History...133 Central-

The Holcombs-

133 Central was built in 1870, by a young British entrepeneur, Abel P. Holcomb. He was one of several British who brought their families and built extravagant homes in the land of plenty, the USA. Having decided on Silver Creek with its new thousand foot dock extending into the bay in Lake Erie, great enterprise was in store for the tiny village.

Holcomb went into partnership with two men, Huntley and Hines, forming Huntley, Holcomb and Hines Company and manufacturing what they called 'Smut Separators'... the machines that separate grain from the chaff- high tech apparatus of the day. Many skilled workers were employed making these machines, which made use of the local foundry for casting metal and ample Virgin forests for making extremely wide and thin boards to create the equipment. You can find 133 Central, the factories they owned and houses they lived in, all on the map of Silver Creek of 1892.

The Silver Creek bay was an excellent way to ship these large machines out west, where the huge prairies grew crops to be processed and then shipped back to massive grain silos in Buffalo, NY- which was one of the largest and most prosperous ports of the day.Buffalo in 1902 had more dollars per capita than any city in the world- and tiny Silver Creek played its part by having not one, but two manufacturers of smut separators. The competitor in the village was S. Howe Company, which is still in business to this day. Simeon Howe, whose home was on Main Street, was partners with Adelphus Babcock, another proud resident of Central Avenue. But, that's another story, for another time...) Back to Abel and 133...

Ten years after it was built, 133 became a Landmark of Chautaqua County- an exceptional drawing of it ws printed in the 1880 Chautaqua County Atlas. We can assume that the Gentle man and Gentle lady in the drawing are meant to be Abel and Druscilla- and may be an accurate likeness of their features, and the way they dressed in public. Here's what Abel looked like- with his hand extended, welcoming a neighbor...

Abel's wife Druscilla never took his surname, Holcomb- instead she remained Druscilla Beals all her life... Because of this, it's my guess that Druscilla had been an actress, or celebrity in some way- who wanted to keep her name, in a time when wives would normally take their husband's name in marriage. Is it possible that her appearance could be genetically repeated by a modernday descendent? Here is a detail of the drawing of Druscilla, and a picture of an actress named Jennifer Beals... What do you think? Any resemblance?

Druscilla only lived to a relatively young age of 62- Abel must have been heartbroken- he had a huge monument erected in her honor. It stands in the Silver Creek Glenwood Cemetery as the centerpiece for the Holcomb family, which was Abel, Druscilla and one daughter, Lillian.

Abel went on to live a long life, to an age of 82- but, mysteriously gave up ownership of 133 Central in 1892. He also dropped out of partnership with Hunley and Hines- that company went on to be just Huntley Company- so were they hurt by the depression of the day, after the Civil War?...

No matter what happened later, we have Abel P. Holcomb to thank for the creation of 133 Central- and the air of love and warmth that must have existed for Willie and Leonora to have felt free enough to write on the attic walls as they did- creating a lasting statement of the freedom and love at 133.

Willie Elliott and Leonora Harting-

We have no record of how the Elliotts, Hartings and Holcombs were related- but, they were definitely visiting 133 while the Holcombs lived there- AND felt comfortable enough there to think it was OK to write on their hosts' attic walls! They were young- Willie was sixteen, and Leonora a bit older, perhaps 18- but were obviously smitten with each other. Today, we would call it 'puppy love'- but in those days, people married much younger... so, when Willie proposed marriage- he was probably not kidding!

All we know now is that Willie is buried in his family plot, and there is no sign of Leonora- who was apparently visiting the Holcombs from her home of Livonia in Livingston County, NY. She was a hundred miles from home while here- and was on her way back the day they wrote the love letters to each other on October 25th, 1873. It will be interesting to see if any news of their history comes our way...)

John H. Kaiser and others-

There was a period of a few years when 133 was bought and sold a few times- John H. Kaiser came into the picture and swept someone living at 133 off her feet- there is record him moving to Miami Florida, and 133 being sold... details are scarce on that- Kaiser did take time to write his name with white paint on the attic walls, on the borads at the top of the stairs.

After they moved, it appears that 133 may have gone into a dormant stage for several years- maybe as much as twenty- when noone lived here. It's a statement of the quality of consruction, to think that this house made of stone, bricks, slate and metal roof has lasted over one hundred thirty years now, and still exists- imagine what homes built today will be like in that long...?

The Swifts-

Dana and Cora Swift lived in 133 longer than anyone else- Cora was here for 38 years. The Swift family has a long history in Silver Creek, going back to the Swift Mansion, also on Central Ave. It is featured in color on a hand painted map in the Mayville Chautauqua County building. Swifts lived next door to 133 too. Dana's aunt lived there, and his grandfather, Oliver Lee lived across the street. The front door entrance to 133 was originally in direct alignment with Lee's mansion across the street- today, ther is no entrance to that 133 porch, and the door at Lee's has been completely removed during 'remodeling'. (They say that during remodelng an entire room was found behind a piece of paneling in that house... it had been covered for many years...)

Cora Swift is buried with the Lees, not the Swifts...The Lee family plot is bordered by a beautiful cast iron fence and gate, with a motif of wilting lilies- Dana Swift is also buried in Glenwood, with the Swifts, not the Lees... his tombstone has a touching epitaph- "His soul was attuned to the sweet sounds of nature..." You can see him standing in the photo below, with his faithful dog. Curiously, 'Chimney Swifts come every summer to live in 133- their delightful chirping is a joy to hear when they all come out and fly around...and their incredible maneuverability allows them to dive at full speed into the chimney they make their home for the season. An image of a Swift is on Dana's tombstone.