You’ve made it, intrepid readers, to part three of my presentation-made-into-posts, “Lost in Highland Park.” Originally commissioned by the Highland Park Conservancy, I presented on this topic at their annual meeting on April 29th, 2026, and have been posting the contents piecemeal via this blog. Part 1 can be accessed here, and Part 2 here.

As noted previously, these blog entries ought to have more precise, correct, and up-to-date information than that which was given in the talk; while for the most part it’s the same, I’ve corrected any errors I made, added some materials I’ve found since, and also included sources which weren’t able to be shared in the presentation format.

This post, in particular, contains quite a lot of extra material, so… enjoy!

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The Gatekeepers

The reservoir at Highland Park, the city’s second source of stored fresh water after the Rush reservoir, was an important aspect of Rochester’s water system. It was here that the intake of Hemlock Lake waters could be controlled, its pressure and rate adjusted, and even shut off entirely for maintenance. The controls for these functions were housed securely within the gatehouse.

The gatehouse as pictured above in 1890 was already slightly improved from its original 1875 permutation; a tool-house was constructed in 1876, visible on the right side of the image. The tower, as well, was an 1878 addition, allowing for a telegraph station on the first floor, sleeping quarters on the second, and an observatory for viewing the reservoir at the top.

The gatehouse was a highly secure area, with access only granted to very few people in the employ of the city’s water works. Chief among these, those men charged directly with the keeping of the flow gates, the aptly-named gatekeepers.

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The Gatekeepers’ House

In 1894, a new residence was constructed for the gatekeepers to live in. It was a frame side-by-side double residence with brick facing, fronting on Reservoir Ave.

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Samuel MacElwee

Two men would move into the newly-constructed house, one of whom we’ve already met in the first part of “Lost in Highland Park”: that is, Samuel MacElwee, gatekeeper of the Mt. Hope [now Highland Park] Reservoir. He had previously dwelt in the house on the north side of Highland Avenue which would become the foreman’s house of John Dunbar.

But for a more thorough treatment of MacElwee, I’d recommend reading the aforementioned first post in this series, as I’ll be skipping on to the next person here.

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Richard Curran

Beside McElwee, another gatekeeper dwelt in the double house, Mr. Richard Curran. An iron molder by trade, Curran became a powerful figure in the Molder’s Union, Local 11.

Living with Curran was his son, Richard G., and daughter-in-law May, as well as their daughter, Margaret Cecilia. May seemed to have been a very young bride, with sources ranging between 19 and 21 years of age in 1908, and her daughter Margaret between two and three years old.

But it was that year, 1908, when the Curran’s home was torn apart by drama. On a Wednesday afternoon in May, May and Margaret made their way from the little house in Highland Park to downtown, for a shopping trip.

Days later, Curran had not heard from his wife nor his child. The Richards Curran junior and senior engaged in a search and contacted the police; Curran was concerned for May’s well-being, as she reportedly suffered from heart disease.

After some time, the only clue was from a streetcar operator, who reported transferring her onto the Summerville line. Then, a new name came to the notice of the police: Charles Coombs.

Charles Coombs was a handsome and stylish photographer living at Sea Breeze and employed at a Main Street department store, whose distinguishing feature was having a single remaining leg. Coomb’s charm seems to have worked strongly in his favor. Coombs met May Curran when he created a photographic postcard of her one day, and she took a liking to him.

Coombs probably had “plenty of money” due to the fact that he was passing fraudulent checks. He had previously served a stint in prison for check fraud, and even at this time was being dogged with numerous complaints of the same going on. One complainant was George D. Ramsdell, engraver at No. 65 East Main Street, whose home was at the old Warner Castle at Mount Hope and Highland Avenues.

The troubled couple was reunited, and lived together at the boarding house of Lucy Nichols, No. 7 Marietta Street.

