History of the Little York Pavilion

Traction Company Park

Little York Lake provided the only resort area between Binghamton and Syracuse in the late 1800's. DL&W excursion trains from Syracuse deposited their passengers here, who would spend the day at the southern end of the lake, boating, dancing and picnicking. The Cortland Traction Company operated a park on the Tioughnioga River in Cortland, which was only accessible by riding the company's trolley across Elm St. Bridge. In an effort to increase ridership, the company extended the trolley lines north to Little York and Preble. At the same time, 1904, it purchased 90 acres of farmland on Upper Little York Lake to develop another park. This was a prevailing custom in the trolley business. However, unlike other traction company parks, Little York's was designed for eating and dancing, rather than for amusement rides.

 

Original Park Layout

The original park layout included two large boat houses, close to the shores on either side of a long dock. At the end of the dock was a gazebo-styled structure with benches arounds its interior. An unusually styled water tower stood nearby with an interior stairway leading to an observation area at the top. The path made by the trolley crossed the broad lawns of the park. The park was extremely popular in the years before World War I, when trolley use peaked. However, usage of the first floor restaurant and second floor dance hall fell off in the 1920's as the Traction Company became more focused on supplying electric power to communities.

 

 

Park Abandoned, then Revived

In 1932, the New York Power Corporation, successor to the Cortland County Traction Company, abandoned the park. Various individuals attempted to revive interest with little success. At the urging of the Little York Garden Club in the late 1930's, the County Board of Supervisors eventually purchased the property. But not until 1951, under County Highway Superintendent William Dwyer, were improvements seriously begun. In 1972, the pavilion became the home of Cortland Repertory Theatre.

 

Changes Over the Years

No documentary information has been found to tell us who designed the park's pavilion or how the final design selection was made. We can only guess that Cephas B. Barker of Tully and Newark Valley, who is credited with building the pavilion, was also its designer. The pavilion in the City of Cortland's park was torn down and parts were used in the construction of this new one in 1906.

The building has undergone many changes over the years. The most prominent addition was in 1961, when a slate-roofed stone restroom facility was added on the north side. A large brick chimney occupies the center of the east wall; a similar one on the north was removed in 1973. Later alterations include the enclosure of the ten foot wide verandahs on the north side to accommodate kitchen facilities and dressing rooms. The roof of the pavilion was originally surfaced with cedar shingles and was edged with white electric lights. Both roof and lighting were removed long ago, and the present roof is a combination of tin and asphalt shingles, newly reshingled by Cortland County in the spring of 2001. Elsewhere, alterations have been carried out more in sympathy with the original design: stairways, porch rails and flooring have been rebuilt, fire doors installed, and wooden steps replaced with concrete.

The pavilion is architecturally unique in this area. It is also the only trolley park in the region to remain intact and in use. In 1979, it was named to the National Historic Register.

Researched by Shirley Heppel, former Cortland County Historian.