North Country At Work

Paper plant employees and family members sit on the porch of a hotel in Pyrites. Circa 1900-1916. Pyrites, NY.

Threshing crew in front of a steam traction engine. Two wagons full of bundles of grain wait to be pitched into threshing machine on right. Workers hold pitch forks for moving bundles. Some of the crew have neckerchiefs around their necks, used to cover their faces for protection from the dust. Circa 1890-1900. Lisbon, NY.

The interior of the Ellis Cigar store with owner/proprietor Tufic Ellis behind the counter. Ellis was Lebanese or of Lebanese ancestry. Circa 1930s -1940s. Carthage, NY.

Interior of an early paper mill. Male workers are pictured in front of felt rollers used to dry paper. Circa 1900-1920. Carthage, NY. Check out this North Country at Work story to learn more about the history of Carthage’s working class.

Workers pose standing and on a horse drawn wagon in front of the Meyer & Farrar door and sash factory, built on the banks of the Black River. It was built to replace the factory that burned in the fire of 1884. This photo was taken circa 1900-1910. Carthage, NY. Check out this North Country at […]

Workers of Wilna Machine, a machine shop located near the Carthage paper mills, pose seated and standing, lit by natural light from large windows lining the wall running the length of the room. The shop produced machinery used in the paper mills. Note young boy, second from left. Circa 1900-1910. Carthage, NY. Check out this North […]

Ray Bell’s meat market and grocery in West Carthage, circa 1920s. Pictured are three male butchers and four of the female employees on the sidewalk in front of the storefront. From the Bell & Arnot Collection in the Town of Champion Archives.  

John and Mary Costes were of Greek descent. They acquired the building pictured behind them in 1922 and turned it into Kandyland, a confectionary shop. John had been a tobacco and coffee traveling salesman. He liked the people of Carthage and decided to stay.  In this picture, John, Mary and , a shop boy are […]

Men of the LeRay Paper Mill are pictured in the yard.  Second from the left, top row, is Ray Rogers; extreme right, front row, Will Van Brocklin. In 1899, this mill employed 60 men, consumed 15,000 cords of wood per year and had a gross output of 27 tons per day or about 17,000,000 pounds […]

Abdoo (left) and Scander (right) Maroun, Lebanese businessman who settled in Carthage, natives of Bekahotoota, Lebanon. They are pictured in front of one of their businesses on State Street. Circa 1910-1920. Carthage, NY. From the Town of Wilna Archives. Caption info compiled by Lynn Thornton, Laura Prievo, and Harold Sanderson for the Images of America […]