Western New York State of Mind Archives

The Red Jacket Medal Mystery: Lost. Found? Still Unsolved.

By Chris Carosa on May 27, 2025

Red Jacket, lithograph by Corbould from 1835 painting by C.B. King, printed by C. Hallmandel, via Wikipedia Commons

“Against Red Jacket Club,” blared the 1910 headline.¹ Marking the beginning of the end, it referred to the exclusive Canandaigua social club that defined elite prestige in grand, well-appointed fashion for two decades. Everyone who was anyone sought an invitation to its annual party, which the group limited to 100 guests.

By 1910, its days were numbered. Unlike the earlier move to disband in 1908, this would be the final nail in the organization that had formed in 1888. The financial burden of operating with dwindling membership and maintaining the nearly century-old Federal-style mansion on the corner of Main and Gorham proved to be too heavy.² Trustees representing the bondholders had no choice but to sell everything.

“All of the personal property of the famous Red Jacket Club, once the ‘swell’ organization of this village, was sold at auction… the club possesses among its relics a silver medal presented by President George Washington to the famous Indian chief, Red Jacket…”³

But the story of that shiny token goes back much further, well before the Club first laid eyes Continue Reading “The Red Jacket Medal Mystery: Lost. Found? Still Unsolved.”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1776-1878, American Journal of Numismatics, Canandaigua, Cornplanter, Elisabeth M.J. Meagher, Ely S. Parker, Farmer's Brother, George Conover, George Harris, George Washington, Guyasuta, Howard Fielding, J.F. Loubat, James C. Smith, Jasper Parrish, Lewis Morgan, Ontario Historical Society, Pennsylvania Historical Society, Red Jacket, Red Jacket Club, Red Jacket Medal, Revolutionary War, Seneca, Six Nations, Steve Parrish, The League of the Iroquois, The Medallic History of the U.S. of A., Thomas Howell, Treaty of Canandaigua, Western New York

Liberty Or Death: Which Would You Choose? (And Why?)

By Chris Carosa on March 25, 2025

When did you last hear a barn burner speech like this? Today, public speakers too often succumb to the lure of guilt into helping others. 250 years ago, they inspired a passion to better ourselves first—because you can’t save anyone if you’re sinking.

The crowd bustles in St. John’s Church. No scheduled sermon today, though, but they would soon get one. It’s Thursday, March 23, 1775, day four of the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, Virginia. The air wafts thick with rebellion. Tensions between Great Britain and its American colonies could not have been higher.

Just ten days back, on March 13, British authorities under New York’s Cadwallader Colden, Continue Reading “Liberty Or Death: Which Would You Choose? (And Why?)”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Billy Dee Williams, Cadwallader Colden, Cato: A Tragedy, Chief Justice John Marshall, Colonial America, Edward A.Pollard, Ethan Allen, Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death, Great Britain, Joseph Addison, Judge St. George Tucker, King George, liberty, Liberty Men, Nathan Hale, Patrick Henry, Second Virginia Convention, Sempronius, St. John's Church, The Galaxy, The Lost Cause, Thomas Marshall, Virginia, Westminster Massacre

Save The Barns: Why RG&E’s Upgrade On Canfield Road Shouldn’t Undermine Mendon’s Rural Heritage

By Chris Carosa on March 18, 2025

In the last few years, I’ve perused old texts covering the Town of Mendon. I find the words useful for research. The pictures, however, captivate me. They allow me to effortlessly go back in time and immerse myself in the bucolic beauty of the town I call home. It’s like a time machine. Diving into those pictures gives me the feeling of tranquil bliss.

I didn’t know about these historic books thirty-odd years ago when I served on the Mendon Town Board. No doubt others, wiser than me, did. Despite my naivete, I played a role (albeit a minor one) in realizing a modern-day homage to those pleasant nineteenth century illustrations.

And you can experience the fruits of that realization every time you drive down Route 64 from Pittsford into the Town of Mendon. Just north of the Thruway bridge, look to the west on Canfield Road. You’ll see a peaceful array of agricultural buildings straight out of the late 1800s. As you pass it, if you think about it at all, you think, “That’s so… appropriate.”

