USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume I > Part 39
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The Sanitarium, started by the late Dr. Henry Foster in 1849, has become world renowned. Its surroundings are very pleasing, beautiful groves, which are most attractive and restful. A hand- some and artistic pavilion, built as a gift of the late Mr. Andrew Pierce, a former Boston man, greatly enhances and lends charm to the landscape and comfort to the many invalids who are here seeking relief and health. Mr. Pierce also founded the library that bears his name.
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An Air Cure was established in May, 1867, by a stock com- pany with a cash capital of $75,000. It was located in the large . hotel, which stood at the brink of East hill, and was formerly owned by Lyman Crain. This cure had but a short existence, being destroyed by fire.
At one time Clifton Springs could boast of two private schools. The Clifton Springs Seminary was chartered in 1868 and was in a flourishing condition for more than twenty-five years. The Foster School was started in 1875 and was carried on most successfully for a period of ten years.
Clifton Springs is situated on two railroads, the New York Central and the Lehigh Valley. There is a large and well organ- ized Y. M. C. A., and a High School, five churches, and a National bank. It became an incorporated village in 1859.
Shortsville.
The village of Shortsville is situated on the New York Central railroad, and is admirably located for a manufacturing town. It was named in honor of Theophilus Short, who was the first man to utilize the water power which the outlet of Canandaigua lake offered to the village. It was first known as Short's Mills
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
and was gradually changed to Shortsville. Theophilus Short erected his flouring mill in 1804, and the same year he built a saw mill on the east bank of the outlet. Finding the capacity of the first flouring mill too limited for his growing business, he erected, in 1822, another and a much larger Hlouring mill. Both of these mills were burned in the early forties. Another very large flouring mill took their place. In the late fifties, a large distillery was built by a stock company These mills were also burned. Near their ruins the Star Paper Company located its mills. In 1811, William Grimes erected a woolen mill a little farther down the stream, on the south bank of the outlet. In the year 1818 he sold the woolen mill to Stephen Brewster, who operated it for many years. From Mr. Brewster it passed into the hands of a paper company and was converted into the Diamond Paper Mill. The present Jones Paper Mill occupies a site on which was established an earlier industry of the same character, the original mill being built at the early date of 1817 by Case, Abbey & Co.
In 1850 Hiram and Calvin Brown came to Shortsville and established the Empire Drill Works. This enterprise flourished for fifty years, when it was sold to a syndicate and the plant was dismantled and removed to Indiana. The buildings and the water power are now the property of the Papec Machine Company, which manufactures ensilage cutters on a large scale.
Outside of Shortsville village limits, but located within the town of Manchester, is one of the largest spoke and wheel factories in the country, the property of the Shortsville Wheel Company. Adjoining this company's main factory is a building devoted to the manufacture of automobile wheels.
Shortsville has about 1100 inhabitants and it became an incor- porated village in 1889. There are four churches and it has reason to be proud of its admirable High School.
Manchester Village.
The village of Manchester has the honor of being the oldest settlement in the township. This fact, and its being situated on the outlet of Canandaigua lake, giving it a natural water power, made the pioneer outlook full of promise that it would become a great manufacturing town. Hence it was named Manchester, after Manchester in England and New Hampshire. Its central location was another flattering prospect for its future, being just
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THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
half way east and west between Phelps and Victor, and north and south between Canandaigua and Palmyra. It was also the head of navigation on the outlet. The old landing was near Dr. Staf- ford's saw mill. Many a pioneer came over its waters in flat boats. There is on record but one or two instances of bateaux being floated to the mouth of Canandaigua lake.
The early belief in Manchester as a manufacturing center seemed about to be realized, when in the year 1811, a stock com- pany, called the "Ontario Manufacturing Company," was organ- ized for the purpose of building a large woolen mill to manufacture woolen cloth. This mill stood back of the present site of the old flouring mill, which was recently purchased by the Ontario Electric Light Company. The main building was about sixty feet square and three stories high. For those days it was a well equipped woolen mill, consisting of one spinning jenny with seventy-five spindles, one jack with forty spindles, six looms, which then were worked by hand, a fulling mill, a dyeing room, etc. On the footsteps of the new enterprise came the war of 1812 to wreck the anticipated growth, to handicap the business, and the looked for prosperity was of short duration. Owing to the central location of Manches- ter it still remained a trading point for the farming country.
