USA > New York > Franklin County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 48
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 48
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
menced on the 7th of May, under the direction of D. W. Church, and in June Mr. David Parish's brick house. The commercial and mercan- tile enterprise of the company prospered for a season, and the vessels belonging to the port of Ogdensburgh became the carriers on the lake, and at the breaking out of the war it was growing more rapidly than any port on the lake.
The earliest record of a school in Ogdensburgh which we have been able to find, is the following memorandum furnished by Mr. Joseph Rosseel, dated Nov. 24, 1809 : " Upon application of some of our villages, I have granted the house destined for Capt. Cherry's bivouac, as a place for the use of a school, for upwards of thirty children, whose parents have engaged Mr. Richard Hubbard for a teacher." Mr. H. was from Charleston, N. H., and his numbers increased from 6 up to 10 or 12. The accommodation having been found too small, a dwelling house was assigned, and soon after a school house was built.
In 1850, the spacious and elegant school house on Franklin street, in district No. 1, was erected. The accompanying engraving does not ade- quately represent the premises, which are arranged in a manner that might serve as a model for those school officers who contemplate the erection of a convenient and well arranged school hoose. It is located on a lot of about three-quarters of an acre in area, in what is at present near the border of the village, but which will shortly be the centre of a dense population. It is of brick, 48 by 60 feet on the ground, two stories high, and surmounted by a belfry containing a bell, and has cost with the fixtures and improvements nearly three thousand dollars. The first story is occupied by two school rooms for sinall scholars, with sepa- rate play grounds for the two sexes. These yards are with a high and close fence, and communicate with the street and school rooms, but not with each other. The second story is occupied by a single spacious room with arched ceiling, and conveniences for ensuring ventilation, and furnished with seventy seats. The whole building is capable of ac- commodating about four hundred and fifty scholars, under the super- vision of tliree teachers, and lacks nothing in the way of maps and black boards for illustrating the rudiments of education, or of convenient yards, wood rooms and other fixtures to promote the comfort, health and happiness of children. It was built under the direction of Dr. S. N. Sherman, A. B. James, and Otis Glynn, trustees.
The approach of the war arrested the growth of the village, as well as that of the country in general, and the embargo entirely stopped its com- merce. These evils began to be felt for several years previous, and judge Ford as early as August 18, 1807, in writing to S. Ogden, said:
" The sound of war has palsied the sales of land in this county. The
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School House. District'No. 1., Ogdensburgh.
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prospect of immigration this fall to the county, was vastly flattering, and among the number were men of property and respectability. This un- happy affair will very materially affect our prospects in the money line. I yet hope I shall receive a payment, which if I do, I shall not fail to al- leviate your present wants. I however, am apprehensive that the gentle- man (who is now out) will fear to return, for much is said of the Indians, and much pains is taken by some people upon the other side of the river, to inspire a belief that the Indians will be employed by the British govern- ment, and their numbers are immensely magnified. This, as is natural, frightens the old women, and the anxiety and commotion among them is astonishing. Many are for flying immediately, whilst others are so frightened they do not know which way to run. This constant theme of fear, originating with the women, puts the d-I into some of the men, and some among them are becoming as old-womanish as the women themselves. These men I abuse for their cowardice, and the women's fears I soothe, but I fear all my exertions will be in vain, for it is incredible what frightful stories are going upon this subject. Should the war-whoop continue and curtail us in the receipt of that money so certainly expected, it will be totally out of my power to afford you that aid you wish. It would have been out of my power to have given you assistance when I was in Jersey, if Mr Lewis had not promised me he would answer my draft upon him in October. Upon the promise I purchased my goods upon 6 months credit, and gave you his note for what he could then pay, together with the ready money I had. These two, together with what money I had to pay upon our Dewitt purchase, made up a sum of almost two thousand dollars. By this means I was under the necessity of going in debt, and to people who are not in a situation to lay out of their money; with them we have not heretofore had dealings, and who count upon punctuality. * Out of all the money we have due in this coun- try, I am confident I shall not be able to command five hundred dollars. I need not urge upon you the necessity of cherishing that credit and re- putation which we have established in the course of our business, neither need I give you any new assurance how much pleasure it would afford me to have it in my power to help you to such sums as I may be able. I really viewed the time as having arrived when you might have calcu- lated upon a certainty from your estate here, and nothing but the dread- ful dilemma into which our country is now plunged, could have prevented it. I yet hope the whirlwind may pass by without material injury. * *
