Panama Rocks was established as a privately operated park in 1885, the same year that the oldest State park in the United States was founded (Niagara Falls State Park). The formations at Panama Rocks are believed to have been sacred land to the Erielhonan (Eriez) people and, while the area was used by robbers and counterfeiters in the mid-1800's, Panama Rocks quickly became a popular tourist attraction when the park was established. The hotel at Panama Rocks, which operated until about World War II, hosted celebrity guests such as James Ward Packard (of Packard Automobiles) and Mrs. Mina Miller Edison, Thomas Edison's second wife.
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Many of the older pictures and post cards of Panama Rocks were taken by Fred L. Yeager (1872-1930). Mr. Yeager was a photographer who was well known for his real photo postcards of Panama Rocks. His work also includes photos taken in and around his hometown of Columbus, Pennsylvania.
The hand-colored post cards are circa 1908-1915 and published by Albert Wilson of Buffalo, NY. Wilson was a druggist who resided on Crescent Avenue near Delaware Park, and published postcards of Buffalo and Western New York communities. Wilson’s cards were manufactured in Germany, and usually featured original photographic views. Making hand tinted card was very labor intensive and unhealthy. Mostly women artists sat in rows while the postcards were passed down “assembly line” style. Each was responsible for a particular color, and workers would wet the tip of their brush, usually cotton covered, with their lips as they worked, slowly poisoning the artists. The arrival of color photography and the health issues associated with the hand tinted cards resulted in their demise in the 1930’s. WWI brought the supply of postcards from Germany to the United States to an end. |
The first signs of human activity at Panama Rocks are Mound Builder arrowheads found on property which date to 3,000-5,000 years ago. Stone Age peoples probably used the rock formation for shelter, to protect fires from the elements, and to hide from enemies. Wild game was abundant, and meat could be preserved into the summer in the ice and snow that lasted well into July in some of the deepest crevices.
The Erielhonan (or Eriez, the "Cat People") lived throughout this region when French explorers arrived in the 1600's. During the Iroquois War era (1641-1701), the Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga) conquered and destroyed the Eriez, who ceased to exist as a tribe. To control the very lucrative trade in beaver pelts, and armed with British guns, the Iroquois attacked west to the Mississippi River, and north to Lake Superior. They made war on about 30 tribes, including: Eriez, Wenro, Shawnee, Miami, Potawatomi, Winnebago, Menominee, Kickapoo, Illinois, Abenaki, Algonquin, Huron, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Missisauga, et al. Some of these tribes allied themselves with the French, who provided them with guns. These tribes then counter-attacked the Iroquois. In 1687, they took the war back into Iroquois territory. Forced to defend their own villages, the Iroquois sued for peace, and councils took place in 1701.
Early French explorers learned of a portage trail from Lake Erie to Lake Chautauqua. This portage connected the Great Lakes with the Allegheny-Ohio-Mississippi River System. This was an important route connecting the eastern and central parts of the continent. A land trail roughly paralleled the water route, and it extended from Barcelona on Lake Erie to Irvine on the Allegheny River. This trail passed below the rock formations and became an important wagon and stagecoach route.
The first European buildings in what is now the Village of Panama consisted of a log cabin hamlet on the hill above the rock formation. Permanent European settlers arrived later (1810-20). The U.S. Post Office at Panama was established in 1826. This was the first, officially recorded, use of the name "Panama".
Around 1800, when Jamestown had only one house at the rapids, Panama was a busy community. The Little Brokenstraw Creek was easily dammed-up and water-powered mills were built to grind grain, cut wood, etc. During its heyday, Panama had 6 mills, 4 blacksmith shops, 2 carriage factories, the largest tannery in NY, an ashery 7 stories high, a fairgrounds and racetrack, a daily newspaper, stores, churches, hotels and taverns.