The advent of the Lehigh Valley railroad worked a material change to the old village, converting it into a typical railroad town. The original directors of the town for this road were the late Sidney D. Jackson, of Clifton Springs, and John R. Pratt, M. D., of Manchester. Manchester is the division end and here are located extensive yards, shops, and coal pockets. The yards cover over one hundred and thirty acres and there are about thirty miles of side track. A freight transfer house is in process of erection.
Swift & Company, of Chicago, have a mammoth ice house here for icing their meat cars. There are also large stock yards for feeding live-stock in transit.
The Manchester Produce Company is one of the largest enter- prises of its kind in the country. The various branches in rail- roading carried on at this point and the other industries located in the village require many skilled workmen and give employment to several hundred men.
Manchester was incorporated in the year 1892 and has about one thousand inhabitants. There are three churches in the village and a modern and well equipped High School.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
The Three Hamlets.
The three hamlets in the township are Port Gibson, Gypsum, and Manchester Center.
Port Gibson was named after Mr. Henry B. Gibson, of Canandaigua, who was then a prominent banker, and this was the port ter Canandaigua on the Erie canal, it being the only point where it touches Ontario county. There are several general stores, one church, and a hotel. The population is between three and four hundred.
The little hamlet of Gypsum was first known as the "Dutch Settlement," it having been settled by people of that race. How and when the name came to be Plainsville, remains unanswered. Later it was christened Gypsum, on account of the plaster beds and a plaster mill in the vicinity. Only a few houses remain in this hamlet.
Coonsville, now Manchester Center, was originally called after a pioneer by the name of Coon. Only a few scattered houses are left of this early hamlet.
There are many localities throughout the town that still stand as landmarks by their pioneer names, such as Stafford street, on the western edge of the town, named after the six brothers who settled along this road. "Shaving street," which runs east and west between Manchester and Clifton Springs, received this name from the fact that the Yankees settled the neighborhood and in all their dealings they never forgot their Yankee shrewdness. The "North Woods" have disappeared, but the name still indicates the north and central portion of the town. Then there is Armington school-house, which is still standing on the road between Manches- ter and Palmyra. The family for whom it was named have long ago left this vicinity. These are sign-posts of a primitive past that remain to point the way in the rural districts.
From primitive beginnings, when the scattered pioneers in their lonely cabins recorded time by the shadow of the sun upon the floor and bravely suffered the hardships of the wilderness, the history through which the town entered upon the smoother path of development is well worth recording in the annals of Ontario county. "Old things have passed away and all things have become new."
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THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
XXXIII.
THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
Beautifully Located Amid the Hills of Southern Ontario-Original Purchasers of the Township Disappointed through an Error of the Conveyancing Clerk-The Indian Village of Nundawao- First White Settlers-The Building of Churches and Schools- Grape Growing a Leading Industry.
BY WILLIAM R. MARKS.
The township and village of Naples, the subject of this sketch, is situated on the Middlesex branch of the Lehigh Valley railroad, twenty-four miles south of the county seat and four miles from the head of Canandaigua lake. A State road leads to the lake. The township embraces the extreme south portion of the county and the counties of Livingston, Steuben, and Yates form a portion of the boundary. In early days it was known as Watkinstown, later on as Middletown, because of the fact that it was about half way between Bath and Canandaigua, at that time the two most important settlements in Western New York.
