| Notes |
- 1940 Federal Census of Buffalo, Erie County, New York (19 Apr 1940)
Charles Bassett 48 M Head NY Same Mech. Engineer Mgfr. meters
Jean 38 F Wife IL Same
Barbara 18 F Daughter NY Same
Kingman 15 M Son NY Same
Priscilla 13 F Daughter NY Same
James V. 9 M Son NY Same
William 7 M Son NY Same
Deborah 6 F Daughter NY Same
2 maids & 1 cook
(Living at 278 DePew)
Bassett House - A History
Decorators' Show House '85
Sponsored by The Junior League of Buffalo, Inc.
In Cooperation with The Buffalo news
The Bassett home; the Decorators' Show House for 1985, is located at 278 Depew Avenue in the City of Buffalo area which is designated Central Park. Mr. Lewis Jackson Bennett, the President of the Buffalo Cement Company Limited, developed the land and also built and sold many of the homes which line its streets and avenues.
Mr. Bennett, a direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton and a Mayflower family, moved to Buffalo in 1866 to assume canal repair contracts. He was responsible for all the slips and basins in Buffalo and for the area which
extended seventeen miles east of the City. In 1868, Mr. Bennett, his father-in-law, Andrew Spaulding, and John
Hand formed an independent contracting business for dredging. This partnership, called Spaulding & Bennett, obtained city, state, and federal contracts throughout Western New York. They supervised the building of the
first iron bridges in this area.
Lewis Bennett became interested in the manufacture of hydraulic cement in 1874. The following year he began to acquire land on the East and West sides of Main Street in the Northern section of the city where cement deposits were located. He eventually owned over 200 acres. In 1877, he established the Buffalo Cement Company Limited which quarried, manufactured and sold stone and cement.
Ten years later, Mr. Bennett began to make plans for a fine residential subdivision on a tract of land owned by his business. He was joined in this endeavor by his son, Leslie Jay Bennett and by William W. Pierce, the Secretary-Treasurer of Buffalo Cement. This subdivision, the Bennett-Pierce Tract, was called Central Park due to its geographical location.
Lewis J. Bennett envisioned a residential area of the finest quality homes. The plans for the development of Central Park included locations for churches or chapels, park areas, a railway station, a clubhouse for social
purposes, and business lots facing on Main Street. His company provided free of charge the foundation stones for corner lot homes. In this way he could ensure that large homes would be built on the corners to anchor every block.
Building restrictions were rigid. Minimum house prices were set for each street. A lot owner could only build a full two story or higher home and a barn on this property.
By the Spring of 1892, the land was ready for home construction. The streets and avenues, named for family and friends of Mr. Bennett, included Depew, Morris, Beard, Wood (now Woodbridge), Voorhees, Starin, Parker, Main, Amherst, Linden, Wallace and Wesley.
A newspaper advertisement at that time proclaime
Central Park
Gives you the best conditions to start with,
And it is so carefully protected,
That its future is secure.
If you build here you will soon have a real
home. Build and you will get what you want.
A review of that year tells us that the citizens of Buffalo were also informed about the important Erie Canal convention in the Music Hall and the heralded opening of the Buffalo Exposition. The city-wide celebration of the
400th Anniversary of the discovery of America was observed that October with parades, church services and a great festival in the Music Hal
Mr. Lewis J. Bennett's home, the first one built, was located at 354 Depew Avenue. It had 24 rooms, was situated on three acres and surrounded by beautiful gardens. His employees would use a horse and plow to clear the snow from the streets and sidewalks of Central Park. In the evening a man would ride a bicycle up and down the streets lighting the gas lamps. Mr. Bennett's home was razed in 1935, ten years after his deat
Mr. Bennett gave the land on Main Street to the City for the high school which bears his name. The property at the rear of the school was donated for use as a stadium site. All-High Stadium which serves every public high school in the city opened in 1928.
Construction of Show House '85 was begun in the Spring of 1894. At that time seven homes had already been built on Depew Avenue. James B. Craven, a superintendent of the Field Engineering Company, a civil engineering firm in Buffalo, was the first owner. This residence is an example of Colonial Revival architecture, a style which was popular between 1870 and 1920. It combined various colonial styles with contemporary elements. Ths Show House '85 features a large entry porch, straight window heads, over sized dormers, a balcony porch on the third floor and a slate roof. The spacious interior is highlighted by rich architectural detailing including wainscoating, moldings
and handmade floors. Many fine hardwoods were used throughout: oak in the main hallway, sycamore in the living room and gumwood in the library. Double sliding solid wood doors were finished with veneers which matches the woodwork of each room.
In 1989, the property was sold to the Henry H. Waters family. Mr. Waters, his wife Clara, son Henry and her mother Clara Goodman moved into the home. Mr. Waters was the Secretary-Treasurer of the Empire Metallic Bedstead Company which manufactured brass and iron bedsteads. When the last of his family passed away in 1902, Henry Goodman Waters inherited the home.
Mr. and Mrs. Judson Morey Sells purchased the house from Mr. Waters in 1910. He was the manager of the Northern Steamship Company whose passenger ships cruised the Great Lakes. The couple and their son, Judson, enjoyed gracious living in Show House '85. Nora Sells enjoyed having teas to raise money for her favorite charities. They employed a chauffeur, maid and nurse who lived in the home. Two years later a daughter, Norma, was born. The Sells children, as well as other neighborhood children, loved watching the city fire department in action; three white horses with flowing manes pulling a smoking engine.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry May lived at 290 Depew Avenue, across the street from the Sells home. He was Vice-President and General Manager of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company. This is why residents of Central Park often saw one of the company's driveable chassis, without a body, being tested on the streets.
