History
The Third Clubhouse
The third clubhouse of the Rochester Canoe Club involved our first land purchase on April 1, 1914, and was a significant move from the site of our first two clubhouses located where the bridge is now on land owned by William Sours of Newport House. The second clubhouse, built in 1887, burned at an unknown date and presumably destroyed all the club's canoes and small boats which were stored in specially designed wings attached to the main building. The club's response to that event determined its existence today, as all of the other 23 known clubs on the bay from around that time have disappeared. Many of them leased land as we did, and we probably wouldn't exist today if we hadn't bought property. With that in mind, the history of the land and that house is of interest, especially since it also involves some historic Rochester figures, such as Norman Galusha, Mayor Edgerton, and Simon Stein, our notable member and philanthropist who negotiated the purchase for the club.
Norman H. Galusha bought 7 or 8 acres, more or less, from John and Adella Walzer in 1873 for $1050. He was in several businesses, and VP in 1879 of the Rochester & Lake Ontario Railroad, which built the Sea Breeze resort as a destination for its railroad. His purchase was possibly a speculation with the knowledge of boom times to come on the bay. He also built the steamboat N.H.Galusha, later called Glen Haven, which operated on the bay. Upon his death around 1895, one of his executors was Hiram H. Edgerton, later to become Rochester mayor 1908-21.
Edgerton was a lumber dealer and contractor who built the Sibley store building and other large buildings, and moved into various city posts as an ally of political boss George Aldrich. He enjoyed boating and water sports at the Riverside Rowing Club, and with his sailboat Medora on the bay. He was also president in 1913 of the Lake Ontario Navigation Co. operating steamboats on the bay and lake, and a founder of the Sawennishat Canoe Club which occupied our third clubhouse before us. Indeed, that was known as his cottage before that, and he probably built it. He also owned property south of Galusha which he sold over the years 1881-1921.
In 1895, as executors of the Galusha estate, Edgerton and William Bowman transferred the property to Bertha D. Edgerton, Hiram's daughter, for $1050, the same price Galusha paid 22 years ago! On the face of it, this seems like a sweetheart deal, but perhaps there were no other buyers in that terrible depression year. When RCC bought the property 19 years later, a sworn deposition was made by Eugene Van Voorhis, a lawyer and Galusha's nephew and one of his heirs, that he and other heirs knew of the conveyance to Edgerton's daughter, were satisfied, and that there is no possibility that any claim will ever be made to set aside the conveyance.
Sometime between 1895 and 1903, a building was built on the property apparently to serve as Edgerton's summer residence, and this was conveyed in 1903 (by Bertha) to the Irondequoit Land and Improvement Co.,Hiram Edgerton, President, for $4000, including a mortgage of $2000 at 6% and agreement to keep the building insured for $2000. As it turns out, the Sawennishat Club was incorporated the same year using the same building as its clubhouse, and its members were also stockholders of the Improvement Co! So Edgerton was able to have his cake, share it with his cronies, and eat it, too!
A picture of the building and story appeared in the Aug.1,1903 Union and Advertiser and said that the club had acquired the Hiram Edgerton cottage and has remodeled and added to the original structure. Flanking the clubhouse on two sides is an immense veranda. The ground floor is given up entirely to the canoe room and has ample accommodations for the boats of all members. On the second floor is a large reception room and to the rear of this is a spacious dining room and kitchen. The single men's dormitory is in a wing of the second floor and adjoining this are the shower bath and toilet room. The third floor is occupied by the ladies dormitory and private sleeping apartments of married members. The club had running water piped in from springs. There were 30 members and Edgerton was a director. This club had members who were active in the American Canoe Association and participated with RCC in the years 1903-14 that it existed.
Leo Balandis, April 11, 2000
We don't know when Stein became a member of RCC, but he was identified as one when he died in 1945, leaving an estate of $1.5 million without a will, and he never married. He and his brother Louis ran the Stein, Bloch Clothing Co. founded by their father Nathan, and was noted for his philanthropy and civic activities. Simon was a powerful swimmer, and was a member of many clubs and fraternal organizations. He was a person that George Eastman would visit when he wanted to slip out of the house on a Sunday night. At the Eastman House, in a 2nd floor exhibit, you will find a list of 25 guests for dinner with Eastman on June 6, 1919 including such notable names as Bausch, Cutler, Gleason, Rhees, Sibley, Todd, and Simon Stein.
In February 1914, Stein obtained the consent of 10 stockholders of the Land Co. in the form of an option to sell their property to him, or any persons or corporations designated by him, for $4550. These stockholders owned 280 of 340 shares (par $10) outstanding, which was sufficient to authorize the sale. Edgerton, who was also Rochester's Mayor, owned 10 shares. This option never mentioned RCC, and it is a mystery why club officers were not directly involved, since it was the club that bought the place on April 1, 1914, (recorded April 8) for that price. Perhaps it took someone of Stein's stature (and resources) to convince the Sawennishat Canoe Club, whose members used the building, paid the taxes, and were also stockholders of the Land Co. to sell out and fold up. Indeed, that club disappeared after the sale, though some may have joined RCC effecting a merger as RCC did with the Remus Club in 1885. Sawennishat had been there since 1903, and participated in similar activities as RCC.
