SCHOHARIE — The Daniel Webster Jenkins House at 207 Church Street in the hamlet of Central Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 4 — one-hundred-and-thirty-four years after it was built.

The house is situated on lot of 1.83 acres and includes a carriage barn, which the register considers a contributing building; a bluestone walk; a limestone hitching post, which is a contributing object as is a limestone mounting block.

In front of the house is an historic oak tree. With a circumference of 18 feet, 6 inches, it is estimated to be more than 300 years old. In 2017, the tree was recognized as third largest white oak in the George Landis Arboretum’s “Great Oak Hunt” that collected entries from nine surrounding counties, including Schoharie, Montgomery, Saratoga, Fulton, Otsego, Herkimer, Delaware, Greene, Albany, and Schenectady.

The Daniel Webster Jenkins House was built in the emerging “Queen Anne” style of the late 1800s and embodies characteristics of this period, such as a full-width front porch, bracketed posts, and bands of molding between stories. Above the center section of the front porch, posts once held a second story balcony, now in storage. It has full-length windows and a prominent bay window on the first floor, and gables decorated with ornamental designs.

A sunrise motif embellishes the top of the east gable facing Church Street. The decorations on the north-, west-, and south-side gables differ from that of the façade, and from one another, and add visual interest to the exterior. The builder of the house is unknown, but there were many pattern books available in the 1880s and a local builder probably used one of the designs and made changes to suit the customer.

Although the building was subdivided in 1983 into three apartments, it retains its original room plan and woodwork. The historic staircase, entry door, and mantelpiece on the right front chimney are focal points.

The entrance 23-foot foyer is flanked by two historic parlors. Three sets of pocket doors make it possible to close off the parlors from the foyer. The interior includes an entry with sidelights and a transom with stained glass; a casement window with beveled glass; a staircase with turned spindles and Eastlake cut-outs; wood floors; a plaster ceiling medallion; ornate door hardware; and built-in wardrobes and cupboards.

The house was constructed circa 1884 for Daniel Webster Jenkins, who was known as D.W., and his wife, Harriet L. Rosekrans Jenkins, known as Hattie. D.W. Jenkins was one of the village’s most prominent citizens and had a great impact on the commercial, political, and social development of Central Bridge.

The Daniel Webster Jenkins House is an important local landmark, signifying an era when the agricultural and industrial village of Central Bridge was well-connected through the railroad that ran from Albany to Binghamton and the community had a robust economy and social life.

Jenkins’s vita

Daniel Webster Jenkins was born on Sept. 27, 1846, in the town of Glen in Montgomery County and grew up in Duanesburg in Schenectady County. He was the youngest of seven children of Nathaniel and Eleanor Shannon Jenkins.

He attended the Duanesburg common school and the Jonesville Academy in Jonesville in Saratoga County. The academy was down the street from the Jonesville Hotel run by Charles Rosekrans, and this is probably where he met Hattie Rosekrans, the proprietor’s daughter, in the 1860s.

His father, Nathaniel Jenkins, was a farmer who later worked for the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad as a station agent at Quaker Street in Delanson. Daniel became his father’s assistant on Sept. 15, 1863, two weeks shy of his 17th birthday. Daniel eventually succeeded his father as station agent.

The railroad transformed Central Bridge

The line to Schoharie Junction was the culmination of a 12-year construction project that began in 1851. In her article “The Rail in the Trail,” Bethlehem Town Historian Susan E. Leath offers a glimpse of the historic event:

“Wednesday, September 16, 1863 was a banner day for the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. That Wednesday marked the opening of the first section of rails to be completed, stretching from Albany to Central Bridge including stops at Delmar, Slingerlands and New Scotland [later, Voorheesville]. One can imagine the excitement in these rural hamlets as the mighty steam engine rolled through. The hamlets haven’t been the same since.”

The advent of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad transformed the tiny hamlet of Central Bridge into a center of commerce. The railroad station was built about a mile from the old village and businesses flocked to the “new village” near the station, marking the beginning of phenomenal growth and prosperity that continued well into the twentieth century.

In the 1950s, Central Bridge was still an important place. A 1950 Knickerbocker News reporter wrote that the village supported some 60 businesses and did $5.5 million in trade: “To those who insist that life in a village is dull, Central Bridge residents offer a quick contradiction. Social life in Central Bridge moves so briskly, they say, that it’s exhausting.”

The railroad station and freight house divided the main street down the middle, so that businesses lined both North Main and South Main streets. By the late 1800s, Central Bridge boasted a population of 750, dozens of dwellings, a postal system and telephone service; a variety of feed and grist mills, livery stables, harness shops, foundry and blacksmith shops, cobblers and undertakers; dry goods, hardware, and drug stores; and grocery, furniture, farm implement, and general merchandise stores.

