Hanks, Hayden L.  "Barcelona's Beginnings:  A Rich Heritage," Jamestown (NY) Post-Journal, 31 July 1982, Tempo, pp.8T-9T.       
The Post-Journal website:  http://post-journal.com/

Barcelona's Beginnings

A Rich Heritage

H.C. Sawin's description of the site of ships in the lake in 1897.  

  Barcelona Harbor played an important role in the development of America in the early 1800s. Early recognition of the route between Lake Erie and Chautauqua Lake along Chautauqua Creek set the stage for the importance of water travel until the advent of the railroads.
    But how many people know that the village and harbor at Barcelona were originally known as Portland? Or that the name was probably changed because the port reminded an early prominent citizen of Barcelona, Spain?
    Those facts and many other details about the port's early history give the harbor a rich heritage.
    Capt. Celoron De Blainville landed near the mouth of Chautauqua Creek on July 16, 1749, with orders to build a roadway between Lake Erie and Chautauqua Lake. That was proposed to establish a route to the southern and western interior using the extensive water courses available.
    Those orders proved to be a vital step toward recognizing the importance of water travel.
    Several years later, the towns of Portland, erected in 1813, and Ripley, erected in 1816, were both taken from the town of Chautauqua. Their northerly boundaries were Lake Erie, and Chautauqua Creek served as a common boundary.
    The natural harbor being on the Portland township side of the creek was called the Portland Harbor. Between 1816 and 1821, the Holland Land Co. and Joseph Ellicott laid out the village of Portland at the harbor.
    James Ray was believed to be the first to establish a shipping dock and warehouse there. He later sold this to Henry Abell and Asa Farnsworth in June of 1824, who expanded and improved the facility.
    With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, travel and freight movements by water increased. At this time, Ray sold his lots and buildings on high ground overlooking the harbor to Gideon Goodrich, who established a tavern and inn.
    By 1827, cargo and passengers were coming through the Port of Portland Harbor in ever increasing shiploads, along with heavier exports of black salts, ash, hides and timber. The same year, the U.S. government made Portland Harbor an official port of entry.
    At this time, the village was expanding rapidly. Expansion included:

• A dry goods store. Eliphalet Tinker, in September of 1827, established a store on the shores of Lake Erie to sell dry goods, groceries, and wheat. He also opened the first post office on Oct. 24, 1827.

• A lighthouse was constructed by Thomas Campbell and completed in 1829; the money was made available by the federal government.

• Job Lewis purchased a plot in the village of Portland from the Holland Land Co. this was located on the south side of Route 5 on the east side of Portage Street. This developed into a tavern and inn, eventually known as the Exchange House. Lewis sold it to Fenn Deming in 1839, who held it for 10 years.

• The township of Westfield was erected in 1829 from the westerly section of Portland and easterly part of Ripley, which made Portland Harbor part of Westfield. Lake Erie served as the northern boundary.

• Funds were allocated this year for improving Lake Road east of Portland because of the heavy increase in freight using the port.

• Hoel Beadle bought the village lots in October of 1828, and became a large property owner. He purchased and operated a brick yard and stone quarry just east of the Portland village line on the lake.

     He also turned out wooden bowls and did some farming, and his descendants have continually lived in Barcelona for four generations. The Beadle family is the oldest known family still there. Clarence Beadle, a fourth-generation family member, eventually became the family's only fisherman and owned his own fishing business.
    Land speculation and the predicted fortunes that could be made because of the increasing volume of traffic coming through the port highlighted the next decade. Taverns, inns, blacksmith shops, warehouses and stores sprang up during the prosperous time.
    At this time, sailing vessels carried most of the freight with steamboats handling the majority of passenger travel.
    In the mid-1830s, a group of investors started buying up the land and properties of the Holland Land Co. until they owned all but a few lots in and around the village of Portland. The 13 investors formed an association for the purpose of developing and selling properties for profit.
    The association was named the Portland Harbor Land Co. The stock value of the company was set at $256,000, and divided into 128 shares of $2,000 each.
    The four largest stockholders controlling half of the company were Judge Thomas Campbell, who oversaw construction of the lighthouse, and Eliphalet Tinker of Westfield, along with Isaac Smith and John Macey of Buffalo.
    Apparently, there was reason to believe that the name of the community would eventually be changed. The company had made provisions to change the name of its firm in the event either the post office or village of Portland changed its name. On Sept. 9, 1836, the harbor and village officially became known as Barcelona.
    Isaac Smith, one of the stock holders, was a world traveler and had spent some time in Barcelona, Spain. It's believed that Smith was influential in having the name changed because the developing port reminded him of the Spanish city.
    Also in 1836, John Eason bought waterfront lots and built a large dock and warehouse on the east side of the point, bordering a dock and warehouse purchased by the group. It was in this year that the west breakwater was started off the point, known as Peacock's Point, near Chautauqua Creek. Funds totaling $55,466, which were appropriated by the U.S. government, were used for the harbor project.
    A log wharf was also built at the foot of Pint Street. At this time, the roads were crowded with teams of oxen and horses hauling huge timbers, lumber, rock and boulders to carry out the construction of the wharfs, break walls and various buildings.
    Tinker purchased the site of the famous Brick Inn overlooking the harbor from the Holland Land Co. in 1836. He built the inn, which, at various times, was known as the Groat Inn, Walker Inn, and the Barcelona Inn, which served the area until it was destroyed by fire in 1964.
    By 1838, the breakwater was extended into the lake about 1,200 feet. The total protected area of the harbor was about 43 acres. The break wall was never completed because the funds were shut off by the federal government, leaving the port exposed to storms.
    During 1844, the Barcelona Land Co. sold many of its holdings. Gervise Foot, a Westfield resident, became a new investor. He purchased lake-front properties, and other holdings, and eventually built a large shipping business.
    The port continued to grow and prosper into the mid-1840s until a storm swept over the lake damaging the vessels and costing several people their lives. The brig "Osceola" was wrecked off Barcelona with all those aboard killed.
    The raging storm swept away Barcelona docks and warehouses taking the lives of two local men who were apparently named McHenry and Crossgrove. No first names are known. One of them was attempting to swim to shore when he was struck by a heavy piece of timber. The other was swept away with a warehouse at the end of the dock. His body was never recovered.
    Government appropriations allowed the main wharf to be rebuilt. Foot and others started rebuilding. Many teams of horses and men spent their winter cutting and hauling huge timbers and lumber to rebuild the piers and warehouses.
    During the late 1840s, a continuing drop in the lake commerce was realized with the advent of the railroads. Foot worked hard to keep the lake businesses going, but the competition from the railroads proved too great. Foot eventually sold his holdings in Barcelona, bringing a short, but exciting, period in Barcelona's history to an end.
    The vast tide of shipping and emigration westward, which set in after the completion of the Erie Canal, continued for 25 years.
    The magnitude of lake commerce had increased to the point that 100 vessels could be counted on the lake at one time. Those sightings came on the clearing of weather after prolonged storms had forced crafts to seek shelter.
    H.C. Sawin of Ripley described the site of ships in the lake in 1897, "it was a beautiful sight to behold when presented to view, in clusters of a dozen or even a score of vessels all close to each other, their white sails glistening in the sun, and others dotting the blue waters of the lake as far as the eye could see. It was a real panoramic exhibition, not soon to be forgotten."

    Editor's note: The history of Barcelona Harbor was researched and written by local historian Hayden L. Hanks.

10/31/2003