1800 - 1825 was one of the largest building booms in the history of Cherry Valley. The Great Western Turnpike was transporting goods and people ever westward and Cherry Valley seemed like a great resting place and a good place to raise a family. Merchants, taverns, homes, a good school system as well as an established Academy, lawyers, doctors and several churches made it an ideal place to settle.
During this period, some families stayed and some moved on after several years. Some of the older settlers came back to live out their lives bringing with them children and grandchildren. Included in those families were Judd, Sutliff, Phelon, White, Johnson, Clyde, Campbell, Story, Rudd, Moore and others. Business boomed. It was the era of the entrepreneur. By 1815 there were over 1200 persons living and working in the village alone. That is a far cry from the 400 - 500 there is today.
Also, at this time,1806 Benjamin Kingsbury comes on the scene. A member of the Presbyterian Church here in Cherry Valley, Mr Kingsbury was a carpenter and also built houses (He was also a veteran of the War of 1812). He is the man who is credited with the construction of more than eight of the houses in Cherry Valley including the Cherry Valley Museum building.
Jonathan Rudd, owner of the local brass foundry which was located on the grounds where our Presbyterian Church now stands, purchased three lots from Walton in 1807.
He hired Kingsbury to build houses on those lots. Kingsbury ends up buying the property from Rudd in 1809. When Benjamin left the area in 1823 he sold his lot and home to Jesse Johnson. Jesse was a dear friend and childhood companion of Dr. White of Glensfoot. Dr White convinced Jesse to settle here when he was visiting him in Chatham NY. Jesse purchased property from the Gaults and built himself an elegant one story manor house where the Gault house sat at the corner of Porth Road and Route 166.
Jessie sold his elegant home to Mathew Campbell who sat about adding on to the structure and creating the "Campbell Castle" known as Oakwood. Jesse purchased the museum building in 1823.
Jessie sold the building to his daughter, Sally in 1833, just before his death at age 85. She sells it to Willard Trull and he in turn sells it to William Story, all within a period of two months.
Joseph Phelon (1788 - 1881), the next recorded owner came to New York State from Suffield Connecticut in 1809. He was in the textile business and he operated mills in Toddsville and Schuyler Lake. Deciding to retire after making a fortune manufacturing calico prints in the US, he purchased the Museum building on Main Street. He, his wife and eight children lived there for one year.
In 1834 he moved to the estate of Ephram Hudson, "Willow Hill" and deeded the house over to his daughter Mary J. Phelon (1815 - 1878) and his son-in-law George White.
George operated a tavern and freight service from the home. He rented and purchased lots from William Story and they in turn went about constructing barns, wagon sheds and drivers dormatories on the property. A wagon repair business was set up next door and several large barns were built on adjacent properties.
There was lots of competition from the Erie Canal and the turnpike business was slowly eroding, therefore it was not surprising that in 1840, Story had several of his properties seized and sold at sherrif's sale. Joseph helped his son-in-law out in this situation but in the 1860's George White got into trouble with his freight business. In 1867, Joseph Phelon purchased the house from a sheriff sale against the property and turned it over to Mary's brother, Joseph. Joseph's unmarried sister, Alcena lived there with him until her death in 1892. In 1895 the property was purchased by Jesse Sutliff and his wife Jane Phelon, daughter of Edward M. Phelon, grandson of Joseph Phelon Sr.
In 1932 the property went to Jesse's son Walter C. Sutliff. When Walter died, his widow gave the building to the Cherry Valley Historical Association for use as a museum.
In the early 1950's, the Cherry Valley Chamber of Commerce was formed. Many business owners were members and they met at the Central Hotel. During one of the meetings, it was brought up that Dean Sinclair, Levere Winnie and others had many artifacts that they didn't know what to do with. With all the political intrigue that abounds in a small town, Douglas Vandewerker, Vivian Eggleston, Clyde Alpaugh, Pauline Gilday and others, spearheaded the movement for a museum. The Museum's first home was the Bates Hop House, known as the Civil War barracks. It opened in 1952.
Shortly after that, Walter Sutliff died. His widow donated the building to the Cherry valley Historical Association. The building, known as the White - Phelon - Sutliff House currently houses the museum and is the home of the Cherry Valley Historical Association.
The meeting of the Cherry Valley Chamber of Commerce at the Grand Hotel where the
formation of an historical association was discussed.
 the Bates Hop House on Lancaster Street. |
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