Firemen in Gowanda, 1914

Gowanda hosted the sixth annual convention of the Southwestern New York Association of Volunteer Firemen 90 years ago. The association, organized in 1908 with less than a dozen companies, had grown to nearly 150 companies by then, representing nearly 4,000 volunteer firemen.

The Gowanda News of July 23, 1914 ran a special issue with the banner, “Gowanda Extends A Cordial Welcome To Her Guests.”

Thousands of people poured into the village for the two-day affair, the Erie Railroad running extra trains to accommodate the crowd, which by noon on Friday, July 24 was conservatively estimated at 17,000.

The parade formed on the corner of East Main and Buffalo streets at 2 p.m. with six divisions. About 2,000 marchers took part in the procession, which stretched for two miles and took one hour and 28 minutes to pass the reviewing stand.

Here are two views of the parade, one showing how the men marched arm on shoulder down West Main Street, and the other showing the parade crossing the 1889 iron bridge, heading up Jamestown Street through the village square. The tall frame building on the left was the Union House, later the Martin Hotel. It stood on a lot adjacent to what is now the Persia Town Hall.

Photos courtesy of the Gowanda Area Historical Society.