Village of Ilion History, Herkimer County, NY

The Village of Ilion, Town of German Flatts, Herkimer County, N.Y.

Remington Arms

Early postcard of Remington Arms on the Erie Canal at Ilion, New York

Hi and welcome to my home town, Ilion, NY. "I am Paul McLaughlin, born in the Ilion Hospital and graduated from the Annunciation School and Ilion High School (Class of '41). I spent the first twenty-nine years of my life in Ilion, minus a few years pre-empted by World War II and the Korean Conflict. Having been exposed by parents who were very active in the community, I developed Ilion pride at an early age. My Dad, Dennis J. McLaughlin, was the first Commander of American Legion Post 920 after World War I, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Postmaster, Member of the Board of Education and a successful businessman (owner of McLaughlin Stevens woodworking plant in Mohawk and General Manager of the Library Bureau Division of the Remington Rand Corporation). My genealogical interests are in the McLaughlin, Lynch and Maxwell families.

I won't delve into the history and growth of Ilion because the following treatise will hopefully guide you through that journey. Enjoy, and learn."

NOTE: Paul was the host of our Village of Ilion page for almost two decades. Paul passed away peacefully on March 5, 2017. He was one of our site's first volunteers and cheerleaders. To say that preserving the history of his hometown was a passion for him is an understatement. This page of Ilion history wouldn't exist without his vision back in the late 1990s and his guidance over almost 20 years. It was Paul's idea to have listings of names at the top of each of our obituaries boards, to make the online research experience easier for all Herkimer County researchers. It was a privilege and a lot of fun working with Paul!

Early History of the Village of Ilion

The village of Ilion is situated on the south bank of the Mohawk river in the town of German Flats. Although the town was first settled around 1725 by the German Palatinates, the first known establishment on the present site of Ilion was a store which was started by 1816. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 the village began to really flourish. On the canal list it was called Steele's Creek, but it was also known as Morgan's Landing and there was an early settlement called "New London" for which the western part of the present day village was known for many years as "London." In 1828 Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861) established a small factory for the manufacture of rifles. From 1830 to 1843 the village was known as Remington's Corners, and the first post office established in 1845 was named Remington. The village was incorporated under the name of Ilion in 1852 as Remington was opposed to the use of his name for the village. In 1856 the Remington company added the manufacture of farming tools, in 1870 sewing-machines and in 1874 typewriters. In 1874 with a population of about 2900 the village contained 2 hotels, a national bank, a brewery, a weekly newspaper and several schools and churches and was chiefly noted as the seat of the different Remington companies which employed a large number of men. In 1910 with a population of about 6500, its principal manufactures were still the Remington typewriters and Remington firearms; other manufactures were filing cabinets and cases and library and office furniture (the Clark & Baker Co), knit goods, carriages and harness, and store fixtures. Many of these factories over the years harnessed the water of Steele's Creek to provide power for their machinery. By 1910 the village had a public library with about 13,500 volumes, a public hospital and a village hall and was served by the New York Central & Hudson river, West Shore railways, Utica & Mohawk Valley Electric railroad and the Erie Canal. The village owned its own water-works and its electric-lighting plant.

[written by Lisa Slaski; references used were "The American Cyclopaedia," by Charles Anderson Dana, 1874, page 180, "The Encyclopaedia Britannica," 11th Edition, Volume XIV, 1910, and the "History of Herkimer County," by George A. Hardin, 1893]

The year 2002 is the Sesquicentennial year for the Village of Ilion. In commemoration of such an auspicious event, the village sponsored a three day Sesquicentennial Celebration on Oct. 11-12-2013. A prime mover for this event was Aileen Carney Sweeney, creator of the IHS Jr/Sr/ High School Alumni website. Some information about the events, pictures and comments can be seen on the following website. Kudos are in order for Aileen and the various committees who coordinated the events.

http://www.geocities.com/~ilionny/reunion/photos.html

Sign and read the Ilion Guestbook!

ILION HISTORY

LEGACY: Six Historical Articles on Ilion reprinted with permission from the Herkimer County Historical Society (5 posted so far)
1904 Souvenir of Ilion (now a full transcript with hundreds of photos!)
1907 Ilion Board of Trade article
History of Ilion High School Alumni Association
The Remington Centennial Book
Remington Centennial Historical Souvenir Programme
100 Years of Remington
Program - 50th Anniversary of the Typewriter
Reminiscences of Ilion in 1830

The following is taken from "Ilion 1852-1952." We thank Mayor Charles Haggerty and other officials of Ilion for granting us permission to provide this information to our visitors.

(Click on pic above or next link below for more info)
Original Artwork Copyright ©2003 Mrs. Ardie Jenca / Mark Jenca
This Original Artwork (above) may not be reproduced in any format without the express permission of the copyright holder.