Now, imagine that same spot occupied by an industrial eyesore of steel pipes and smokestacks oozing white clouds. Very shortly, if RG&E gets its way, that’s what you’ll see. As part of its upgrade project, the energy company hopes to strip away forever the barn façade and reveal the hulking gas transfer station concealed within it.Continue Reading “Save The Barns: Why RG&E’s Upgrade On Canfield Road Shouldn’t Undermine Mendon’s Rural Heritage”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1993, 19th century, agricultural age, Canfield Road, Empire State Pipeline, gas transfer station, industrial age, Jeanne Loberg, Joanna S. McCarthy, Mendon, Pittsford, pubkic hearing, RG&E, Sentinel, Town Board

I’ve Seen My Lifetime Disintegrate Before My Eyes

By Chris Carosa on November 5, 2024

I’ve seen my lifetime disintegrate before my eyes.

Do you have a recurring dream that you just can’t understand? No, I’m not talking about the one where you realize the final exam is today and you haven’t cracked open the textbook. Nor am I talking about the one where the giant ape is slowly chasing you, but try as you might, you just can’t run.

Those are typical anxiety dreams. They have nothing to do with final exams or giant apes. They’re more likely related to something in your daily life (usually work or some other stress-inducing environment).

Here’s the kind of dream I’m talking about: it involves a familiar landscape, maybe current, maybe from your past. It’s “familiar” in the sense that it evokes the real thing except it’sContinue Reading “I’ve Seen My Lifetime Disintegrate Before My Eyes”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 187 Abbott Parkway, 83 Victory Avenue, Abbott Parkway, Blasdell, Blasdell Bowling Academy, Blasdell Junction, Carthage, Erie Railroad, George S. Patton, hamburg, Honeoye Falls, Ingham Avenue, Lackawanna, Lave Avenue, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Mendon, New York Central, Nickel Plate Road, Our Mother of Good Counsel, Patton, Pennsylvania Railroad, Roman Triumph, Salvator's Pizzeria, South Park, St. Anthony's, Victory Avenue, Woodlawn, Woodlawn Elementary, Woodlawn Intermediate

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Through Seneca Falls, East Cayuga Then A Masonic Welcome And A Final Adieu In Auburn

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2024

Previous: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man

In Auburn, Lafayette met at “Hudson’s Hotel” a.k.a. Western Exchange Hotel Genesee St. Image circa 1840. From the collection of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Auburn, NY

As early as May 12^th, 1825, the Village of Auburn expected Lafayette to travel through their growing community. Seventeen men, including two future governors of New York State were appointed to a committee charged with the purpose of preparing for the visit of the French general and American hero. They were “to make suitable arrangements for the occasion; and that they be requested to communicate the doings of this meeting, to the proper military officers, the masonick order, and the surviving revolutionary officers and soldiers, inviting them to co-operate with the citizens of the village, in the proposed expressions of publick attention, to the venerable ‘Guest of our Nation,’ and its early defender.”¹

A few days later, on May 16^th, the officers of the militia met at Strong’s tavern. Led by Brigadier General Henry R. Brinkerhoff, they, too, formed a committee to prepare for Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Through Seneca Falls, East Cayuga Then A Masonic Welcome And A Final Adieu In Auburn”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Alaska, Auburn, Aurora, Benjamin C. Cox, Cayuga, Cayuga Bridge, Dirck C. Lansing, E.T. Throop, Genesee Road, Geneva, Gerhom Powers, Henry R. Brinkerhoff, J.M. Sherwood, John W. Hulbert, Lafayette, Levasseur, mason, Revolutionary War, Seneca Falls, Seneca Turnpike, Seward's Folly, W. S. De Zeng, Waterloo, William H. Seward, Woolsey's Hotel

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2024

Previous: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero

Dirck. C. Lansing, after his coal black hair turned white with age. Source: Adams, John Quincy, A History of Auburn Theological Seminary, 1818-1918, Auburn Seminary Press, Auburn, 1918

Why are people so mean? What prompts them to violate the rules of decorum just to get a dig in? How many good men do we lose because of this?

It turns out the Era of Good Feelings was less universal than we think. Or, rather, within those good feelings lay dormant seeds of discord that only needed time, and a good trigger, to flower into tension and, unfortunately, eventually into conflict.

