HISTORICAL PHOTOS

These photographs are part of a collection housed at the George F. Johnson Memorial Library. Most of the actual photos measure about 12x16 inches, and contain more detail than can be seen in these scans. They are available for viewing at the library by appointment.

Click on any small photo to view an enlargement.

61. Casino Park's shaded walkways, picnic tables, flowers beds, and flowing brook. Casino Park was built about 1897-98 by the Binghamton, Lestershire, and Union Railroad Company for picnics and festive occasions. The Casino building, an open-air pavilion, was one of Endicott's main landmarks for many years. During the 1920's and 1930's the park and Casino were the center of recreational activities in Endicott. It provided an area for roller skating, dancing, and parties. Even some of the classes at Triple Cities College were held in the building until they found more suitable quarters in 1946. The Casino Building was destroyed by fire in 1948. The stream in the park rose in the pond/swamp/marsh located between the Jennie F. Snapp School and the Colonial Hall building on Lincoln Avenue. The electric interurban trolley line brought summer visitors to the park from the growing valley.

62. Town of Union Trustees on January 4, 1913. Back row, left to right: George F. Eckert; David C. Warner, clerk; Whitman F. Ingersol; Oliver Ketchum. Front row, left to right: Wyman Edson; A. Ray Humprhey, attorney; Frank Whittemore; Barnett G. Noyes. Click on each picture to view entire photo.

63. Picnic on the banks of the Susquehanna River at Casino Park.

64. View in 1902 of the farmhouse owned by Theodore C. Peck located at the current site of U-E High School. Mr. Peck built and owned the race track behind the school. The trolley tracks pictured ran from Endicott to Lestershire (now Johnson City) and then on to Binghamton.

65. Casino Park clambake in 1905 for the Kalurah Shrine Masonic group. Later a boathouse occupied this point and was used by many groups for picnics.

66. End of the line. A Binghamton, Lestershire, and Union RR trolley car shown in front of the Warner Building (Lavinna H. & Job M. Warner) on the northwest corner of Main Street and Nanticoke Street in the old Village of Union. Photo taken about 1905.

67. View in 1906 of the charred remains of the original Union Presbyterian Church (southeast corner of Main Street and Liberty Avenue). in the old Village of Union after it was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire. View is looking northeast from a location on Liberty Street just south of Main Street. Note the parsonage (on Main Street) seen directly behind the tree. The church was one of the oldest structures in Western Broome County, being built in 1872. The present church building was built in 1907. The congregation absorbed the Dutch Reform Group which dated back to 1791.

68. Looking north on Lincoln Avenue from Main Street in Endicott. The George F. Johnson residence is on the right with the carriage house behind it.

69. Photo of a mural panel in the Washington Avenue Post Office, painted by Douglas Rockwell. It depicts the excavation for the Ideal Endicott-Johnson factory.

70. Portrait of Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956). In 1911, Tabulation Machine Company, International Time Recording Company and Dayton Scale Company consolidated to form CTR. Thomas J. Watson became its President in 1914. In 1924 the company became known as International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). In the original photo Mr. Watson is seated under his famous "THINK" sign.

71. Construction of the first IBM plant on North Street.

72. Steel work for the construction of the IBM engineering laboratory on North Street in 1932.

73. View in 1905 of young baseball players in a vacant lot, and a small store at 20 Washington Avenue. The brick Mattoon building is shown directly behind it. The main Endicott-Johnson plant is in the background.

74. A rural scene in Endicott's Casino Park.

75. A two mile long spontaneous parade of Endicott-Johnson workers in October 1916, marching from Washington Avenue in Endicott to Johnson City to celebrate E-J's announcement of the nation's first eight hour work day (with no reduction in the worker's pay). A letter to George F. Johnson from a committee of 25-year employees said "... The unsolicited and voluntarily given, eight-hour day calls forth our sincere thanks and appreciation on behalf of the big E-J family. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our friends and employers." Another letter to Mr. Johnson was dated October 16, 1916:
From the Shadow Lawn, The White House, Washington, D.C.:
May I not express to you my interest in the action you have taken in the eight-hour day and the admiration I feel for men who act at once with such public spirit and such genuine business wisdom? I could not deny myself the pleasure of sending you this line of deep appreciation.
Cordially and sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson, President, United States of America.

Photos 76 and 77, apparently of early Endicott-area baseball teams, are missing from the collection.

78. U-E High School and view looking east down Main Street in 1922. The Hotel Frederick is the white building on the left. Note the trolley tracks still in operation.

79. View of the Farmer's National Bank in the old Village of Union just after its completion in 1910. It later became a branch of the Marine Midland Bank. In 1981 it was the headquarters of the Western Broome County Senior Citizens Group, and later housed retail and office space. The young girl is unidentified. The building was demolished in 1996 by a developer and the site is now occupied by the Eckerd's drug store and parking lot.

80. Early firemen with hose wagon drawn by a pony.