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The article below is excerpted from
"Pupils Now Use Old Richmond Mansion," by H. Katherine Smith, pub. in The
Buffalo News, June 1, 1952
The red brick
and stucco mansion of English Tudor architecture at 844
Delaware Ave. -- now used as an annex of the Bishop McMahon
High School, was the home of two of Buffalo's most public-spirited citizens. They
are the late Jewett M. Richmond, whose name is perpetuated by Richmond Avenue, and
the late Thomas Brown Lockwood, donor of the Lockwood Library and his valuable collection
of first editions, manuscripts and other rare books at the University of Buffalo.
In 1873, when Mr. Richmond bought the Delaware Ave.. property, its lawns, gardens
and orchards extended back to the present Richmond
Avenue. The Richmond family was supplied with milk by a
cow that grazed in what is now a densely populated residential section of the city.
In ample stables on the property were horses of exceptional beauty and speed. The
late John Richmond, son of Jewett M., used to race on Delaware Ave., then popular
proving ground for fast horses owned by socially prominent Buffalonians.
Home Rebuilt After Fire
Click on illustration for larger size
Source: The
Pictorial year-book and calendar for 1888. with Buffalo events in 1887, valuable
statistics, etc. Reprinted
by Cornell U.
In 1887, the original Richmond home burned. The fire started on a January night when
the mercury was near zero. The young members of the Richmond family were awakened
and hurried to the stable for safety. At first Jewett M. Richmond attempted to extinguish
the fire with pails of water. When this failed, he tried to summon the volunteer
firefighters by means of a direct wire from his home to the department headquarters.
The alarm failed to work. By the time the volunteers arrived, the house was ablaze
and burned to the ground.
Jewett M. Richmond's daughter, Lillian Richmond, lives at 25 Lincoln Pky. Her debut
near the turn of the century was one of the most beautiful and gracious social functions
in the onetime Richmond home.
Famous Visitors
Grover Cleveland
was among eminent visitors to the Richmond mansion When Jewett M. Richmond, president
of the marine bank, director of the Buffalo Board of trade and member of the City
Council, was asked to accept the nomination for mayor, he declined in favor of his
good friend, Grover Cleveland, launching the latter on a career of public leadership
that was to culminate in the Presidency of the United States.
While she was first lady, Mrs. [Frances
Folsom] Cleveland came from the White House to take tea
at the Richmond home.
Julia Marlowe, the Shakespearean actress, also was entertained there.
Richmond's Business Interests
- During the panic of 1873, Jewett M. Richmond built the
Buffalo and Jamestown Railroad.
- His interests included also the Buffalo Southwestern Railroad
and the Buffalo Gas Light Company.
- He was a founder of the Buffalo Club, and active in the
Country Club of Buffalo. His favorite club was the Falconwood Club of Grand Island.
- He was trustee of the Charity Organization Society, a leader
in the Young Men's Association, from which our Public Library developed, and a generous
contributor to the Buffalo Historical Society, Society of Natural Sciences and the
Academy of Fine Arts.
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