But let’s not go there yet. Let’s harken back to the source of the unity that the Era of Good Feelings recalled.

While the Revolutionary War can be aptly described as a civil war, its aftermath brought harmony through the commonality of men who served in its victory. Not only did they share the wounds of war, but they also shared within the fellowship of it.

No better manifestation of the fraternity of commonness was the proliferation of Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Bigotry Cannot Defeat A Good And Honorable Man”

Posted in History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abolition, American Anti-Slavery Society, Auburn, Auburn Theological Seminary, Aurelius, burnt district, Burnt Over District, Calvary Presbyterian Church, Charles G, Church of Christ, Dirck C. Lansing, Era of Good Feelings, Finney, First Church, Freemasonry, Genesee Road, George Washington, Hiram Lodge No. 88, John L. Hardenburgh, Lafayette, lodge, mason, masonic, Morgan Affair, Presbyterian, Revolutionary War, Samuel Miles Hopkins, Second Great Awakening, St. Paul's Lodge No. 265, Yale

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero

By Chris Carosa on July 16, 2024

Previous: The Great Central Trail Becomes The State Road

Waterloo Hotel became the Madison House before being converting into Twin Brothers’ Yeast Cake factory (pictured here). The factory burned down in 1877. Source: Becker, John E., A History of the Village of Waterloo, Waterloo Library and Historical Society, Waterloo, NY 1949, p. 81

The party began early in Waterloo on the morning of Wednesday, June 8, 1825. It was like a festive holiday. A great anticipation thrilled the small village and those visitors who had come to town for the special occasion about to unfold. Revolutionary War hero and valiant icon of freedom, the Marquis de Lafayette was about to visit.

Excitement filled the air. And cannon smoke.

There was no way to contain the enthusiasm. Several villagers expressed this feeling by gathering at Earl’s tavern, as the Waterloo Hotel had been known. Ab Falling built the three-story brick structure in 1817. Located in the center of its west side, the main entrance faced the public square. The upper floor had a ballroom and a Masonic Hall.¹

That same year, Junius Lodge No. 291, F.&A.M. received its charter from the Grand Lodge of New York on June 5. The growing lodge began meeting at the Waterloo Hotel on July 1, 1819. By 1825, only one of the original petitioners—Dr. Jesse Fifield, Treasurer—held a leadership position.²

Captain Jehiel P. Parsons was a member of Junius Lodge No. 291.³ He wasn’t among the citizens celebrating at Earl’s tavern. Instead, he chose to have breakfast across the street at the Mill. The partiers at the tavern would show their delight for the joyous day by Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Wowed Waterloo Overcomes Tragedy To Welcome Hero”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abraham Lisk, Caleb Fairchild, Captain Jehiel P. Parsons, Captain Lemuel Ruggles, Dr. Jesse Fifield, Earl's Tavern, Freemason, G.A. Gamage, Junius Lodge No. 291, Lafayette, mason, Oren R. Farnsworth, Rev. John Caton, Revolutionary War, Waterloo, Waterloo Hotel, Waterloo House

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The Great Central Trail Becomes The State Road

By Chris Carosa on July 16, 2024

Previous: Pomp, Circumstance, Before Lunch In Geneva

The Cayuga Bridge helped improve travel times on the Great Genesee Road, which eventually became Routes 5 & 20. Source: Barber, John W., and Howe, Henry, Historical collections of the state of New York, S. Tuttle, New York 1842, p. 79

As General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the Allied effort into the heart of the Nazi regime, he couldn’t help but notice the transportation infrastructure that strengthened the defense of his opponent. Hitler began construction of his Reichautobahn in the 1930s. Although designed primarily for civilian use, war reports during the Eisenhower’s push into Germany in 1944 and 1945 repeatedly referenced the autobahn, “Hitler’s Superhighway.”¹

Impressed by these autobahns, Eisenhower proposed an interstate highway system once Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: The Great Central Trail Becomes The State Road”

