any sense in need.

Ross Sweet was married the other night. (Lt. to you). Ross married Alice Lisdell. (Another Looey is Lloyd Nobles. He was home two or three weeks ago.) Wm. Bardo (Used to be Billy to me) was commissioned 2nd Lt. Army Air Force and was married the same day to Miss Barbara Kurtz of Ocean City, N.J. Congratulations boys and best wishes girls.

Robert L. Daball has been promoted to Cpl. He has been stationed at Fort Eustis, Va. and at Poughkeepsie. Now he is at Newport, R.I. Battery H, 207 Coast Artillery, Anti-Aircraft. The Lake Road Community specializes in “brother acts” in the armed services. Topping the list are James and Steve Listar in the Navy and Julius Listar in the army. Others are Stephen and John Sebastian and Richard and Raymond Teeter in the Army and Joe Lucas in the Navy.

Would you like the addresses of the Teeter boys? Pvt. Richard Teeter; 65th Med. Regt., Co. F. T.56, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.; Pvt. Raymond Teeter, Co.E., 56th. Armored Inf., APO, Camp Campbell, Ky. Don Bush was home on a furlough recently. He is out in Missouri now. Our addresses change so fast that we have difficulty keeping track of our boys. Write your folks to tell us where you are.

The winter has been so cold and gas is so scarce we don't seem to get the news as we should. We seem to know only what goes on here at Ludlowville. Lorraine Sweazey broke her leg while riding down the Cemetery Hill. The ice has been good for skating and sliding has been great. The lake has frozen over more than past McKinney's so fishing through the ice will begin soon.

We had a blackout last month and it sure was a fizzle. The International Salt turned off their lights for only 10 minutes, the street lights at Ludlowville were never turned off, the fire siren at South Lansing refused to operate. It was sure a flop. Maybe you can get a laugh out of it but we couldn't. We are expecting another any night now. If we get it I hope you'll be squeezing for a successful one for us. Thanks.

We are continually getting word through the papers of your successes. On every front war is going along fine. I suppose there are daily setbacks that seem big to you but when we get the whole picture it will seem like one glorious victory. At least, that is what we are wishing, hoping, praying for. Every Sunday in church here at Ludlowville prayers are said that you may guarded and guided in this war and that God will be with you wherever you are. I am sure, as you are, the same is true at the Catholic Church. Father Geiger would never let you down. We all feel that you are our Christian defenders and that without our nation, Christianity would be lost. Someone has said “There are no atheists in foxholes” and I guess there are fewer non-believers in religion here at home than there were. Did you read of the Conscientious Objectors who volunteered to be guinea pigs for typhus and some of the other fatal war diseases? Their conscience would not permit them to take other men's lives but they would give their own for the soldiers if they could. Something of the same mental position is held by those who are working at Defense jobs. They are trying to serve here at home.

The draft has been blowing here at home and some of our leading citizens have been caught in it. Nate Kullman took his screening test last week. Bob Stout and Don Palmer have enlisted in the Navy and leave next Monday. Maurice Worsell, Dave Doria and several others have gone to camp. Conditions change so fast we have a hard time keeping up with it. I sent you in the last letter a list of addresses. I suppose most of them are changed now. We will try to get a new list ready as soon as the changes are brought to our attention.

Ludlowville High School and South Lansing School both had no sessions yesterday and today because of heating difficulties. The motor on the blower at the High School burned out and had to be replaced. At South Lansing someone forgot to see how much oil was in the tank and they ran out. Had to get a delivery and that takes time these days.

We have run into a slight shortage of coal here due to a strike at some coal mines. There are many of us who feel that the workmen have no right to strike if you can't. They should be forced to work just as much as the selective service men. That applies as much to miners and to defense workers but I suppose the strikers wouldn't agree with me.

Some coal is coming through however and I suppose the strike will be settled soon. It may be that was the only way to straighten it out.

