Tracks to the Past

January 25, 2012     (click here for earlier columns)

Peter D. Elder

Village of Webster Mayor

Last summer, my sons and I took a hike up the railroad from North Ave to Holt Rd. With the imminent removal of the rail tracks (they should be gone by late this spring), I wanted to get a ground view of what I had seen on a variety of maps.  It started out more as a strange “Dad” adventure, but ended up with all of us having a great deal of fun and tracking back into the Village’s past.

We started out at North Avenue adjacent to the old Cold Storage Building that is now Climate Controlled Self Storage. Seeking to keep up everyone’s spirit of adventure, we all started skipping from railroad tie to railroad tie, but soon came to the freight depot on the south side of the tracks. We stopped there to look at the foundation and talk about the building. Then we passed some mile-markers, some neat rocks, and crossed over a small culvert with a date carved in the stone from the early 1900’s. We saw discarded tracks and equipment and the signs of deer and small animals along the way. It was a great adventure, but it was a like catching a glimpse of a shadow; the area is much different now than it was in its heyday.

To get an idea of what the area looked like, I talked to Rick Walter. He is a regular at our Village Board meetings and has a memory like a steel trap. Ask him a question about the Village, and he can give you a very personal answer: he has lived here almost his entire life. Having grown up on Kircher Park in a home that no longer exists (it was demolished to make way for the Expressway), Rick has vivid memories of going to the railroad station to pick up packages. He remembers the bustle of trains, and freight and people. In its day, those tracks set the pulse of the Village.

This is what former historian Dick Batzing had to say about the area in an article written in 1999:

“The "Webster" station was a center of much activity. The surrounding area had become one of the finest and largest producing orchard regions in the country.  Frequently, in the fall, the rail company was hard pressed to supply sufficient freight cars for apple shipments alone. "John W. Hallauer and Sons Evaporated Fruits" was only one of over 30 "dry houses" in Webster which shipped produce on the rails; thus Webster was called the "Dried Apple Capitol of the World." Gottlieb Kittelberger and his two brothers began the Basket Factory along the tracks which in the early 1900's became the largest and most productive basket factory in the world. The Webster Canning and Preserving Co. began as the Curtice Preserving Co. on a spur of the railroad in 1885. Just a few years ago the old preserving company buildings burned to the ground. Nelson Curtice's name continues on even today. The next time you buy a Blue Boy, Silver Floss or Comstock canned product, you' see at the bottom of the can or package in fine print, "Curtice-Burns". If it hadn't been for the railroad there might not have been a Curtice-Burns, a Martin Bros. Lumber Co. or a Webster Lumber Co. with its own spur in late years on Holt Road. Certainly the LeFrois Pickling Factory, or the apple vinegar factory, would not have existed without the railroad.”

Over time, though, this area declined and now, a developer is proposing a new project near what will be a recreational trail (an extension of the existing Hojak Line that runs through the Town). The Historical Preservation Commission is spearheading an effort to save the old freight depot (the passenger station was moved in 1972 to the east side of the tracks and is now part of the Toddler’s Workshop Child Care Center). It may mean moving the building to a new location. The effort will certainly require tremendous organization, many volunteers, and funds.

So the next time you are travelling over those tracks on North Ave, take a quick glance to the left and you will see the freight depot there, along those tracks that years ago set the pace for Village commerce.

There are many great stories about out Village. If you have one, do not hesitate to share it with me. Please call me (anytime) at 662-9906 or email me at pelder@villageofwebster.com.