Featured Author

James S. Drake

James S. Drake was Steuben County Attorney from 1930 until his death in 1961. He was also a local history buff. During his life, he generousiy answered at length many queries about historical matters. His legal opinions and history papers filled fifty boxes.

The Steuben County Bicentennial Commission is publishing and is now taking orders for a new book about the county—The Jim Drake Stories. The Bicentennial Book Committee went through Drake's papers and chose from Jim Drake's writings his stories about the small towns and villages and population centers in Steuben County.

Chapters include his tales of Avoca, Bath, Coming, Kanona, Painted Post and Urbana; a report of the turnpikes, toll roads, and highways of the county; his biographies of famous men such as Adam Haverling and John Magee; and his annual piece, "A Century Ago," covering the years 1846 through 1858.

The Jim Drake Stories will be a 256 page hard-cover book, and it will be available in June 1995 from the Steuben County Historical Society in Bath.

The May 1986 issue of the Crooked Lake Review contains a letter from Jim Drake replying to a letter from Miss Janice Collins requesting information on local history. This selection is not in the book.

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