What makes this war-whoop more particularly disadvantageous to us at this time, is the event which we have so long anticipated being upon the eve of taking place, of this becoming the place of a depot instead of Kingston. Two of the principal merchants residing at the head of the Jake, called upon me when on their way down the river with their pro- duce, to know if arrangements could not be made for receiving and for- warding their produce to market, provided they should be able to con- tract with the owners of vessels, so as to make it their interest to come to Ogdensburgh, instead of Kingston. I told them I was not prepared at that moment to answer them decisively, but if they would call upon me upon their way up, I would by that time make an estimate, and give them an answer what I could do the business for. Last week they called, and we found no difficulty in agreeing upon the price of forwarding, but they found this war business would interfere. They however, told me they would make it a business to see the owners of vessels, and if this war sound should blow over, write me immediately, that I might make the necessary arrangements. To set this business properly in motion, will take considerable money. Therefore much caution is to be used, that a
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failure on our part should not take place. If we can but get the thing in motion, it will produce an effect that will be solid. Should the temper and times admit of going into this business, I shall be under the neces- sity of sending to the Susquehannah for those people who have been in the liabit of making arks and managing them. I do not think the busi- ness of ark building is sufficiently understood by any person in this country, to hazard any thing to their management, and as the success of this business is very much to depend upon economy and accurate mnan- agement, I think we had better go to the expense at once of procuring men who already understand the business, than hazard it to those who must learn from experience."
On the 18th of December, 1807, he said:
N. FORD.
" When I wrote you last, I told you the sound of war was like to palsy emigration, and I am sorry to add, a continuation of the war-whoop has completely produced that effect, and if one can judge from the acts of the administration, the chances are much in favor of war measures, though I presume Jefferson does not calculate to fight himself. I hope and trust there will good sense and moral honesty yet be found in the people of America, to avert the impending storm. The extreme wet season has prevented the post making the regular tours, by which I am much in the dark how propects in the political hemisphere are likely to stand. *** Should this unpleasant bustle blow over this winter, I presume we may calculate the ensuing summer will produce to the county many valuable settlers, who are laying back from no other cause than to see the fate of the present commotion. Very few sales have been made in the county this year, and most of those which have been made, were to that de- scription of people who may be considered as the first run, and conse- quently are of the moneyless kind. The people in the county have very much got over their first fright about war, and I hope should it come, they will have spunk enough to stand their ground, and manfully defend their property. The d-I of it is, we have neither guns nor ammunition to do with. I suppose upon a proper representation to Jefferson, he might be induced to send us up one of his gun boats ;-- it might as well travel our new road, as plow through the sandy corn fields of Georgia. I think an application of this kind made through Slone of New Jersey, might be attended to at least by Slone, whose capacity is not equal to distinguish- ing but that such application and mode of conveyance would be per- fectly proper and consistent. I hope you will write me often, and give me a sketch of the times. I should like to know a little before hand how the guillotine is like to work. That is a machine much more likely to travel than Jefferson gun boats, and my opinion is the Democrats will never rest until they erect a few of those kind of shaving mills."
The reader is referred to the chapter on the war, for the details of the incidents that occurred here during that period. For many years after- terwards business languished, and the country was a long time in re- covering from the depression of business which it occasioned. A fort to be called Fort Oswegatchie was begun, and after the war some thoughts of finishing it were entertained, but the work was never prosecuted. During the summer of 1817, Mr. Monroe, the President, made a tour through the northern states, and visited Ogdensburgh. He reached Hamilton from P'attsburgh, July 31st, and on the following day he was
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met by a party of gentlemen from Ogdensburgh, and carried into town, preceded by a band of music; and became the guest of Mr. George Parish. He there received the respects of the citizens, and the trustees and inhabitants, through Louis Hasbrouck, Esq., who delivered him the following address.
