[brutus seal]FACTS FROM THE PAST Prepared by Jeanne Baker, Town Historian
Town of Brutus

The Auburn & Syracuse Railroad was the first railroad in the area. It consisted of carriages pulled by horses, ran on rails of wood instead of iron, and passengers traveled at 6 miles per hour.

When the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad began business in 1839, William G. Fargo (later a founder of Wells Fargo Express Company) was the first freight agent at the Auburn Station.

In 1869 Commodore Cornelues Vanderbuilt combined the Hudson River Railroad with the New York Central thus connecting Weedsport with New York City by rail for the first time.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad started business as the Southern Central. The line was abandoned in 1957.

Furnace Street in Weedsport was so named for the iron works located there. They made plow shares and other parts for agriculture equipment.

The Abram Walrath Company of Weedsport was located where Cayuga Savings Bank of Weedsport now stands. They manufactured sleigh runners and wheel felloes 9the rim of a spoked wheel or a segment of the rim) by steam bending wood.

In the last quarter of the 19th Century, fine quality tobacco was grown north of the Seneca River in Cayuga County.

In 1899, Charles Cusick built a plant on Graham Street in Weedsport for the processing of leaf tobacco. He employed about 42 workers.

Dr. Haskell, at the turn of the century had a home and maternity hospital in a Greek Revival style building on the east side of South Seneca Street. This home still stands.

Route 31B east of Weedsport was once part of the Old Montezuma Turnpike.

Route 34 through Weedsport was once part of the Auburn Cato Plank Road which was a toll road.

Weedsport once had a sanitarium which served it’s patients water from the Weedsport mineral springs, thought to have healing properties.

Starting in 1908 Weedsport mineral spring water, under the name of “Arrowhead Water from the famous Weedsport Mineral Springs” was bottled and shopped to New York City.

Macedonia was the name given to the little community located where Rude Street intersects Route 34 in the Village of Weedsport.

The community of Macedonia, who’s population first shows on the 1800 census, had a school and an Inn.

God’s Little Acre Cemetery, on the east side of South Seneca Street, was used by the first settlers and is still visable.

Originally Sennett was called Brutus and it’s Post Office served Macedonia and “Weeds Basin until 1822.

The Gazetteer newspaper in Brutus reported in 1824 that “silk is produced to a great amount in the area.”

Weeds Basin, later Weedsport, was incorporated in 1831 and had 120 dwellings.

The Burritt Press published a small weekly Weedsport newspaper in the 1930’s.

On March 17, 1869, you could attend a dance at Franklin Hall on the northeast corner of North Seneca and East Brutus Streets for $.75. It has been said that the dance floor was suspended on springs to add to the bounce when dancing.

The Buritt Opera House, which stood where Fults Furniture store now stands was built in 1895, seated 600 people for the feature show “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It burned down in 1935.

Fred O’Neil, catcher for the Weedsport Watsons baseball team was said to have the aim of a rifle bullet when he threw the ball.

John Skvorak, long time athletic coach at Weedsport Highschool, came immediately after grqaduating from St. Lawrence University in 1927. Football teams under Coach Skavorak won 80% of their games during his years of coaching.

The Weedsport Methodist Church had it’s roots in the gathering of 5 Macedonia Laymen in 1816. The steeple of the church, built in 1860, contained a large time piece known as the Town Clock. The Weedsport Free Methodist Church stood on the southwest corner of South and Liberty streets and is now a private residence.

The Weedsport Baptist Church was built in 1870 using the foundation of the original 1840 church.

St Joseph’s Church was first built on the south side of Green Street near Willow. Father David Odonohoe was paster of St. Joseph’s Church from 1881 to 1907 and is best remembered for the acquisition of the Oakland Road property to establish St. Joseph’s Cemetery.

The Weedsport Fireman’s Auxiliary was founded in 1951.

The Whittlers Club of Weedsport, founded in 1914, never had a regular meeting hall or time. The Whittlers Green Park was named for this club (located on the corner of Brutus and Seneca Streets). The club members met in their cars at the Weedsport four corners and followed their officers to the surprise location for their meetings.

Elihu Weed was the first Postmaster of the Weeds’ Port post office. It was located at the corner of South Seneca and Furnace Street.

Weedsport’s Centennial Street was known as McCarthy Street in 1885.

James Street was also known as Rogers Street and Leigh High Valley Railroad Street.

The Weedsport Electric Light Company generating power of 25 cycles, started selling electricity in 1898.

The building which now houses the Old Brutus Historical Society was built in 1933. The Cayuga Chief weekly newspaper was printed by George Valentine in that building. Dr. Ira D. Brown brought out the first issue of the Cayuga Chief Newspaper on June 16, 1877.

Mildred Dolph was the last operator on the manual telephone switch board in Weedsport before automatic dialing was installed.

The first known hotel within the present bounds of the Village of Weedsport was the Farmers Exchange Hotel. It stood where the Jewel Funeral Home parking lot is now located.

The first school, in the present Town of Brutus, was probable built in Macedonia south of Weedsport before 1808.

The First Baptist Church was organized in 1837 with 31 members.

The Weedsport Watson’s Baseball Team was first organized in the spring of 1865. It had a long list of victories resulting in an expression common at the time “Going like the Watson’s”. Harry “Zip” Northrop played with the Weedsport Watson’s Baseball team before joining the Cuban Giants for 3 years.

The “Oriole Phonograph” was manufactured in Weedsport by Will G. Adams.


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