William Broadhead and the Broadhead Family Legacy

 

Katie Geise cheerfully announced our very own, Joni Blackman, Director of the Fenton History Center.  Joni was dressed up in historical garb and gave an excellent presentation on the Broadheads of Jamestown.

 

 

William Broadhead arrived in Jamestown in 1843.  He was an eager, motivated young man of 24 years old.  He was an experienced blacksmith but knew he wanted much more.

 

He established himself within a few years in business with Mr. Adam Cobb making sickles for cutting grass and hay. He also married his partner’s daughter, Lucy, in 1845. 

 

Their family grew over the next 22 years; Sheldon in 1846, Harwood in 1848 (deceased in 1855), Almet in 1851, Mary in 1855, Stella Florine in 1859 and Mertie Minutia in 1867.

 

By the time the last child was born Broadhead owned and sold an axe factory and started a premier retail men’s clothing store.  Sheldon was a partner at age 16.  

 

In 1872 William, Lucy and daughter Mary traveled to his hometown of Thornton, Yorkshire, England.  The depressed town he had left 30 years prior was a thriving city because of the region’s textile industry.  He brought the same concept to Jamestown.  

 

By December of 1873 Jamestown was making wool cloth at the Jamestown Alpaca Mill.

 

In 1875 Broadhead sold his half of the Alpaca Mill and started Broadhead & Sons Mill.  By 1881 the mill employed 1000 people and sold $1,000,000 in goods across the country.

 

Over the next 35 years the family expanded into the Jamestown Street Railway Co. (Jamestown’s trolley system), steamboats lines on Chautauqua Lake, Chautauqua Traction Co (trolley’s on the west side of the Lake), J.W. & N.W. railroad line on the east side of the Lake, Lake View Rose Gardens in West Ellicott, the Broadview Estates land development project, Jamestown Light and Power Co. Celoron Park, Midway Park and Sylvan Park around the lake.

 

William died in 1910, sons Sheldon and Almet carried on expanding into many areas of business.  All were involved on bank boards as well.  The Broadheads were the high society in Jamestown.

 

The sons both died in 1925, just 3 months apart.  Almet’s son William had the task of shutting down many of the enterprises.  The trolley system morphed into the JARTS bus system.

 

The daughters were involved on the W.C.A. Board of Directors, the local and state Republican Party and the establishment of the Jamestown Chapter of the DAR.

 

The Broadhead mausoleum is gone, torn down due to disrepair in 1958.  The monument is the headstone from the original monument.