The traditional story of how Panama got its name is about "Panama Joe," a man who had been across the Isthmus of Panama, and said these rocks reminded him of rocks there. Eventually, the rocks became known as Panama Rocks. It is possible that the person known as Panama Joe was really Mr. Moses Cushman Marsh, who operated a trading company in Panama, and was Panama's first postmaster. He had previously had a business in the nation of Cuba and traveled across the Isthmus of Panama. When the village was to be named, folklore holds that there was an argument over which family lived in the area first and which family the village should be named after. Finally, it was suggested that they name it after the famous rocks, as they were here before, and they would be here long after any family. So, they officially named the village "Panama".
In the early 1800's, outlaws used the rocks to hide their loot. Once, a courier carrying a gold shipment to the Clymer bank was waylaid. The gold was supposedly dropped into a hole in the rocks at night. When the robbers returned, they couldn't find the gold because there were so many holes. An organized search was begun, but it was suddenly abandoned before being completed. The man who was in charge of the search was suspected of being one of the robbers.
During the mid-1800's, a gang of counterfeiters used the rock area to mint and conceal their spurious coin. An inn in the Village of Panama was the rendezvous for the gang. When the inn burned, thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit coins were found in the debris. And, there was a secret passageway leading from the inn to a den, deep within the rocks, where dies and coins were found.
When the railroad bypassed Panama (1850-1860), businesses in Panama suffered and population dwindled. However, the rock formation continued to attract many visitors.
The land that includes the rock formation was part of a farm called the "Rock Farm". Mr. George Hubbard purchased the property and established the park in 1885. Using oxen to haul a building from across the road, he added to the farmhouse, making it into a summer hotel. He operated a stage coach in order to transport sightseers from the railroad station in Ashville, located seven miles to the east.
The Erielhonan (or Eriez, the "Cat People") lived throughout this region when French explorers arrived in the 1600's. During the Iroquois War era (1641-1701), the Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga) conquered and destroyed the Eriez, who ceased to exist as a tribe. To control the very lucrative trade in beaver pelts, and armed with British guns, the Iroquois attacked west to the Mississippi River, and north to Lake Superior. They made war on about 30 tribes, including: Eriez, Wenro, Shawnee, Miami, Potawatomi, Winnebago, Menominee, Kickapoo, Illinois, Abenaki, Algonquin, Huron, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Missisauga, et al. Some of these tribes allied themselves with the French, who provided them with guns. These tribes then counter-attacked the Iroquois. In 1687, they took the war back into Iroquois territory. Forced to defend their own villages, the Iroquois sued for peace, and councils took place in 1701.
Early French explorers learned of a portage trail from Lake Erie to Lake Chautauqua. This portage connected the Great Lakes with the Allegheny-Ohio-Mississippi River System. This was an important route connecting the eastern and central parts of the continent. A land trail roughly paralleled the water route, and it extended from Barcelona on Lake Erie to Irvine on the Allegheny River. This trail passed below the rock formations and became an important wagon and stagecoach route.
The first European buildings in what is now the Village of Panama consisted of a log cabin hamlet on the hill above the rock formation. Permanent European settlers arrived later (1810-20). The U.S. Post Office at Panama was established in 1826. This was the first, officially recorded, use of the name "Panama".
Around 1800, when Jamestown had only one house at the rapids, Panama was a busy community. The Little Brokenstraw Creek was easily dammed-up and water-powered mills were built to grind grain, cut wood, etc. During its heyday, Panama had 6 mills, 4 blacksmith shops, 2 carriage factories, the largest tannery in NY, an ashery 7 stories high, a fairgrounds and racetrack, a daily newspaper, stores, churches, hotels and taverns.
The traditional story of how Panama got its name is about "Panama Joe," a man who had been across the Isthmus of Panama, and said these rocks reminded him of rocks there. Eventually, the rocks became known as Panama Rocks. It is possible that the person known as Panama Joe was really Mr. Moses Cushman Marsh, who operated a trading company in Panama, and was Panama's first postmaster. He had previously had a business in the nation of Cuba and traveled across the Isthmus of Panama. When the village was to be named, folklore holds that there was an argument over which family lived in the area first and which family the village should be named after. Finally, it was suggested that they name it after the famous rocks, as they were here before, and they would be here long after any family. So, they officially named the village "Panama".
