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VERONA

FOREST BEACH

The Pine Tree Beach Company was formed in 1923 by four men from Canastota, NY:  J. Fenn Smith, Charles E. Farr, Asa R. Smith, and Clarence R. Farr.  The company was Incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, within a year had purchased the entire section of lakefront property along the north shore of Oneida Lake stretching from Amo's Point to Verona Beach ①.  Forest Beach, a summer camp tract, was comprised of 268 lots and included amenities such as electricity, water, mail delivery, and a new concrete state highway running through the development, as well as "rigid restrictions [to] insure purchasers full protection," as seen the the newspaper advertisement below:

 

J. Fenn Smith, president of the company, signed and transferred the deed for Lot #32 in Forest Beach, which included the following racial restrictive covenant:

The company acquired the Amo property (located between South Bay and Sylvan Beach) in 1931, adding 44 more lots to the development.

​​​​​① The Cazenovia Republican, Aug. 21, 1924, p. 3.  Accessed via fultonhistory.com

© MAY 2026

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Daily Sentinel (Rome, NY), June 22, 1927, p. 3.  Accessed via fultonhistory.com
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EXCERPT: Deed, 11 September 1929, (Deed Book 906, page 89-90, Records Department of the Office of the Oneida County Clerk, Oneida County, NY).
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“Forest Beach, Town of Verona, Oneida County, New York”  (Map Roll 217, map 1, Map Room of the Office of the Oneida County Clerk, Oneida County, NY).

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