“There’s A Place
I Know of…”
Fall
Brook is described by early historian, Rev. W. M. Beauchamp as
"One of the pleasantest points on the lake, where I made my first
camp in 1847. It has always been a favorite spot for picnics and
camps, and has its name from the pretty fall on the brook close
by."
An 1880 news item in the Syracuse Journal, reprinted in the April
21, 1880 issue of the Skaneateles Free Press, states the there
was a "happy, healthy party of campers" at Fall Brook. "The point
is a fine one," the article continues, "and in good condition.
The fishing is good. A flagpole, forty feet high, shows the stars
and stripes. A small cannon answers the display of the flag..
A cornet makes the hills echo and re echo."
An early deed shows the property conveyed by Cordelia and John
Chamberlain to Avis Van Wagener in the year 1888. The next owner,
George Hey, a lawyer, built a summer cottage there. He sold the
point to Hendrick Holden in 1894.
John Barrow, in his book Around Skaneateles Lake, writes, "The
next point, Fall Brook, is now owned by Mr. Hendrick S. Holden
who bought out Mr. Hey. He has two beautiful cottages, one quite
large and has spent much money in grading and civilizing his grounds."
Fall Brook Point is known by the old timers as "Holden's Point."
Mr. Holden, a Republican from Syracuse, was a New York State Senator.
He was also one of the first to sit on the Board of Directors
for the Syracuse newspaper, The Post, in 1894. He was probably
the builder of the main stone house of 15 bedrooms and the upper
guesthouse of 3 bedrooms. The main house was probably built in
the 1890's.
Mr. Holden enjoyed holding parties in the summer on his beautiful
point. The July 6th issue of the Syracuse Sunday Standard describes
a Fourth of July party (reprinted in the July 12, 1895 issue of
the Skaneateles Free Press) held by Mr. Holden as the following:
Through
the characteristic generosity of Mr. Holden, the steamer Ossahinta
made a circuit of the upper end of the lake, stopping at Glen
Haven and the numerous cottages to afford transportation to
those who had previously received invitations. The evening was
perfect. The limpid waters of the lake were gently stirred by
a breeze from the south and everything was in harmony with the
occasion. The steamer reached Fall Brook pier a little after
8 o'clock and the 200 guests on board were met by Mr. Holden
and on their way to the cottage while passing over a pretty
rustic bridge were received by Mrs. Holden and her sisters,
Miss Stewart and Miss Minnie Stewart. The cottages and spacious
grounds were gaily enlivened with Chinese and Japanese lanterns
of various colors. Many additional guests came and from the
broad piazzas and the lawn, 300 people were entertained for
nearly an hour and a half with an elaborate display of fireworks
in endless variety. The rockets and roman candles were visible
from all over the lake region, which was frequently in a ruddy
blaze during the great fire illuminations. Several balloons
were sent up and as they were wafted down the lake by the south
wind were watched until they disappeared in the distance. After
the fireworks, refreshments were served. At about 11 o'clock
the Ossahinta took the near cottagers to their respective homes,
then returned for those who lived farther away. The enjoyment
of the evening was fittingly enhanced on the return trip by
the splendor of the full moon."
Devastated by the death of his son in World War I, Mr. Holden sold the house
and never returned to the point. He also owned a 28 to 30 foot
inboard motor launch named "Slipper" which he sold at the same
time to Allie J. Hoffman, a druggist in Skaneateles.
(Hendrick's father was Erastus Holden, a coal dealer from Syracuse
who had an observatory built at Syracuse University in memory
of his son Charles. Charles was a freshman is the class of 1877,
co-founder of the SU crew team, and a star basketball player.
He died of a heart ailment before he could graduate.)
The camp was then sold to the David Bissell family of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. They used it as a summer camp - mainly Mr. & Mrs.
Bissell and Mr. Bissell's mother who was the matriarch of the
family.
(Melville Bissell, her husband, a mechanically inclined person,
invented a carpet sweeper to aid his wife, Anna, in cleaning up
at the days end in their small crockery shop in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. The sweeper business became very successful, with a
patent being issued in 1876, and a manufacturing plant built in
1883. When Mr. Bissell died 1889, his wife took over the business,
becoming the first female corporate CEO.) Elsie Gutchess, Historian
for the Town of Dryden and former resident of Fall Brook, remembered
seeing a picture of Mrs. Bissell, a rather large person, sitting
on the front porch. And when the Bissell family moved out, Elsie
said 12 Bissell vacuum cleaners were left behind in the attic.
The Bissells sold the camp to Frank Godwin in the 1928. Included
in the sale were all the contents of the cottage - household goods,
furniture and furnishings etc.
Mr.
