USA > New York > Oneida County > Annals and recollections of Oneida County > Part 47
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GEOLOGY.
The geology of the town is exceedingly simple. Commen- cing on the Verona line, upon the road leading fron Verona Village to Vernon Village, and from thence south-westerly on the former turnpike leading to Peterboro, we pass over in succession the Clinton, Niagara, Onondaga salt, water lime, and Onondaga limestone groups. In many places the rocks are seen in place by the road side; diverging a short distance on either liand from said roads, suffices to bring into view the five groups in the order named.
The Clinton Group enters the town on the north-east. 'In area it is wedge-shaped, its base of about three miles, ly- ing upon the east line of the town. The mass as exposed is about four feet thick.
The Niagara Group is next in order. It enters the town on the east, and follows nearly the line of the turnpike (now plank road), being seen at the east on the south side, and at
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the west on both sides. The first point exposed is in a field, near Calvary Wetmore's; it is next found in the bed of the Scanandoa, at Stone's factory, from which it may be traced in the bed of the stream as far down as the turnpike bridge. At J. L. Williams' grist-mill it is again found forming cliffs, more or less precipitous, for two hundred rods, on both sides the creek. It is also seen on the farm of C. McIntosh. form- ing the bed of Mud Creek for a short distance. The upper layers are thick beds of impure limestone; the lower, (two- thirds of the whole), crumbling shales. The rocks, where ex- posed, are from twenty to thirty feet thick. and highly con- cretionary throughout, concretions from half an inch to three feet in diameter.
The Onondaga Salt Group is more largely developed, it being thicker and more extensive in arca than all the others. Its northern boundary is but a short distance south of the turn- pike, rising immediately above the blue limestone of Niagara group. It may be seen on all the roads leading south from the turnpike ; on the slope above C. Wetmore's, at Stone's factory ; at the house of Eliakim Root ; on the farm of Ad- na Clark ; also of Clark McIntosh, and finally at the Indian. saw-mill. These localities are all within a few rods of the turnpike. Its southern bounds are not as easily traced ; but on the south-east it nearly or quite approaches the Augusta line, and as we descend into the valley of the Scanandoa, it may be seen forming the bed of the creek, back of I. T. Marshall's, and may be traced westerly to the hills between Scanandoa and Oneida Creeks; then turning northerly it appears largely on Sargeant's hill; on the hill back of Mr. Jacobs'; and both sides of the hill at the Pixley school house. The lowest division of the group, consisting of red and green shales, is well developed. No fossils have been observed in this group in the town.
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The Water Lime Group is of very limited extent. The hill back of Mr. Jacobs' is in part composed of it. It is seen above Mr. Huett's, and also near Mr. Flint's. It is possible it exists in the south-east part of the town.
The Onondaga Limestone Group is more limited in ex- tent than the last, covering but an area of a few acres, eap- ping the hill back of Mr. Flint's, and appearing on the road from Mr. Flint's to Orris Freeman's. These rocks are the highest in the town, geographically as well as geologically. The fossils peculiar to the group are found here. In the above survey of the regular rock formations, the nomencla- ture adopted in the natural history of the state has been fol- lowed. It only remains to notice the drift.
The Hudson River Group which lies a few miles north, and the Clinton Group lying upon the northern boundary of the town, seem to have been largely broken up, and their ma- terials constitute an abundant portion of the pebbles found in, the fields. On that singular isolated hill, observed to the right of the road leading from Vernon Centre to Augusta were found many stones of the former group. The rocks of the Clinton group are mostly of a yellowish color, owing to the decomposition of the sulphuret of iron. The banks of Blue abound in fragments of the Niagara limestone. The great mass of drift seems to be derived from these three for- mations, beds of sand, gravel, pebbles, clay ; sometimes ar- ranged in singular order, one above the other, and again mixed in all conceivable proportions. Sometimes clay pre- dominates, and perhaps on the farm adjoining, sand; then a little further on, both mixed in such a way as to constitute a soil most desirable for tillage. This town furnishes conclu- sive evidence of great northerly currents sweeping over it for long periods of time. In the north part of the town stiff clays predominate, but nevertheless, when well drained and
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plowed, they produce heavy crops of grass, corn, oats and barley. In the south, on the flanks of the hills, the soil is better adapted to wheat. The reader is referred to the nat- ural history of the state for an analysis of the soil composing the different groups.
