1791 – 600 acres of land purchased by Alcanna Watson to be set aside for the community to named Port Watson that would late become the East End of Cortland.

1806 – Barges that were constructed in Port Watson for one time cargo carries would transport produce and other good from Port Watson to destinations south. The barges would be disassembled and sold at their destinations and the small crews that manned the boats would have to find their own way back to Port Watson.

1854 – Around this time, the railroads began to interject into the Cortland Community taking home in the East End of Cortland. The railroads became the life line of the industrial life of Cortland in the late 1800s.

          - Railroad construction also brought about a plethora of job opportunities for immigrant workers in the factories that followed the railroad systems. The first immigrants to the East End were the Irish, that took advantage of the job opportunities.

1879 – C.B. Hitchcock Carriage and Cutter factory moves into the current East End Community Center building. C.B. Hitchcock Carriage and Cutter factory later became known as the Hitchcock Carriage Company. The company operated at the East End Community Center Building and across the Street at the Round House Mill Building. The Carriage Company also had its own volunteer fire department that was located at the current Palm Gardens building right next to the East End Community Center Building.

• In 1883, the Hitchcock Carriage company was doing great business in the Cortland Community and Nation Wide. 10,000 cutters, or sleds, and 2,000 wagons were produced at the Cortland factory in 1883 alone.

• The Carriage Company would see its doom come from an unsuspecting con-man by the name of Pennington in the 1890s. Pennington convinced Hitchcock to buy into making and testing motorcycles for a fee. After receiving his portion of the funds for the project, Pennington disappears leaving Hitchcock to deal with the motorcycle project. Needless to say, the investment was not working in the favor of the Carriage Company and the company closed its doors in 1895.

1895 – Friends of Mr. Hitchcock moved into the building to continue creating carriages in the Cortland community. The company was renamed to Kator & Wells Carriage.

1899 – Wallace Wallpaper moves into the building after a short run by the Kator & Wells Carriage Company. Wallace Wallpaper continued to occupy the building until Beaudry Wallpaper takes over in 1919.

1919 – Beaudry Wallpaper takes over the East End Community Center Building from the Wallace Wallpaper Company. Beaudry Wallpaper would become one of the largest companies in the Cortland Area. Beuadry’s roots are remember here in the Cortland Community through the recognition of Beaudry Park. The Wallpaper company ran a tight ship until 1957.

1957 – Durkee’s Bakery, a nationally renowned food service company, purchased the building from Beaudry Wallpaper Company. Durkee’s Bakery is the company that most influenced the look of the building today. The company is responsible for painting the East End Community Center Building white and chopping it up into the building it is today. The Bakery occupied the building into the early 1970s.

1970s – All records indicate that from the time the Durkee Bakery was closed to the present East End Community Center, the building was used for very little other than Warehouse space for Smith Corona.

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