I welcome your letters and Christmas cards. We have a chance to check your address and also to see that you get the material we send. We sent our whole list of names to the Christmas Fund for the county and we found that there were several who were not on the county list through some oversight. If you can think of any way we can serve you more faithfully or efficiently let us know. Our list is well over 100 now with the new men coming into the service. But the letter will go to everyone whose address we can find.

This is from one of my boys in the service sent me. The family had just come home from church. Dad said “Mighty poor sermon, the preacher must be slipping, have to get a new one I guess.” Mother said, “Seems as if the congregation was smaller than usual and they did not seem to be the best class of people either.” Sister said, “The choir was terrible and we need a new organist.” But, Johnny piped up and said, “I guess it was as good a show as you can expect for a nickel.” How do you like that?

Sincerely Susan Haring

Sincerely Clayton H. Birch

Sincerely All the Lansing Township Stay-at-homes.

Lansing Historic Houses: The Barr Cottage

In this and future Newsletters we will recognize some of the historic homes of Lansing. (The following was written by the Barr family and Louise Bement and is edited/submitted by John Howell and Bill Martin)

The Barr Cottage in Ludlowville is one of the oldest houses in Lansing and as the attached photos show, it has had many modifications over the years. In 1800, Daniel Clark came to Ludlowville when he was about twenty five. He built a dye and cloth-dressing establishment where the Lansing Rod and Gun Club now stands. For several years he and his family lived in the first log cabin built by the Ludlow’s. In 1807 he cleared the land opposite the Mill House and in 1810 the third frame house in Ludlowville was completed (as shown in the first photo). Daniel Clark lived there until he died in 1855.

Here is a bit more on the Clark and Barr families history. Daniel Clark married Abigail Harper of Harpersfield before coming to Ludlowville and they then added to its population with twelve sons and daughters. He was a paymaster in the War of 1812, and was always prominent in the life of the local community. He became a man of wealth, owned 850 acres of land and as his children married, he gave to each a farm. The farm that he gave to Alonzo Harper Clark became the Bristol Place, of Alice Bristol's later life, when it was left to Walter Bristol by his adoptive parents (900 Ridge Rd, became home of Ed Lavigne Sr.).

When Harriet Clark married James Cain in 1819 she moved to Aurelius, N.Y. There she set up housekeeping and had three sons. After ten years of marriage her husband left her and she returned to Ludlowville. When she was in Aurelius she met a young man who was interested in studying medicine. His name was David T. Barr and he worked as a guard in the Auburn State Prison. Harriet encouraged him to study to become a doctor and come to Ludlowville to practice. She told him that Ludlowville needed a doctor.

David T. Barr made three 6 months trips to The Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and became a doctor. He came to Ludlowville when his daughter, Myra, was three years old and his son, Frank, was six months old. He and his family lived in the Oliver Phelps' house on top of the cliffs behind the school. Two more children were born to him; Fred, who had a hardware store in Ithaca, and Will, who with Frank went to the Western Reserve University to become doctors.

Dr. Frank Barr bought the Daniel Clark home in 1855 and in 1888 Frank remodeled the house, turning an austere pioneer home into a gracious cottage. A dining room and a kitchen were added to the house and two bedrooms were built above this. A large porch was built around the ground floor and a small porch was added to the second story.

Dr. Frank Barr had four children; Marguerite, Harry, Frank jr, and David W. Harry was a proctologist. Frank jr was a doctor who died in the 1918 flu epidemic. David W. became a dentist because his mother said she did not want him leading the hard life of a doctor, being called out at all hours of the night. He went to school at the University of Michigan.

In 1909 when David W. Barr had just completed his schooling, his family asked him to go to Ludlowville and stay with his grandfather's second wife, known to the family as “Aunt Jane”. From there continues a long history of the families of both Frank and his brother Will in both the Ludlowville and Myers/Ladoga communities. In 1996, Louise Barr added the following about her grandfather; Dr Frank H. Barr (David’s son). He became a Doctor of Homeopathic Medicine and raised his family in Cleveland but spent summers in Ludlowville. As of 2023, that makes six generations of Barr’s that have used the “Cottage” in the summers.