Posted in History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Auburn, Augustus Porter, autobahn, Buffalo, Canandaigua, Cayuga Bridge, Central Trail, Charles Williamson, civil defense, Dr. Peter Wilson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, England, Erie Canal, Genesee Country, Genesee River, Genesee Road, Geneva, Great Central Trail, Great Genesee Road, Greater Western New York, Hitler, Interstate Highway System, Iroquois Confederacy, Jesuits, Main Genesee Road, Massachusetts, New York State Thruway, Old Fort Schuyler, Onondaga Escarpment, Ontario County, Phelps and Gorham, Preemption Line, railroads, Reichautobahn, road, Roman, Roman Empire, Rome, Routes 5 & 20, Seneca, Seneca Falls, Seneca Turnpike, Seneca Turnpike Road Company, State Road, The Beaten Road, The President and Directors of the Seneca Road Company, Utica, Waterloo

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Pomp, Circumstance, Before Lunch In Geneva

By Chris Carosa on July 9, 2024

Previous: How Commonality Saved Captain Williamson And Western New York

Geneva a generation after Lafayette’s visit. Source: Barber, John W., and Howe, Henry, Historical collections of the state of New York, S. Tuttle, New York 1842, p. 52

General Lafayette rose the morning of Wednesday, June 8, 1825, shortly after sunrise. At 7 o’clock that morning, the French entourage bid John Greig adieu. They climbed aboard their waiting carriage and a military escort led them onto the old Genesee Road (and then the Seneca Turnpike). About ten miles down the road, at Ball’s tavern, they’d meet the committee from Geneva and transfer their precious cargo to them.¹

For the good citizens of Geneva, the largest settlement in the Greater Western New York region, Lafayette was a long time coming. A couple of weeks before, the village appointed a committee of eleven upstanding men to invite the Nation’s Guest to visit their fair village. They drafted a letter dated May 28, 1825, for that purpose. Appealing to his sense of Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Pomp, Circumstance, Before Lunch In Geneva”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Ball's Tavern, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Yorktown, Buffalo, Butler, Canandaigua, Captain Bartle, Captain Bayly, Captain Dox, Captain Manning, Captain Ottley, Captain Ruggles, Captain Sherman, Captain Van Auken, Colonel Whiting, Doctor Lummis, Ensign Brizse, Genesee Road, Geneva, James Rees, Lafayette, Lieutenant Lum, Lieutenant Stanley, Monsieur Camus, Noyes, Ontario County, Philadelphia, Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War Veterans, Robert Morris, Rochester, Seneca Turnpike, Sion, Waterloo, Willam S. De Zeng, Yates County

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: How Commonality Saved Captain Charles Williamson And Western New York

By Chris Carosa on July 9, 2024

Previous: Canandaigua Anxiously Waits Before Jubilation And An Elegant Supper

Captain Charles Williamson was responsible for developing much of the Genesee Country between Preemption Line and the Genesee River. Source: Main, William, Charles Williamson, Cowan & Co., Ltd., Perth, 1899, frontpiece

He was a proud Tory and Captain in the British army who volunteered to fight for King George III against the rebellious colonists. She was a proud Patriot whose father graciously saw in this prisoner of war a common human element.

Before we get into this backstory, let’s review why it’s so important.

In December 1786, the states of New York and Massachusetts agreed to resolve a conflict started by the kings of England. Those monarchs made a royal mess of Western New York, at one time or another granting rights to all or portions of it to no less than five colonies.

By the end of the American Revolution, three states had claims to the Greater Western New York region: New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (a sliver along the southern tier). With Connecticut quickly quitting its claim, New York and Massachusetts stood nose-to-nose. With the Articles of Confederation dissolving, the two states decided to circumvent that ineffective parchment and meet in neutral territory. Ironically, this meeting took place in the state of Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: How Commonality Saved Captain Charles Williamson And Western New York”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, History, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abagail Newell, Articles of Confederation, Bath, Boston, Canada, Charles Williamson, Colonel Hugh Maxwell, Connecticut, Edinburgh Regiment, Genesee Trail, Geneva, George Washington, Iroquois Confederacy, John Graves Simcoe, Joseph Ellicott, King George III, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Gorham, New York, Newburyport, Oliver Phelps, Patrick Colquhoun, Preemption Line, Revolutionary War, Robert Morris, Roger Hale Sheaffe, Route 5 & 20, Sir William Pulteney, Sodus, State Road, The Association, The Gore, Treaty of Hartford, William Hornby