Penfield's History Series - Part Three

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The Harris Family lot is one of the larger ones at Oakwood Cemetery. William Harris was a teacher in the early 1800s and his son James was a farmer - referred to as Grandview Farm. The younger Harris served as Town Supervisor for a number of years. 

The home located at 2040 Penfield Road was purchased in 1856 by the family, and sits directly across the street of what is now an amazing CPA practice, Shah CPA Firm, PLLC 🧾. The Harris name remains significant in Penfield today, as there is a road, park and a school named after the prominent family. Pictures of the Harris lot at Oakwood and the Harris homestead are below. 

Neeraj spent many winter afternoons sledding ❄️ down the big hill and played tennis 🎾 under the lights with his brother and friends. 

The Higbie Family were among the early settlers of our Town of Penfield. Just a couple intersection north from the Four Corners and past Strowger's Corner, many referred to what is now Five Mile Line Rd and Atlantic as Higbie's Corner.

The Higbie family moved to Penfield in 1835. The brick home on 1724 Five Mile Line Rd was the family's homestead. Abijah Higbie married Sarah Ross, the daughter of another early settler family in Penfield.

The Higbie School (used until at least the early 1900s) located at the northwest corner of Atlantic Ave and Five Mile Line Rd was marked to be demolished. It was converted as a residential home for the manager of  Higbie's estate, Samuel Hill. Later, the school property was interfering with a housing development project and was slated for demolition. Instead of being demolished, the building was relocated to Salt Rd.

Another home located at 1689 Scribner Rd was constructed by Silas Higbie. It is a beautiful Greek Revival style farmhouse. There is a picture of the remains of what may be an early inhabitant of the home (squirrel 🐿 family), but nowadays one of Neeraj's son's good elementary school friend resides and enjoys the historic place.

The home sat next to Daniel Penfield's homestead. Located at 1790 Penfield Road, it was home to two prominent families of Penfield who knew each other - the Ockenden Family and the Deuel Family. 

The Ockendens built the home in the early 1900s. Later, in the 1950s, the home was sold to the Deuel family. It sits on what was once Daniel Penfield's personal English garden - imagine a fine stone pathway parallel to the road with an arched gateway on either side. Today, the home still stands (sadly without the original porch area).

Businessmen at heart, the elder Frank Ockenden Sr operated the Ockenden General Store 🛍 in the Four Corners area and just down the block from his residence. It was certainly a landmark store as one entered the Town of Penfield. His son, Frank Ockenden Jr. operated the Ockenden Electric Store. Frank Jr. volunteered at the fire department and was a World War I veteran. Frank Jr's grandson Bob Ockenden was elected to the Penfield Town Board - he has been Councilman since 2020. Bob has served the Penfield community in various capacities, including the District Fire Chief 🚒. 

Interestingly, Neeraj presented to Bob Ockenden when Bob sat on the Planning Board. Neeraj's parents looked to develop their commercial property in town on Penfield Road.

Ellsworth Deuel, MD was a well known doctor 🩺 in town - because he was the only doctor in town! Old school ways, Dr. Deuel practiced out of "the office" located in the west wing of the house. Yes, he made house calls twice a week. Naturally, he was named as the Town Health Officer. Big screen 🎬 success followed. Of note, Peter Deuel (1971) was a stage, television and film actor, best known for his role as outlaw Hannibal Heyes in the television series Alias Smith and Jones. Peter Deuel went by Pete Duel in Hollywood. He was a graduate of Penfield High School and died at the age of 31. Peter's brother Geoffrey was also an actor who played the role of Dave Campbell in the soap opera Young & Restless. 

If you talk to anyone who has lived in this area for some time, they will go on and on about the vast farm lands of Penfield's past. Atop a hill on Gloria Drive (formerly Cemetery Road, more on this later) and near Sweets Corners Road sits a beautiful and lesser known cemetery with a picturesque overlook. At 640 feet above sea level, it is the highest point of the town with rolling hills in the backdrop. Many of the tombstones are written in German, and perhaps gives indication of these East Penfield settlers. As you enter Smith  Cemetery, you will find the headstone for Harriet Sweet (1869). Presumably, the Sweet family owned a large farm in the area and thus we have Sweets Corners Road.

Back to Cemetery Road. In 1946, Gloria Goldstein was to be married 👰 on Cemetery 🪦 Road. Sending celebratory wedding invitations with such a morbid address didn't feel right at all. The family spoke to their neighbors and the Penfield Town Board to have the Road renamed to Gloria Drive. 

What a wedding present! 🎁 And there you have it.