19th century Warrensburg — Fair season and political season

The Warrensburg Fair was bringing in the crowds — and the coins.

“Yesterday was a big day for the Warrensburg yeomen. The serrated silver quarters rolled in at the ticket windows in rapid succession in the afternoon, and by half-past two o’clock there was a large crowd on the grounds,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on Sept. 5, 1890. “In the assemblage of sightseers were representatives of nearly, if not quite all, of the towns in the county. Glens Falls sent up a good-sized contingent, and many of the guests at Lake George hotels embraced the opportunity for witnessing those spectacles that are distinguishing features of a country fair.”

In other 19th century Warrensburg news collected from historic newspapers of the region:

• Blackberries were plentiful at Warrensburg in 1880.

“Wm. Chambers arrived here from Warrensburg last Saturday morning with two-and-a-half bushels of long blackberries. He reports them as being thick up there,” The Commercial Advertiser of Sandy Hill, now Hudson Falls, reported on Aug. 25, 1880.

• Lockwood & Harrington of Warrensburg established state coach service between Warrensburg and Thurman, The Morning Star reported on Oct. 25, 1890.
• Warrensburg Democrats celebrated its victories the night after the 1890 election.

“The Cornet Band serenaded. … Bonfires lighted the center part of town as bright as day, bells were rung, and the medley of sounds gave the town an aspect of life and activity.”

The band performed a virtual concert, via telephone, for listeners in Lake George, Glens Falls “and other points on the line.”

The celebration continued once it was certified that Democrat William Cameron won a state Assembly seat representing Warren County.

“The (Warrensburg) News is authority for the statement that ex-Editor Dickinson of Warrensburg wheeled Henry Keenan in a wheelbarrow the other night from the Adirondack House to the lower village and back,” The Morning Star reported on Nov. 15, 1890. “The feat was in payment of a wager on the result of the Assembly contest in the county.”

• “Professor Van Arnam’s class on dancing meets for practice once or twice a week, besides the regular lesson on Tuesday evenings,” The Morning Star reported on Nov. 14, 1890. “They all take great interest in their work and go in with a determination to make the most of their time and opportunities.”
• “Fred Cunningham, formerly of Warrensburg, a well-known athlete, is now located at Oklahoma City,” The Morning Star reported on Nov. 15, 1890.

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