This factory, like so many others in the area, was built on the banks of the Skaneateles Creek, utilizing the readily available water power to run its machinery.

Francis Sinclair was born in 1824 in Central New York. He honed his chair-making skills at an early age working at The Community Chair Works in Skaneateles Falls (“The Community” was a communal sect similar to the Oneida Community). He opened his first shop in 1859. When the Civil War broke out, however, Sinclair sold all his tools and leased his factory. It is said that upon hearing about Fort Sumter, he climbed off the factory roof he was repairing, rode to Auburn, and enrolled immediately in the 138th Infantry. He returned to Mottville three years later after suffering a leg wound and opened the Union Chair Works Co. His featured chairs were the Union Chair, the General Grant Chair, and the Mayflower Chair.

Sinclair designed his Mottville Chair (originally nicknamed the Commonsense Chair), based on many previous chair-making traditions. His design combined that of the splint-bottomed chairs of the 17th century, with the shape of the Windsor furniture from the 18th century, and finally the simplicity of the 19th century Shaker style. These practical and affordable chairs were noted for their durability, lightness, and spare elegance and quickly became fixtures in homes, offices, classrooms, hotel lobbies, and porches across the country and beyond.

The name of the company went through several iterations, but it generally always carried Sinclair’s name. In 1866, Sinclair partnered with Joseph Hubbard and built a three-story stone building near his earlier works to manufacture other articles of furniture along with his original line of chairs. Within 10 years he decided that he would revert back to manufacturing chairs only. He continued with chair manufacturing until 1901.

Early chairs were heavier with broader, more elaborate turnings. They featured ash splints for the seats and backs. By the 1880s, Sinclair began using cane for the seats as later chairs were simpler, thus caning was more appropriate. The uprights and front stretchers had incised bands painted black or filled with a tar-like black material. The frames utilized local hardwoods, principally maple, oak, hickory, and white elm. This wood was thoroughly seasoned as opposed to kiln-dried, which destroys the life and the strength of the timber. Each slat and round was driven in as tight as possible and then glued with 1X glue and finished with varnish. The seats were double caned and spliced with Sinclair’s specially designed tie.

Selected, more expensive pieces, were painted red using a shade of English vermillion mixed with boiled linseed and finally coated twice with a heavy-duty varnish guaranteed not to chip or fade. Some chairs were stained mahogany and also warranted not to fade. Four finishes in all were available — a natural finish on maple, an antique oak finish and as noted above the mahogany and English Vermillion/linseed oil finishes. Spindle turnings ranged from simple to more ornate, depending on the finish used. Mushroom-shaped “hat rounds” were always placed on the uprights of chairs manufactured for dining and church use. These chairs also had a third stretcher for reinforcement purposes since they were intended for public use and exposed to greater wear and tear. The more expensive versions had fancier turnings and black stripes present on the uprights. Many variations of Sinclair’s original Commonsense Chair were designed and constructed including furniture such as sewing chairs, double rockers, billiard chairs, student chairs with a tablet arm, church chairs, settees, armchairs, and even small tables. Due to some counterfeit products produced by other companies, a Sinclair chair was always marked by the stamp “F.A. Sinclair/ Mottville, NY.” This stamp, in two straight lines, distinguished it from counterfeit models. His boldest competitor happened to also be located in Mottville and went under the name of Mottville Chair Works. Their products closely resembled the chairs produced by Sinclair’s original Union Chair Works Co., although the Mottville Chair Works chairs were slightly different in height and seat size and in the arrangement of the burnt rings and beveling below the top knobs on the back posts. Sinclair oversaw and took part in every aspect of his manufacturing process. In 1869, this unfortunately resulted in the loss of all the fingers on his left hand to a buzz saw.

F.A. Sinclair printed numerous catalogues to advertise its products. It also benefited from the many flattering testimonials given by individuals — famous and not so famous —throughout the country. Sinclair Company chairs were widely distributed and retail outlets existed in six major American cities. There was also great international demand for the chairs. Adirondack Great Camps and popular Adirondack resorts ordered the rockers in particular for use in their living spaces and on their porches. A special type of lounge chair was designed for convalescent use, possibly with TB patients in mind, which could be adjusted to seven positions. This was called the Adirondack Adjustable Recliner. Early in his career, Sinclair offered a dozen of his chairs for a mere $30 wholesale (Note: Today, one chair in top condition can sell for as much as $100.) Besides the use of catalogues, Sinclair erected a tent annually at the New York State Fair. He exhibited several examples of his products and regularly had lines of Fair visitors waiting to test his most comfortable rocking chairs. Due to the continuing demand for his chairs, Sinclair expanded upon his original factory building numerous times.

