Ogdensburg History

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Mary Breen Interview

on August 23, 2015

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The Ford Mansion

The Ford Mansion was one of the grandest homes in the small village of Ogdensburgh. Built for Judge Nathan Ford, it was a large two story stone house on a hill facing the majestic St. Lawrence River. Nathan Ford was born December 8, 1763 in Morristown, New Jersey. Although he doesn’t get credit, Ford was the real founder of Ogdensburg. Ford spent his childhood living in his grandfather’s mansion in Morristown, NJ, which later became George Washington’s headquarters during the American Revolution. He served in the war as a Deputy Assistant Quartermaster. Later, Ford was the land agent for Samuel Ogden and was one of the first white settlers of the village. Samuel Ogden, a land speculator whom the city is named after, sent Nathan Ford to explore the lands he had purchased in 1794. After the U.S. gained control of Northern New York as part of the terms of Jay’s Treaty, Ford and other settlers from Morristown, New Jersey settled here. Ford lived in one of the buildings that had been ...

J.J. Murphy Plumbing and Heating Building

The J.J. Murphy Building was located at 317 State Street, which would be right next door to Nick Fodor's Law Offices today. This photo was taken in about 1970. Jeremiah (J.J.) Murphy and his wife Geraldine owned the building until it was purchased by the Ogdensburg Urban Renewal Agency. #ogdensburghistory #urbanrenewal

Duck Decoy Carvers: Part I Frankie Louis

This is the first video in a series about decoy carvers in Ogdensburg. There are many duck hunters in St. Lawrence County and decoying a duck is well developed here in Ogdensburg and surrounding communities. Early duck hunters used live ducks to lure ducks to the blind. After this practice was outlawed, some hunters made stuffed decoys, but these didn’t last long. Eventually hunters created decoys using cedar for the bodies and pine for the heads. Many hunters carved ducks for their own use and will not be covered in this series. One of the earliest commercial decoy carvers in the area was Frankie Louis (1878-1964). He was born in 1878 in Ogdensburg to Christopher Louis, who was from Alsace-Lorraine, France and Mary Delestre Louis, whose parents were also French. Frankie was one of 7 children. Christopher Louis built the home and shop at 325 Crescent St. where the family resided and where Frankie later operated a bicycle repair shop, car repair shop and decoy carving busi...

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Mary Breen Interview

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