A year passed, and things seemed settled–but turns out, everything was still very, very messy. Richard Curran does not seem to have taken his runaway wife back into his heart. May Curran charged her husband with abandonment of support, alleging that he had not lived with her since shortly after her return to Rochester, nor had he financially supported her. Curran was arrested on these charges, and pled not guilty.

Curran was ordered to pay an $8/week support stipend to his estranged wife, which was quickly followed up by him filing for divorce and demanding custody of Margaret.

May Curran’s counsel turned their legal guns on Richard H. Curran, Senior, bringing suit against him for alienation of affection, alleging that the gatekeeper had a direct hand in hardening his son’s heart against her.

Things got bitter, fast. May Curran’s counsel laid down a field of fire, tarring Richard Curran, Jr. with accusations of immoral behavior. These accusations–which were not described in any detail–were apparently of a very “grave nature” demanding of solid proof.

Richard Curran would end up winning the right of custody for Margaret, but was faced with a dramatic scene upon attempting to remove the girl from her mother; both child and mother began to wail desperately, and May would collapse in a faint when the girl was finally taken away.

Oddly, however, the successful suit of divorce was cut short; the couple somehow reconciled, and the two moved in with one another at some uncertain address. Did they live happily ever after? That, I can’t say yet.

In 1910, Richard H. Curran would be appointed deputy city clerk, and as such the position of gatekeeper at Highland Park reservoir was left vacant. He would move to No. 107 Hobart Street, a house that was apparently built in 1910 as well, making me suspect it was built for Curran. He would live at this address until his 1932 death.

As Curran did not make a will prior to his death, the house was sold off and the proceeds divided among his widow, his children, and his children-in-law.

As for Richard Jr., he lived until 1943.

As the above obituary notes, little Margaret Cecilia Curran had by this point married Armand Benjamin Cocker, their wedding having been in 1927. Cocker was a designer and engineer at Ritter Dental Co., a manufacturer of dental chairs and other dentistry-related furnishings.

Upon his death in 1955, Armand Cocker‘s obituary confirms his widow as being Irene Bertha Cocker, so sometime between 1944 and 1955, Margaret either separated from him or died; as I can find no definite record of her death so far, it could be either.

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Frank E. Stecher

For one curious year in 1897, Frank E. Steche–president of the Stecher Lithrographic Company–dwelt in the gatekeeper’s house on Reservoir Avenue. I’m not sure why, unless he worked as a gatekeeper at the reservoir for a single year, which I could neither confirm nor deny.

Given Stecher’s outsize importance in another aspect of historical Rochester beyond this residence, I’ll leave him without treatment here with a promise to cover him one day in more detail. Until such a time, we move on to Mr. George H. Miller.

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George H. Miller

George H. Miller would become a gatekeeper at the reservoir as of the 1903 directory.

Miller would take up residence in the Reservoir Avenue gatekeeper’s home as of the 1911 directory.

Miller lived in the house until around 1930, when he would become overseer of reservoirs, and moved into No. 1572 Highland Avenue.

This house, demolished in 1940, was at that time the residence offered to overseers/supervisors of the reservoirs.

A dirt patch can be seen on the site where the house used to stand.

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William C. Kane

William Charles Kane became a gatekeeper around 1894, and moved into the Reservoir Avenue residence as of the 1898 Directory.

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Samuel B. Luehm

Samuel B. Luehm worked in the metals industry, early on as a metal spinner and then later on as a nickel plater, which he was just prior to his employment with the city:

Luehm was assigned to the gatekeeper position in 1910:

As of the 1925 directory, Samuel B. Luehm would move into No. 221 Reservoir Avenue with his wife Anna M. Walters:

Luehm would live at No. 221 Reservoir Avenue until 1942. At some point–I haven’t quite pinpointed when–the Luehms would move to No. 54 Hickory Street, corner of Ashland Street.

This would be the final home of Luehm, who died September 8th, 1956.

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William T. Fox, Jr. and Sr.

