Dear Editor,
When Juliette Camp opened the first female seminary in 1828, the Charles Pumpelly family was living at 249 Front St. until 1841. The question is, “Just where was her seminary?” It sure wasn’t at 249. She ran her seminary until she married in 1834 and moved to New York City the following year.
249 stood empty until 1843 when two women rented it and opened their own female seminary. When they did, the Owego Academy became worried that they would take business away from them and decided to open another school and called it the Owego Female Institute and hired Juliette and her husband Joe to return to Owego to run it. By 1846 she and her husband moved back to New York City.
In the meantime, 249 Front St. remained the female seminary with different teachers, until Belva McNeil (later Lockwood) purchased the house in 1863 and ran it until 1865 when she left for Washington to get on with bigger things and sold the house. When Jefferson Dwell bought it he had part of it removed to the rear of Dr. S. Welles Thompson’s house at 118 Front St. and used as a barn, but was later razed. Dwell razed the other part of the house and in its place, built the lovely home that is there now in 1878, and today it is called the Belva Lockwood Inn.
Sincerely,
Emma M. Sedore
Tioga County Historian
So the old historical site sign was incorrect? Just curious. Who were the ladies that rented it? So interesting to find out about old building in the area.