“A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon.”
— “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” by Robert Service
Much has been written about the “Water Steal” when the City of Syracuse used politicians and lawyers to siphon off water from Skaneateles Lake. But not nearly enough has been said about the Riot of 1892.
The pot began to simmer in April. Over in Albany, the State granted a contract to a Buffalo firm to build a dam, lay pipes and erect a gatehouse to control the flow of water to Syracuse. The villagers felt put upon by outsiders from three different cities.
In May, speakers at a village meeting said the appropriation of water would “lay bare acres of the bed of the lake,” destroy the village’s sewerage outlet, and injure business interests. The citizens resolved “to resist the action.” The same week, Judge Pardon C. Williams issued an injunction to keep the village trustees from interfering with the work of the dam builders. An uneasy truce prevailed.
Sunday, June 26th, began quietly enough, with villagers going to church and resting from their labors. At the waterfront, the dam builders planned to observe the sabbath with a cruise to Glen Haven aboard the John Mallory, a small steamer they had been using as a tugboat. It was said that they chartered the boat, but it was probably more like borrowing. And to pass the day pleasurably, they took along a supply of beer that turned out to be more than adequate.
Upon arrival at Glen Haven, they left the boat in the care of Michael O’Brien, a young Skaneateles man who worked on the boat during the week. The head engineer, Charles Newell, instructed O’Brien to turn on the water pump and refill the boiler for the return trip.
Once on land, the men from Buffalo, now in a decidedly celebratory mood, “painted things red,” drove the proprietor from the Glen Haven hotel and terrorized the guests until the men “were brought up with a round turn by a resident, who with an axe and a revolver, persuaded them that the limit of forbearance had been reached.”
Returning to the boat, they were met by O’Brien, who told them the boiler was full and ready to go. But Newell had not told the lad to turn off the pump and apparently took umbrage at his display of independence. Newell beat O’Brien “in a most brutal manner” until the young man was bloodied and unrecognizable. Fortunately, the steamer Ossahinta was also at Glen Haven’s dock; O’Brien was helped aboard to be taken back to Skaneateles. But not before this: “The ‘Bissons,’ in their drunken foolishness, sent down word that they would make things lively when they should return.”
The Ossahinta arrived in Skaneateles at 5:30 p.m., and O’Brien was placed in the care of Dr. Herbert B. Wright. Word of his condition and the dam builders’ threats spread rapidly. John Connors, noted as the gang’s designated bully, had publicly proclaimed that he could whip any ten men in Skaneateles. But he wasn’t counting on 200 who greeted the return of the John Mallory.
“When they reached Skaneateles, the crowd was awaiting them and attacked them at once. Charles Newell, an engineer, who struck O’Brien, was pounded by four or five of them and then arrested. One man took flight but ran directly into a policeman’s arms. All the contractors’ men were drunk and were pounded by the Skaneateles crowd unmercifully… People here are scandalized by the affray occurring at church time Sunday evening.”
Accounts varied in detail but were similar in conclusion. One reported that villager James Haskins asked Newell why he had beaten Michael O’Brien. Newell said, “None of your business” and kicked Haskins. With one punch, Haskins sent Newell into the arms of a village policeman. John Conners then rushed at Haskins and “was promptly met with a crushing blow that felled him stiff and bleeding upon the ground.”
And so it ended. No villagers were arrested. Michael O’Brien survived. Charles Newell was fined $8. Syracuse got the water. The lakebed was not laid bare.
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Press accounts of the riot appeared in Albany, Buffalo, Homer, Oswego, Rome and Syracuse. I have drawn from them all and included the more colorful reportage in quotes.
Skaneateles 