The train station at Starin and Amherst was owned by Buffalo Cement and leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. This Belt Line went out of business in the twenties due to the popularity of automobiles. The station was sold to the Boy Scouts of America and served as Troop 12's Headquarters until after World War II. It is now privately owned and is the only surviving station on the Belt Line. The tracks presently serve as the
main Conrail Line in that area of Buffalo.
In 1925, the Sells family moved to another home, and sold Show House '85 to Alexander H. Petrie and his wife, Cecilia. He was the Vice-President of the Ontario Biscuit Company which manufactured biscuits, crackers and cakes. Mr. Petrie became President the following year. His company eventually joined with fifteen other regional companies throughout the United States to form the United Biscuit Company which is known today as the Keebler Company.
The Central Park clubhouse, the Autorega Club, at Linden and Starin was enjoyed by the various residents of Show House '85. Parties and dances for adults and young people were held there. The name for the clubhouse is thought to have been of Indian derivation. It later served as an annex of School 22. In the early thirties, it was the home of the Art Institute of Buffalo, as well as the W.P.A. Art School. The Autorega Clubhouse was a lovely two story English style building. Skylights were added at a later date for the artists' use. During World War II it was also used as the industrial camouflage headquarters for Western New York. The clubhouse was torn down after the war
when the Art Institute moved to Elmwood Avenue.
Mr. Petrie received a business transfer and sold his home in 1927 to Charles Kingman Bassett and his wife Jean. Mr. Bassett, the Secretary and later Vice-President of the Buffalo Meter Company, resided in Show House '85 for fifty-seven years. He died in May 1984 at the age of 92. His wife had passed away in December 1968.
The Buffalo Meter Company was founded in 1892 by Charles' father, George Barclay Bassett. He established the business to manufacture, under his own patents, water, oil and gasoline meters.
George Bassett, following engineering studies, moved to Buffalo in 1886 from Watertown, New York. He formed Bassett Brothers, a partnership with his brother Edward. This engineering and contracting firm designed and built over fifty municipal water works in New York State. Edward Bassett left the partnership in 1891 to practice law in New York City. Since he originated that city's first zoning plan, he has been referred to as the "Father of Zoning in the United States". He later became a representative to Congress.
Buffalo Meter's first product, a water meter, was manufactured on Washington Street. In 1917, George Bassett purchased a nine acre site on Main near Hertel where he built a factory and offices. Here the business prospered under his guidance and that of his two sons. Mr. George Bassett passed away in 1955 at the age of 93. His son Robert succeeded him as President and his son Charles became Vice-President.
In 1958, the Buffalo Meter Company was sold to the American Meter Company, moved out of state and later resold to the Singer Sewing Machine Company. This property is presently owned by the State University of New York and houses the SUNY AB Studio Art program.
Mrs. Charles Bassett was an eighth generation descendant of Pilgrim ancestors who came to America in 1621 on the ship Fortune. He was born in Buffalo, and following high school, attended Cornell University on a
scholarship. Mr. Bassett graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1914 and then joined his father's company. He served in World War I and later saw service in the United States Department of Commerce during the Eisenhower Administration.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bassett resided in Show House '85 with their seven children, four girls and three boys. Additions were made to the original home as their family increased in size. The house now has twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms. Mr. and Mrs. Bassett entertained frequently. They particularly enjoyed their annual New Year's Day receptio
The Bassett had many interests and hobbies. Charles began to ride horses in his late twenties and hunted at Geneseo. He was a founder of the Saddle and Bridle Club in 1921 and served as its President for many years. He
raised and bred riding and race horses, as well as Welsh ponies, at Longmeadow, his farm in Canada.
Mr. Bassett was a collector of Tiffany, Steuben and other types of art glass shades. He gave his sizeable collection, which was unique in the United States, to the Corning Museum of Glass and to the Rockwell-Corning Museum.
Among his other hobbies, Mr. Bassett also assembled a noteworthy collection of arrowhead fishing points, hybridized iris on his lot at Main and Huntington, and collected curly maple wood from which he designed his own
furniture.
In the forties, Mr. Bassett purchased.."beautiful rolling land, ideal for horseback riding". Two decades later, when the need for a community hospital was made known to him, he gave this property in Amherst for the
construction of Millard Fillmore's Suburban Hospital. It was his gift of 18.5 acres in 1965 and 13 acres in 1968 which made possible this first New York State Satellite Hospital Unit.
Mr. Bassett gave the Town of Amherst land for a right-of-way in 1968. The Town also received 37.6 acres in 1971 to be used expressly for a park. This is known today as Bassett Park.
During his lifetime he made numerous charitable gifts. Mr. Bassett gave the library at the Elmwood Franklin School, the lecture hall at the SUNYAB Engineering School, and several bells for the Carillon at Cornell University.
In 1973, the State University of New York at Buffalo honored him with the Walter P. Cooke Award for his contributions as a non-alumnus. He also was inducted as an honorary member into the University of Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 for his fifty year support of their athletic programs.
On May 4, 278 Depew will officially open as the Decorators' Show House '85. It will be completely refurbished by thirty-three of Western New York's outstanding decorators and interior designers. Sponsored by the Junior League of Buffalo and the Buffalo news, this 91 year old home will be reborn with fresh new ideas, colors and design - a wonderful head start for its second century.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1891 - Deceased
d. Deceased