The incorporated village of Naples is beautifully located in a valley surrounded by picturesque hills. Travelers say that the scenery about here rivals some of that to be found in the old world. The population according to the 1910 census is as follows: The village, 1093 ; the township, including the village, 2349. This shows a small loss as compared with a previous census. There has how- ever been an increase of business and a number of houses and places of business have been erected. There is little manufacturing, the people being engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits. The outside lands are largely hills and valleys, very rough in places. The soil in most places is productive and the tillers of the soil thoroughly understand their business. For this reason a majority of the inhabitants are prosperous. Most of them are owners of real estate. The village has always been a trade center and has always
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
enjoyed a large patronage from the adjoining towns. This has been largely increased since 1892, when the railroad was built.
The township in politics is strongly Republican. The village, which was incorporated in 1894, has always been conducted on non-partisan lines and the broad and liberal spirit manifested has been for the best interests of the entire community. Especially is this noticeable in the general condition of the streets and side walks. It is estimated that there are fully twelve miles of cement walks within the village limits, one-half of the cost having been borne by the village government. To the enterprise of the town is due the fact that it has a beautiful town hall, built of brick, which was erected in 1872. Included and adjoining this is a beautiful park. A gravity water system owned by the village was built in 1895. This at all times affords an abundant supply of pure and whole- some water. There is also a village hall, in which are located the village offices, the fire and police departments. The Morgan Hook and Ladder Company was organized in 1884 and is well equipped. A State road has been ordered which will traverse the whole of Main street. Natural gas has been located in the village and is largely used in lighting the stores, hotels, churches, etc. A fine school system has been maintained for many years, making this a desirable locality in which to locate homes.
The village has in its midst several secret or fraternal socie- ties, among which may be found Masons, Odd Fellows, Macca- bees, Woodmen, Grange, and D. O. H., the German society. There is also a Grand Army post and Sons of Veterans, the former named after the late Capt. A. A. Bingham, and the latter after Col. Will W. Clark.
The wine business has become a large factor. D. H. Maxfield and Jacob Widmer have very fine establishments of this kind and have a large demand for their products. The Graf wine cellars, outside of the village, have a fine reputation for the excellence of their vintage. It can be truly said that the native wines manu- factured here cannot be excelled in this country.
Naples has perhaps as fine a postoffice of the third class as can be found in the State. Its popular postmaster, F. W. James, Esq., has been at the head of this department for many years and the services rendered are first class in every respect. This office is a distributing point and the R. F. D. system leads in all direc-
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THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
tions. Mr. James has recently entered on his fifth term as post- master.
The two banking houses, D. H. Maxfield, known as the Hiram Maxfield bank, and that of G. R. Granby & Son, would be a credit to any town. They have abundant capital and each does a large business. No better banking facilities can be found in much larger towns.
Two well equipped printing offices are to be found : the Naples Record (founded by the late Simeon Lyon Deyo in 1870), J. S. Tellier, proprietor, and the Naples News, George T. Morey & Co., proprietors, established in 1898 by J. D. Campbell.
There are four village churches, all well sustained. Three of them have resident pastors and parsonages which would be a credit to any community. They are the Methodist, Presbyterian, Bap- tist, and Roman Catholic. Two of the churches have beautiful pipe organs that are operated by water motors.
The population prior to 1864 was largely native. The grape industry added a large German population and their coming has been of great advantage to the town in population and wealth. It is not the size of the population so much as it is the general char- acter of the citizens which has made this town and village what they are.
It is said that the cemeteries of a community are a good indi- cation of the population. If this be true, a visit to either of the village cemeteries would prove the truth of the assertion and also add much to the town's credit. Fair View (the old cemetery) is situated in the lower part of the village and was first established by the Indians and later was used as a burial place by our first settlers. It has ceased to be a general place of burial, but is well cared for. Here is located the monument for the first settlers. Rose Ridge cemetery, located on the hill west of the village, was first opened by the late B. K. Lyon, in the year 1854. The first burial was that of the wife of Willard Porter. It now contains the bodies of more persons than reside in the village. It is beautifully kept under the care of a corporation founded in 1883. It contains the bodies of forty-five veterans of the Civil war. Additions to the grounds are being made from time to time. A public vault has been recently added. The late William Marks did much in his life- time to beautify these grounds.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
Early History of the Town.
