USA > New York > Cortland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Cortland County, N. Y., for 1869 > Part 10
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*From an examination of the cenmns reports of many counties of the State, we have invariably found the number of enlistments reported to be far below the actual number enlisted .-- [PUB.
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GAZETTEER OF TOWNS.
CINCINNATUS was formed from Solon, April 3, 1804. It embraced the original township of Cincinnatus, or No. 25 of the Military Tract. The present town embraces one-fourth of the original township of 100 lots, or 64,000 acres, Freetown, Willett and Marathon having been taken from it in 1818. It is situated on the east border of the County, south of the center. The surface consists of the valley of the Otselie River and of the ridges which rise upon each side. Nearly the whole surface of the town is di- vided into steep ridges by the deep ravines, through which flow the tributaries of the Otselic, extending far into the interior. The soil is generally a gravelly loam, not as fertile as in some other sec- tions, but well adapted to grazing. Lots 1, 16, 37, 49, 53 and 62, of this township, were set apart for the support of the Gospel and schools.
Cincinnatus, (p. v.,) situated on the Otselie Creek, contains three churches, viz., Congregational, Methodist and Baptist, an academy, two hotels, two tanneries, a foundry, a gristinill, a sawmill, and about 550 inhabitants. Cincinnatus Academy was built in 1856, and is under the Principalship of C. E. Babcock, A. M. It is now in a flourishing condition.
Lower Cincinnatus is a small village about a mile south of Cin- cinnatus Village, and contains a church, a hotel, several shops and about 200 inhabitants.
The first settlement of this town was commenced by Ezra and Thadeus Rockwell, from Lenox, Mass. Ezra settled on lot 19, in 1795, and Thadeus on lot 9, the same year. Zurial Raymond, from Williamstown, Mass., came in about the same time and set- tled on lot 29, on a revolutionary claim which he received through his wife. John Kinginan was another of the early settlers, a native of Massachusetts. He came in and located on lot 19, in 1795, and
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worked during the day clearing his land, and in the evening worked at his trade, shoemaking. Dr. John Mc Whorter, from Oxford, Chenango County, was also among the first settlers. He married Miss Katy Young, step-daughter of Mr. Raymond. This was the first wedding in the town, and as there was no one authorized to marry in the town, a clergyman from Oxford was employed; but on his arrival another difficulty arose; the clergyman was not au- thorized to marry outside of Chenango County. To obviate this difficulty the party started for Chenango County, and when they supposed they were over the border, the ceremony was performed in the open air, in the midst of the forest. Samuel Vining was an- other carly settler, as were also Phineas Sargent, Jesse Locke and Ebenezer Crittenden. Charles DeBille, from Berkshire County, Mass., settled on lot 9, in 1797.
During the first few years after the settlement, the Indians were accustomed to visit the Otselic Valley. In 1796, forty of the Oneidas camped upon the site of the village, and, during the fall and winter, killed forty-two bears. The oil preserved was used for cooking purposes. The Indians were uniformly peaceable and well disposed towards the whites.
The first merchants were James Tanner and Elijah Bliss. Col. John Kingman kept the first inn and erected the first store. The first frame house was erected by Dr. John Mc Whorter, about 1802; and the first school was taught by Miss Hepsy Beebe. The first death was that of Daniel Hartshorn, in 1796. The first birth was that of Sally Rockwell, in 1796. The first sermon preached within the limits of the town was by Rev. Dr. Williston, in a log barn, from the text, "Hear Ye." The first church (Presbyterian) was organized at a much later day by a union of the people of several of the adjacent towns. Previous to 1798 the citizens were compelled to go to Chenango Forks, Indlowville, or Manlius Square, to have their grinding done, transporting their grists on drays drawn by oxen. These drays were made of the crotches of trees, with a few pieces of board attached to them by wooden pins. They were from six to eight feet in length, and eight or ten bushels made a very respectable load for one pair of oxen.
The population of the town in 1810 was 1,525, but the town at that time embraced about four times the amount of territory con- tained in it now. The population in 1865 was 1,169, and its area 15,519 acres.
CORTLANDVILLE was formed from Homer, April 11, 1829, and embraces the south half of the original township of Ho- iner and a small portion of the north-east corner of Virgil. The name was applied to the town from its being the County Seat of Cortland County. It is situated on the west border of the County,
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but extends east to the center: The east and west branches of the Tioughnioga River unite in this town. A considerable portion of the surface is level, but the eastern and southern parts are hilly. An observer, standing upon an eminence a short distance west of Cortland Village, can see seven distinct valleys, separated by ranges of hills, radiating in different directions. The ridges rise from 200 to 400 feet above the valleys. The southern part of the town is a broken upland region, the hills being arable to their sum- mits. The Tioughnioga River receives as tributaries in this town, Trout Brook from the east, and Dry and Otter Brooks from the west. A part of the western portion of the town is drained by streams flowing west to Cayuga Lake. In the south-west part of the town are three small pouds, fed by springs, and furnishing a large amount of marl, from which an excellent quality of lime is produced. The marl, as it comes from the ponds, is generally of an ash color, but whitens on exposure to the air. When partially dried it is moulded into the form of bricks, which are thoroughly dried and burned. In some places this marl is twenty feet thick. The soil along the Tioughnioga River is a rich alluvium ; on the higher lands it is a gravelly and argillaceous loam.