In 1901, Sinclair sold his ownership of the company to John Allen. Mr. Allen continued the business alongside his son, Albert, as the Sinclair Allen Chair Works. He purchased the nearby competitor, Mottville Chair Works Co., and merged the two businesses under the name Mottville Chair Works. The business continued until the death of Albert in 1943. (Mr. Sinclair had died in 1918.) The building went through several hands but managed to be kept in fairly good condition. Today’s owners, the Carberry and Engle families, have lovingly restored the building and now run it as a wedding and event venue (the owners went so far as to track down and purchase 200 original Mottville chairs for use in the venue). Obviously, Commonsense Chairs designed and built by Francis A. Sinclair have long outlived him, continuing to be enjoyed by collectors worldwide today.

Karen Y. Cooney is support services administrator at OHA in Syracuse.

Hotels in Oneida County were fuller in July compared to a year earlier, according to a recent report. 

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county rose 4.6 percent to 71.6 percent in July from 68.5 percent in the year-ago month, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It’s the fifth consecutive monthly rise in Oneida County’s occupancy rate following a streak of 11 straight monthly declines. Year to date through July, the occupancy rate was up 4.2 percent to 55 percent.

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, edged up 1.4 percent to $94.25 this July from $92.92 in July 2017. This also was the fifth straight monthly rise in RevPar. Year to date through the first seven months of 2018, RevPar was up 3.8 percent to $61.75.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, dipped 3 percent to $131.60 in July, compared to $135.71 a year earlier. Year to date, ADR was off 0.4 percent to $112.22. 

The Empire State Manufacturing survey general business-conditions index rose 3 points to 25.6 in August, a 10-month high, as “business activity expanded strongly.”

The August results suggest that “business activity remained robust in New York State, according to firms responding” to the survey, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a news release issued Aug. 15. 

The August rise follows a 2-point decline in the benchmark index in July.

A positive reading indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative reading on the index indicates a decline in the sector.

The survey found 42 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 16 percent said that conditions had worsened.

Survey details

The new-orders index was little changed at 17.1, and the shipments index rose 11 points to 25.7, readings that “reflected strong growth,” the New York Fed said. 

Unfilled orders increased, and inventories “held steady.” The delivery-time index went up 4 points to 10.4, indicating that delivery times “continued to lengthen.”

The index for number of employees edged lower, but at 13.1, “pointed to a pickup” in employment levels. The average-workweek index was 8.9, indicating a “modest” increase in hours worked. 

Price increases remained “elevated.” The prices-paid index inched up to 45.2, and the prices-received index came in at 20.0.

Firms remained “moderately optimistic” about the 6-month outlook, “though less so than earlier this year.” 

The index for future business conditions climbed 4 points to 34.8. The indexes for future unfilled orders and future delivery times both turned negative, suggesting that “businesses expect fewer unfilled orders and shorter delivery times.” 

Respondents expect employment to increase in the months ahead, and the indexes for future prices remained elevated. 

The capital-expenditures index moved up 10 points to 26.7, and the technology-spending index rose 3 points to 12.6.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.         

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in July compared to a year ago.

The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Aug. 24.

In addition, the Syracuse, Ithaca, and Binghamton regions gained jobs between July 2017 and this past July.

But the Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Elmira regions had no change in jobs in the last year

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Aug. 16.

Regional unemployment rates

The regional unemployment rates are available in the above chart.

 The local-unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires.

The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.

State unemployment rate

New York state’s unemployment rate decreased from 4.5 percent in June to 4.3 percent in July, which “matches New York State’s lowest level since March 2007,” the state Labor Department said.

In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers fell in July, from 430,400 to 419,800, “reaching its lowest level since April 2007.”

However, New York’s 4.3 percent unemployment rate was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9 percent in July.

The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 state households that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.

July jobs data

The Syracuse region gained 4,200 jobs in the past year, up 1.3 percent.

The jobs gain of 2,200 positions in the Ithaca region between July 2017 and this past July represents an increase of 3.6 percent.

The Binghamton region gained 700 jobs, up 0.7 percent in the past 12 months.

The Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Elmira metro regions posted no job gains or losses in the past year.

New York state as a whole gained nearly 157,000 jobs, an increase of 1.6 percent, in that 12-month time period. The state economy gained 8,800 jobs, a 0.1 percent rise, between June and July, the labor department said.