Hit and Run Accident Between Two Horse-Drawn Wagons on Fifth Avenue in 1906

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The morning of Tuesday, May 29, 1906 was a lovely spring morning.  At 8:00 a.m., Fifth Avenue already was bustling with activity.  The Lyman Pharmacy Building and U.S. Post Office at One Fifth Avenue at First Street was near the center of all that bustle.  

Neither Fifth Avenue nor First Street was yet paved at that time.  The pharmacy of the growing Village of North Pelham stood at this dusty dirt road intersection with its own sidewalk that began and ended on the building's own lot.  A solitary gas lamp stood in front of the front entrance of the little pharmacy which was located, oddly, right on the corner of the building.  At the time, it was not yet established whether the principal commercial stretch would extend along Fifth Avenue or along First Street.  The building's architect, Arthur G. C. Fletcher of Pelham Heights, apparently addressed that uncertainty by placing the front entrance at the corner of the building, visible and accessible from either street.

Seth T. Lyman's little pharmacy was an unofficial emergency room for the Village of North Pelham.  Indeed, there are countless news stories published in the early 20th century describing how injured Pelhamites were carried or transported to the pharmacy for emergency care at a time when hospitals were distant and ambulances were still horse-drawn.  

Charles Max was a driver for Straehle's Bottling Works in North Pelham.  Henry Straehle opened his bottling works in the old Anthony Woolf homestead located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in about 1898.  The company was billed as "soft drink dispensers" although advertisements published in 1911 stated that the company was a dealer and manufacturer of "mineral and carbonated beverages" and sold "High Grade Lager Beer, Ale and Porter."  The drinks were bottled in the basement of the old Woolf Homestead.  To learn more about Straehle and his bottling works, see, e.g.:  Wed., Mar. 30, 2016:  More on Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries; Fri., Jul. 11, 2014: Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries. 

From the time of its founding in about 1898, the Straehle Bottling Works did brisk business on City Island.  That is where wagon driver Charles Max was headed when he left the bottling works and proceeded down Fifth Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, May 29, 1906.  He was handling a team of horses that pulled a large wagon loaded with cases of bottled beverages.

As Charles Max reached Lyman's Pharmacy on Fifth Avenue at about 8:00 a.m., another horse-drawn wagon from the Berkshire Ice Company, based in Williamsbridge, approached Max from behind.  The ice wagon was traveling too fast.  The ice wagon apparently tried to pass the Straehle Bottling Works wagon to the left but misjudged the maneuver.  The right front wheel of the passing ice wagon struck the left rear wheel of the wagon driven by Charles Max and shattered the Straehle wagon wheel all the way down to the hub of the wheel.

As the Straehle wagon's left rear wheel shattered, the left rear of the wagon collapsed to the ground and threw Charles Max violently to the roadway.  The driver of the ice wagon took off for parts unknown, leaving Charles Max in a heap on the ground.  Max suffered severe bruises and a "bad cut" on one knee.  The cases of bottles carried in the wagon were not thrown out of the vehicle, but a number of bottles were smashed.  

We may never know whether Charles Max pulled himself together and went into Lyman's Pharmacy for first aid.  Though it seems likely, no extant account indicates whether he did or not.  We do know, however, that the plucky driver for Straehle Bottling Works went back to the Woolf Homestead, got another team and wagon, and resumed his delivery of bottled beverages to City Island despite his injuries.

There is no indication whether the hit and run driver -- perhaps the first ever in the little Town of Pelham -- was ever brought to justice.  We are left to wonder. 

1910 Postcard View of One Fifth Avenue, the Lyman Pharmacy and

U.S. Post Office, Designed by Architect Arthur G. C. Fletcher.  This

Shows the Pharmacy As It Looked At the Time of the Hit-and-Run

Accident in 1906.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"WAGONS IN A COLLISION AT NORTH PELHAM
-----
Vehicle of Straehles Bottling Works and an Ice Cart Had a Smashup
-----
DRIVER WAS HURT BUT PLUCKILY KEPT AT WORK
-----

North Pelham, May 29. -- There was a smashup this morning in North Pelham between one of Straehle's bottling works wagons and a heavy ice cart from Williamsbridge, which resulted in Charles Marx, the driver for Mr Straehle, being hurled to the ground and the wagon badly damaged.

The accident happened about eight o'clock.  Mr. Marx was driving down Fifth avenue with his wagon, well loaded with cases of bottles, and was on his way to City Island.  When opposite Lyman's drug store a wagon from the Berkshire Ice Company, of Williamsbridge, came along from the rear and smashed against the rear wheel of the wagon driven by Marx.  The driver must have been hurrying his horses, for the impact was so pronounced and so severe that the left rear wheel was broken off at the hub.

As the wagon went down, Marx was thrown out heavily on his right side and sustained severe bruises, while his knee was badly cut.  The cases were not spilled out of the wagon.  Several bottles were, however, broken in the smashup.

The driver of the ice cart id not stop to inquire about the extent of the damages of which he was the cause.  Marx pluckily resumed work after the accident and in another team went to City Island."

Source:  WAGONS IN A COLLISION AT NORTH PELHAM -- Vehicle of Straehles Bottling Works and an Ice Cart Had a Smashup -- DRIVER WAS HURT BUT PLUCKILY KEPT AT WORK, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 29, 1906, Whole No. 4329, p. 1, col. 4.

