Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Event, Government, People

Location

8278 W Main St, Clymer, NY 14724, USA

Lat/Long

42.0209692, -79.6295436

Grant Recipient

Clymer Area Historical Society

Imagine the amazing spectacle of a major political rally taking place in the center of a quaint town. On July 17^th, 1872, the town of Clymer, New York was inundated with 1500-2000 people for a rally dedicated to the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant for President of the United States. This “grand Republican rally” took place in front of the town’s central meeting place, the Eagle Hotel (Daily Journal, July 31, 1872). Spectators packed the porch, balcony, and street in front of the hotel to get within earshot of the speakers. The town was decked out in patriotic banners lit up by the lights of celebratory gunshots. It was reported that The Sherman Cornet Band provided a musical backdrop to this event. Community leaders, including Chaplain Hyde, Judge Sheward, Lorin B. Sessions, and Walter L. Sessions, gave rousing speeches in support of Grant, and his running mate Henry Wilson.