Another prominent person in the public works made his residence at the Gatekeeper’s House starting in 1931: Mr. William Thomas Fox, Jr.  His father had been overseer of both reservoirs.

According to his obituary, Fox Senior began working for the city in 1907 during the construction of the Cobb’s Hill Reservoir. He would become supervisor of both reservoirs, whereupon he would move to No. 1572 Highland Avenue. He was credited with the invention of a moveable derrick hydraulic lift and weight which he used to stop leaks in the wall of the Cobb’s Hill Reservoir, diminishing a nearly 90,000-gallon a day leakage to a mere ten gallons a day.

William T. Fox, Jr. would live in the gatekeeper’s house on Reservoir Avenue between 1931 and 1934, then would move to No. 121 Irvington Road, apparently upon being let go from the position of gatekeeper. He would, however, receive the job back due to his status as an honorably discharged World War veteran, affording him Civil Service rights.

William T. Fox, Jr. died on February 16th, 1954; leaving his job as a meter repairman for the City Water Works in Dewey Avenue with complaints of illness, he had a sudden fatal heart attack while driving his car home along Highland Avenue, leaving his vehicle to careen across the street and strike a fence.

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John E. Button

John E. Button would be listed as gatekeeper at Highland Park Reservoir as of the 1935 Directory, whereupon he would move into No. 223 Reservoir Avenue with his wife Caroline “Carrie” Gothafner and their son, Walter Conrad Button.

Previous to his work for the city, John Button worked in the power department of Kodak.

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William Pundt

William Pundt would hold two houses at once as of 1939, when he was given the house at No. 223 Reservoir Avenue as well as his previous home of No. 69 Averill Avenue. The Averill Avenue house seems to have been the family homestead, as it would be there that Pundt’s life would end.

Pundt and his wife Mathilda Pasch had five living children, three sons and two daughters.

The two daughters, Viola and Loretta, would jointly inherit No. 69 Averill Avenue. Loretta’s husband was Elmer Ludwig Seeger, who also worked for Highland Park in the greenhouses.

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Austin M. White

Austin M. White was the son of Austin M. White, a dairyman, and Martha E. Wood.

For many years, he and his brother operated White’s Garage at No. 241 East Henrietta Road, which would later on become simply “White Garage”.

Later on, somewhere around 1940, White would be employed as a gatekeeper at the Highland Park Reservoir, which leads to his moving into the gatekeeper’s house at No. 221 Reservoir Avenue. His wife, Alta Louise Coloney, was supervisor of the laundry at Iola Sanitarium.

Tragically, in 1954, Austin and Alta were involved in an automobile accident while returning from a vacation to the Thousand Islands; the crash proved fatal to Austin, who died instantly, while Alta was removed to hospital.

Obviously, “Arthur” M. White is an error in the below article; this is assuredly Austin White.

Alta would live on until the age of 92, passing on July 16th, 1990.

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Harry James Whitley

In 1946, Harry James Whitley became gate keeper at Highland Park Reservoir, and moved into No. 223 Reservoir Avenue.

Whitley would die on June 8th, 1952:

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Demolition of the House

The gatekeepers’ double house at Reservoir Avenue was slated to be demolished in 1957. The below articles mistakenly give the structure’s build date as 1875 and “75 years ago” respectively, the latter of which still places the estimate at 1882. However, the structure–as we’ve demonstrated already–was built in 1893-1894.

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Highland Park Playground

Nowadays, the site is a pathway and playground, constructed in 2011 and dedicated May 14th of that year.

This was the same year a tunnel was carved through a large fallen black oak tree, a popular site of photographs and graffiti and probably all sorts of weird hijinks I haven’t even the creativity to conjure.

Join us next time in part four of “Lost in Highland Park”, which will examine some administrative and refectory structures, as well as the original Herbarium, and then we’ll probably draw this whole series to a close for the time being. After all, the rest of Yesterochester cries out for coverage, so I am loathe to dally too long in any one location–even one so scenic as Highland Park.

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