" Sir :- The trustees and inhabitants of this village welcome with pe- culiar satisfaction, your arrival in health among them, after your long and fatiguing journey, through many of our yet infant settlements. In common with the nation, we have viewed with much interest, your im- portant tour along our seaboard and frontier, particularly confiding in your observation, wisdom, and experience, for the establishment of such points of national defence along our immediate border, as wili best pro- mote our individual prosperity, and strengthen the national security. Born and educated under a government whose laws we venerate, enjoy- ing a soil rich in the bounties of Providence, and grateful for the invalu- able blessings of liberty, bequeathed to us by the heroes of the revolu- tion, no excitement shall be wanting on our part, to maintain, defend, and transmit to posterity, the benefits we so eminently possess. Expe- rience however has taught us, that individual or sectional exertions, be they ever so ardent, unless aided by the protecting and strong arm of government, afford but a feeble defence against a powerful foe. Placed on a frontier contiguous to a warlike and powerful nation, enjoying the advantage of an extensive and increasing navigation, it is peculiarly im- portant that our local situation should be well understood. At the com- mencemeut of the late war, the attention of government was in the first instance naturally drawn to the defence of that extensive line of sea coast, on which the immense maritime force of the enemy could be more effectually exerted, and consequently the more remote and interior de- fences did not perhaps, receive the protection which their importance warranted.
.
But commencing your administration in a time of profound peace, enjoying the confidence of the nation, and presiding over a gevern- ment proud of its honor, tenacious of its rights, and possessing the re- quisite resources, we flatter ourselves, should any collision hereafter take place (which we pray heaven to avert), your penetration and judgment, aided by your local observations, will have pointed out and perfected such a line of defences, as will ensure our personal safety, and redound to the honor and prosperity of the nation. That you may establish these desirable objects, progress in your important tour in safety, and return happily to the bosom of your domestic circle, is, sir, the fervent prayer of your obedient servants."
His excellency made a verbal reply to the following effect:
"He thanked the citizens of Ogdensburgh for their attention, and very polite reception ; he received them as marks of respect to the first magis- trate of the nation, not by any means arrogating them to himself as an individual. It gave him great pleasure because it evinced an attachment of the people to that form of government, which they themselves had established. He was satisfied they held its value in just estimation, and were sincerely devoted to its preservation, and in administering it, he would support its principles, and, to his best ability, promote the in- terests of the country. As the address correctly stated, his journey was connected with objects of national defense, and was undertaken for the
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purpose of acquiring such information, as would better enable him to discharge the duties of his office, that large sums of money had been appropriated by the government, the judicious application of which de- pended much on the executive. He perfectly agreed, that the time of peace was the best time to prepare for defense, but had much pleasure in stating, that the best understanding prevailed between our govern- nient and that of Great Britain, and was persuaded he had every reason to look for a permanent peace. He said that the importance of the situation along the St. Lawrence had not escaped his observation, and during his progress in this country, he was much gratified to find it fer- tile and abundant, and inhabited by enterprising, industrious, and he be- lieved a virtuous people."
In the evening the President was joined by Major General Brown, of the United States army, and his whole suite, accompanied by whom he repaired to Morristown, and lodged with the honorable Judge Ford.
On Saturday the 2nd, he viewed Mr. Parish's xtensive and very valu- able iron works at Rossie, considered to be an establishment of great public importance, and usefulness to the surrounding country. From Rossie he proceeded to Antwerp, where he was met by Mr. Le Ray, and others, and conducted to Le Rayville, where he spent the night.
[Narrative of a Tour of Observation, by James Monroe, p. 187.]