Two of the finest hotels with restaurants —Austin House and Barton House — stood side by side on South Main. The old and new Central Bridge had a one-room and a two-room schoolhouse and half-a-dozen churches. The Methodist Episcopal (later, United Methodist) and Bethany Lutheran  Churches were relocated from the old village to Church Street, where they continue to serve the community today.

Merchants who commuted to Central Bridge to sell their wares would take one of the eight to 10 passenger trains that served the area daily. Passengers disembarking in Central Bridge could avail themselves of the services provided by the livery stables where businessmen wishing to visit surrounding areas would rent horses and wagons.

The “old village” of Central Bridge was situated at the meeting place of the Cobleskill and Schoharie Creeks, along what is now State Route 7. Central Bridge derives its name from a covered bridge built over the Schoharie Creek in 1823 that connected Cobleskill to Albany through the Schoharie and Duanesburg Turnpike.

Central Bridge became the area’s leading producer of buckwheat flour, the shipping point for milk, and the second home of the threshing machine industry.

Revolutionary inventor

The builder of the wheat-threshing machine that would revolutionize American agriculture was George Westinghouse Sr., who lived from 1809 to 1884. The threshing-machine industry became the mainstay of the village in the last half of the 19th Century.

Originally a New England farmer, George Westinghouse Sr. moved from Vermont to Ohio and then to Minaville, Montgomery County, where he became a maker of machinery. He relocated to Central Bridge and established a thresher manufacturing plant near Route 7. A skilled inventor — he held seven patents — George Sr. was far overshadowed by his son, George Jr.

The eighth of 10 children born to George and Emaline Vedder Westinghouse, George Jr. was born in a white frame farmhouse in the old village of Central Bridge. George Westinghouse Jr., who lived from 1846 to 1914, became one of the greatest engineers, industrialists, and inventors of his time.

His invention of the air brake in 1869 had a profound impact on the growth of railroads. He  revolutionized the electric power industry by devising a way to distribute electricity using alternating current, thus beating out his longtime rival, Thomas Edison, in “the battle of the currents” — AC vs. DC.

George Westinghouse Jr.’s birthplace and boyhood home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Full life

In 1867, The Schoharie Valley Railroad joined the Albany and Susquehanna line at Schoharie Junction. In 1868, at age 22,  D.W. Jenkins was appointed general ticket and express agent at Central Bridge.

Construction of the line’s 142 miles to Binghamton was completed  by the end of that year. The following year, on Sept. 9, 1869, Daniel married Hattie and brought his bride to Central Bridge where they spent the rest of their lives.

In addition to his work as stationmaster with the A & S Railroad (later, the Delaware and Hudson), Jenkins became a local entrepreneur and dealer of coal, lumber, hay, and straw.  He ran his coal and lumber business from the north side of his property, adjoining the railroad tracks.

An ad in newspapers in the 1880s touted “Daniel W. Jenkins at Central Bridge - The Cheapest Place to Buy Lumber is at Central Bridge” and listed eight different types of lumber, as well as shingles that included cypress, pine, hemlock, spruce, and cedar.  

No doubt Jenkins used these materials to build his Victorian home on Church Street. The wood-shingle roof is visible in an historic photo postcard that dates to the turn of the 20th Century. This image has been passed from owner to owner and is in the current owner’s collection.

Jenkins evidently ran the hay and straw business from his carriage barn located behind his house. The barn has a ventilator in the roof and a loft was added as the business grew. He also leased part of his land behind his house to a creamery.

D.W. Jenkins was elected supervisor of the town of Schoharie in 1889 and served continuously for 12 years until his death; he was chairman of the board for five years. Supervisor Jenkins sponsored two initiatives in the mid-1890s that greatly improved the community of Central Bridge, as documented in the “Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors” Annual Session, in 1895.  

An official of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad contacted local businessmen to invest in the building of a reservoir and the laying of pipes to provide water for steam engines. Jenkins was one of seven directors who set up the Central Bridge Water Company in 1895 in order to supply water to the town of Schoharie and its inhabitants of the village of Central Bridge.

Six months later, as a “taxable inhabitant,” Jenkins submitted a petition to the board of supervisors to set up a local fire district. The measure was approved by the board.

The public water system coupled with fire hydrants provided the community’s only means of fire protection until the purchase of a mobile pumper years later. Jenkins donated a hose cart to the fire company which was named for him in 1896. The D.W. Jenkins Hose Company continues to serve Central Bridge today.

In 1889, D.W. Jenkins was one of the founding members (listed as one of 37 councilors) of the Schoharie County Historical Society that operates the Old Stone Fort as a museum. He also served as president of the Schoharie County Agricultural Society, and was a member of the Masons and the International Order of Odd Fellows.

