HISTORY Red Gate Farm

Red Gate Farm has served as the home of two prominent local families: The Kilcawleys and the Manchesters.
The farm dates to at least 1830, when it was bought by Asher Squier. His daughter Rose A. Squier married Hugh A. Manchester, and the couple lived on the farm. A newspaper article states that "since 1810 the members of the Manchester family have been prominent in the affairs of this area as farmers, landowners, lawyers, teachers and public officers."
Hugh Manchester's family is traced to Thomas A. Manchester, who came to America in 1638 and helped form the first non-native settlement in Rhode Island.
Hugh and Rose raised four sons on the farm: I.A., William C., Leroy A., and Curtis A. They also raised a daughter, identified only as Mrs. C.E. Bowman. William, Leroy and Curtis each became lawyers. William worked in Detroit.
Leroy had what was described as a "brilliant legal career" and became one of Youngstown's most prominent figures. He was general counsel for Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. and was a partner in a law firm, which became Manchester, Bennett, Powers & amp; Ullman. A parade in Youngstown was cut short in 1930 after the city's mayor learned that Leroy had died earlier that morning.
Curtis was a senior partner with Manchester, Bennett, Powers & amp; Ullman and was a member of the Youngstown school board, president of the YMCA and the chamber of commerce, vice-president of the children services bureau and director of the local Red Cross.
Curtis campaigned for the adoption of the charter form of government in Youngstown. He died in 1951.
One of Curtis' two sons, Hugh W. Manchester, also was a senior partner with Manchester, Bennett, Powers & amp; Ullman and was recording secretary for Youngstown State University trustees for more than 40 years. He died in 1988.
The Manchester family sold the farm to William H. Kilcawley in 1945. Kilcawley and his wife, Mattie, lived in an estate called "Raccoon Acres" on Raccoon Road and then at a home on High Street in Canfield before moving to the farm.
The couple's only child, Anne, married Byron Christman in 1937 and moved to Illinois.
William worked as secretary-treasurer of Standard Slag Co., which he founded with L.A. Beeghly and W.E. Bliss in 1916. He served as president and treasurer of the Canfield Fair and raised sheep and cattle on the farm.
A gate at the fairgrounds was named for Kilcawley after his death in 1958.
Mattie served as a YSU trustee and was a member of several community organizations. She helped oversee donation of $300,000 from a family trust to the university for construction of Kilcawley Student Center. Mattie died in 1972.
Anne and Byron returned to the farm in 1967 and raised pigs and sheep and grew grain. Anne was a member of the board of the Butler Institute of American Art and a trustee of Stambaugh Auditorium Association. Little was reported about Byron., who died in 1983.
The couple had no children. Anne died in April 2002 at age 92.
Source: Vindicator records