Godwin was a prominent artist and magazine illustrator of the
Norman Rockwell style. He drew two syndicated comic strips, "Connie"
from 1927 to 1944, and "Rusty Riley" from 1948 to 1959. He also
worked in oils, painting the murals for the Kings County Hospital
in Brooklyn, N.Y. and for the Riverside Yacht Club in Greenwich,
Conn. Among his earlier work, as staff artist for the Philadelphia
Public Ledger, he drew the covers for the Sunday magazine section
and illustrated its fiction.
Mr. Godwin used the point as an art colony. He built a third-floor
studio and several out buildings. He had a reputation for having
wild parties there. But when his third wife, Sylvia, left him,
he was so heart-broken that he hurriedly left the camp, leaving
behind paintings and a full Sunday paper layouts on his easel.
(Elsie said that her mother carefully packed up all his artwork
and sent it down to him in Pennsylvania.)
The house remained empty for 20 years or so. In the summer it
became a fun place for Syracuse University students. They would
come to Skaneateles, rent a boat and row down the lake to the
point. The house there was still furnished with furniture, linens,
silverware and dishes, etc. According to Elsie, these items eventually
disappeared - some destroyed, some stolen. Some of the furniture
did survive though.
Around 1942, Mr. Clair B. Gutchess and his wife, Irene, were
living at Carpenter's Point. They had a large family and needed
a bigger camp. They inquired about Fall Brook, but realtors told
them it was not for sale (The Gutchesses were lumber people and
had a mill near Glen Haven.)
So Mr. Gutchess and his wife drove to Mr. Godwin's home in New
Hope, Pennsylvania. They did not receive a warm reception; Mr.
Godwin was painting at his easel in his studio and ignored them.
But when he learned that the family would not try to develop the
land, rather the camp would be for the use of their six children,
he said, "That place should have children round it. You can have
it." So he sold the point to them in 1945.
When Mr. Gutchess died, his family found it hard to maintain
the property. His daughter, Elsie advertised the house for sale
in the New York Times and received replies from around the world.
In 1983, she sold it to Alfred and Josephine Muscari of Springfield,
in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. (a western suburb of Philadelphia.)
Mr. Muscari, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is a civil engineer,
specializing principally in bridges and subways. (He was responsible
for overseeing the construction of the Washington D. C. subway
system.) Fortunately retired when he became aware of Fall Brook,
he and Josephine devoted their attention to the property and its
much-needed restoration. For the grounds were in a sad state of
disrepair - the house was boarded up, bats and bees resided in
the attic and the vegetation was overgrown.
Being
an engineer, it is no surprise that Alfred added roads and even
a bridge for access to the South and North ends of the property.
Meanwhile Josephine, an avid horticulturalist and noted flower
show judge, set about beautifying the grounds with flowers etc.
After Josephine’s death in 1995, her son John and daughter Michele, entered
into a limited partnership of the property with their father. Alfred was always
very proud of Fall Brook and the work he and Josephine had done. It was always
his goal to preserve the natural beauty of the property while making improvements.
Alfred died in September of 2007. The love that he and Josephine shared for each
other, life and Fall Brook is everywhere you look on the on the property. From The
Love Nest to the gardens, naming of roads and the attention to the smallest details,
Fall Brook Point became something better because of their vision and the love they
shared for each other.
Still in partnership between John and Michele, Fall Brook Point continues to be a
very special place for the children and 8 grandchildren of Alfred and Josephine. This
new generation of guardians is dedicated to the vision and the responsibility now passed
on to them of preserving Fall Brook Point for the time they are blessed to be her overseers.
Today people from all over the country make their way to Fall Brook in the summer. Many
come for family reunions and to enjoy the beauty of the lake, the company of one another
and to experience the history and harmony that is so uniquely Fall Brook.
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Beth Batlle, Skaneateles
Town Historian. Her thorough and tireless research has restored
meaning to Fall Brook and documented forever its special place
in history.
Thank You Beth!
Sources
Barrow, John, "Around Skaneateles Lake," 1902,
pg. 296
Beauchamp, Rev. W.M., Souvenirs of Some Early
Days On Skaneateles Lake, 1882
Gutchess, Elsie, Historian for the Town of Dryden,
and daughter of Clair Gutchess
Jeremy, Bud, Historian for the Town of Homer
"New York Red Book, List of Senators from 1847
to present, pg. 202
Deeds from the Country Clerk's Office, Cayuga
County
Holden biographical records from Onondaga Historical
Assoc.
Askart.com - Biography for the Artist Godwin,
Frank
Bissell.com - About Us/History
Phy.syr.edu/info/holden/holden.html
Skaneateles Free Press, August 21, 1880
Skaneateles Free Press, July 12, 1895
Beth Batlle
Town of Skaneateles Historian
June, 2001
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