Hamilton White House
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| Hamilton White House | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 307 S. Townsend St., Syracuse, New York |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1845 |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Architectural style(s): | Greek Revival |
| Added to NRHP: | July 20, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73001238[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Hamilton White House is a historic home in Syracuse, New York.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
The house, Greek Revival in design, was build by and for Hamilton White, Esq circa 1842, but was occupied by 1845. Many believe the unknown architect and builder was the same one who built the Moses Burnett House, c. 1842, later to become the Syracuse Century Club building, due to similarities in structure and style. Mr White lived there until his death in 1865; his family remained until 1911/12. The house is the last national historic landmark residential structure, in original construction and exterior, remaining in the immediate downtown city vicinity, along the city's Fayette (later, Fireman's) Park. In 1976 it was purchased by an investment group and converted into business offices.
The White family was prominent in central New York. Hamilton White was the third son of John Asa White, a farmer and gristmill owner in Homer, NY. White became a lawyer, farmer, investor and businessman, moved to Syracuse with his wife Sarah Randolf (Rich) and later raised five children. White founded the Syracuse Bank, the Syracuse Course Salt Company (at that time, Syracuse was a principal supplier of salt in America), and was a trustee for and investor in both the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad. He was also a leading philanthropist supporting community, religious, and other civic organizations. Today, Syracuse's United Way leadership campaign, the Hamilton White Society, is named for the family's philanthropy and community development support.
Most prominent of the five children, Hamilton Salisbury White (1853-1899), was also a lawyer, realtor, investor, businessman, volunteer fireman and city fire commissioner, best known for founding his own professional (self-paid) fire company and subsequently recognized as the first 'professional' fireman in the world. Among his many contributions to safety and equipment design, White is also acknowledged for first initiating "response time" to firefighting and life-saving safety.
As a child, as early as age four, White boarded his pony cart in the family stables (located behind the house), rushing out to watch the volunteer fireman of the city; he was much taken by their efforts. Syracuse in the 1850s was the twelfth largest community in the US (and one of the largest that was not an ocean-port city). Like all other cities, it was manned by volunteer firemen. After graduation from Cornell University (his uncle was the first President) White returned to Syracuse, developed the city's first public fire alarm system (copied after one in Ithaca) and built his firehouse location at the former 400 Genesee Street, close to the family house, where he boarded and trained the paid company, provided all their equipment and support, and educated the firemen in building construction/structural design, fire science and chemistry. He challenged his company to arrive to a reported fire site before he could ride to the location, usually under five minutes from his own home on James Street. Ironically, he died in 1899 fighting the downtown Dawson's Drugstore fire - most probably from a heart attack induced by toxic fumes emitted from burning chemicals.
The White family remained in the house until 1911; the property was sold out of family ownership in 1912. Detailed information on both the house and White family is available in the Onondaga Historic Association, in Syracuse.
The park across from the house was originally used to fence in farm animals for the several parkside residences, later was converted to a city park and today is site for a number of statues and monuments to fallen firefighters, including the Hamilton White Monument, built in 1904 and designed by Gail Sherman Corbett, a native Syracusean and one of the early female (independent) architects and designers in the US.
Other prominent family members include: Horace White (NYS Senator, Lt. Governor, Governor), Howard Ganson White (Syracuse Standard newspaper founder/publisher), Adelaide, wife of Hamilton S(singer, inventor), Hamilton Howard White (insurance, real estate), Kathrine Cook White (pioneer radio broadcast), Andrew Dickson White (US Ambassador, Cornell University President), Ernest I White (Syracuse University Law Dean) Hamilton White Wright (travel writer, playwright, US/European amateur golf champion) and Hamilton S White, Esq (lawyer, banker).
The family owned a number of historic landmarks: The Hamilton and Horace White Memorial Building, the White House/Farm (DeWitt), five histoic mansions along Syracuse's James Street and nearby Fayetteville, and numerous commercial properties within downtown Syracuse.
At his death in 1899, Hamilton Salisbury White also left his widow 46 residental properties, many believed to be designed or rebuilt by renowned architect Ward Wellington Ward and other prominent local architects. White bought these properties from fire victims, rebuilt them at his own cost, allowed the victim families' use (free of rent) until they could (in turn) repurchase their rebuilt homes, at cost, or until they chose to move into other quarters.
[edit] External links
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