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Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Cyrus Gates Farmstead
Maine, NY
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This special collection of the Whitney Point High Library was created by Steven Beukema, the High School's Social Studies teacher and owner of the Farmstead, and Jeffrey Detrick, the High School's Librarian. This project is hoped to gain awareness of both students and teachers of local landmarks in the Broome County area. It is a constantly evolving project as we will be adding new material as they become available.
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To view online photos, click on one of the links in the navigational menu located on
aaaaaa the left. You can view historical photos, interior photos, current photos, and
aaaaaa miscellaneous photos.
aaaaaa The Farmstead also has an online photo slideshow you can view. Click
here
to view our Flickr
aaaaaa photo page. Once you are on the Flickr photo page, click on either the Current or Historical photo
aaaaaa albulm to view the slideshow. You can also leave comments on any of the photos.
To view online videos, click on the "Videos of the Farmstead" link in the
aaaaaaa navigational menu located on the left.
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space Cyrus Gates was born in Four Corners, Maine, New York 7/27/1802. Today this area is where Corson and Old Nanticoke Roads intersect. He was the son of Russell and Esther Briggs Gates. Under the Boston Purchase, Cyrus' father and mother had migrated from the East Haddam, Connecticut area in the early 1790s. Russell and his brother Alfred trail blazed the road from Union Center to Nanticoke in order to gain access to their newly purchased property. Cyrus would follow in his father's footsteps by farming and staying on the land; serving as a deacon in the Maine Baptist church; and maintaining a proactive and sacrificial abolitionist stance. In addition, records show that Cyrus organized a " singing school" either out of his home or at his church in town where he also was the church choir director for some time. Music did possibly play an important role in the family, as there was an old piano and many very old music books in the house.
space Cyrus' main occupation was that of a cartographer and surveyor-and would map 11 counties for the state of New York. Cyrus also served for several years as the local Justice of the Peace in the then newly formed Town of Maine. Although Cyrus did not farm as vigorously as his father had, he was still able to produce: apples, maple sugar, honey, as well as other standard farm produce. In 1828 Cyrus married Arabella Leadbetter they had four children: Livingston-1829, who would serve in the U.S. Army during the Civil war and then move on to Wisconsin. Byron-1832, who would marry Lydia Buck, have three children and live the rest of his life on the farmstead. Aravesta-1836. And Eugene-1843 who would serve in the U. S. Navy on the U.S.S. Dictator during the Civil War.
space In 1848 when Cyrus was 45 years old he began building a Greek inspired farmhouse. He apparently hired a man from New York City named Yarrington to build it. By the standards of the day and Cyrus' rural location, the style of the house would be considered quite extravagant and over-done for a stick frame farmhouse. In fact, the locals feeling somewhat miffed by Cyrus' use of an out of town builder, called the new house "Gates' white elephant." Construction on the building commenced in January of 1848 and family members report that it was completed enough to be lived in by the end of that year. The inside carpentry and other finish work of the house would not be completed until 1851.
space One sad story from the family is the death of Jennie and Minnie Gates-Cyrus' granddaughters from Byron and Lydia. As Byron was exempted from the Civil War, he and his wife Lydia lived at the farmstead with Cyrus and Arabella. Byron would one day inherit the property. During the month of January in 1865 both little girls age four and two contracted influenza and died just a few days apart. This was a tragic although not uncommon occurrence during that time period. They are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the house. Byron and Lydia were so distraught that they left Maine for Lansing, Michigan where Lydia's brother was the mayor. They came back to Maine the following spring to live with Cyrus and Arabella once again and start over. Soon Russell Buck Gates would be born to them-a grandson for Cyrus.
space Cyrus would eventually pass away on December 11th, 1891. By all accounts he lived a full, and moral life. He raised a family, was a productive citizen, served his community, advanced the arts, and fought the injustice of slavery.