The general directions of the streams is northerly, until they pass the centre of the town, when those in the easterly section turn north-easterly, and reach the Atlantic by the way of the Mohawk and Hudson ; while those in the wester- ly part take a northwesterly course and reach the same ocean by the way of the Oneida and Ontario lakes, and the river St. Lawrence. Vernon Village is more than two hundred feet higher than the Erie Canal on the long level opposite.
The foregoing is extracted from a geological survey of the town, made by A. Williams, late principal of the Vernon Academy. It is highly creditable to the enterprising far- mers and other inhabitants, that they have procured a scien- tifie geological survey of their town, the only instance, it is believed, in which it has been attempted by any town in the county. Gypsum is found in the bottom of wells one and & half miles south-west of Vernon Village. It lies too deep to be procured profitably for agricultural purposes.
There is a mineral spring about one mile north-westerly from Vernon Centre. It contains most of the minerals found in the water of the Verona spring, and contains considerable portions of muriate of soda, (common salt). Tradition says that the Indians formerly manufactured salt in small quanti- ties from this spring. While Vernon was covered with its native forests, this spring was a great resort for deer, and many of these antlered commoners of the wilderness have here been way-laid and transfixed by the "ell-long shafts" from the bows of the aborigines.
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RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES:
The first religious society in the town of Vernon was form- ed, it is believed, in 1801. Possibly, as the records have been lost, this date may be incorrect by one year, but from the best information obtained, it is believed to be correct. This was a Congregational church at Vernon Centre, and for whom the Rev. Mr. Bogue preached some time. Mr. Bogue was followed by a number of clergymen, all of whom were en- gaged for short periods, and it is believed there is no religious society in the county that has had the services of as many preachers as this. The Rev. Calvin Bushnell came to Ver- uon in 1811, and preached to this people and the Presbyte- rian church at Vernon Village, until 1817, when he was set- tled over the latter church and society.
Although the church at Vernon Centre was Congregation- al at its formation, yet by adopting the " accommodating plan," they became to some extent connected with the Pres- byterians, but a number of years since they voted to again as- sume the Congregational form of government, and now be- long to the Oneida Congregational Association. In 1839, they took down their first meeting house, and rebuilt it in far better style and taste.
In 1842, a difficulty arose in the church, which, anon, ke- came so sharp, that the two parties, like Paul and Barnabas, separated. The abolition question liad much to do with this unhappy division. Those who separated from the main body have a separate organization, under the name of Independent Congregationalists. They take a much more decided and strong ground as a church on the slavery question, than the body from. which they dissented believed it their duty to as- sume. At present the Rev. Mr. Avery is the pastor of the church maintaining worship in the church edifice.
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Methodlist Episcopal Church at Vernon Centre. This so- ciety was formed in 1826. In 1828, they erected a neat and convenient house for public worship, which was dedicated in January, 1829. In the summer of 1850, the steeple of this house was struck by lightning, which demolished the spire above the belfry, without materially injuring the remainder of the steeple or the body of the house. This society has been sup- plied by local preachers, who have been stationed here for a year or two at a time, as, by the rules of the denomination, the same preacher is not allowed to remain more than two years on the same station. The society has ever been pro -- perous.
At Vernon Village there are Presbyterian, Baptist, Meth- odist and Unitarian churches, all with commodious houses for public worship.
The first organized was in June, 1805, and named the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Society. In 1815, their present house of worship was built by subscription. It is a large and commodious structure, with a steeple and bell. In 1810. the Rev. Calvin Bushnell, who had previously divided his services between this church and that at Vernon Centre, com- menced preaching exclusively to this people, and in 1817 was installed, and assumed the pastoral charge, the societies each, having become able to sustain a preacher. In 1829. after thirteen years of labor, Mr. Bushnell was dismissed and removed with quite a colony from the town of Vernon to Lis- bon, in the state of Illinois. He yet survives, although from the weight of years, he has suspended his pastoral labors at that place. In the same year in which Mr. Bushnell was dismissed, the Rev. Aaron Garrison was settled as pastor over this church and society. Mr. Garrison was succeeded by the Rev. H. P. Bogue. In January, 1840, Mr. Bogue resigned his pastoral charge, and in April of the same year the Rev.
