(pencilled in year: 1931)

(A clipping found in Evelyn Charlebois' scrapbook -- taken from Watertown Daily Times, Jefferson County, N. Y.)

TRIP IN CITY
CAVES RELATED

TELLS OF YOUTHFUL ADVEN-
TURE YEARS AGO

BY CHAS. T. POTTER, CITY

Local Resident Says Caves in Vi-
cinity of Power Development--
Tells of Hearing Service While
Under Baptist Church.

To The Times:

I have been much interested in articles appearing from time to time in The Times concerning the caves underneath the city of Watertown. When I was a youngster I had considerable experience exploring one of these caves.

My father, Ira A. Potter, occupied a large building for factory purposes on the north side of the river on Moulton street. One morning I went into the basement and noticed that a wall had fallen in. Not wanting to miss anything I crawled into the hole and much to my surprise discovered that I was in a cave.

Telling some of my boyhood associates the next day about it they became fired with a desire to go into the cave too, so armed with Hitchcock lamps and a ball of strong cord we started.

As we entered the cave there was a large chamber. We walked along and came to a tunnel running toward Brownville. This tunnel was about four feet across. We crawled in a number of feet when our lights went out, and fearing that the air was too rare for us in there, we decided to proceed no further and backed out.

Then we followed another passageway which led down under the river near the Mill street dam. There we walked through a small stream of water across which we found a large log which must have come in from the river somewhere. Soon we found ourselves under Lance’s foundry, and could hear their tumbling barrel filled with castings.

There was the sound of water wheels over our head, and as we went along we could hear a train rattling along above us. Continuing our way we came under the present Wise building on the corner of Mill street and Public Square. In this block, which used to be the old Streeter block before it was rebuilt, a Mr. Heintzelman had a bakery and ice cream parlor.

The proprietor must have been in the cellar, for we could plainly hear him talking to his boy in an attempt to get him to turn the ice cream freezer. The boy did not want to. I knew them and could distinguish their voices with ease. Immediately I knew where we were.

Under Marcy’s coal yard we could hear the men shoveling coat, and next under the Baptist church where a convention of some kind was being held we could hear the organ, the singing and the speaker.

In those days the city hackmen had their stand in front of the Baptist church and we heard Joe Knight, Mr. Barclay and others in the hack business at the time, as they were talking and laughing. There was a place near the curb by the church where we could look up and see light.

We went no farther under the Square, for there seemed to be a lot of earth in the way and no opening. I feel sure there are extensive caves under the Square.

At no time did we have to crawl very much, the height of the passages and chambers varying from four to six feet approximately. Going back under the river we came to a large space, and looking around saw a small trap door. Being the smallest of the bunch the others lifted me up and I pushed the trap aside. They shoved me up through and I landed in a woodshed.

I no more than landed on my feet than a baby began to cry and a woman in the front part of the house began singing and rocking it. I told the boys there was a back door open. We got out very quietly so that she did not hear us. We thought we had had some experience.

Having seen something in The Times about the making of a parking ground for automobiles on Beebee island, and feeling that the present excavating there for the power development might break through into the cave at any time, it occurred to me that they might want to investigate the matter further before going ahead with the project. I used to know of three different places of getting into this cave.

Charles T. Potter
617 Gotham street

Transcriber’s Note: At note appeared with this clipping stating: From Regina Schnauber’s scrapbook (Ruth Schnauber’s mother), Redwood, N. Y.

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