Charles Coleman Blvd

• Henry Hudson’s Trip
  
  • The Hudson River
    
• Harlem Railroad ran from Manhattan to Croton Falls
  
• December 31, 1848-Albert J. Akin raised enough money to have the first train run through Pawling
  
• 1858-More than a half-dozen stores, two blacksmiths, a bank, and two churches in the center of town
  
• The Railroad helped farmers connect to NYC
  
  • Pawling became an important dairying center
    
  • Farmers and the railroad traded wood (fuel for the trains) for money
    
• September, 1851-The Bank of Pawling moved to the center of town
  
  • It is now Key Bank
    
• Soon after Iron was discovered in the area and mining operations were formed
  
• Late 1870’s-The Boston, Hartford, and Erie Railroads extended through Reynoldsville, which is now Holmes
  
  • This opened up the town more for development
    
• February 23, 1882-The name was officially changed to Holmes
  
• Sports had emerged in Pawling with Cycling as well as Baseball
  
• 1893-Elmore Ferris built The Ferris Block
  
  • One brick building with four stores, a meeting room, shops, and offices
    
• Soon After-Some stores were burnt down in ANOTHER fire
  
• They were replaced and the building stayed later being known as The Rogers Building
  
• 1893-The town was finally smart enough to require a fire apparatus building
  
• 1895-With dairying being more popular because of the railroad, Palwing had three milk companies
  
  • The Appleberg Sterilized Milk Company used a new type of milk to replace condensed milk
    
  • The T.W. Decker & Son Milk Bottling Establishment took milk from local farmers and either bottled or separated it
    
  • Ash and Eshler Milk Bottling Works bottled milk and sent it directly to New York City
    
  • They were separated by West Mountain and Bundy Hill and connected with 2 railroads: New York and Harlem
    
• Roads were built for horse and carriage
  
• The railroad continues to be beneficial with the dairying
  
  • Milk was the most important product but barrels of apples, chestnuts, crates of eggs, live chickens, or anything else not “traded out” would get shipped off
    
• Holmes had 2 main stores with a Blacksmith and Shoemaker while the rest was sold by merchants who went around the countryside to deliver their goods
  
• A butcher would make weekly trips delivering meat but also fruits and perishables he had gotten by train
  
• 1902-The Sheffield Milk Factory has a disastrous fire
  
  • 1914-It happened again at the same factory
    
  • 1914-The fire badly damaged the Ferris Block which including many local small stores like the drug store
    
• 1906-The State Line Telephone Company began operations
  
• 1914-Slocum’s Garage opened for business selling automobiles
  
• 1916-Electrical power became available along all main roads of Pawling
  
• During this time Pawling had many businesses with a department store, several dry goods stores, a produce store, a butcher shop, 2 blacksmith shops, 3 grocery stores, a hotel, several inns, many good restaurants, and a movie theatre
  
• The Harlem Valley Electric Company was founded and serviced Beekman, Sylvan Lake, Green Haven, and Poughquag
  
• 1920’s-The town of Pawling was dependent on the New York Central Railroad
  
  • About 18 trains passed through the village a day
    
• March, 1932-Another fire started and completely leveled the Howard Block right on Railroad Avenue (Charles Colman Boulevard)
  
  • George B. Hickerson who was a fireman, was killed in duty when a falling chimney buried him in the debris
    
• 1935-The railroad tore down its storage sheds and the round house
  
• Automobiles are on the rise
  
• 1944-Meat rationing became nationwide
  
• Eventually a town with 3 blacksmith shops had none as they all got taken down for room for automobile service
  
• 1960-Train fares increased and the next year the mail train was removed for the Harlem Line
  
• 1967-There was also a railroad strike meaning commuters needed to find other modes of transportation
  
• All mail was now routed through the Poughkeepsie Office and went to the post office later
  
• March 30, 1963-The first home delivery service in the village began
  
• Homeowners now required a mailbox and house number
  
• 1965-With automatic dialing they had to make a new telephone building
  
  • 1968-The building was completed and ready to use for direct distance calling
    
  • The toll free area was enlarged to include Poughkeepsie and other local areas
    
• Some places were modernized like buildings on Charles Colman Boulevard
  
• March 1976-Mahaffey’s Annex Gallery burned
  
• 1978-The Corner Store in Holmes was burned as well
  
• 1984-More fires spread across the town as it destroyed a few buildings on Charles Colman Boulevard including the TLB Plastics Corporation
  
• July 1986-Utter Brothers Feed Store was almost completely levelled by a fire
  
  • May 1987-It had its grand reopening after construction
    
• An even more recent fire happened through arson in the Chertock’s and Karl Ehmer’s Business which operated as a dry goods store on Charles Colman Boulevard since it being built 129 years prior
  

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