In the early 1800's, outlaws used the rocks to hide their loot. Once, a courier carrying a gold shipment to the Clymer bank was waylaid. The gold was supposedly dropped into a hole in the rocks at night. When the robbers returned, they couldn't find the gold because there were so many holes. An organized search was begun, but it was suddenly abandoned before being completed. The man who was in charge of the search was suspected of being one of the robbers.
During the mid-1800's, a gang of counterfeiters used the rock area to mint and conceal their spurious coin. An inn in the Village of Panama was the rendezvous for the gang. When the inn burned, thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit coins were found in the debris. And, there was a secret passageway leading from the inn to a den, deep within the rocks, where dies and coins were found.
When the railroad bypassed Panama (1850-1860), businesses in Panama suffered and population dwindled. However, the rock formation continued to attract many visitors.
The land that includes the rock formation was part of a farm called the "Rock Farm". Mr. George Hubbard purchased the property and established the park in 1885. Using oxen to haul a building from across the road, he added to the farmhouse, making it into a summer hotel. He operated a stage coach in order to transport sightseers from the railroad station in Ashville, located seven miles to the east.
By the turn-of-the-century, Panama Rocks had a reputation as a lovers retreat, as there were so many concealed niches in the rocks where guests could avoid the prying eyes of the public. It became a popular destination for honeymooners, as can be well attested to by many of the photographs taken by Mr. Fred L. Yeager.
Around 1910, D. L. Davis purchased the property. He started the Panama Rocks Co., and began to develop the scenic area by constructing a small access road (what remains of that road is now the lower part of the hiking trail) and he added stairways down into some deep, cavernous dens. He built a large dining hall. People drove from as far away as Buffalo to enjoy the Sunday chicken dinners and to see the rocks.
The park was closed to the public during WWII, and it was about this time that the park was sold to Glen Eddy of Westfield, NY.
Two different groups of local families owned Panama Rocks from 1968-1978: the Vanderkooi, McChesney and Nagel families, and the Wood, Wevers, and Reardon families. They repaired buildings, cleared brush, and created a lovely picnic area and a campground. With the Harmony Historical Society, they initiated an annual Colonial-Victorian festival on the 4th of July in 1973.
In 1979, the park was sold to Craig and Sandra Weston. They have further repaired and renovated the buildings and cared for the grounds. The Westons continued the early American festival, which they renamed the 'Panama Rocks Folk Fair'. They expanded the festival to three days, and it became a major event here. The Folk Fair became recognized and was listed in the national publication, 'Best Festivals Mid-Atlantic States'. It featured a large number of exhibits & demonstrations of traditional arts & crafts, American Indian and frontier exhibits, performances of Living History, bluegrass & acoustic music, foods, etc. The Folk Fair was staged for 27 years, from 1973 through 1999.
From 1983-85, the foundation of the old hotel building was rebuilt. The stone foundation was dug deeper and the stones were reset. Many of the beams on top of the stone were replaced. The existing front porch had deteriorated, and also, needed to be removed in order to work on the part of the foundation along the front of the building. The new porch was installed with pressure treated deck, and a roof with a better pitch. The old porch was not the original, and had only run halfway along the front of the building. The new porch that was constructed was extended to the full length of the building. In September of 2009, one side of the maintenance barn was resided. At that time, the foundation sills were found to be decaying, and were replaced.
In May of 2010, the recreation hall foundation was rebuilt, removing all of the decayed beams underneath, and replacing them with pressure treated beams. A good drainage system was also installed around the perimeter of the building. New siding was installed on two sides of the building, where it was most needed. New windows were installed, and a new entry built. A 'rubberized' roof was also installed on the back of the building, over the kitchen and the storage rooms. While this construction was under way, an old hitching post made of stone, and most likely dating to the late 1800's, was found underneath the building. It is now reset near the entrance to the recreation building.