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JAMES O. MCCLURE

Program
NYS Historic
Subject
House, People, Site
Location
52 Genesee St, Warsaw, NY 14569, USA
Lat/Long
42.741042, -78.130926
Grant Recipient
Warsaw Historical Society and The Gates House Museum
Historic Marker

JAMES O. MCCLURE

Inscription

JAMES O. MCCLURE
1828-1909. CIVIL ENGINEER
AND SURVEYOR. IN 1878, HELPED
OVERSEE WARSAW’S ERECTION OF
WYOMING COUNTY CIVIL WAR
MONUMENT. LIVED HERE.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2024

James O. McClure (1828-1909) was a civil engineer and surveyor who lived on Genesee Street in the village of Warsaw in Wyoming County, New York. McClure was born in Jordan in Onondaga County, graduating from the Jordan Collegiate Institute in 1844. He worked as a civil engineer for area railroad companies, overseeing general construction work including bridges. He also worked as an assistant engineer on canals in New York state, including the Genesee Valley Canal and western portions of the Erie Canal. In 1863, McClure served as colonel of the 75th Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York until resigning when he moved from district.

In 1865, McClure came to Warsaw to work as an engineer on several area railroad construction projects. In 1870, he was the constructing engineer of the Warsaw Water Works Company. McClure also ran a fire insurance business in Warsaw from 1874 to 1906.

McClure helped oversee Warsaw’s construction of the Wyoming County Civil War monument located on North Main Street in the village. McClure worked alongside a committee of community members to raise funds and support for the monument. He was charged with making the plans and oversaw the erection of the monument in 1878.

On April 3, 1909, McClure passed away and was buried in Warsaw Cemetery. His obituary published on the front page of the April 7, 1909 edition of the Wyoming County Times noted the following:

“The passing away of Col. McClure removes another of the landmarks which united the present with the past. He was a gentleman of the old school, courtly, educated and refined. His was a high sense of honor, delicacy of taste, and chivalry of manner, a type of gentleman which is, alas, too seldom seen.”