LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - MAY 6, 2018 Street Signs by Lynne Belluscio This week I am meeting with the second grade classes to discover how LeRoy grew from the early pioneer times when ev- eryone was living in a log cabin, to today. Everything is built up on a table with little miniature buildings. It’s great fun, but it always amazes me that many of the kids have never walked along Main Street, so they don’t know where the post office is located, much less the churches. Their frame of reference is the school and McDonalds. One of the fun things is to ask them what street they live on. (Sur- prisingly, in todays world, there are some kids who don’t know that.) And then I can tell them the story of their street. Asbury Road is named for the Asbury Methodist Epis- copal Church, which was locat- ed on the south west corner of Asbury Road and Black Street Road. A boulder marks its loca- tion. Very early it was known as South Woods Road and then Cider Road because of Squire Weld’s cider mill located just over the Pavilion line. When Donald Woodward built his air- port in 1928, it became known as Airport Road. After the airport closed, it became Asbury Road. Bacon Street is known for Lathop S. Bacon’s iron foundry located near the corner of Lake Road. The foundry manufac- tured stoves and related items. Bank Street was first known as Market Street but as early as 1838 it was known as Bank Street because of the early bank on the corner. Bradnell Avenue is named for Nellie Beadle who married Ellsworth Bradbury. The street is a configuration of her husband’s name and hers. It is the only street named for a woman. Church Street was first known as Factory Street because of A.S. Uphams’ fac- tory by the railroad tracks. But both St. Marks and the Baptist Church gave the street its name. Clay Street was named for the famous senator from Kentucky, Henry Clay. Craigie Street is named for Andrew Craigie of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who never lived in LeRoy but who owned the Craigie Tract on the west side of town. The street is the eastern boundary of the tract. Garden Lane is built on the location of the gardens of the Woodward (Jell-O) estate. Genesee Street originally led to the Genesee Driving Park, where people could take their horses and carriages for a few laps around the track. George Street is named for early pio- neer Ezera Platt’s son George. Gilbert Street is named for John Gilbert one of the ear- ly blacksmiths who lived on the corner. Harris Road was known through the early 1900s as Yankee Road, but became known as Harris Road for the early Harris family who settled in the area. Keeney Road is named for the Keeney family whose early homestead was lo- cated on the southside of Route 5 opposite Keeney Road. Calvin Keeney, who was born in the homestead, developed the first stringless (snap) bean. Lake Street is named because it leads north to Lake Ontario and fol- lows the eastern border of the Triangle Tract. For a while after the Erie Canal opened in 1825, the road was known as Brock- port Road. Lathrop Avenue is named for the first mayor of LeRoy, Joshua Lathrop. Lent Avenue is named for John Lent, a very successful LeRoy busi- nessman, who when he died in 1861 was the wealthiest man in town. His home and tavern is located on the north side of West Main Street. Myrtle Street was first Bensen Street in honor of Judge Edgar Benson. By 1854, it was known as Cooper Street because of a large cooper shop owned by WilliamAnderson. It became known as Myrtle Street because of the abundance of the myrtle plants that grew along the banks of the creek. North Street was known as the road to Marsh’s Mill or the Redfield Road. Herman Redfield, who was Jacob LeRoy’s lawyer, lived on the corner of North and East Main. Redfield eventually moved to Batavia. Main Street was originally an old Indian trail and was called the Great Niagara Road because it led from Albany to Niagara Falls. But it was also called the Great Genesee Road and the Post Road, because it was the route of the postal service between Canandaigua and Fort Niaga- ra. Platt Avenue was named for Judge Ezera Platt who was a partner of Richard Stoddard. These two men owned 500 acres which comprised the cen- ter of the village of LeRoy. St. Mark’s Street is located on the site of the first St. Mark’s church building. School Street is listed as Keeney Street in 1927 but became School Street because one of the early one- room schools was located on the street. South Street was orig- inally known as Frontier Road, because the Frontier Tavern was located on the south east corner. In 1820, it became known as the Covington Road because it led to the town of Covington. Stan- ley Place is named for Elijah Stanley who came to LeRoy in 1811. He bought a brick house on the point between Wol- cott Street and Summit Street in 1843. Tountas Avenue is named for James Tountas, a na- tive of Greece who immigrated to the U.S in 1911 and came to LeRoy in 1921 and opened a restaurant on Main Street. Tri- gon Park was the name of the triangle shaped park which was named by Rev. Samuel Cox, the Chancellor of Ingham Universi- ty. The street was known as Park Street. Eventually the street be- came Trigon Park. Ward Place is named for Harold Ward, the president of the LeRoy Nation- al Bank and a former Mayor of LeRoy. Warner Park is named for Thomas Warner Larkin, who was the owner of the LeRoy Plow Company and who lived in the large house at the east end of Trigon Park. Wolcott Street is named for Steven Wolcott, an early settler who came to LeRoy in 1802 and settled on Wolcott Street. Very early it was known as Warsaw Road and later as Seminary Street, because of the LeRoy Female Seminary. Post- cards from 1900 indicate that it was known as Riverside Drive. Woodward Drive is located on the former Woodward (Jell-O) estate. Caption: 1850s Map. Notice Brockport Street and St. Mark's Church(now St. Mark's Street) on its early location and the factories on the corner of Church Street.