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From the Gowanda PennySaver News "Reflections" series compiled by Mary Pankow. issue date - April 11, 2004

c. 1904-1913

Gowanda Parade, c. 1904-1913 - Downtown Gowanda was very different from today when this parade rolled through the 1889 iron bridge on unpaved streets nearly a century ago. The floats were horse-drawn, and the couple riding in the lower left literally “put the cart before the horse.” Notable landmarks include the wooden building at left, once part of Romer Brothers’ Ax Factory, then housing a shoemaker named Wendel. The 1904 Armes Building is across the creek on the right, and the Crawford Hotel is across the creek to the left of the bridge. In the center was the Irish grocery store, demolished in 1913 to make room for the Bank of Gowanda, today the Persia Town Hall.     (Photo courtesy of the Gowanda Area Historical Society.)