Much of the early history of the town has been preserved in the annals of S. H. Sutton, Esq., who was one of its most valuable and useful citizens. The late Jane Mills left a valuable history which has never been published. Former citizens, like E. B. Pottle, M. H. Clark, Noah T. Clarke, and Rev. J. C. Morgan, were contributors in their time. D. D. Luther, Esq., now living, has recently written a valuable Indian history which has been copied to some extent by the writer.
The early history of the town reads very much like a romance. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, a company of men, several of whom had seen service in that conflict, and who then resided in the State of Massachusetts, decided to seek homes in Western New York, then a wilderness. In the year 1789, a public meeting was held in Partridgeville, Massachusetts, and a company of sixty was formed from the towns of Dalton, Pittsfield, and Part- ridgeville, for the purpose of purchasing a township of land from Phelps and Gorham to be located somewhere in the Genesee country.
Subsequently a meeting was held, with William Clark as chair- man, and a committee of eleven was chosen, consisting of William Clark. Nathan Watkins, William .Watkins, Edward Kibbe, Nathan Hibbard, E. Burnham, Dennison Robinson, Thomas Robinson, Wilham Cady, James Harris, and Ephraim Cleveland. This com- mittee selected from their number Edward Kibbe, Nathan Wat- kins, and William Cady, who were to proceed to the Genesee valley for the purpose of selecting and making such a purchase. This committee proceeded via the Mohawk and after a three weeks' journey following the Indian trail they arrived at Canandaigua, where they found an Indian village situated at the foot of the lake. Taking an Indian trail they explored and examined township No. 9, the present town of Gorham. This they decided to purchase. They, however, were too free with their talk to a stranger and much to their surprise found he had purchased the same while they were at breakfast. They were finally persuaded to purchase town- ship No. 7. now Richmond, and returned to their homes. Through an error of the conveyancing clerk, or through fraud on the part of the land office, they were given instead a deed for the present town of Naples, then considered a barren, mountainous region.
The deed conveys township No. 7, being six miles north and south, five and one-half miles east and west, containing 21,120
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THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
acres. The price paid, 1,056 pounds, or twelve cents per acre. In the transaction the committee had lost two of the best townships of land in Ontario county.
The following summer surveyors were set to work. They decided to survey the town into sixteen ranges north and south, numbering from the east to the west line, each range to contain thirteen lots, and each lot to contain 108 acres. Through an error on the part of the surveyor, a strip of land was left eight rods wide running through the whole length of the town, and this is known as the eight-rod way. The surveyors found the same in running the west line and this is known as the sixteen-rod way. This in time caused much discussion and some law suits. After finishing the survey, fifteen of the best lots were selected and then sub- divided into settling lots of twenty-seven acres, making sixty lots, one to each member of the company. It may be of interest to note the fact that the plain where the larger part of the village is located was at that time considered nearly worthless as a settling lot.
After these surveys were made, a division was made by lot and titles perfected by quit claim deeds. Imperfect titles grew out of these transactions which caused more or less litigation.
The Indian Village.
Here it might be of interest to note the condition of things in the valley as they existed at the time of the arrival of the settlers. It was and no doubt had been an ideal locality for the Indians. Mr. Luther quotes Miss Mills as saying that the Indian name was Nundawao. There resided here in the valley at that time from thirty to forty families, embracing about one hundred souls, and from the contiguity of ancient fortifications it may be presumed that these natives had been lords of the soil for generations. The chief Hiotonta was of gigantic stature and graceful manners, and there was another chief of great age, tall and venerable, named Canesque. Parrish says the lofty hills on either side were destitute of timber. I am inclined to doubt this statement, for the reason that so much and such large timber as has since been gathered and is still to be found could not have grown in so short a period of time. The Indians cultivated a large portion of the land along the creek. The flats were interspersed with patches of wild plums and the dry land sparsely covered with black walnut and sugar maple trees.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
This must have been an ideal home for Indians because of the fact that the streams were filled with fish and the adjoining hills contained a plentiful supply of game. The land was very produc- tive and easily cultivated. The lake was not far away and they were remote from unfriendly tribes. Although they had surren- dered all claim to the land. they had reserved the right to hunt and fish for twenty years and many of them remained for years there- after. So late as 1826, some were still lingering in this locality. The first person to die after the coming of the settlers was the old Indian chief of Canesque, who was brought back from Squakis hill near the Genesee river on a sled by two Indians. He was dying of old age and wished to die and be buried in this valley.