The purchase was accomplished by RCC giving a mortgage to Stein for $2000 at 6% interest, (no maturity stated; pay principal when you can) assuming the previous mortgage balance of $2000, and agreeing to keep the building insured for $4000. An additional $1000 was borrowed from Stein for purchase money, and probably other expenses. Stein acquired the prior $2000 mortgage from Elizabeth E. Roodhouse (Edgerton's daughter) who was also the major stockholder in the Land Co. with 90 shares. Thus, Stein put up all the cash, and RCC put up nothing but its bond and the promise to pay Stein on the signature of T. Howerth Thompson, Commodore. Even the last $50 came directly from Stein as shown on a receipt for the final balance in full. Thank you, Simon Stein!
One cannot tell from the deed alone what the club bought, as it refers to the property lines of McBride on the north and west, and on the south by a line through a point about 50 ft. south of a corner oak stump to the Bay at the north edge of a landslide, supposed to contain 7 or 8 acres more or less, with the right of perpetual use of the creek. Also the perpetual right to use and occupy the water of Irondequoit Bay to the center thereof on the east, and the right of way to the premises through adjoining lands (we own only the lower part of the entrance road). The land was listed as 5 acres for tax purposes, and is closer to 4.6 acres.
A 1994 survey established what we really own. Excluding shorefront purchases of 180 ft. to the north in 1957 and 58 ft. to the south in 1965, the original shore front was about 196 ft. with the NE corner located approximately where the present water pipe is at the south edge of the hoist pad. From that point, the north property line ran 628 ft. diagonally up the hill almost to the top. The west line widens to 376 ft. and the south line returns 776 ft. to the Bay, aligned with the little access road on the hill south of our present building. Take a hike in the woods west of our parking lot and look for an old pump head sticking out of the ground south of the creek; that is about the SW corner of the lot. Near the NW corner, you'll find a big tree with a piece of wire sticking out of it, and further up the remains of an old wire fence that was probably the north fence line.
The purchase included a grand building built by Edgerton before 1903. Before becoming Mayor in 1908, Edgerton had built 40 Rochester buildings, including the Wilder and Sibley buildings. It was 2 stories on top of a raised basement used for boat storage. and had a veranda on 3 sides. It faced northeast between our present building and the hoist driveway. Water came from natural springs draining from the north hillside. A tennis court (later?) was located where the NE corner of the parking lot is now. There were a few parking spaces south of the building. The shoreline in later years was dredged to make a cove. As used by RCC, the interior had many rooms that were rented to members.
In 1957 the building was torn down and replaced with our present steel building because of foundation damage from floods (the floors were tilted), lack of maintenance in the war years, and concerns about vandalism and fire hazard. But that's another story.
Leo Balandis July 27, 2001
Edgerton was an experienced builder of substantial structures in the city, including the Sibley and Wilder buildings, but may not have recognized the potential for flooding presented by the creek draining the hillsides at the bottom of a 150 foot deep valley. The creek had always existed, and was recognized as a water source in the deed; but he could not have foreseen the future construction of Bay Shore Blvd. and surrounding developments that would drastically increase storm water runoff into the valley. If he had sited the building further south - on higher ground away from the creek - it's possible that the foundation might have escaped damage from creek overflows in the 1930's. That option was not open until the fourth clubhouse was built.
Construction of Bay Shore Blvd. (first called Bay Road West) commenced as a depression era Federal WPA project around 1933 from the east end of Ridge Road, with the Town of Irondequoit doing the work. Large amounts of sand were used to fill in ravines along the way. During rainstorms, some of this sand fill washed down the RCC road, and also through a storm sewer pipe adjacent to RCC, with the result that the stream filled up and overflowed, causing damage to the clubhouse foundation, lawn, and tennis court. The resulting erosion caused by the pipe discharge is very apparent today near the SW corner of our lot.
Commodore Edward V. Schlottman initiated letters to the Town of Irondequoit and Federal Agencies in 1935 to correct the situation and restore the property. It took 2 years and the threat of a lawsuit to get results, which led to permissions from RCC to the Town and County to deepen the creek bed. We have no record of final disposition as to whether any repairs were done or compensation for damage obtained. It is likely that this was a temporary solution and that further erosion and building settling occurred sporadically with major storms. Of course, WW2 intervened to halt further efforts.
Through the 1940's, there is no mention of this as a recurring problem in RCC Board minutes until 1954, when a "moderate program of replacing the building support posts one at a time" was suggested, but was considered "not urgent". More emphasis was placed during this period on repairs to the permanent dock. That the problem did get worse is clear from the decision taken in 1956 to replace the clubhouse, and locate the new building further south, out of the flood area. By that time the building was significantly tilted so that some members were concerned about safety. Was it a mistake to replace it with a steel shed instead of restoring it to its former glory? Consider this: it had no heat, no winter access, and it still would have been in the path of creek overflows. If it had been upgraded, our assessment and dues today would be substantially higher.
Today, excessive storm water drainage into the creek has reappeared from a new source to the north - the new development at the end of Ridge Road known as Mallard's Landing, which abuts RCC. Rainwater collected from roofs, driveways, and the road is being piped to our property, causing silting and erosion problems. Commodore Mark Weider has initiated contacts with the Town of Irondequoit and residents of Mallard's Landing to correct the situation. History repeats itself.
Leo Balandis Nov. 26, 2004