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Part of the “Where Sandwich Began: The Four Corners of 1845” series
Joseph Latham was a businessman of experience and means whose arrival in DeKalb County helped shape the earliest foundations of Sandwich. Born in Connecticut, he later established himself in New York, where he was long engaged in the fish trade and, at times, held a controlling interest in the Fulton Market, one of the principal supply centers for New York City.
At the age of fifty six, Latham turned his attention westward. Influenced by his sons, who had already begun exploring opportunities on the frontier, he sold his eastern business interests and relocated to DeKalb County. There, he settled on land he owned and would occupy for the remainder of his life.
Latham brought with him not only financial resources, but also practical business knowledge uncommon on the frontier. During the thirteen years he lived in the county, he became known for assisting new settlers in locating and securing land, playing a quiet but important role in the early development of the region.
He was among the three men, along with Almon Gage and Albert Grover, whose adjoining land purchases in 1845 converged at what would become the intersection of present day Main and Center Streets, forming the nucleus of the future town.
Though not as widely remembered today as some of his contemporaries, Joseph Latham’s influence endures in the very ground upon which the community was built.
H2: Related
Where Sandwich Began: The Four Corners of 1845
Albert Grover
Almon Gage
Sources
- Joseph Latham—Sketch, January 7, 1879 (newspaper clipping)
- Early DeKalb County historical accounts (contextual reference)