Oneonta, New York (oh-nee-ON-ta), the “City of the Hills,” is located about a half-hour drive from Cooperstown. This eclectic town was home to some of the world’s most notable early industrialists. From the humble beginnings of IBM’s founders to new educational opportunities, this small town played a huge role in New York State’s and the Nation’s history.
Oneonta began as a railroad depot between Albany and Binghamton, which led to its incorporation in 1848. Ironically, the Historical Society is housed in the oldest remaining building on Main Street, which dates to 1866. I met Bob Brzozowski, Executive Director of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society (GHOS), for a walk back through Oneonta’s past accomplishments.
RAILROAD ROOTS
True to its railroad roots, Oneonta once had the largest railroad roundhouse in the world. These roundhouses allowed the locomotives to be serviced and turned around for transport. The Railroad Brakeman’s Union was founded in Oneonta in 1883 and soon had a million members. In the late 1890s, you could have ridden a horse-drawn trolley. It would later become the Southern New York Railway and ultimately reach Mohawk, New York. The rail line was shut down in the 1970s. Today, the Train Depot Restaurant and Tavern occupies one of the remaining local rail depots.
BARONS OF BUSINESS
George Fairchild, the founder of IBM (International Business Machines), was born in Oneonta. Harlow Bundy and his brother Willard were the first to use a new invention, a time clock, to track their employees’ time. Fairchild became an investor in The Bundy Time Recording Company. Bundy would move Bundy Time Recorders to Binghamton, New York, where it would eventually become a part of IBM.
Carlos Huntington was born into a railroad family and later brought his railroad smarts to Los Angeles, where he had a significant influence on real estate. He established the Huntington Library in Huntington Beach, California, and the Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta.
David Wilbur began his banking business in Oneonta in one small corner of the hardware store at the present location of the GHOS. It would soon outgrow the store’s confines and set up shop just down the street as Wilbur National Bank. Charted in 1874, it merged with Community Bank in 2011 after 137 years of service to its customers.
EDUCATION
Oneonta SUNY was once a teacher’s college in the late 1880s and became the founding member of the State University of New York in 1948. Hartwick College, initially founded in 1797 as a seminary, joined the education community in 1928. Both play a significant role in the Oneonta community, with some 7,500 students enrolled at both colleges.
ARTS AND ONEONTA
Photographer Carleton E. Watkins was born in Oneonta but would leave to follow the 1850s gold rush. He found his passion for landscape photography in California. It was Watkins’ photographs of Yosemite’s Half Dome and El Capitan that helped encourage President Lincoln to preserve the California lands.
Today, Oneonta’s citizens are working to preserve the Oneonta Theater, built in 1897. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It served as both a vaudeville theater and a cinema. The theater closed in 2016.
ARCHITECTURE
Downtown Oneonta suffered losses during the urban renewal of the 1960s and ’70s. Many buildings have been lost to time, but the main downtown corridor remains. The Oneonta Downtown Historical District was established in 2003. Today, it is a vibrant downtown commercial district.
The Wilber Mansion, a Victorian-designed home, is a focal point for Oneonta’s downtown history.
The Fairchild Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is now the home of the Masonic Lodge. The Lodge has retained the Queen Anne-style structure as it was when George Fairchild owned the property.
The GHOS Building has a third-floor ballroom in the early stages of restoration. Once complete, it will house lectures and events for the area. The society holds local fundraisers and campaigns to restore the building. Bob explained, “We have generous donors. Unlike a lot of groups that say if you get a donation of stock, you have to cash it in the next day, we tended to get IBM blue-chip stock and hold it until we could spend it on the building.”
PLAYER PIANOS
The GHOS houses a player piano made in Oneonta by the GB Shearer Company, and it is over 100 years old. While it took a significant investment of time to get the piano running, it can still play a tune. Playing the piano is a bit of a workout because it uses a bellows and a compressor to produce music, and it must be pumped to play the notes, which are punched onto paper rolls. The player piano is the only instrument that combines wind, strings, and percussion. You could call it the first Karaoke machine. The GHOS has an extensive collection of donated player piano rolls and has produced two CDs of player piano songs.
The Greater Oneonta Historical Society’s work is to enhance the future by providing a tradition on which our contemporary culture can be based and out of which it can grow. Oneta’s blend of tradition and modern culture is easily recognized on a walk through the historic downtown district. During the year, GHOS will offer walking tours in the downtown area. Don’t miss the eclectic small-town New York; you will not be disappointed.
http://www.oneontahistory.org/
My overnight accommodation in Oneonta was at a brand new Holiday Inn and Suites. A helpful staff member greeted me with a smile on check-in. The room was decorated but well-appointed for this road-weary traveler. Waking up to overlook the city and mountains wasn’t bad either. Albeit a short stay, I was very comfortable, well looked after, and well fed at breakfast.
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/oneonta/onhrt/hoteldetail
It was a chilly night as I searched out the Autumn Café on Main St in Oneonta. Delighted to be out of the rain, I ordered the wild boar pasta and a glass of wine. The chill of the day quickly passed with delicious food and first-class service. Always search out a local recommendation; I doubt you will be disappointed.
