History of Edmeston, New York/1850s

Edmeston
History

The history of Edmeston, New York: 1850 through 1859

1855

Prior to 1860 [in 1855] a third school building was erected on North Street. Lucy P. Stickney (later Mrs. Solomon Hoxie) was the teacher of 79 pupils. — Hazel L. Jones

[This building was moved to the east side of South Street, near the four corners. It has been used at various times as a fire station, garage, apartments and a used clothing store. As of 1990, in poor repair is idle].

1856

Post office established at East Edmeston (4/15/1856) closed 3/23/1857. — Dorothy Scott Fielder

Warren Chase postmaster of East Edmeston post office (discontinued 1861). — Flora Underwood

1859

Otsego County was the leading national hop producing area. Throughout the year weekly papers carried market quotations, crop prospects and news of the hop situation overseas. — The "hoop skirt" was all the fashion and occasioned much comment and caricature as the "hobble skirt" of a much later day. One New York City factory was employing a thousand girls, using 300,000 yards of steel spring wire and 150,000 yards of tape a week and turning out 3,000 skirts a day. Harper's Weekly commented,

"Smart girls, we are told, can easily make $4 a week...Four dollars a week, it need hardly be remarked, is very fair remuneration for work which is neither excessive or unhealthy."

When in August oil was struck in Pennsylvania, the modern petroleum age began. Before the end of the year kerosene was for sale in local stores at $1.25 a gallon. — This was the year the Colorado Potato beetle appeared here, and to stay. — Whisky could be bought for twenty five cents a gallon. Venison, bear meat, wild turkeys, and wild pigeons were displayed in the markets. — December, 1859, Abraham Lincoln consented that his friends might advance his candidacy as presidential nominee of the party. The result was that the first president born beyond the Appalachians entered the White House in 1861. — Roy Butterfield