By: Iris Naylor
"Lambertville is a growing place, and there is every evidence of life and activity there."
W.W.H. Davis, editor of the Doylestown Democrat, made this observation while visiting Lambertville in December 1858. He came to give a lecture on New Mexico at the invitation of the Young Men’s Literary Society. The lecture was held in Coryell’s Hall.
Coryell’s Hall was, and still is, located at the southwest corner of York and Main streets. The name was changed to Holcombe’s Hall in 1861. Today it is the home of MacDonald’s Kitchens & Baths.
Mr. Davis observed the hall was "one of the finest in all this region of country," and it was filled with "an audience that any one might justly feel proud in lecturing before." He also praised Carpenter’s Cornet Band for its excellent music.
December 1858 found the first floor of the hall occupied by the dry goods and grocery store of Pittenger and Young, which sold everything from shoes to green teas at "prices to astonish the natives." Pittenger and Young shared space in Coryell’s Hall with C.L. West & Co.’s new drug and prescription store. It stocked, next to its prescription drugs, paints, oils and varnishes and hair oils and hair dye.
Down on Excelsior Corner at Bridge and Union streets was the store of Bennett & Cooley. It sold fancy and staple dry goods and would accept butter, eggs and potatoes in place of cash.
Mrs. D.P. Paxson sold all sorts of ladies’ hats, gloves, dress material and trimmings as well as made-to-order shrouds at her store on Bridge Street near the railroad depot.
One of the many prosperous business persons who had learned advertising pays was Cornelius Arnett who did not mind telling the readers of his many talents. He called himself the boot builder, the brick builder, the furniture builder, the coffin builder, the house builder, the bridge builder and the vendor of boots, shoes, bricks, lime, hair, sand, stone, furniture, looking glasses and gilt moldings. He was prepared to build anything and build it cheap because, said his ads, "I make the brick, quarry the stone, boat the sand, do all the carting with my own teams and have the control of as good workmen as can be found."
Cornelius Arnett was one of the reasons Lambertville was "a growing place."
Lambertville’s population at the last census, taken in 1856, was 2,124, and 542 of these were children between the ages of 5 and 18 years. Some, but not all, of these children were learning their ABCs at the new free public school on the hill. From its location the children could see the covered bridge between Lambertville and New Hope. They also could see the two canals, one on either side of the river, and the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad tracks
The advantage to the children was the security of the location, away from the hustle and bustle of the lively business district. The disadvantage was the climbing each day of a series of steps that started at the foot of the hill on Coryell Street and went straight up over the hill to the schoolhouse.
The children of Lambertville had one special friend in 1858, and his name was J. Fennimore Boozer, proprietor of the Union Hardware Store at Union and Coryell streets. This particular Christmas Day he gave out goodies to every boy and girl who visited his store, all 520 of them. He made no distinction between sex, age, condition or color. To every child who came by, he gave two cents and a package containing candies, peanuts, raisins and cake. In all, he passed out 16 pounds of candies, two bushels of nuts, 520 cakes, two boxes of raisins and $10.40 in pennies.
There were children in Lambertvlle in 1858 who would not have anything at all to make Christmas Day different from any other day if it were not for Uncle Fenny, the children’s friend.
