Not The House I Thought It Was

Sometimes history is found just around the corner, and sometimes, history gets a bit mangled.

Let me explain.

I was intending to write a post, for my April "New York State" Blogging from A to Z Theme, on some local Binghamton, New York history.  If you have ever used Whirlpool brand major appliances (such as washing machines), you may be interested in some of the history of the Whirlpool Corporation and its connection to Binghamton, a company called the Nineteen Hundred Washer Co. (which originated in what is now called Johnson City but moved to Binghamton), and a man by the name of Thomas Crary.  Crary had many health problems and passed away in 1920 at the age of 54. 

The Nineteen Hundred Washer Company had developed a washing machine called the Cataract, which was revolutionary for the time.   Its advertising praised the swirling waters the machine used to clean clothes - like a whirlpool.

What became Whirlpool (a Michigan company, the Upton Machine Company) merged with the Nineteen Hundred Washing Company in 1929 and their corporate name became the Nineteen Hundred Corporation. The technology purchased in the merger helped to propel Whirlpool to become a major washing machine manufacturer.   In 1949, the corporate name changed again, this time to Whirlpool.

So what does this have to do with a Binghamton house?

Riverside Drive in Binghamton has a number of houses on the National Historic register and one of these is located at 66 Riverside Drive.  Years ago, someone told me that Thomas Crary lived in that house.  Unfortunately, I can not find any evidence that this was the case.

But I've always admired the house, and, earlier in April, we walked past it and found that it was for sale.  So I felt it OK to take some pictures of the exterior of the house.

It's a beautiful house, and I have no interest in this house as either a seller or a potential buyer.  I just want to show its beauty.

You can't see the house but it's hidden in there

This house, according to the Local Landmark Property List and the realtor's listing, is a Colonial Revival built for a "W. R .Miller" who was in the stationery business.  I couldn't find much on him, either, in a quick internet search.

Here's a side of the house, the side one can see from the corner of the street.   The List gives the age as "circa 1918".  The listing says it was built in 1926.

That's the fun (and frustration) of history.  Even though it's not connected to the person I thought it was, the house makes me wonder about the person it was built for.  A quick internet search indicates W. R Miller may have been a publisher of postcards of the Binghamton area during the early 1900's, and I have a high school friend who used to collect and sell postcards.  So maybe one day I'll be able to write a sequel of this post with more information.

In the meantime, it is a nice house to view from the street, especially in spring.