Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce

Location

23 E Naples St, Wayland, NY 14572, USA

Lat/Long

42.567345, -77.589868

Grant Recipient

Springwater Wayland EMS

Located on 7 South Lackawanna Street in Wayland, New York, the structure built in 1921 by local entrepreneurs and brothers, Homer and Guy Bennett, has served as a cornerstone of the community throughout its existence. First a repair shop and Sampson Tractor dealer, then a Buick Dealership (for which the business would become internationally recognized,) and as of 2022, the home of the Springwater Wayland EMS, a 501C3 ambulance service.

The story of the building starts with two local brothers who sensed opportunity: after returning home from France following his service as a mechanic in World War 1, Guy and his brother, Homer, went into business operating an automobile repair shop in their hometown. With financial support from their parents, the two brothers began constructing a new building to house their operations, which would become the site of the family business for nearly one hundred years. Visitors to the marker will note the inscription on the building that reads: “BENNETT BRO’S—1921.”

Though they started selling Sampson tractors, the local Buick Dealer in the area closed down around the time their shop was finished, and, sensing opportunity, the Bennetts became Buick Dealers in July of that year. Though Buicks is what they’d become known for, “Bennett’s Chevy Buick, Inc.” sold a number of cars throughout the store’s tenure: Chevrolets (1926-1930), Pontiacs (1933-1937), Opels (1958-1978), and Chevrolets (again) and Oldsmobile’s beginning in 1990. Despite the success and longevity of the business, there were certainly tough times: in the midst of the great depression, one particularly bad year saw only seven new cars sell. However, despite the economic depression that closed most Buick dealers, the Bennet Brothers remained one of the sixty-seven Buick dealerships nationally that managed to remain open.

Guy and Homer managed the store together until Homer retired around 1964. During that time, the business expanded from just the brothers to include their children and significant others as well. As a family operation, the business would stay with the family for 97 years. Even after handing over the business to his children and grandchildren Homer remained a staple of the store, sitting in his favorite seat and talking to customers there to see the selection of cars in the shop. There was certainly not a lack of stories: from his pastime as a pilot, his service in World War 1, to the changes he’d watched the surrounding community go through while operating the dealership—a feat which he would be involved in until 1998. The next year, and at the age of 103, Guy received the Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honor—Frances highest award—for his service in World War 1. Homer passed away in 1970 and Guy in 1999, and the business remained within the family until 2019.

Indicative of their legacy, when the shop closed down in 2019 the family received a surprise visitor. Quoted in an article in The Evening Tribune titled, “Bennett’s Buick Family Business Honored for over 100 years”:

On Nov. 1 a wealthy Italian man named Nicola Bulgari showed up at the dealership with an interesting request. He had a photographer named Jed Rapaport take photos of the family and dealership. On Dec. 19 Guy Jr. and Anita Bennett received the photo book in the mail as a gift from Bulgari. Bulgari collects Buicks in his Allentown Museum and in Rome. (Jasmine Willis, 2019)

Since purchasing the building in 2019, the Springwater Wayland EMS has remained committed to honoring the legacy and history of the storied building through adaptive reuse and minimal changes to the structure.