ILION INDUSTRY
å INTRODUCING THE 1882 REMINGTON FIRE ENGINE !!
Lesser Known Facts About E. Remington & Sons

ILION DIRECTORIES
1869-70 GAZETTEER AND BUSINESS DIRECTORY OF HERKIMER COUNTY FOR: GERMAN FLATTS
1872-73 Boyd's Business Directory

ILION DIRECTORY FOR 1883:
    Surnames A - G  Surnames H - O  Surnames P - Z
ILION DIRECTORY FOR 1888:
    Surnames A - Ch     Surnames Cl - Gi     Surnames Gl - Ku
    Surnames La - Ow     Surnames Pa - Ry     Surnames Sa - Zi

1933 Ilion Business Directory - Classified Listings
1933 Village of Ilion Telephone Directory

ILION FAMILIES AND PERSONS OF NOTE
Obit of Former Chief of Police Jesse Babcock
Jesse Babcock, Chief of Police
Seely Conover's Award
Jordan Family Reunion
Obituaries of the Lynch and McLaughlin Families
Marriage Photo of Dennis J. McLaughlin & Clara Elizabeth Lynch
The Old Cider Mill at Smokey Run
Obituaries of Daniel H. and Emily Brooks Steele
Remington Family Showcase

ILION CEMETERIES
Village of Ilion Cemetery
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

DAILY LIFE IN ILION
REMINGTON RAND BAND - 1937: A Photo Essay by Marv and Seely Conover
Terrance J. Sweeney's Ilion Postcards, Part 1
Terrance J. Sweeney's Ilion Postcards, Part 2
Terrance J. Sweeney's Ilion Postcards, Part 3
Terrance J. Sweeney's Ilion Postcards, Part 4

THIS AND THAT
Ilion's First Policeman's Ball, November 1938
1915 Photo of Ladies
1921 Sunset League Champions Photo
Women's Gay 90s Card Club Photo
1909 Library Bureau Baseball Team Photo
History of Olive Branch Lodge, No. 40 - from 1896; go to advertisements at bottom of page for many Ilion listings
Ilion Citizen Newspaper, March 14, 1907

ILION MILITARY
Arms produced in Ilion
Postcard of Remington Arms Co. Works
Ilion WWII Honor Roll
Ilion WWII War Dead
2nd Lieut. Dennis J. McLaughlin
Ilion WWI Honor Roll
Knights of Columbus Members Who Served in WWI - includes Ilion veterans

ILION LINKS
Official Ilion, NY Govt. Website
Ilion Jr/Sr High School Alumni Website: make contacts with current and former residents and classmates.
Annunciation Parish History
Jim Parker, Local Fine Artist - does anyone know if there is a website for Jim Parker's art?
History of St. Francis de Sales Church of Herkimer, NY
Utica Observer Dispatch
Ilion, New York, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Facebook Page of Parker's Historic Cider Mill and Farmers Market
Historical Remington Firearms: The "Slim" Kohler Collection - an archived page
The Remington Society of America
Story of the Typewriter, 1873-1923
Biography of C.W. Seamans
The Tragic Story of Ellen Clapsaddle - no longer on line
http://ilion.faithweb.com/index.html - Joe Smith's Ilion website. This is really nice, lots of pics!
My Home Town And Area, Ginny Miller's blog about Ilion. Beautiful photos, videos & slideshows.

ILION ONLINE HISTORICAL NEWSPAPER LINKS
Fulton - Historical Newspapers - The BEST for historians!
Search Over 20,670,000 Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages

Fulton List of Newspapers
Fulton - Ilion Sentinel Index 1917 - 1955
Fulton - Ilion Citizen Index 1857 - 1919
Fulton - Little Falls Peoples Friend Index 1828 - 1832
Fulton - Little Falls Evening Times Index 1886 -1900
Fulton - Little Falls Journal Courier Index 1836 - 1859
Fulton - Little Falls Journal Courier Index 1869 - 1924
Fulton -Little Falls - Mohawk Courier Index 1836 - 1859
Fulton - Little Falls Herkimer Country Journal Index 1853 - 1858
Fulton - Little Falls Mohawk Courier Index 1836 - 1859
NYS Historic Newspapers - Herkimer County - Search All Herkimer County Titles

8/23/02 From Tim Blaise: Hi,
My name is Tim Blaise and I live on John St. in the Village. I have a website that is dedicated to my uncle William F. Blaise who was killed in action in France on December 3, 1944. He and his 5 brothers all resided in Ilion at the time of World War 2 and all but my father served in the war. My dad, who was too young joined the paratroopers when he turned 18 in 1946. I also served with the paratroopers in the early 80's, however I grew up in Herkimer. I saw my uncle's name as KIA on a window downtown during Ilion days and thought I would pass the website along. The URL is as follows:
http://www.in-honored-glory.info/html/stories/ifblaise.htm
I also have a page with info on all of my uncles and dad:
http://home.twcny.rr.com/cod324th/family.htm (site no longer working)
I hope you have a chance to visit.
Tim Blaise

May 8, 2000 We received a nice note from former local resident Brooke Redmond
This is a great site and you did an excellent job on it. I am from Ilion although I live in Conway, South Carolina at the present. My maiden name is Bechard. My parents are Patricia and Leo Bechard, Jr. on North Fourth Ave. My children have fond memories of Ilion and we added your site to our favorites so they can visit when they are feeling homesick for Ilion. Thanks, Brooke Redmond

Ilion Tidbit from Laura Perkins: "I've found a name of a black civil war soldier from the 5th Mass, with roots in Ilion. As follows: The 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry Regiment Josephus PRINCE, pvt, Co D, enlisted Jan 27, 1864 and mustered in Jan 29, 1864; Mustered out Oct 31, 1865, as Bugler; aka Josephus Pringe; resided in Ilion, N.Y., buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Oneida, NY. I came upon this name on the internet from Resting Places of Soldiers and Veterans of the 5th Massachusetts, researched and submitted by John C. Richardson."

Thank you, Utica Observer Dispatch! The Village of Ilion History Page was Home Page of the Week, August 9, 2000!

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Established: 11/6/99
Last Update: 9/30/17
Copyright © 1999 - 2017 Paul McLaughlin (deceased)
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