McDonough, NY - Local History

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The History of Business in McDonough . . .
The first businesses in McDonough were a saw mill (1798) belonging to Henry Ludlow and shortly before (1796) a farm owned by Sylvanus Moore. After completion of the State Road to Ithaca, Moore opened the first public house (1799) to accommodate settlers destined to establish homesteads in Genesee County. Henry Ludlow opened the first store in the town in his home at the saw mill location at Ludow Pond. It is believed that he generally kept necessities for his employees and new settlers. Moore later turned his farm over to his sons and purchased Ludow's mill. He also bought additional acreage of woodland so that he could meet the growing demand for lumber. Moore's brother arrived 3 - 4 years later and established a farm to the East of his brothers. Following in his footsteps were numerous other settlers looking to establish new farms. One of these farmers, Joshua A. Burke settled near Ludlow Pond and taught the first school in the town.
An early grist mill on built on Geneganslet Creek in 1805. (c. 1900)	During these early stages of development there were no medical professionals and Sylvanus Moore's wife Elizabeth attended to most of the community's medical needs. Her account book indicated that she had attended at least 144 births in approximately 20 years. It is believed that Dr. Russel W. Morley was the first trained physician, establishing his practice in 1818. Silas G. Chappelle was practicing as early as 1827 and belonged to the County Medical Society. Several other physicians practiced in McDonough during the 1830s - '70s. Until the mid-1900s, McDonough generally had its own physician, nurses and a nursing home operated by Bertha Duell in the mid-1900s. By the first quarter of the 1800s, skilled craftsmen and businessmen were joining the settlers, moving McDonough into a more civilized era. Adam Stanley was one of the first
blacksmiths. The first merchant in the hamlet, was John Fisk Hill. After spending two years in partnership in Oxford, he moved to McDonough around 1820 and started a mercantile business at the site of the store now occupied by Joseph G. BROWN. Moses S. Emerson, arrived in McDonough in 1818 and in addition to his small 10 acre farm, was also a carpenter and joiner and mill wright.
Ransom Rathbone lived in Oxford and operated a mercantile business there, but also built a paper mill in McDonough in 1828. About 1833 Mr. Rathbone's son Henry W. came to carry on the mercantile business until around 1839-40. Mr. Rathbone built the store later occupied by V. C. Emerson. This store remained in operation by the Emerson family until 1954 when it was purchased by George Tucker and now owned and operated by Tom and Mary Gorman, it is the only store remaining in operation in the Town.	Emmerson's (currently owned by Gormans) on the left and Moore's store on the right. (c. 1900)
Immediately after Rathbone discontinued his merchantile, a "community store" was started by an association of farmers, under the name of Drew, Lull, Birdlelbough & Co. which continued for 2 - 3 years. Around this period, from 1840-42, Nelson Coville, a native of the town, was also engaged in trade. John Hill's brother Theodore also operated a trade from about 1841 - 1862. The first post office in McDonough was established about 1825. John F. Hill was instrumental in securing its establishment and became the first postmaster. This office would remain in the hands of the Hill brothers until 1869 except for a period of 16 months. When the post office was first established the mail was carried on horseback, in saddle bags, from Oxford to Cincinnatus. In 1848, upon the completion of the New York & Erie railroad to Binghamton, daily mail was delivered from Greene. By the time of the Civil War, McDonough was booming. Samuel Blivin opened a shoe store about 1863. The store changed hands 3 times in the next few years, ending with Stephen Lewis, who added groceries to the business which continued until 1875. At that point, the store was sold to Seymour Martin, who added dry goods and clothing, and in February, 1876, sold to Eneas Ensign and James Galpin, who added drugs. In August, 1877, Ensign and Galpin sold their stock of boots, shoes and ready-made clothing to Lewis Burdick, who added hides and leather to the inventory. During this time, John Ostrander came from Tully, NY in the winter of 1869 and opened a hardware store and tin shop. Another general merchant, Varanes C. Emerson started his business in the old Rathbone store on June 14, 1858. The 1869 - 70 McDonough Business Directory accounts for over approximately 250 businessmen in the Town, the majority of which were farmers with crafts like sawyer, mill wright, wagon maker. wheel wright, copper, farrier, blacksmith, shoemaker, and others available to meet the demands of the growing community. Read more about what happened to this prosperous hamlet >