Just where these local historians received their information is unknown, perhaps by word of mouth passed on by earlier "old-timers". Or perhaps from Joe Willis' writing, back in 1939, of "The Pioneer", which states on page thirty-eight; "Dr. Edward R. Livingston.....resided at our Livingston Manor on the site of the present Manor House or John R. Baldwin property."
Now, I know what my own memory is like nowadays, and there is one conclusion I've made in talking to today's "old-timers"; don't believe everything you hear. For me, though, seeing is believing, and the 1893 overview, shown on the Livingston Manor history site, shows me that this presumption of the Livingston home may not be correct. The Baldwin property is indeed on the present day site of the firehouse, but that doesn't necessitate the conclusion that this is also the site of the residence of our town's namesake. - Fred
Looking
at the 1893 photograph, start at the clump of trees in the left of the
image. The grayish building immediately to the right of these trees is the
H.L. Sprague & Co.'s store(1), which was located next to the railroad
depot. Main Street passes in front, from left to right. The next structure
to the right, the smaller, lighter, building, partially hidden by a tree,
is the Finch & Smith store, later known as the Tartikoff building(2).
Both are now gone, having been replaced by the firehouse parking lot. The
next building, taller, with the dormer, is the Manor House(3), or the
Baldwin Hotel as it was later known. Notice that all three fronts of these
buildings run parallel with Main Street. That cannot be said of the next
structure to the right.(4) - Fred
This
building is the one with two additions(4), both gabled ends facing us, and
a cupola on the main roof. This structure appears not to run parallel with
Main Street, and for good reason; it existed well before the street was
made. For those who would look at the 1875 Purvis map, you'll see this
same building, labeled the Davis Hotel, having the same configuration.
This is the Livingston residence. If you look at the "pre-1900"
page on the LM history site, you'll see this same house, from the other
side, with the same cupola. The Baldwin House was only an addition, and a
large one at that, added by H.W. Clay, the proprietor of the house, in the
1880's. That makes the location of the Livingston residence not on the
firehouse lot where the Baldwin Hotel was, but on the lots that now has
the town hall and its neighboring garage.- Fred
I was talking to Katie Loucks today and she was saying that the Livingston House was the one Betty Stafford had on the corner of De Boise and Main and that is where the gas station is. It was an empty lot there with a short cut path through it and they played ball on the lot. She was telling me about the Baldwin House and the other buildings down towards the tracks she said that she would go into the one store and look at the cookies (I think) and wish that she had money for some. She knows Fred because she mentioned him in regard to manor history.- LM Lurker