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R. C. Brisbin was settled as pastor, and continued in the dis- charge of the duties until 1845. From that time until 1848, the church had nopastor, but the Rev. Henry Darling preach- ed for them one year of the time. In March, 1847, the Rev. Isaac P. Stryker received a call to become their pastor, and was settled the following April, and Mr. Stryker yet contin- ues in the discharge of the pastoral duties. The church at the present time numbers about 200 members.
The Baptist Church at Vernon Village was constituted October 22, 1807. The first book of records of this church, which extended from its formation up to 1839, has been lost, and as all of its original members are either dead or removed to the far west, little except the names of its pastors can be gleaned up to that date.
Names of pastors: Rev. Messrs. Calvin Phileo, J. C. Harrison, N. N. Whiting, J. J. Fulton, William Pepper, J. W. Gibbs, J. P. Simmons, Demas Robinson, A. Kenyon, Seymour W. Adams, P. Goo, who resigned his charge in the spring of 1850, and the Rev. Mr. Wells is at present the pastor.
In a revival which occurred in 1839, sixty-seven members were received by baptism ; in 1840, twenty by baptism, and in 1842, forty by baptism. Whole number received into the fellowship of the church by baptism since January 1, 1339, is 132. Present number of members ninety-four.
The Unitarian Congregational Society of Vernon was or- ganized in March, 1841. A church edifice formerly.owned and used by the Oneida Indians (who were Episcopalians), and standing on the hill south-easterly from the butternut or- chard in the vicinity of Oneida Castle, was purchased by the new society. removed and re-erected in Vernon Village, at a
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cost of about $3,000. It was dedicated to the worship of " one God the Father, through Jesus Christ his Son," Septem- ber 20th, 1842. August 31, 1843, Rev. Henry Emmons of Boston, Mass., took the pastoral charge of the society, and continues in that relation to the present time. Between six- ty and seventy families are connected with the society. Ser- vices are holden in the church in Vernon Village every Sunday, except the last in each month, when they are held in the school house at Oneida Castle. The society is free from debt.
The same bell that used to call the Indians to worship, is still in the steeple of this church. A few years since some of the Oneidas, who had emigrated to Green Bay, returned to visit the play grounds of their youth, the seat of their tribe, around which so many fond recollections clustered. On this visit some of them were at the village, when the sound of their old bell greeted their ears, while their glistening moistened eyes evinced their deep feeling on hearing its well remember- ed tones.
There is a Methodist Episcopal Society at Vernon Vil- lage, with a respectable house of worship. This society is of but few years standing, and has regular preaching, by a local preacher.
There is also a small society of Presbyterians at the Onei- da Castle, with quite a respectable church edifice which has been organized within the last twenty years.
February 17th, 1802, the town of Vernon was organized by an act of the Legislature, and the first town meeting di- rected to be held at the house of David Tuttle. This town meeting was held in pursuance of the law, on the first Tues-
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day in April, 1802, at which Samuel Wetmore, Esq., was elected supervisor, and Josiah Patten, town clerk. These offices were held by them for nine successive years. In 1811, Josiah Patten, Esq., was elected supervisor, and Stephen Goodwin, town clerk. Esquire Patten held the office of super- visor until 1819, when he was succeeded by John P. Sher- wood, Esq. Mr. Goodwin died previously to the town meeting in 1813, when Asahel Gridley was elected town clerk. Mr. Gridley performed the duties of town clerk until 1824, when he was succeeded by Stephen Brigham, jun. Mr. Gridley was the father of the Hon. Philo Gridley, at present one of the judges of the supreme court of this state. Mr. Gridley built the first grist-mill in the town, on the Scanan- doa Creek, a little west of Vernon Centre. Mr. Van Eps built the second, shortly after, at Vernon Village. John P. Sherwood held the office of supervisor up to 1830. Since that time James Kellogg, Nichols Dyer, Austin B. Webber, Salmon Case, David Pierson, Hiram Tuttle and Josiah Case have held that office for different periods. Josiah Case is the present incumbent, having been elected in the spring of 1851.