The First White Settlers.
Samuel, Reuben, and Levi Parrish were the first settlers to come with their families. They came in the dead of winter with ox teams up the lake and inlet. The lake and streams were frozen at that time. They were entertained upon their arrival at a wig- wam and their teams were turned out to feed in the tall dry grass then growing in the valley. The first house was erected by Samuel Parrish. It was a log cabin, 16 by 18, covered with oak stakes contined under the weight of long poles, and the sled box was its door. This building seems to have been located on the Watkins lot, not far from where the railroad crosses the Main street. Levi Parrish built the next house and this was located north of the present Lorenzo Clark house.
In March or April following, John Johnson, Nathan Watkins. William Watkins, Jonathan Lee, and William Clark came. and with them a portion of their families, thirty in all. Their arrival brought great joy to those who had preceded them. The third house was erected by Nathan Watkins. It was built of logs, 24 by 24, and was located on the ground where the Ephraim Cleveland barn now stands. It served as a temporary abode for many of the first settlers. Here Miss Susanna Parrish taught the first school in the summer of 1792. Here Rev. Zadoc Hunn, of Bristol, preached the first sermon. Colonel William Clark, and his daughters, with Isaac and Stephen Watkins, seem to have been the first choir. About this time Captain Nathan Watkins built a house a little north of the old Cleveland house. This house was the first tavern in Naples.
During the first summer the settlers suffered from the want
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THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
of bread stuff. No mill was nearer than thirty miles. For the purpose of grinding they erected a mortar made by burning out the hollow of an oak stump. In this they patterned after the Indians. Benjamin Clark built the first saw mill and at this time dug the race which leads from the Grimes gully to where the Naples and Ontario mills now stand. Jabez Metcalf was a partner in this undertaking. This was a great event, for it was the first saw mill to be erected in the Genesee country.
Captain Nathan Watkins built the first frame barn on the C. S. Williams lot. The nails used in this structure were brought from Massachusetts and cost fifty cents per pound. In the autumn of 1793, Doctor Williams, a missionary from Newtown, now Elmira. preached the second sermon in this new barn. The second school was taught in the winter of 1793. The teacher was Doctor Thomp- son Maxwell and he was the first practicing physician in the settle- ment.
Edward Kibbe with some of his family and others arrived about this time. Many comprising the company of sixty came, but were so disappointed in the general appearance of the town- ship that they left in disgust and never returned, selling their rights for little or nothing. Sometimes whole lots were sold for a dollar apiece, other lots were never claimed, hence the origin of unknown lands and disputed titles.
The first death was that of the old Indian chief of whom I have spoken. This season seems to have been a hard one on the settlers and they were in sore stress for provisions and were obliged to subsist on boiled greens and wild game that the Indians supplied. Elder Goodsell, of Baptist Hill. preached one sermon each Sunday. Rushville at this time was known as Augusta, there being a small settlement at that point. also one at Honeoye and another at Cohocton.
The first wedding was that of Benjamin Clark to Thankful Watkins and the first white child to be born was Phineas T. Lee. The writer visited him at Athens, Michigan, in the fall of 1864. Some of his descendants still reside at that place. The second marriage was that of Elisha Parrish to Louise Wilder, of Bristol. Colonel Clark officiated at this wedding. Louis Philippe, after- wards King of France, visited the valley the same year and stayed at the house of Jabez Metcalf.
The first town meeting was held on April 5, 1796, and resulted
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