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Map from the Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Chautauqua New-York from actual surveys and records, published by F.W. Beers & Co., New York, 1881.
Panama 4 corners after great fire of 1905
Photo courtesy of Pam Brown and Heather Schneider 
Panama in 1883
Photo courtesy of Pam Brown and Heather Schneider 
Property owners in Panama in 1881:
Abbott, E. Bailey, J. Baker, J. Barbour, Mrs. C. L. Berry, D. Bohall, J. Brown, L. C. Chamberlain, E. Coker, S. Cook, D. F. Cook, H. ?. Cook, L. C. Cook, S. Cook, W. Cook, W. O. Cook, Wm. Crane, H. Crane, L. Cross, E. Cross P. Dodge, Wm. Eggleston, J. Everett, Mrs. Graham, L. C. Haight, O. S. Hawkins, A. B. Hegley, C. P. Hill, Frank Hyde, Miss C. Hoyt, J. Johnson, Mrs. King, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. A. Knapp, J. Knapp, James Lammers, H. B. Lammers, I. Lammers, J. Lewis, A. Lewis, A. W Lewis, J. C. Lewis, Mrs. Lewis, P. Mayburn, Mrs. Manly, N. Manly, S. Mathews, O. Est. Neff, L. E. Paddock, S. L. Parsons, S. Pease, J. Peck, I. Persell, A. G. Polder, P. Powers, A. Powers, D. G. Powers, J. A. Powers, T. ? Randall, C. Randall, J. Randolph, T. J. Ransom, W. Rexford, J. Rice, A. B. Rickles, J. Robbins, L. H. Robison, I. Rowell, M. Scofield, ? Scofield, E. C. Sessions, A. Sessions, L. B. Sessions, W. L. Sheldon, M. Sherman, ? Simmons, A. P. Skinner, ? Smith, A. B. Smith, E. B. Smith, J. Sperry, N. Sternberg, J. J. Stevens, Mrs. Steward, F. Steward, J. S. Steward, Mrs. M. Stewart, F. G. Stuart, S. P. Sweet, C. J. Sweet, J. N. Sweetland, E. J. Tanner. Est. Terharr, t. Tiffany, D. M. Tiffany, Mrs. N. Wells, Mrs. A. Williams, E. Wiltsie, E. Wiltsie, J. Wiltsie, M. Woodrig, M.1881 property owners in Panama: |
Historical Leaflet No. 4
PANAMA Panama is the only incorporated village in the Town of Harmony. The village consists of four lots in township one, range thirteen of the Holland Land Company' survey. The lots are thirty-nine, forty, forty-seven and forty-eight. The incorporated village is 1 'A miles square and contains approximately 1,440 acres of land. The first settlement was in 1821 on the hill west of the present village setting. By 1824 businesses began to occupy the "flat." In 1824, Moses Cushman Marsh settled on the flat (present day village site) and opened a store. A United States Post Office was established in 1826 with Mr. Marsh as the first postmaster. With the establishment of the Post Office, Panama was the name chosen for the settlement. Holland Land company records show some of the early purchasers of land in the vicinity of what is now the village of Panama: 1816 Isaac Carpenter 1820 Samuel Tanner 1821 Eleazer Daniels 1822 Calvin Manley 1827 Benjamin Smith and Orrin Matthews As it grew, the settlement became an important stagecoach and transfer station for freighters. These coaches and freighters started in Erie, Pennsylvania and traveled through Barcelona on Lake Erie; Jamestown, New York; and Sugar Grove, Lottsville, Wrightsville, Pittsfield, Youngsville and Warren — all Pennsylvania settlements. As the years passed, the settlement continued to grow. Log structures were replaced by frame houses. Panama is well-known for its Greek Revival Architecture. There are several structures built in the 1830s still standing today. Businesses were established and owners prospered. In its very prosperous times, it was referred to as the "metropolis of the south." Panama is situated in the northwest part of the town on the Little Brokenstraw Creek. The population at one time was 650 in 1870. More recently, the population has been around 500. For 150 years, Panama has been governed by a mayor and board of trustees. The incorporation of Panama was an act of the state legislature that passed with a three-fifths vote on March 21, 1861. This eighty-fourth session included a Panama native, Senator Walter L. Sessions. He is credited for assisting the residents of Panama to achieve the formation of an incorporated village. The laws were amended again by Chapter 168 of the laws of 1751, by Chapter 371 of the laws of 1862 and by Chapter laws of 1925. The first election was held at the Rock House Hotel. The village board provided street lights, road and sidewalk construction and repair and fire protection for its residents. Panama is famous for the wonderful rock formations known as Panama Rocks. This park has been a tourist attraction since the 1880s. Tourists from all over the nation and the world have visited while in Chautauqua County. Notable citizens include: Present Chautauqua County Executive Gregory Edwards grew up in Panama and his family still resides there. James H. McGraw, the co-founder of McGraw-Hill Publishing. Walter Loomis Sessions — was a member of the United States House of Representative, representing the State of New York. He moved to the Panama area and read law under the Honorable Abner Lewis of the village. He continued to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He began his law practice in Panama. Walter was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1853-54, served in the NYS Senate in 1860-61 and 1866-67. From 1870-72 he served as the Supervisor of the Town of Harmony. He was elected as a Republican to the forty-second and forty-third Congresses (March 1, 1871-March 3, 1875) and again to the forty-ninth Congress. He practiced law in Jamestown in 1887 — traveling daily from Panama to Lakewood by horse and buggy and then took a streetcar to Jamestown. In 1893 he was appointed commissioner of the State of New York to the world's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. He retired to Panama in 1896, but continued to practice law in an office in Jamestown until his death on May 27, 1896. Edith Sessions Tupper, Walter's daughter, was a published novelist and Broadway playwright. She was born in 1855, educated at Fredonia Normal School, Buffalo and Vassar college. She died in 1927. Loren B. Sessions was brother to Walter L. Sessions. He resided in Panama, graduated from Westfield Academy and attended and graduated from Albany Normal School in 1848. He taught school and then read law in Walter's office in Panama. He became a member of the Chautauqua County Bar in 1852. In 1877 he accepted the nomination for state senator, representing the thirty-second senate district. He was elected for two consecutive two-year terms. Loren was an important political figure in Chautauqua County. He was Supervisor of the Town of Harmony for twenty-three years, serving seventeen of these as chairman of the board. Andrew Wells Robertson was born in Panama in 1880. He was educated in Panama schools, graduated from Alleghany College and the University of Pittsburgh Law School. He made his mark operating the Pittsburgh Street Car system. He was general attorney for the company for the Philadelphia Company from 1918-1929. In 1929, he became the head of Westinghouse Electric company in Pittsburgh, retiring in 1951. He did not forget his hometown of Panama, naming his Pittsburgh home the Panama Lodge in Mount Oliver Station. He was also the only founder of the Greater Pittsburgh Parks Association. For a more complete history, we recommend reading Remembering Panama, Glimpses of the Past by Pamela Brown and Heather Schneider. 
Panama Winsor Hotel, 1911.
Photo courtesy of Pam Brown and Heather Schneider |