Local Names .- Turkey Street is the name given to that portion of the plank road commencing a few rods east of the house of Barnes Davis, and extending west to, and including what was formerly the Young's tavern, now owned by Capt. Elijah Wilson. It received its name from the circumstance, that some of the first settlers here, " fellows of the baser sort," went to the Oneida Castle in the night time, and stole a num- ber of turkeys from the Indians. The theft and the names of the culprits having become public, the circumstance was considered of sufficient importance in the eyes of the commu- nity by whom they were surrounded, to give to this part of the road on which the bird stealers resided, the name- of
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" Turkey Street." Originally it did not comprehend as much territory as at present. Its castern boundary was a large hemlock tree, standing on the south side of the plank road. .easterly from the present residence of Joseph Stone, and wes- terly from the house of Capt. William Grant, now owned by Barnes Davis. A few years after this tree had been estab- Jished as the boundary, it fell, but its prostrate trunk still marked the eastern terminus of the " street." After a quiet repose of a few years, it was decided in a council of the inhab- itants that Capt. Grant must needs have a residence with them, and as the tree could be more casily removed than the Captain's domicil, the council further decreed, that on the following night a sufficient force in teams should be muster- ed to accomplish the object. As the oxen belonging to the " street " were found insufficient, a messenger was sent cast on the Genesee. now the plank road, as far as Joseph Tillotson's. who lived on the south-east of the four corners, formed by the road from Vernon Centre to Rome, crossing the Genesee road. In this way, twelve yokes of sturdy oxen were mustered at the hour of low twelve, and soon the tree was on the move, and without noise or accident it was safely moored some thir- ty rods east of Captain Grant's dwelling. The captain's sur- prise the next morning when he arose, on finding himself en- titled to all the privileges and immunities of a citizen of Tur- key Street, can well be imagined, but without complaint he made a virtue of necessity.
After this street had been in undisputed possession of its name for at least a quarter of a century, another decree was promulgated by its good people, in the words of the old song .
". If we can't change the thing, Why then we'll change the name, sir."
The glorious Fourth was put in requisition for the occasion.
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a celebration extensively notified, hundreds of the good peo- ple assembled, and the " street" was duly named " Union Vil- lage," any amount of rum drank, and powder burned, and the good people bore the honors of their new title meekly until the going down of the sun of the same day, but on awaking the next morning they found themselves still existing in the goodly quiet village of " Turkey Street," and its name remains unchanged to the present time. Justice, however. compels the historian to add, that none of the actors, who were the cause of this discourtly name, or their posterity, have resided in the place for many years, and its present in- habitants are as good and virtuous, as in any of her sister lo- calities in the town.
" Cooper Street " runs parallel with, and from one to two miles north of the Seneca plank road, it being the road from Vernon Village to the Westmoreland furnace and Hampton. It received its name from the circumstance that most of its original settlers were adepts in the art and mysteries of the cooper's trade. As they were worthy mechanics, of course nothing approbrious was attached to the name.
" Hovel " or "Webster Street."-This street runs from the former residence of William Root, Esq., about two miles south-westerly from Vernon Village, and from thence south to Sargeant's patent. The first name was given from the fact that quite a proportion of the dwellings of the first settlers were built in hovel style, that is, the roof was without a ridge. the front portion of the building being the highest, the whole roof moderately pitched from front to rear. The second name was given to the same locality for the reason that the five first settlers by the name of Webster, a portion of whom had large families, all settled side by side on this street. These names are neither of them in general use at the pres- ent day.
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ACCIDENTS.
A son of Mr. Haseltine one of the first settlers, who resi- ded southerly from. Vernon Centre, was chopping some little distance from his father's house. Aswas the custom with the careful wives, mothers and sisters of the times, young Hasel- tine's mother on hearing a tree fall, attentively listened to hear the renewal of the blows of the axe, a token that would assure her all was well. A short space of silence was suffi- cient to arouse the fears of the anxious mother, and she has- tily repaired to the fatal spot, where she found her son dread- fully crushed, alive, but bereft of reason. Help was soon procured and the young man. was conveyed to the house, where death soon closed his sufferings. He was about seven- teen years of age.
