Old Hitch Barn on Wagener St. Demolished

HitchToday
A 100 plus year old building on the north side of Wagener Street was demolished on Monday, August 11, 2014 to make room for the new Microtel motel.  The 114 by 57 foot building was built about 1900 by Dr. Lyman Lockwood as a hitch barn; he had purchased the property and house next door in 1898.  Dr. Lockwood was a veterinarian and practiced his trade in the building.
Lockwood Hitch

Edward Eddy and son purchased the barn in 1909 and sold it to C. S. Fellows in 1913.  William Tierney purchased it 1925.  Over the years it was used as hitch barn, auto parking garage, and gas station.  In 1949 the east wall of the building was replaced.  For years the top of the heavy 10-foot wall has been leaning out until it is some 12 inches out of line in some sections. The last use of the building was as a body shop for Jolley Chevrolet.

An interesting use of the building happened in 1914.  An evangelistic association of the Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches of Penn Yan had a series of meetings in the Fellows hitch barn in February and March of that year.  The association paid $500 rent for the two months plus.  An article from the January 28, 1914 issue of the Elmira Star Gazette reported: TABERNACLE PREPARED -  A large force of men is at work on the Fellows hitch barn in Wagener street converting it into a temple to be used during the evangelistic services in February. Already a large platform has been erected at the front of the building and steam pipes are being installed while others are removing the old stalls. The building will be thoroughly cleansed and fumigated before it will be used and exits will be at both the front and rear of the building. It will seat 1,400.

HitchFade

PDBullock
August 11, 2014