Vintage Postcard: Old Parkhill House

Vintage postcard depicting the corner of Church and Main Street in Essex, NY. The Ezra Parkhill House sits on that corner and features in this photo. (Source: Geo Davis via Rosslyn Redux)

Last Monday, we shared the vintage postcard above on the Essex on Lake Champlain Facebook page and invited our viewers to play some Vintage Essex Trivia. Do you recognize the street and buildings in this old photo of Essex, NY? Can you determine the date it may have been taken?

See what the community had to say below:

Sylvia Margo: Looks like Main and Church Street looking towards the Essex Marina, looking south.

Todd Goff: Our house is the one behind the tree to the right of the Ezra Parkhill house. [It was later] owned by a Lowry, a Lansing, a Lacasio, a Hearn, and a Dalton…

Dianne Lansing: That’s my old house! Doesn’t have the narrow front porch on Main St. any more. It was built in 1835 (if I remember correctly) so the photo is after that (duh!). Todd & Gretel Goff’s house is obscured by the trees in the center of the photo. I think that is Silbernagle’s next.

Tilly Close: Belonged to Charlotte & Bill Sherman, earlier.

Judy A. Keating: What year?

Ruthie Nye: 1904.

The dirt roads and quality of the photo lead me to believe that the photo was taken in the later 1800s or early 1900s. What do you think?

We also have the back of the postcard available to share with you. Maybe it will give more clues? Take a look:

Parkhill house postcard back — Message on the back of the postcard

As best I can decipher of this handwriting, the message written on the back reads:

Dear [?], how are you all? I hope well and happy. I thought I would send you one of these postcards for the house on the corner is Mr. and Mrs. Parkhill house where I am now [?]. you can see what a pretty home I have and that is just the front part of it. The [old porch?] isn’t there. From [A?]

This tells us that at the time the postcard was sent the home was owned or recently owned by the Parkhill’s because their guest (or the renter/new owner of the home) was staying there and referred to the house as theirs. If you have a different understanding of the message (perhaps you make it out differently than I?), then please leave a comment.

Do you have any of your own stories to share regarding this postcard? Share them in the comments too.

Share Your Essex Artifacts

If you want to share your old photos of Essex (or brochures; postcards; menus; tickets; any artifact) on the blog please email us at editor [at] essexonlakechamplain [dot] com.

Vintage Postcard: Old Dock Restaurant (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Vintage Postcard: View from Steamer of Essex, NY (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Vintage Photo: Old Brick Store, Main Street, Essex, NY (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Vintage Photo: Church Street, Essex, NY (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Vintage Postcard: The Old Dock Coffee House, Essex, NY (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Vintage Postcard: South Main Street, Essex, NY (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

About Katie Shepard

Passionate about reading and writing stories, Katie Shepard enjoys discovering more about her home while writing and editing for Essex on Lake Champlain. Katie graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011 where she studied English literature, philosophy, and Asian studies. Her first book Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler's Field Guide was published in 2015. Connect with her on Facebook or at Linked.in. Or email her at katie [@] essexeditions [dot] com.