The first fire department in Vernon began in 1825 with the first apparatus, purchased for $150. The Village of Vernon was chartered in 1827, and in that year the fire company was first organized, the engine was repaired and hose purchased. In 1833, the fire company was newly incorporated with 17 members, and in 1840, […]
Seneca Street looking west 2022 and 1906
This comparison shows the north side of Route 5, Seneca Street, in Vernon in 2022, compared with the early 1900s. The photo is from a postcard dated 1906, sent to Flora Van Swall in Oriskany Falls, NY. It features the Vernon Methodist Church steeple in the back left, with the National Bank of Vernon in […]
Then and Now – Odd Fellows Lodge
Did you know – the Vernon Odd Fellows Lodge, home to the International Order of Odd Fellows of Vernon, was once at the corner of Route 5 and S. Sconondoa Street, on the same side as the Methodist Church. The former home was once designed in the French Second Empire style, with mansard roof, colonnaded […]
Ben Egan Day – 100th Anniversary
Ben Egan Day in Baltimore and Sherrill NY, since 1922
Then and Now – Seneca St Looking East toward Dibble’s
Before Route 5 was a double lane highway heading east out of Vernon, it was a much simpler, tree-lined road and turnpike. Until the mid-twentieth century, the sidewalk and Seneca Street crossed the Sconondoa Creek independently, with the sidewalk was very much independent of the road. Even today, you can still see that slight separation, […]