Stephen G. Beukema
March 13, 2006
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Underground Railroad in Broome County |
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space Broome County, New York played a very important role in the Underground Railroad by helping runaway slaves escape their bondage from Southern plantations and slave masters. From 1848 until the end of slavery in the United States in1865, the Cyrus Gates Farmstead in Maine, New York was a station or stop on the Underground Railroad. Its owners: Cyrus and Arabella Gates were outspoken abolitionists as well as active and vital members of their community. Oral history says that through those years many escaped slaves came through the Gates' station. The slaves would travel from the South to the North from station to station mostly under the cover of darkness. Often times, once runaways got into the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, they would not be in much danger of being captured by bounty hunters or the police. Runaways in New York would often work and do chores with the station owners during the day. One runaway female slave, a 16-year-old girl named Margaret "Marge" Cruizer was so comfortable with the Gates family that she decided to stay at their station and live with them. Marge ended up spending the rest of her life with the Gates' and is buried in the cemetery right next to the house.
space In 1850 the United States government in trying to prevent a war between the slave and non-slave states passed a new Fugitive Slave Act. This law gave bounty hunters from the South more rights to chase slaves into the North and forced Northern police officers into arresting and returning runaway slaves that they captured. Abolitionists hated the Fugitive Slave act, and started working even harder to find ways to end slavery. Southern slave plantation owners hated Northern abolitionists because the abolitionists wanted to end slavery which in turn would mean that the plantation owners would lose their laborers-the people that worked for them. The plantation owners kept trying to get back their slaves that would run away to the North and on to Canada if they had to. The average slave was worth a lot of money to a slave owner, so owners would pay people called bounty hunters to bring runaway slaves back to them if they could.
space We should be proud of our strong abolitionist heritage here in Broome County. Slavery was a terrible thing and families like the Gates' knew in their hearts and minds that it had to be stopped. The Gates' and many other abolitionists risked much to end slavery, but unfortunately it took the great Civil War to end slavery in the United States.
Stephen G. Beukema
November 19, 2005
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The Farmstead's Role in the Underground Railroad |
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space Owning a station or being a conductor on the Underground Railroad was most certainly illegal behavior, although not considered unethical behavior by many people. In light of this, participation in the Underground Railroad was very secretive; records were not usually, if ever kept of the comings and goings at stations. It would be an unwise act to record illegal behavior, especially in New York where there were the Northern Democrats were strong. In fact Cyrus' own brother William Gates was an ardent Copperhead and after an argument with Cyrus over "breaking the law" moved out of the family house. In light of this it is easier to see why much of the history of this vast network of stations has been passed down through oral history.
space The oral history of the Cyrus Gates Farmstead says that the main house was used before and after the Civil War as a station on the Underground Railway and that Cyrus and Arabella Gates were station hosts or conductors. The following is a statement made by Cyrus Gates' great-granddaughter, Louise Gates-Gunsalus (1894-1986):
"I know of only one route in Maine (N.Y.) township for the travel and care of slaves. This route has, as far south as I have been told, its first point of contact in a home in Vestal, New York. Its next station, or stop, the Luce home on Route 26, south of Union Center, and next, to the Russell Gates home, later his son's, Cyrus Gates...the next and last known point was the Bushnell home on the Newark Valley, Dryden Road at the crossroad where the Bushnell house stood. From there the next station was in or near Ithaca, but where I have no information."
space To facilitate the harboring and if necessary the hiding of runaway slaves, the Gates built a hiding place inside the south wing of their attic. Inside the master bedroom upstairs, an access panel was made inside of one of the closets. The old leather thong used to close the panel to the wall is still there to this day. This panel would give assess to an area that was roughly 20 feet by 10 feet by four feet high. It is not known if runaways were actually ever forced to retreat to this area. There would probably have to be a high level of concern-such as a bounty hunter in the area-to necessitate the hiding of the slaves inside the house.
Stephen G. Beukema
March 6, 2006
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