Western New York 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

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Canandaigua Anxiously Waits Before Jubilation And An Elegant Supper

By Chris Carosa on July 2, 2024

Previous: John Greig Lives The American Dream

Blossom Hotel as it appeared at the time of Lafayette’s visit. Source: From the collection of the Ontario County Historical Society

The young boy was no different from anyone else in the town of Canandaigua. Anxious, fretting, full of anticipation, on the morning of Tuesday, June 7, 1825, they all waited for the word they knew was coming but feared it might not.

Located on the northern tip of the lake that bears its name, Canandaigua housed the first land office in Western New York. This former Seneca stronghold sat on the old Genesee Trail, or Central Trail, that cut through the heart of the Iroquois Confederacy. Today we know it as Routes 5 & 20. Back then it had various names, from the Great Genesee Road to the Seneca Turnpike to the Ontario and Genesee Turnpike. Whatever you called it, it was the road everyone heading east or west traveled on.

Lafayette would soon be one of those travelers.

Or would he?Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Canandaigua Anxiously Waits Before Jubilation And An Elegant Supper”

Posted in History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Amos Read, Blossom House, Canandaigua, Canandaigua Hotel, Captain Ira Merrill, Captain James Lyon, Central Trail, Colonel William Blossom, Erie Canal, Genesee Trail, Great Genesee Road, Iroquois Confederacy, John Greig, Judge Moses Atwater, Kingsley's tavern, Lafayette, Mendon, Ontario and Genesee Turnpike, Ontario Bank, Ontario Brass Band, Rochester, Routes 5 & 20, Samuel Greenleaf, Seneca Turnpike, Western New York

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: John Greig Lives The American Dream

By Chris Carosa on July 2, 2024

Previous: Dispelling Mendon Myths

Portrait of John Greig. Source: Milliken, Charles F., A History of Ontario County, New York and Its People, Lewis Historical Co. Vol I, New York, 1911, p.225

The sun rose on Tuesday, June 7, 1825, signaling the start of a new day. For John Greig, it would prove among the most momentous days of his life—so far. It would prove anyone can attain their American dream.

By that morning, Greig had lived a tad more than a quarter of a century in his adopted home country. Born in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland on August 6, 1779,¹ he immigrated to the United States in 1797 after attending the Edinburgh High School.² Only eighteen when he sailed to America, no doubt like many his age, Greig sought to make his mark.

He certainly did.

But not immediately.

Greig spent his first few months living in New York City before moving to Albany. He relocated to Canandaigua in April 1800. It’s likely this move Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: John Greig Lives The American Dream”

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Augustus Porter, Canandaigua, Canandaigua Academy, Captain Israel Chapin, Charles Williamson, Clarissa Chapin, De Witt Clinton, Erie Canal, Estate of Hornby and Colquhoun, Gardeau Tract, General Israel Chapin, General Sullivan, Genesee Country, Henry B. Gibson, John Greig, John Hornby, John Johnstone, Jr., Lafayette, Letchworth State Park, Mary Jemison, Nathaniel W. Howell, Ontario Bank, Ontario County Agricultural Society, Ontario Farmers' Bank, Patrick Colquhoun, Scotland, Sir William Pulteney, State University, Village of Canandaigua, Wesern Fire Insurance Company, Western New York, White woman's reservation

Thoughts On Trains, Natural Gas, And The Interstate Highway System

By Chris Carosa on April 11, 2023

It was a lonely vigil.

And by “vigil” I mean Easter Vigil on Saturday night.

And by “lonely” I mean I was by myself, all alone in a church I never went to before. Betsy was staying with her recovering father and Peter was not feeling well.

Only I wasn’t alone. Parishioners packed St. James (aptly named because it’s in the City of Continue Reading “Thoughts On Trains, Natural Gas, And The Interstate Highway System”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1956, 1960s, Car and Driver, church, Class One, Easter, Eisenhower Interstate System, electric, Fredonia, hydro, Jamestown, John D. Rockefeller, Kathy Hochul, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Mass, Mendon, national defense, National Fuel Gas, national security, New York State, nuclear, power, public safety, rail, Railserve, renewable, Schuyler County, solar, St. James, Standard Oil, Vigil, Western New York, William Hart, wind

How Ice On The Rocks Reveals Our Destiny (Part I)

By Chris Carosa on June 7, 2022

They bent the course of mighty rivers. They carved and scraped, forever leaving their imprint on the land we call home. But they did more than merely shape our local geography. They have guided us through the centuries.

And still do today.

The paths we take without thinking, the things we see every day, the very property upon which we build our homes, these all seem somewhat random events that accumulate over the course of our lives. But they, in fact, map the very destiny of our lives.

It supports our every move. It carries our weight without complaint. It provides the Continue Reading “How Ice On The Rocks Reveals Our Destiny (Part I)”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Acaian Orogeny, Avalonia, Baltica, Catskill Delta, Devonian Period, EurAmerica, George McIntosh, Hudson Valley, Iapetus, Laurentia, Mendon, North America, Paleozoic, Pangea, Rochester, shale, South Pole, Western New York

Is Cattaraugus County Leading The Way To Greater Western New York Independence?

By Chris Carosa on September 21, 2021

Just because you may not have seen this in the news doesn’t mean it isn’t news. In fact, it could be big news.

