Hi everyone, here are the Local History Photos of the Week!

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Local History & Newspaper blog posts are published on Fridays; and the next post will be up on Friday, November 22, 2024.

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Local History Photo 1: A Local Baseball Game

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Local History Photo 2: Chimney Rocks

The Chimney Rocks were a stone formation along the Chemung River, in the Gibson-Corning area, that gave the local Delaware Indian village, Achsinessink its name; as the Delaware word “Achsinessik” translates into English as “stone on stone.”

The Achsinessink village was destroyed by British and Iroquois forces in 1764, during the French & Indian War (1754-1763), and the Chimney Rocks were destroyed by subsequent railroad and highway construction.

The only visible evidence of the Achsinessink Village today, is the historic marker noting its location.

The marker can be found in front of the Corning Y.M.C.A. on the Center Way side of the building; more specifically the marker is about 30 feet to the west of the Center Way & Corning Blvd. street sign, on the west side of the street.

For more information, check out the Historic Marker website: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=79380

November 18, 2024 Update!

A co-worker brought to my attention that, in fact, there are two historic markers in Corning that spotlight the Achsinessink village that was destroyed in 1764. The previously mentioned first maker, and a second marker located in a small park bordered by Jennings Street, Houghton Circle and Belleau Street on Corning’s Northside.

And the text on that marker reads:

“Achsinessink

Site of the Achsinessink, Delaware Village, stronghold of the Monsey Clan Led by Echgohund and Teedyuscung (known as the king of the Delaware) during the French and Indian War Era. Located on the strategic Andaste Trail, it was a source of frontier unrest and the site of an unsuccessful peace negotiations in 1760. Europeans were prohibited west of the village on the Andaste Trail which became known as the forbidden trail.

The village was destroyed by British and Iroquois forces under John Johnson in 1764.

Achsinessink, A Deleware word meaning stone-on-stone, took its name from the erosion formed columns of earth and stone, distinct land marks along the nearby Chemung River cliffs, called Chimney Rocks by the pioneers. They were destroyed by railroad and highway construction in 1881 and 1974.”

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For learn more about Achsinessink, check out the following Crooked Lake articles

Achsinessink Monument Dedication (June 9, 1996) by Bill Treichler, https://crookedlakereview.com/articles/67_100/99june1996/99treichler.html

Fourteen Minutes in the Southern Tier (February 1991) by Alfred G. Hilbert, https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/34_66/36mar1991/36hilbert.html

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Local History Photo 3: The Dickinson House, Corning, New York

Despite the fact that this photo of a photo offers a crooked view, I still think it is cool!

It shows the old Dickson House in Corning, which was torn down to build the “new” Baron Steuben building which is still there today; and it shows Market Street in the days of train travel – when trains went up and down the street, which was then called Erie Avenue – Corning certainly was a super bustling community during the rail road era!

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As a bonus, I’d like to share a link to a website I just discovered; which has some neat photos showing the Corning area in years past; along with photos that show what each area looks like today – for example, a photo show where the old Corning Opera House was on Pine Street, and what is located in its place today – a parking lot.

The site is Roger Hamilton Photography, and here is the link: https://rogerhamiltonphotography.com/then-and-now

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A Glimpse of Local Life: A Hundred Years Ago!

Here is an entire issue of The Evening Leader, Corning, N.Y. published on this day in 1924.

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The Evening Leader, Corning, N.Y. | November 15, 1924

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Have a great weekend everyone,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Local History Online Library Resources:

Heritage Quest: Heritage Quest is the library’s online genealogy service, and it includes access to census records and other research sources; it can be accessed by going to the Online Resources page, on the library’s website, and scrolling down until you see the link for Heritage Quest:

https://www.ssclibrary.org/research/online-resources/

Once you’ve clicked on the Heritage Quest link, you’ll be prompted to login with your card number and PIN. If you have questions about how to use Heritage Quest, please feel free to let me know – my email address is reimerl@stls.org

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Enjoy the photos and be well everyone,

Linda Reimer, SSCL

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Library Local History/Creation Station Resources:
At the library you can scan your photos and slides to create digital family albums and slideshows; and even use one of the Circut machines, and other Creation Station equipment, to help you create a special paper family history album.

Also of note, we have local papers including the Corning Leader, Corning Evening Leader, Corning Journal and Corning Daily Journal, on microfilm from 1840 to the present — so you can visit the library and research local history and your family tree if you wish!