The History of Cayuga County 1789-1879 page 256
Fair Haven / Town of Sterling

Oscar F. Miller was the next merchant. He opened the store he now occupies.

Robinson & Mendell opened a store in the east part of the village about 1873. They separated in the spring of 1877, Robinson opening the grocery store in the east end of the Mendell & Hitchcock block, which was built in the fall and winter of 1876, and Mendell a stock of ready made clothing and boots and shoes, in the store in the west end of the same block. Both are still in business.

J. B. Chappell & Son opened the central store in the Mendell & Hitchcock block in the spring of 1877, and still carry on business there.

Isaac P. Welch opened the grocery store he now occupies in the spring of 1878.

E. E. Austin and Geo. B. Knapp, under the firm name of E. E. Austin & Co., opened their store of general groceries and ship supplies, at the Point, in the spring of 1878.

The steam planing-mill, owned and operated by Knapp & Hemingway, was built by Post, Knapp & Hemingway, in 1872. It is 70 by 50 feet, two stories high, and is capable of planing 20,000 feet of lumber per day. The motive power is furnished by a fifty-five-horse-power engine. Connected with the mill property is a dock, on the Bay, 528 feet in length. The annual sales are about 2,000,000 feet of lumber. In the spring of 1875, the senior partner, Mr. Post, withdrew, his interest being bought by the remaining members.

The first saw-mill in Fair Haven was built by Seth Turner, some twenty-five years since, who sold it after three or four years. It has passed through several hands, and is now owned by Mrs. Bottsford, whose husband acquired possession of it some four years since.

R. S. Welch built the saw-mill now owned by him about four years ago.

Both mills are located at the head of the Bay.

Jacob Hemingway and Wm. Van Hoesen commenced the manufacture of brick a little south of the village, on the line of the railroad, in the spring of 1877. They give employment to eight or ten men, and make 15,000 per day.

Floyd Kelsey, of Auburn, was the first to make brick in this locality. He commenced about 1856, and continued four or five years. Nothing more was done till about four years ago, when David Lester, now of Oswego, manufactured for about one year. The works then remained idle till operations were resumed by the present proprietors.

Messrs. Reed & Conger built an ice-house of large capacity at the Point in the winter of 1877-'78.

C. W. Austin and the S. C. R. R. are jointly building a steam transfer elevator at the Point, with a storage capacity of 30,000 bushels, and a transfer capacity of 3,000 bushels per hour.

Peo & Rice are engaged in shipping foreign fish, and are doing an extensive business. Seventy-five tons of fish were entered at this point in 1877, when several parties were engaged in the business.

Several coal companies are doing business at this place, viz: Moser, Hoole & Co., organized in April, 1878, with headquarters at Buffalo; the Lehigh Valley Coal Co.; the Butler Colliery Co., with headquarters at Elmira; Wheeler & Co., with headquarters at Oswego; for all of which C. W. Austin is shipping agent; and E. M. Ford, with headquarters in Oswego, for whom C. L. Bloodgood is shipping agent. The railroad company have a coal trestle at the Point, with a stock capacity of 45,000 tons, and a pocket capacity of 1,300 tons. They also own the steam tug E. P. Ross, which is named after the president of the road.

The following statistics showing the magnitude of the business done at this port were kindly furnished by George P. Knapp, Deputy Collector of Customs of Fair Haven: The receipts at this office from June 30th to December 4th, 1877, were $24,000; and from March 20th to June 8th, 1878, $729. There were received and forwarded during the year 1877, 140,000 bushels of barley, 1,500,000 feet of lumber, 75 tons of fish, 2,000,000 lath, 1,000 cords cedar posts, 3,000 tons of iron ore, and 65,000 tons of coal. From April 11th to December 4th, 1877, the number of vessels coming into the port was 360, with an aggregate tonnage of 68,516 tons.

Little Sodus Harbor is naturally a good one, and has been improved by the general government and the residents of the place. In 1828 Congress appropriated $400 for making a survey and examination of the southern shore of Lake Ontario, between Genesee and Oswego rivers, with a view to the improvement of the most accessible and commodious harbors on the frontier.

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