Actually, it could be very big news, and it occurred just a month ago in the halls of the Cattaraugus County legislative chamber. What’s more amazing, and not really being reported, was how fast it all happened and the fact the origin didn’t start with an elected official, but with a group of concerned everyday citizens like you.

Cattaraugus County is located along the Southern Tier of the Greater Western New York region. It’s mostly rural with the largest city being Olean (the other “big” city is Salamanca, the birthplace of NFL legend Marv Hubbard, who played fullback for the Oakland Raiders). Cattaraugus County is also the home of St. Bonaventure University.

Known for its promotional nickname “Enchanted Mountains,” traveling through its picturesque hills full of never-ending green trees gives you a sense of what our region looked like to the pioneers who first settled Western New York shortly after the Revolutionary War. Seeing this unadorned beauty throughout our region, you can’t help but think Continue Reading “Is Cattaraugus County Leading The Way To Greater Western New York Independence?”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged BRenda Hanson, Cattaraugus County, church, Constitutional County, Covid, David Koch, Ginger Schroder, Marv Hubbard, Oakland Raiders, rugged individual, Salamanca, second amendment, Southern Tier, St. Bonaventure, Western New York

It’s Time For Greater Western New York To Declare Our Own Independence!

By Chris Carosa on June 29, 2021

One of the perks of serving as a national reporter includes access to a coast-to-coast network of sources. I usually stick to my standard beat (finance and retirement) when sourcing questions. Every once in a while, however, I stray from that path and have a little fun.

As a life-long booster of the Greater Western New York region, I’m always searching for ways, no matter how small, to help promote the region.

Now, combine these two facts together and you can understand how I discovered this Continue Reading “It’s Time For Greater Western New York To Declare Our Own Independence!”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, America's First Frontier, David DiPietro, Declaration of Independence, Gadsden, George Borrello, James Ostrowski, Mark Aselstine, Midsummer Night's (Virtual) Town Hall Meeting, New York City, Safe Act, Stars and Bars, Stephen Hawley, Susan B. Anthony, Western New York

Don’t Let Them Divide and Conquer Us

By Chris Carosa on May 18, 2021

A while back I ran across a reporter’s query. It seemed this journalist wanted to know if the “right-wing” is decentralizing the Internet. That struck me as an odd thing to ask given most feel it is the “left-wing” that kicked the “right-wing” out of the clubhouse.

But, hey, if you want to sow division, this is the way to do it.

In 1894, five years before he became governor of New York State, Theodore Roosevelt wrote ever so eloquently of the need to come together as one nation and avoided the divide and conquer strategy that serves America’s enemies well:Continue Reading “Don’t Let Them Divide and Conquer Us”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Albany, Americanism, Andrew M. Cuomo, bandwagon effect, divide and conquer, E Pluribus Unum, Finger Lakes, Genesee Country, Greater Western New York Region, Lockwood R. Doty, New York Billions, New York City, New York State, Regional Councils, reverse myopia, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, social proof, Southern Tier, Theodore Roosevelt, Western New York, Western Region

The Secret of New York’s Smallest Town

By Chris Carosa on October 2, 2012

Tucked away in the southern portion of Cattaraugus County on the edge of the New York-Pennsylvania border sits the town of Red House. Guess what the town is named after? A red house, right? Nope. It’s named after the creek flowing through it – Red House Creek. The creek is named after a red house.

But did you know the story behind the crimson abode upon which the creek found its name? Originally owned by one of the area’s first settlers, it is a sorry story of family division, betrayed love and mysterious death. In the 1860’s Johnny Frecks went off to fight in the civil war, Continue Reading “The Secret of New York’s Smallest Town”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged 50 Hidden Gems, Allegany Indian Reservation, Allegany River, Allegany State Park, Buffalo, Cattaraugus County, Franklinville, Frecks, Ghost Story, Llewellyn France, Madelynn Fredrickson, population rank, Red House, Red House Creek, Rochester, Sharon Fellows, Western New York

We Preempt Westward American Expansion for…

By Chris Carosa on August 16, 2012

A funny thing happened on the way to researching my book 50 Hidden Gems of Greater Western New York. For years I had been trying to explain to people just what exactly I meant by “Greater Western New York.” From a regional mutual fund’s perspective, it was easy. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all regional funds to specify the municipalities covered by the fund. In the case where a fund’s region encompasses only a portion of a state, the fund’s prospectus must list all the counties included in its unique definition of the region covered. Like I said, from the SEC’s standpoint, defining Greater Western New York was easy.

Beyond that, though, I had to justify why we chose those particular counties. This was especially important because we market the fund only to New York residents, specifically, Western New York residents. And the folks we consider “Western” New York residents don’t necessarily consider themselves “western.” Or, in the case of those in the Buffalo-Niagara metropolitan area, they don’t consider Continue Reading “We Preempt Westward American Expansion for…”

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged 50 Hidden Gems, 82nd milestone, Buffalo, Central New York, Charles I, Charles II, Colonel Hugh Maxwell, Connecticut Colony, Duke of York, Geneva, Greater Western New York, James I, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Monroe County, Niagara Falls, North Virginia, Ontario County, Pennsylvania, Pre-Emption Line, Pre-Emption Road, Pre-Emption Street, Preemption Line, Rochester, Royal Patent, Seneca County, Southern Tier, Treaty of Hartford, Upstate, Warwick Grant, Waterloo, Western New York, William Penn