A man sits on the grass for his portrait in front of the Bull and Youngblood Grocery in Middletown, New York. The date is likely between 1890 and 1900.
An unidentified man seated in front of Bull and Youngblood Grocery, Middletown, NY, ca. 1890–1900.
His identity is unknown—perhaps a patron, perhaps someone passing through. The faint pencil note on the back of the photo simply reads: “Bull and Youngblood Grocery, Middletown, N.Y.”
The faint pencil inscription: “Bull and Youngblood Grocery, Middletown, N.Y.”
Middletown, about 70 miles north and slightly west of Manhattan, counted just under 15,000 residents in 1900. Its commercial core was North Street, where banks, grocers, and trust companies jostled for space.
In 1893, Albert Bull owned the building at 37 North Street, occupied by Bull and Youngblood Grocers. That year the property was sold, and the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ National Bank became its new tenant.
By 1896 Bull and Youngblood announced the opening of a new store at 56 North Street.
1893 notice of the sale of 37 North Street, then home to Bull and Youngblood Grocery, to the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ National Bank.
1896 advertisement announcing Bull and Youngblood’s move to 56 North Street.
Middletown Daily Argus (Middletown, NY) - September 30, 1896
This move places them a short walk up the block from one of Middletown’s most recognizable landmarks.
In the background of the photo is a distinctive corner building. If you stand today near 56 North Street and look northeast toward the intersection of North and Orchard, you’ll see the same structure still in place on Google Street View.
North Street near Orchard, Middletown, ca. 1890s.
The same building today, still standing on the corner.
In 1893, the building was already known as The Trust Company Building. By 1916, it was advertised as home to the Orange County Trust Company, a name still visible in its stone facade.
This helps fix the photograph’s location more firmly on the street.
The Orange County Trust and Safe Deposit Company name, carved into the building’s stone facade.
1916 advertisement for the Orange County Trust Company, located at 75 North Street.
The grocery store itself no longer stands, but the image places one anonymous man in the middle of Middletown’s late 19th-century commercial life. Businesses came and went; buildings changed hands; banks and trust companies grew. And yet, one quiet afternoon, someone sat on the lawn and left us a small record of what North Street looked like more than a century ago.
See more posts like this in the Found Photos section.