Jenkins held his position as stationmaster until his death in 1901 and was considered one of the railroad’s longest-serving employees. When he started, there was only one train per day as opposed to 50 per day at the turn of the century.

After his death, Hattie carries on

Daniel Webster Jenkins died on June 15, 1901, of a heart condition, at the age of 54. Obituaries widely lauded his public service and progressive leadership.

Mrs. George W. Smith wrote: “During the thirty odd years of his residence at Central Bridge he has done much, if not more, than any other individual to build up and encourage business of all kinds in that locality, and it was largely through his efforts that the village is now receiving the benefits of an excellent water system. …

“On a perfect summer day, Wednesday, June 19th, 1901, a vast concourse of friends and neighbors met at his home in Central Bridge, and under the spreading oak, to pay the debt of love due his memory. The impressive service for the dead was eloquently spoken by the Reverend E. L. Wade of Johnstown, assisted by the Reverend Mr. Tucker of Central Bridge, and we followed him to his earthly resting place in the tranquil Old Stone Fort Cemetery.”

Hattie L Jenkins, who lived from 1846 to 1934 continued to occupy the house for another 33 years. She ran her husband’s coal and lumber business for a while before selling it to Frank Bateholts.

In 1906, when Bethany Lutheran Church relocated to Church Street, she contributed generously to the construction of the new church. The congregation installed a large commemorative stained-glass window (“Christ the Good Shepherd”) facing Church Street as a memorial tribute to her husband, Daniel Webster Jenkins.

Hattie Jenkins was a charter member of the Eccentric Club of Central Bridge, an organization of local women, which started in 1905 and became affiliated with the State Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1924.  Activities included fundraising and community service.

Meetings were held every two weeks in the home of a member. The club selected a theme for each  program year and members studied diverse subjects, such as the arts, foreign countries, the World War, legislation, current affairs, and historic events, and presented reports to the membership.

Music and inspirational thought were a part of every meeting. Members gave instrumental and vocal recitals and poetry readings. The Eccentric Club published its membership proceedings in an annual yearbook. These are in the collection of Elaine Cooper, an historian and a member of the Eccentric Club.

Mrs. Jenkins remained an active member through the 1927-28 program year. She was listed as hostess for meetings at her home on March 24, 1911; Oct. 4, 1912; Jan. 27, 1915; Jan. 12, 1916;  Dec. 12, 1917; and March 19, 1919.

Among Hattie’s presentations were: “German Paintings of Today”  on Dec. 1, 1915; “Richard Wagner and the Opera” on March 8, 1916;  “Saving and Using Our Forests” on Feb. 20, 1918; Transportation by Water” on Dec. 15, 1920; “Toussaint L’Ouverture,” a legendary figure who fought against Haitian oppression and slavery, on Oct. 19, 1921; “Brief Sketches with Pictures” (The Father of our Country) on Nov. 14, 1923. Also, she regularly sang with a duo or quartette at meetings.

The members considered themselves “ordinary housewives” and most if not all lacked a college education. In an age when women were known only by their husband’s name, and didn’t yet have the right to vote, their accomplishments were nothing less than extraordinary.

Hattie fell in the garden and fractured her hip in 1919, thereafter requiring a caregiver. Having no children, when she died in 1934, Hattie left the house to her longtime live-in practical nurse, Stella Zahn.

Hattie Jenkins, like her husband, was buried in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery, rather than in the Jenkins family plot at the Grove Cemetery in Delanson in Schenectady County, where his parents and four of his six siblings are buried. Jenkins’s involvement with the Old Stone Fort organization may explain their burials there.

Today

As the current owner of the Daniel Webster Jenkins House, I operate it as a smoke-free apartment complex and was assisted with information and smoke-free signs from Advancing Tobacco Free Communities | Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie Counties.

I commissioned architectural as-built drawings in 2017 that show where walls were infilled, and a secondary staircase was hidden during the conversion to apartments. There was an addition to the rear of the house in the 19th Century and those rooms were used for servants’ quarters.

A small room in the addition originally held a built-in linen cabinet that was removed and placed in storage. I found a signature on the subfloor that identified the date of construction of the cabinet as Aug. 7, 1899 and the cabinetmaker as De Witt C. Jenkins, from Syracuse, Daniel’s older brother.

The Daniel Webster Jenkins House is the third Jenkins house to be listed on the National Register. The others houses belonged to his father, Nathaniel, and to his brother William:

— Nathaniel C. Jenkins’s Octagon House in Duanesburg was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984; and

— William A. Jenkins’s house, the Jenkins House in Delanson, was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

I was instantly drawn to the home’s character and integrity and the historic oak tree. As I worked on the apartments when they became vacant, I became intimately acquainted with the old house and increasingly curious about its past.

I began researching the role the original occupants played in the community, and am excited that my research has led to the house being placed on the state and national registers of historic places.