CHESTER FRANKLIN WICKWIRE (1843-1910) was the second child of Raymond and Elmira Wickwire. The Wickwires were farmers living in McGraw, NY, but in 1865, Chester left home at the age of 22 to seek his fortune in the nearby city of Cortland, NY, where he and his father opened a grocery store on Main Street. He and his father ran the store, until his father passed away in 1866, leaving him to run the store with his brother Chauncey.
In 1872, Chauncey also passed away, and Chester’s younger brother Theodore was recruited to help out, at which time they decided to turn the store into a hardware store. 1873, a customer, Rowland Hall of Elmira, NY, entered the store in order to purchase some plant stands. Unable to pay in cash, he bartered with Chester. Chester received several dog muzzles, rat traps, and egg beaters along with a carpet loom as payment.
Having always been mechanically-minded, Chester tinkered with the carpet loom so that it would weave wire instead. He began developing products that a farming community like Cortland would need: horse muzzles, seed spreaders, window screens to keep insects out, plus coal sieves, and popcorn poppers. Chester purchased additional looms to accommodate the growing business, and along with Theodore, they created Wickwire Brothers Company. In 1876, they sold the hardware store in order to start producing wire cloth full time.
In 1880, having outgrown their space on Main Street, Chester purchased land on South Main Street where the brothers erected their new 40-acre factory. By 1883, they had become the second largest producer of wire goods in the United States. Chester knew his business from top-to-bottom: he could operate and fix all of the machines in his factory, as well as manage the operations.
Even after becoming one of Cortland’s most prominent citizens, Chester was described by his contemporaries as quiet, modest, sincere, kindly, and genuine. Chester was often called on for advice and leadership and commonly assisted with municipal works such as paving roads and running sewer lines. He was a trustee of the First National Bank, the First Presbyterian Church, and the Franklin Hatch Library Association. The best demonstration of his concern for Cortland’s citizens was his gift of the first Cortland County hospital.
In 1888, Chester was 45 years old and a successful businessman. His family had grown and he started to think that his family needed a new home. That summer, Chester was in New York City on business when a beautiful, castle-like house caught his eye. He knocked on the door and discovered that it was the residence of James Anthony Bailey of Barnum and Bailey Circus. He liked the house so much that he hired the same architect, Samuel Burrage Reed, to build a mirror-image of it for him in Cortland. Construction on the house began in June 1888 and was scheduled to be finished in June 1889, however it was not finished until early 1890. After furnishing his new home, Chester and his family moved into it during the summer of 1890. The house is 15,000 square feet, and cost Chester $75,000 to build.
When he wasn’t working, Chester pursued several hobbies at home, including raising and racing horses. Chester lived in his house for 20 years before a fateful night in 1910. As he was sitting at his dining room table, enjoying corn-on-the-cob with his wife, Ardell, and son, Frederic, Chester suddenly had convulsions. He dropped his corn and said, “It’s paralysis all right!” Chester’s diagnosis proved correct. Chester was diagnosed with a stroke, and passed shortly after, at the age of 67.
Though Chester was gone, his life and legacy live on through The 1890 House Museum and the story of his amazing life, home, hard work, good fortune, and his benevolence to the Cortland community.
