Danforth Fountain, Bainbridge, NY

Dedication of Danforth Fountain

Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York

May 30, 1962

 

At the ceremony dedicating the new fountain in the village park, Dr. Harold K. Salzberg gave the following talk:  "We have the honor today to dedicate this fountain to the memory of a friend of Bainbridge and of all those with whom she lived, Mrs. Helen Danforth.  Our Chamber of Commerce had the happy thought of sponsoring this memorial and dedicating it to Mrs. Danforth.  My family are but several of a host of people in the village, county and in the state who had the privilege of Mrs. Danforth's acquaintance.  She had the touch of welcome to all persons, and in her pleasant way contributed to the growth and stability of our community.  There are many names to be mentioned in the successful culmination of this project and I will give but a few at the risk of overlooking some who have contributed or will contribute in its maintenance.  The committee comprised of Mrs. Leigh Evans, Mrs. Ruth Demeree, Frank Turk and Charles Hinckley.  Others have been quick to volunteer in its planning and maintenance and we can be sure that the good water of the fountain will flow on through the years as did the good deeds of Mrs. Danforth.

 

"The park's history is impressive enough to give it an aspect of hallowness.  It has existed to give pleasure and solace to generations for a century and a half.  Mrs. Danforth recognized this, and became a champion of its maintenance.  Many of the beautiful shrubs and trees we see around us would not be here were it not for her diligence and generosity in the interest of the park.  We are especially indebted to her for the row of hawthorn trees which grace the East Main Street side of the park.

 

"Bainbridge has been a village among the many in new York State and in New England having a park or commons or village green, a place of perpetuity, as witnessed by the monuments here.  Over there stands the monument to the Civil War heroes and at its side that of the two World Wars.  On the other side of the park is the quaint boulder monument to the memory of an early pioneer, Jedidiah Smith.

 

Benjamin Carpenter is the first name to cite in the history of this park.  Carpenter came to Jericho as a young man and opened a general store, tailoring business and tavern in a building near the present location of the Leigh Evans home.  He was foresighted in acquiring land near the river bridge and in 1802 donated a plot a little more than two acres in the area to the Society of the Celicia, a Congregational Church organization.  The church itself, referred to as the meeting house, stood uncompleted at the time in about the center of this area.

 

"....The early days of the park were ones of public usefulness.  In its very early history it was the location of the village pound, which consisted of a large shed in the center of the yard surrounded by a stockade.  Here were driven the cattle and hogs which had strayed from the unfenced fields or from fields insecurely fenced with boughs of trees or primitive rail fences.  The pound was needed even more when the turnpike was the scene of hugh droves of cattle, hogs, geese, sheep and turkeys being driven from the west to New York markets.  Then about 1875 the area was laid out and embellished as a park with trees and shrubbery."

 

Mayor W.E. Vawter accepted the fountain in behalf of the village.  Lights will play on the fountain at night.  At the base is an inscription which reads:  "It was the million and one small deeds that will make Helen Danforth's memory live on in the hearts of her million and one friends."

Memorial Fountain:  Members of the Danforth family admire fountain in Bainbridge park dedicated yesterday by the community to the memory of the late Mrs. Edward Danforth whose many good works endeared her to the village.  Left to right:  Dr. Edward Danforth of Bainbridge, Dr. Prince Danforth of New York City, Dr. Elliott Danforth of Sidney, Thomas Danforth of Sidney, Nicolas Danforth, a student at Albany Medical College, Edward Danforth of Sidney, Elliott Danforth, Jr., Albany Medical College student.

 

 

Mrs. Helen (Mattice) Danforth

 

Bainbridge [Chenango Co.,  NY]:  The funeral of Mrs. Helen Danforth, 77, was held Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Bainbridge.  Rev. Andrus B. Smith and Rev. James E. Wolfe officiated.  Burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery [Bainbridge, NY].  Mrs. Danforth died Monday morning, June 12, 1961, at her home, 51 West Main street, Bainbridge.  She is survived by her husband, Dr. Edward Danforth, Bainbridge; two sons, Dr. Elliot Danforth, Sidney, and Dr. Edward Prince Danforth, New York City; four grandsons, Elliot, Jr., and Nicholas both of Albany, Thomas E. and Edward Danforth, both of Sidney, one great-granddaughter, Kimberly Helen Danforth, of Albany; three sisters, Mrs. Carl Danielson, New York City; Mrs. Floyd Anderson, Binghamton; and Mrs. Thomas Collins, Westfield, Massachusetts; one brother, Ford Mattice, Middleburg, N.Y.  Mrs. Danforth was born September 6, 1883, at Gilboa, N.Y., the daughter of Richard Mattice and Mercie Ellerson Mattice.  She was married to Dr. Edward Danforth of Bainbridge on January 18, 1905, at Gilboa.  The death of Mrs. Danforth is a loss that will be keenly felt, not only in Bainbridge, but over a wide territory.  She had a warm, outgoing personality and numbered her friends in all walks of life.  She was most hospitable, opening the beautiful, colonial home in which she and Dr. Danforth spent almost their entire married life, delighting to share with others its pleasant atmosphere.  As a young bride it is said that she was a little dubious about settling in a strange town, but when the doctor asked if she minded moving there she said, "Not if I can live in that white house with the pillars."  So that is where they lived for 56 full and happy years.  On the house's 100th anniversary (it was built in 1850) she entertained the members of the Bainbridge Daughters of the American Revolution of which she was a charter member and past president.  The Bainbridge Woman's Club was a project close to her heart.  She served as president in 1908, 1920, 1929-1936, 1939-1941, 1943-1959, a total of 30 years, during which the club grew and prospered.  She had been a vice president of the State Federation of Woman's Clubs, state honor roll chairman, Sixth District director, District treasurer and Chenango County chairman, a charter member of both the Leon R. Mott, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Silvernail-Slater Post of the American Legion Auxiliary.  She had served as a member of the board of the Binghamton Blind Work Association and the Greenlawn Cemetery Association.  Mrs. Danforth was devoted to St. Peter's Episcopal Church and to all civic affairs. She was never ostentatious in her good deeds but thoughtful of small things.  Her pastor remembers that whenever Bishop Higley came to town, it was Mrs. Danforth who always remembered that he liked homemade jelly and saw to it that he had a generous jar.  It was the million and one small kind deeds that will make Helen Danforth's memory live on in the hearts of her million and one friends. Rev. Andrus B. Smith, rector of St. Peter's Church, sums up her life in one sentence, "She was a fine Christian soul."