The village of Ogdensburgh was incorporated April 5, 1817, and the charter then granted, has been amended, April 29, 1839, and June 20, 1851. By the latter act the bounds were extended eastward to the Tib- bets tract in Lisbon, and westward to the lands of Henry Van Rensse- Jaer, and it was divided into three wards, of which No. 1 includes all between the Oswegatchie and Franklin street. No. 2, all west of the Oswe- gatchie, and No. 3, the remainder. The officers consist of a president : a trustee, and an assessor, in each ward; a police justice, a collector, and one or more constables; a chief engineer and two assistants, for the fire department, and one or more street commissioners. The above down to constables, are elected annually on the 1st Tuesday of April. A fire department was organized in 1820, and a company formed in July 1827. The village at present owns three fire engines ; a fourth is owned by in- dividuals, and a fifth by the rail road company. Large reservoirs have very lately been built at central points for use in fires. On the 27th of May, 1824, the name of Euphamia, was changed to State, and of Ger- trude to Franklin streets.
St. Lawrence county in general, and that portion bordering on the river in particular, partook of the general alarm that spread like an epidemic through the country, on the aproach of the Asiatic cholera in 1832. The village of Ogdensburgh suffered considerably from this pestilence, and strict sanitary regulations were adopted in this and other frontier towns, in pursuance of the recommendations of the legislature in an act passed
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at a special session convened for the occasion. Quarantine grounds were established, at first at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, and after- wards at Mile point, the site of the present depot, where crafts from Canada were to be detained fifteen days. The following facts are mostly derived from an address delivered before the St. Lawrence medical society, by their president, Dr. S N. Sherman, who had witnessed the progress of the pestilence at that place, and was a believer in its non-contagious character.
"In June, 1832, the disease appeared in America, the first case having occurred in Quebec, on the 8th of that month. On the 14th, it appeared at Montreal, and on the 17th, at Ogdensburgh, though not in its severest grade. On the 21st of June, the first fatal case occurred at that place. During the period from the 8th to the 21st of June, it was computed that from one hundred to one hundred and fifty citizens of Ogdensburgh and vicinity, were in the cities of Montreal and Quebec, or occupied on boats and rafts, in the passage to or from thence. Some, it is true, on their passage down, laid up their boats and returned, but of all that number engaged in navigating the St. Lawrence, not one, so far as was known, died of cholera, or was attacked by it. The case that occurred on the 21st of June, was that of a Frenchman, of dissipated habits, and broken down constitution. He assured those around him on his death bed, that he had not crossed the St. Lawrence in a fortnight, and could not there- fore have caught the disease by ordinary contagion. The second fatal case, was that of a child four years of age, at least half a mile from the residence of the former. The third case was also that of a Frenchman, living in a quarter remote from the others, and who had not been out of the village for weeks. The fourth case occured near one of the wharves, and the subject of it had not left the village, but subsequently an aged couple with whom he boarded, sickened and died of the disease. The fifth case occurred a mile from the village, on the Heuvelton road, the subject of which had been in no other house, and not a stone's throw from her own, for the last fortnight.
Cases followed in quick succession; first here, tomorrow at a point half a mile distant, and next day in a quarter equally remote and under circumstances that strongly tended to prove the non-contagious character of the disease. Precise data of the mortality of the cholera at Ogdens- burg are not preserved, as none of the physicians kept a journal of the cases, and the records of the board of health are lost. The number of cases reported was about 160, and of death, 49. In 1834, the numbers attacked were not more than ten, of whom seven died. It is but just, however, to remark, that the mortality in proportion to the number of cases in the above estimates, is too large, as no cases were counted in which the third stage or state of callapse, had not made more or less progress. In 1832, by common consent, the physicians reported no case as cholera, unless among other symptoms, the rice water discharges, vomiting, violent cramping of the muscles of the limbs or trunk, or both, the broken or cholera voice, and more or less blueness of the skin occurred. Had all the cases been reported, in which the disease was checked in the earlier stages, the number would have been increased to hundreds. This custom was adopted in Philadelphia, and other cities, and the less rate of mortality which they exhibit is thus explained. In the city of Paris, there were treated in a given time, 10,274 cases, of
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whom 1,453 died. In New York, of 5,814 cases, 2,935, or about 52 per cent were fatal. In Quebec, there had died of cholera, up to September 1, 1832, 2,218, and the city probably did not number over 28,000 inhabi- tants, which gives a mortality of eight per cent. of the whole population. In Philadelphia, there died 754, out of 2,500 cases. In Montreal, the mortality of the disease was greater than in any American city, except Quebec. No reports were made of it in 1834, from its having been deemed the wiser policy to excite as little as possible the attention of the public mind to the subject, and thus avoid the general state of the con- sternation and alarm which are well known to operate so powerfully in producing fatal results in numerous cases, and which is thought to have increased the mortality of the disease in 1832."
