John Henry Starin | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's20th district | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881 | |
| Preceded by | Henry H. Hathorn |
| Succeeded by | George West |
| Mayor ofFultonville, New York | |
| In office 1862–1863 | |
| Preceded by | Joesph M. Yates |
| Succeeded by | J.A.O South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1825-08-27)August 27, 1825 Sammonsville,Fulton County, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 1909(1909-03-21) (aged 83) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fultonville Cemetery,Fultonville, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Relatives | Thomas Sammons (grandfather) |
John Henry Starin (August 27, 1825 – March 21, 1909) was a successful entrepreneur and businessman notably in the logistics and amusement industries. In addition to serving as aU.S. representative fromNew York in Congress, he foundedStarin's Glen Island Resort, America's firstamusement park.
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Starin was born in Sammonsville, Fulton County (then a part ofMontgomery County), New York. He was the grandson ofThomas Sammons. Starin pursued academic studies inEsperance, New York, where he began the study of medicine in 1842.
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He first established and operated a drug and medicine business inFultonville, New York, from 1845 to 1858. From 1848–1852, he also served as Postmaster of Fultonville.
Starin entered the freight and logistics business as the founder and president of the Starin City River & Harbor Transportation Co.
By the mid 1870's Starin was considered the "heaviest operator in the freight business in the United States."[1]
From 1883–1909, he served as president of Fultonville National Bank. He engaged in railroading and served as member of the New York City Rapid Transit Commission. Starin also director of the North River Bank, inNew York City, and the Mohawk River National Bank.
Starin was elected as aRepublican to theForty-fifth andForty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881).
In 1878, Starin purchased a series of small islands off the coast ofNew Rochelle, New York, for his country estate and eventually turned the property into an amusement park calledStarin's Glen Island. He maintained the islands as a select summer resort, operating 12 steamboats to and fromNew York City. The islands were so popular that hundreds of thousands of visitors were brought every season to the attractions which included azoo, anatural history museum, a railway, a Germanbeer garden (around the castle-like structure which still stands today), a bathing beach, and a Chinesepagoda. Achain ferry transported visitors from a mainland dock onNeptune Island.[2]
By 1882, attendance reached half a million and within six years it broke a million. However, despite the large number of visitors, Starin stressed the well-behaved nature of the crowds and the orderly character of the experience, governed by a "middle-class code of conduct". His desire was to offer an environment of order and civility which contrasted to the rough-and-tumble atmosphere ofNew York City.[3] One of the effects of Glen Island's popularity in the beginning of the twentieth century was the building boom in New Rochelle, which had rapidly grown into a summer resort community.
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The Starin Mausoleum was constructed in Fultonville Cemetery in the early 1880s. The building was approximately 50 feet tall, 33 feet across, and 24 feet deep. The Starin mausoleum no longer stands in Fultonville Cemetery, but remnants of the foundation can still be found.
When John H. Starin died in 1909, he left the ownership and the care of the mausoleum to the Starin Benevolent & Industrial Association, which ceased to exist in 1917. In the 1970s, the mausoleum began to fall into disrepair. Sometime around this time, it was also vandalized onHalloween by a group of teenagers, who destroyed most of the caskets and bodies.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1975 the mausoleum was taken down, the remains that were left in the mausoleum were re-interred in front of where it once stood, and markers were placed on the graves. At the time of the demolition there was very little left to the mausoleum. Today, a modest upright granite slab with a bronze face marks Starin's grave and those of his family members.[citation needed]
Starin died in New York City on March 21, 1909, at his residence on 9 West 38th St. inManhattan. At his death he was likely the largest individual owner of steamboats, barges and tugboats in the United States.[4] He was interred inThe Starin Mausoleum, inFultonville Cemetery, Fultonville.[citation needed]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 20th congressional district 1877–1881 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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| National | |
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