On Friday, August 7, I’m going to be leading a historic walking tour of Hammondsport. We’d love to have you join us.

The Jewel of the Finger Lakes is a nice, compact little village, perfectly suited for a walk such as this. It’s got the spectacular scenery of the lake and the steep hillsides; its streets ooze history, and the village itself is a scenic treasure.

Early white land developers, basing themselves in Bath, immediately recognized the beauty and significance of what they already called (in the 1790s) Pleasant Valley. The water systems were vital transportation routes, and the vale of Pleasant Valley (including Hammondsport) made a key portage route between Keuka Lake and the Conhocton River. Judge Lazarus Hammond bought much of the village site (then called Peg Town) in the early 1800s, and Hammond’s Port took shape.

One of the really neat things about Hammondsport is that Glenn Curtiss or Alexander Graham Bell could step out onto the square today and still recognize most of it from 110 years ago… except, of course, that today the streets are paved. True, the Curtiss bike shop has been replaced by the post office parking lot. But the bandstand still highlights the grassy park. The Presbyterian church, with its town clock in the tall steeple, still presides over the square. Their town hall is still in public use (as the visitors center). Up the street the opera house still stands, and down by the lake the depot. One block over children go to Sunday School, just as Glenn did, at the Methodist church. At Lake and Main, Glenn would find his old school.

True, there are changes as well. Glenn’s house and factory are gone, along with his grandmother’s vineyards, replaced by the Curtiss Memorial School. The Civil War statue is now down the street, in Liberty Park. The streets are CHOKED with cars, but the steamboats are gone from the lake. The town has a fine new library. The hills are covered with trees.

Hammondsport, most of us probably know, has been officially declared the coolest small town in America. It’s been the center of Finger Lakes winemaking, and boatbuilding, and airplane manufacturing, and motorcycle making. Here are some items of interest, many of which we’ll be looking at on Friday.

*Hammondsport has four historic churches, two of which have Curtiss associations. St. Gabriel’s cheerfully proclaims itself the coolest Catholic church in the coolest small in America.
*In Hollywood tradition, a small town has a town square. Hammondsport is so traditional it has TWO… Pulteney Park, and Liberty Park.
*Parts of the old Academy building (now apartments) go back before the Civil War. Even the newest parts were built before we got into World War I.
*The Glenn H. Curtiss Memorial School was a New Deal construction, and served the community for 75 years.
*The Mercury Aircraft facilities on Davis Street were vastly expanded with army financing during World War II.
*The opera house was built in 1901, and almost burned down a week after it opened. They had all sorts of activities and performances in there, but as far as I can tell never an opera.
*The only “chain” businesses in Hammondsport are the convenience store and the Napa Auto Parts.
*Water Street, where the train met the steamboats, was the original business district, and a lot of the business was in saloons. Business migrated uphill after a series of fires.
*Hammondsport Glen was once an attraction to rival the one in Watkins.

So, Steuben County Historical Society is sponsoring the walk, which is free and open to the public – meet at 4 PM in the library parking lot (on William Street). In case of bad weather we’ll try to get any cancellation out via radio and our S.C.H.S. Facebook page, but otherwise… hope to see you there!