The state of alarm which pervaded the frontier on the approach of the cholera, and the stringent quarantine regulations which were imposed upon all persons coming from the provinces into the states, checked for a season, all business and communication on the St. Lawrence, and in- creased the alarm which was felt in relation to the disease. Intercourse was not established along the river for several weeks, and the public mind but slowly recovered from the panic which the pestilence had occasioned. We have given on page 167, an account of the ravages of the cholera at the Indian village of St. Regis, which in severity, has scarcely a parallel in the history of this fearful malady. The following memoranda from the records of the board of supervisors, show the expenses which were incurred in the several towns in the organization of boards of health, and the establishment of sanatary regulations.
" Brasher, $8.50; Canton, $120; Dekalb, $6.50; Edwards, $5; Fow- ler, $6; Gouverneur, $9; Hammond, $18.25; Depeau, $5; Hopkinton, $5; Lawrence, $5; Lisbon, $10; Louisville, $9-87; Madrid, $87-87; Massena, $13; Morristown,$164.37; Norfolk, $6; Oswegatchie, $24.63; (Ogdensburgh $780-33); Pierrepont, $4-25; Potsdam, $24-48; Stockholm, $7; Total, $1,351.46."
The completion of the Oswego canal was the first public work that conferred a benefit upon Ogdensburgh, or St. Lawrence county, as they thus first gained a direct avenue to market. The Erie canal hindered the growth of this portion of the state, more than it promoted it, by opening new, cheap and fertile land to the settler, the produce from which could be sent to market at less expense than that from this coun- ty, and thus great numbers were induced to emigrate. In the great era of speculatie- and high prices in 1836, in connection with the extraordi- nary mineral resources then being developed, a new impulse was given, and measures were adopted to improve the hydraulic power of the place, by the purchase of the water privilege and erection of mills.
This right had passed from Ford to Thomas Denny, and was bought by Smith Stilwell, in 1836, for $30,000, and has since been sold to in- dividuals who are bound by certain regulations, to sustain the expenses
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which their maintenance may require. A canal is extended down to below the bridge, and with the exception of a few weeks in summer, affords an ample supply for the extensive mills and manufactories upon it. The dam built by Judge Ford, in 1796, has with some repairs, lasted till the present time, and is still good.
A most destructive fire occurred at Ogdensburgh on the night between the 16th and 17th of April, 1839, by which nearly half the business por- tion of the village was laid in ashes. The loss was estimated at but little less than $100,000. The irritation that then existed on the frontiers led to the suspicion that it was the work of an incendiary.
This fire consumed the premises on the southwest corner of State and Ford streets, including the post office, Republican printing office, and a large number of stores and shops. The loss has been estimated at nearly $100,000.
On the morning of the 1st of September, 1852, another fire consumed a large amount of property on Ford and Isabella streets, extending from the store of G. N. Seymour nearly to Washington street, and shortly after two other destructive fires burned a large amount of property on Ford street, including the office of the St. Lawrence Republican and the en- tire premises belonging to the Hasbrouck estate, and represented in our engraving on page 209.
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