Josialı Patten, Esq., was one of the pioneers of Westmore- land, and early emigrated to Van Eps' patent, a short half mile west of Vernon Village. A lad by the name of John Robinson, well known to the author, lived with Esquire Pat- ten in Westmoreland, and removed with him to Vernon. Within two or three years after their removal to Vernon, Robinson was chopping down a tree on Esquire Patten's farm, and from some inexplicable cause, as the tree com: menced falling he became frightened, and entirely bereft of reason. He ran in a circular manner more than half round the tree, and arrived under it just as it reached the ground, and was crushed immediately to death. A striking admoni- tion to all, never, under the most trying exigencies, to lose their self possession and the power of rational action. Had Robinson stood still, or stopped at any other place in his cir- cuit, he would have been safe.
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SCHOOLS.
The first schoch taught in the town of Vernon was at the Centre. A log building had been erected for the purpose. and the first teacher was a Mr. Sessions, now a merchant of Newport, Rhode Island.
The first framed school house was erected at Vernon Vil- lage soon after 1798. It was used as a school house and for a few years as a house of worship. The common schools of Vernon have been as well sustained and as flourishing, as in most towns in the county.
There are two academies in the town, one at Vernon Vil- lage the other at Oneida Castle. The one at the village has a good substantial stone building two stories above the base- ment. It is respectably endowed and has a good standing among the academic institutions of the county. The same may be remarked of the academy at Oneida Castle. The young gentlemen at that place deserve much credit for well sustaining a Lyceum through the winter season for a num- ber of years.
Abraham Van Eps was born in the city of Schenectady in 1763. His father was extensively engaged in the fur trade. As soon as the revolutionary contest was closed, the father to renew his business which had been suspended by reason of the war, embarked with a large amount of property for the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario .. Here he was plundered of the whole by a party of refugees and Indians, who, al- though hostilities had closed, could not at once forget the re- sentments engendered, by so long and bloody a contest. He never returned, and his death, and the causes which immedi- ately led to it, have ever been veiled in mystery. On exam- ination it was found that his all of property was irretrieva-
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bly lost. This left the subject of this sketch at twenty years of age, with nothing with which to commence in life, but his native Dutch perseverance, and a good constitution, fitted by nature and habits of industry, to withstand all the priva- tions and vicissitudes of a border life. In the spring of 1784, having concentrated his little means in a few goods proper for the Indian fur trade, he pushed boldly, by way of the Mohawk, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, Oswego and Lake On- tario, ' through the country as far as Niagara. He passed through Oncida County before judges Dean or White had arrived. He returned in the fall, and in passing down the old military road, through what is now Whitesboro. Village, found his way impeded by the trunks and limbs of the trees felled by Judge White and his sons, who had in his absence commenced the settlement of Whitestown. In 1785, Mr. Van Eps came to the mouth of the Oriskany and commenced a small trading establishment at that place. His goods were mostly selected for the Indian trade, and his principal busi- ness was in bartering them for furs and peltries. He occa sionally used to take a pack of his commodities and proceed to the Indian settlements at the Oneida Castle and vicinity. and stay three or four days at a time, trafficking his goods for the, to him, more valuable skins acquized by the natives in trapping and hunting. On one of these occasions he pass- ed a night with an Indian, who, with a portion of Gallie blood in his veins, bore the French sobriquet of Nicholas Jourdan. His wigwam was on the west side of the Scanandoa Creek, west from Vernon Centre, and on the farm formerly owned by Abijah P. Bronson, and now owned by Jared C. Petti- bone, Esq. The creek was high, there having been just pre- viously a heavy fall of rain. In the course of the evening and night, quite a party of Oneida Indians were engaged in fishing, and in the morning when Mr. Van Eps went abroad,
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he saw a pile of about half a eord of fine salmon that had been speared by them during the night, by torch-light. One of these most luscious of the finny tribe, formed the more substantial portion of Mr. Van Eps morning meal. There were a few apple trees on Jourdan's improvement, and as he removed to the Oneida a few years after the settlement of the county, the produce of these became a sort of free plun- der, and the author remembers as among the first luxuries of the kind, of having eaten apples, miserable as they were, which he procured at " Nicholas' lower place." During our journey to and from these apple trees, we passed the " Plat " on which Vernon Centre now stands, and at that time the pale faces had not there felled the first tree. Jourdan had another clearing on the east side of the creek higher up, and on the farm now owned by Elisha Pettibone, Esq., it lying east of his mill and distillery. This, in the parlance of the early times was called " Nicholas' upper place." It is hoped this digression will be pardoned.
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