Sounds from 19th Century Main St: Hickok’s Music Store

By Bill Kleppel

There are many reasons why vinyl record stores have made a renaissance over the past 20+ years. Nostalgia looms large as one reason. Some music aficionados believe there’s an auditory resonance you get from vinyl records that cannot be replicated by other modes of listening to music. Other people just think it’s cool to flip through the LP covers to check out the colors and artwork of the albums themselves.

But let’s say you’ve been transported back in time. The year is 1905. You walk into Hickok’s Music Store on 276 Main Street in Poughkeepsie.

You are instantly overwhelmed by stacks of records (made of shellac) and a wall of wax and tinfoil Edison Cylinders. From floor to ceiling are gramophone players, with enormous horns attached to them, which have the ability to play both.

Sheet music can be purchased from behind the counter. They may be considered by some as the 8-track or cassette tapes of the early twentieth century. But sheet music is still relevant and being produced today. They’re also cherished by historians and music connoisseurs.

You’ll find pianos, organs, violins, guitars, banjos, and other musical instruments in the aisles as you walk deeper into the store. You’re suddenly hit with the scents of oils, wood smoke, copper, and other materials while listening to the crackling strains of Billy Murray’s “Give My Regards to Broadway”  from a nearby Victor Phonograph.

The wafting smells emanating from the back room are from employees fixing, or making enhancements, to instruments that were purchased from Hickok’s or other music dealers from around the globe.

James H. Hickok and Charles H. Hickok were Poughkeepsie’s purveyors of popular music in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Not only did they sell instruments and music in every format, but they drew in popular entertainers from the Hudson Valley, the United States, and from all over the world, to play at the Collingwood Opera House (now the Bardavon).

James Henry Hickok was born in Canton, New York, in 1831, and was raised on a farm in Chateauguay, New York, located in Franklin County, until he was 18. In 1851, he became a school teacher in Stissing, New York. He graduated from the State Normal School at Albany. This institution began as a teaching college in 1844, eventually becoming the University of Albany.

After spending a few years working for a New York City publishing house as a traveling agent, James decided to settle down in Poughkeepsie. He opened a new book, stationary, and music store at 327 Main Street in 1861.

Hickok’s son, Charles, was an aspiring musician at an early age. He played pianos for his father at the 1869 Dutchess County Fair in Washington Hollow when he was 12. This was the beginning of Charles’s fabled and successful musical career. His professional debut came in 1876 as a solo pianist for the Mendelssohn Society.

Selling musical instruments in Poughkeepsie was a relatively small business in the mid-nineteenth century.  People interested in acquiring a piano or organ of quality would usually opt to make the purchase in New York City. James built his reputation by giving the local public the opportunity to buy finer instruments closer to home. His success grew so rapidly that he disposed of selling books and stationary entirely by 1872, in order to concentrate solely on music.

When James moved his store to 342 Main Street, it became the preeminent destination for instruments, sheet music, and eventually home music devices. The sales of his instruments expanded exponentially. His services stretched through the Hudson River Valley and New York State, into the western states. People who had moved west forged great professional relationships with Hickok, to the point that they wouldn’t want to deal with anyone else. He eventually opened another store location at 30 Water Street in Newburgh, New York.

James made the decision to partner with his son on January 1, 1880. Charles's responsibilities included the sale of sheet music, music books, and other products, as well as smaller instruments (violins and banjos, etc.).

Charles Hickok had gained a reputation not only as an accomplished musician, but also for his association with other performers in the music world. Poughkeepsie was already becoming a premiere destination for quality musical entertainment during the mid-nineteenth century. Charles made the city’s music scene flourish even more as the century was coming to its end.

In 1893, Charles created the Hickok Music Company solely for the promotion, advertisement, and successful management of well-known acts when they did arrive to play in the city. Because of Charles' work, Jan Paderewski, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Anton Seidl’s Orchestra and other internationally renowned performers began to play regularly at the Collingwood.

James H. Hickok died suddenly of a heart attack on the night of December 12, 1896. He was found dead by his clerk, James Abercrombie, within his offices at the Van Benschoten Building on Catharine Street. James was 66.

Charles moved the store to 276 Main Street on May 1, 1900. He achieved the same manner of consistent success he’d had while working with his father. He became an institution in Poughkeepsie for his business acumen and discerning ear for the best music he could provide for the city. Not only did he continue to draw performers into playing the Collingwood Theater, he also accommodated other venues with acts appropriate to the events they would schedule.

A musical revival began in Poughkeepsie before the end of the century. Sounds from clubs and other music halls would flow through the city streets, becoming ever-present for decades to come. This had much to do with the passion and desires of Charles H. Hickok.

Charles continued his life as a musician as well. By 1921, he had been the organist of the Washington Street M.E. Church for 43 years. He was also closely associated with the Euterpe Society, which was organized in 1886.

On Sunday evening, May 15, 1921, he entered M.E.’s church choir loft in good spirits. He planned to perform as he did every Sunday when he suddenly collapsed in front of his organ. Charles had apparently suffered a stroke. He regained consciousness for a brief spell while riding in an ambulance, but died soon after arriving back at his home at 378 Church Street in the presence of Dr. John Cotter. He was 64 year old.

Charles H. Hickok’s scrapbooks can be found in the Local History Rooms of Adriance Memorial Library. There’s a trove of archival material here that concentrates solely on our local music history. We are still uncovering stories from our musical past. Local music historians have been donating their own treasures to us as well, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Special thanks to Michael Green, Christopher Brellochs, and Bill Jeffway for their interests and contributions on the subject.

References

• “James H. Hickok.” Com, The Poughkeepsie Eagle - Souvenir Edition, 9 Oct. 1889, newscomny.newspapers.com/image/114924556/?match=1&terms=%22James%20Hickok%22%20&pqsid=mgrlTC2M5sDgJp74RDM_6A%3A145469%3A1441632849.
• Platt, Isaac, editor. Poughkeepsie City Directory 1868-69. Worden & Co., 1868.
• Vail, John P.A., editor. Vail’s Poughkeepsie City Directory 1871-72. John P. A. Vail, 1871.
• “J.H. Hickok Drops Dead.” Com, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, 14 Dec. 1896, newscomny.newspapers.com/image/114046969/.
• “Paderewski in Poughkeepsie.” Com, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, 23 Mar. 1905, newscomny.newspapers.com/image/114058066/.
• “C. H. Hickok Dies, Victim of Apoplexy.” Com, Poughkeepsie Eagle News, 16 May 1921, newscomny.newspapers.com/image/114543740/.

Images

Charles H. Hickok Scrapbook Collection 1902-1905; Adriance Memorial Library Archives

Vail Photography Studio Collection; Adriance Memorial Library Archives

1. H. Hickok Music Store; Dutchess County Historical Society