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More on Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

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During the 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 15,400 bottlers operated throughout North America.  According to one expert on antique soda and beer bottles, these 15,400 firms produced more than 29,950 different types of soda and beer bottles with more than 34,725 variants of such bottles.  See von Mechow, Tod, Soda & Beer Bottles of North America (visited Mar. 19, 2016).  The vast majority of such firms were "Mom and Pop" shops in localities like the tiny litte settlement of Pelhamville, New York.  Thus, researching small bottlers can be like researching a local country grocery store or a local drug store that existed for only a few years at a time when records for such businesses were scant and are nearly impossible to find today.

Bottler David Lyon and the Vernon Bottling Works

I have written before about Pelham bottlers.  See Fri., Jul. 11, 2014:  Bottlers Who Operated in the Pelhams in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries.  Among the bottlers about whom I wrote in that article was David Lyon.  Regarding Lyon, I wrote:  

"David Lyon was a Civil War veteran who lived in Pelham on Third Avenue between Second and Third Streets.  He established the first carbonated beverage establishment in Pelham and named it the "Vernon Bottling Works".  His establishment was in the rear of his residence and was instituted before 1898. It is not now known if this "Vernon Bottling Works" later became the "Vernon Bottling Works" of Mount Vernon or if the Mount Vernon business later used the same name. 

The Lyon family was quite prominent in Pelham in the late 19th century. One Lyon homestead stood at Colonial Avenue and Wolfs Lane.  It stood on the site of the old First Church of Christ which became today's Pelham Public Library.  The first butcher in what is today's Village of Pelham was Frank M. Lyon whose father -- David Lyon of "Vernon Bottling Works" fame -- built a butcher shop adjoining his home on Third Avenue.  See Souvenir Program - Golden Jubilee Celebration of Village of North Pelham Westchester County, New York, p. 17 (Village of North Pelham, Aug. 29, 1946)."

Recently I was able to acquire from an eBay seller for $10 an example of a so-called "Blob Top" soda bottle manufactured by, or for, David Lyon of Pelhamville.  An image of the bottle appears immediately below.

Aquamarine Embossed Blob-Top Soda Bottle.  Embossed

Center Medallion Reads:  "DAVID LYON  REGISTERED

1889  PELHAMVILLE"  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

The bottle, on its face, suggests that David Lyon was a bottler operating in Pelhamville earlier than previously believed.  Although the "REGISTERED 1889" reference does not necessarily establish with certainty that Lyon was operating as a bottler as early as 1889, it certainly is strong circumstantial evidence to that effect.  The bottle further suggests that Lyon operated as a bottler for some period of time before he established the "Vernon Bottling Works" at some time prior to 1898.  

Henry Straehle and Straehle's Bottling Works in the Old Wolf Homestead

As I previously have written, in about 1898, Henry Straehle bought the old Anthony Wolf homestead located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street.  (Wolfs Lane is named after Anthony Wolf and his farm).  Straehle opened a competing bottling business in the old Wolf homestead that he initially named the "Straehle Bottling Co." (occasionally referenced as "Straehle Bottling Works").

The company was billed as "soft drink dispensers."  The office and plant of the firm were in the Wolf homestead with the bottling equipment in the basement of the home.  For some period of time around 1909-1910, Henry Straehle and his wife operated a hotel / boarding house in the structure as well.  Once Straehle opened his competing bottling business, David Lyon apparently threw in the towel and liquidated his business.  It is possible that he sold his bottling business to Mr. Straehle, although that is still somewhat unclear and has not been established.  The only evidence to support this presumption is the reported existence of bottles marked "Straehle & Lyon."

Anthony Wolf Farmhouse in an Undated Photograph, Site of

Straehle's Bottling Works Operated by Henry Straehle in the

Basement of the Home.  Photograph Courtesy of The Office

of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

Recently I located an advertisement for "Straehle's Bottling Works" that sheds interesting new light on Henry Straehle and his bottling business.  An image of the advertisement appears immediately below, followed by a transcription of its text to facilitate search and, thereafter, a discussion of its significance.

1911 Advertisement for "Straehle's Bottling Works, North Pelham, N.Y."

Source:  Straehle's Bottling Works [Advertisement], The Pelham Sun,

Sep. 30, 1911, Vol. 2, No. 26, p. 8, col. 2.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

To facilitate search, the text of the advertisement immediately above reads as follows:

"Straehle's Bottling Works
North Pelham, N.Y.
Dealer in and Manufacturer of
MINERAL AND CARBONATED BEVERAGES
David Mayer Brewing Co.  High Grade Lager Beer, Ale and Porter.
Tel. Call 1647-R Pelham
Works:  6th Ave. and 3rd Street, 
North Pelham."

The Straehle advertisement is significant in several respects.  By 1911, Straehle and his wife had moved the old Wolf homestead from its original site around the corner to 210 Sixth Avenue near Third Street.  (The home was moved to make way for the Fifth Avenue Station and the tracks of the New York, Westchester & Boston Railway built in 1910 through the Town of Pelham.)  The 1911 advertisement provides the address of "Straehle's Bottling Works" as "6th Ave. and 3rd St.," thus establishing that Henry Straehle continued to operate his basement bottling works in the old Wolf homestead even after the home was moved from its original location at Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street around the corner to 210 Sixth venue.  

Secondly, the advertisement reaffirms that Henry Straehle was both a dealer and a manufacturer of mineral and carbonated beverages and that he also delivered lager beer, ale, and porter brewed by the David Mayer Brewing Company.  (The David Myer Brewing Company operated from 1882 until 1920.  The brewery was in New York City at 1650 Third Avenue at 168th Street.)

Conclusion

Though researching small 19th century bottles like David Lyon and Henry Straehle is difficult, it is not impossible.  The historic record likely will continue to divulge more of its secrets regarding these two local businesses that once operated in the tiny settlement of Pelhamville and, later, the Village of North Pelham.  

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