Featuring photos from the collection of Jim P. Bryan
The Ford Dealership in Fairfax
Main Street (now also Rt. 301) looking northeast. The train station just out of view to the right.
Searson's Drug Store in Allendale. Robinson Plato Searson was born in 1842 and lived until 1916. He was educated as a pharmacist at the University of Chicago. He also served as postmaster for Allendale from 1885 until about 1915.
The stately exterior of Searson's Drug Store (and Allendale Post Office) circa 1915. This photo was taken by the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, New York. Between 1890 and 1952, the Albertype Company sent photographers around the country to photograph places and things. The photos were then distributed across the country as postcards. One source sets the number of photos distributed this way at 25,000.
The Allendale Train Depot marks the very center of the town since it was the train depot that was the reason for Allendale's current location formed in a circular shape with a 3/4 mile radius centered on the depot. The depot handled both passengers and freight and was in use into the the 1950's. Today the spot is marked by a small memorial park between the tracks and Railroad Ave. Diesel engines pull a variety a freight cars past this spot several times a day now. The trains slow down and blast their horns, but they no longer stop on their way through Fairfax and Allendale.
Henry Wolf & Company Department store on the west side of Main Street across from the Hotel Gildare, which, which would later be renamed the Warren Hotel. The Department Store building appears to have been built in 1910. The wooden structure to the left was later replaced by a row of brick buildings housing several store fronts. The building to the right with a balcony housed the Wengrove Department store. Some years after this photo was taken Mr. Wengrove married Mr. Wolf's daughter.
The "Electric Light and Water Works Plant" in Allendale erected in 1915 on Barton Road. The plant ran two generators day and night to produce electricity for the town. It also pumped water from a well to a reservoir and an elevated 100,000 gallon tank. By 1922, the people of Alledale were using 70,000 gallons of water daily. This photo is another produced by the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, NY.
The canning station in Fairfax. People brought fruits and vegetables here to put them up in "canning" jars using the equipment at the station. There was a similar station in Allendale.
The switching tower at the intersection of rail lines in Fairfax is no longer standing. The railroad terminal building visible in the background is still standing and is used as a senior citizens center.
An early example of a "stock" photo used for advertising. In this case a postcard produced in New York in 1911 was "overprinted" and used by the F.M. Young Company in Fairfax to announce its opening. Hats played a big role in ladies fashion of the day so a millinery store was important in a small town.
The interior of Wolf's Department Store. The credit in the lower left is the R.P. Searson Drug Company.
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