Cortland Village, (p. v.) incorporated in 1853, and special char- ter obtained in 1864, is the County Seat of Cortland County, and situated on the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York Railroad, about midway between Binghamton and Syracuse. The main street extends nearly north and south, and is about one mile in length. The streets and walks are wide and ornamented with shade trees, and the main street is well paved. There are many neat and beautiful residences in various parts of the village, with grounds or- namented with flowers and shrubbery, which add greatly to the ap- pearance of the village. There are five churches, three printing offices, three banks, State Normal School building, four hotels, sev- eral stores, manufactories, &c., and about 3,500 inhabitants. The streets are lighted with gas.
The State Normal School is located on a beautiful site in this vil- lage. We are indebted to the Hon. Charles Foster for the follow. ing description of this magnificent structure :
The Legislature of 1866 authorized any county, city or village, to make propositions to a Commission composed of certain State Officers, to furnish buildings, sites, &e., for a Normal School, to be located in such county, city or village, and authorized the Commis- sion to accept not to exceed four of such propositions. In Novem- ber, 1866, the village of Cortland made a proposition which was accepted by the Commission, and in the spring of 1867 the village commenced the creation of the buildings proposed, and they will be completed by the first of October, la08. The site is in the central part of the village and consists of nearly four acres. The school
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building is composed of a main or center building, 84x44 feet, with a wing 40x36 feet on either side, and at the end of each of these wings is a building, parallel with the main building, 36x72 feet. The basement extends under the whole, and rises five feet above the grade. The building is two stories above the basement, of brick, with a French or Mansard roof, furnishing a third story. The central or end buildings are each surmounted by a dome. The top of the center dome is about sixty-four feet above the grade. Two towers, one upon either side of the main building, rise ninety- six feet above the grade. The extreme length of the entire struc- ture is two hundred and twenty-six feet. The basement contains kitchen, pantries, cellars, laundries, and steam heating apparatus and steam force pump. The first and second floors are occupied for school and recitation rooms, family rooms, &c. The third floor under the center dome is furnished for a gymnasium, and the remainder of this story is divided into smaller rooms, to be used as dormitories, bath rooms, &c., for the students who may board in the building. Steam is used for heating all rooms on the first and second floors. Water is carried through all the building by force pumps, and each story is supplied with hose to be used in case of fire. All the main rooms and the dormitories are carefully ventila- ted, and gas is supplied for lights. This school is to be managed by a local Board of citizens, the State furnishing them yearly 812,- 000 for expenses, this Board being subject to the supervision of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The school will prob- ably be divided into primary, intermediate, normal and academi- cal departments, so that a child may commence its education within its walls and graduate as teacher from the normal department. Tuition in all the departments, except the academieal, will be free. The building and site are furnished by the village of Cortland at a cost of about 890,000. The construction has been carried on un- der the supervision and control of the Village Trustees, as a corpo- rate matter. The whole expense of this enterprise, to the comple- tion of the building and its acceptance by the State, rests entirely upon this public spirited village.
Cortlandville Academy .- We are indebted to Hon. Horatio Bal- lard for the following article in relation to the Cortlandville Acad- cmy :
Public instruction commenced in this Institution on the 24th day of August, 1842. The first report to the Regents bears date the 3d day of January, 1843, and on the 31st day of January, of the same year, it was incorporated. It soon took rank among the best academies of the State, and its high standing has been maintained. Many of the most promising young men in the country have gone forth from this Institution. Three times the building has been en- larged to make room for the increasing number of students. The
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average attendance is over two hundred each term. Located at the County Seat, in a village unsurpassed in beauty, and in the midst of a population distinguished for enterprise and intelligence, it has exerted an extended and elevating influence in this and adjacent counties. Three members of the Board of Trustees formed in 1842, viz., Henry Stephens, Horatio Ballard and Jas. C. Pomeroy, are still members. The following is the present Faculty :
Prof. J. J. Pease Principal.
Harkness Associate
Miss L. Porter.
Preceptress.
Hattie S. Curtis Associate 66
Libbie D. Curtis Intermediate Department.
Martha Roe Primary 66 Bates. Teacher of Music.
Under the administration of these teachers the prospects of the school are unabated.
The site ultimately selected for the State Normal School joins the site on which the Academy is located. On the 13th of July, 1867, the Trustees of the Academy passed a resolution in favor of adding the Academy lot to the site of the Normal School building, upon the condition that an Academic Department be maintained in the Normal School building. It is expected that the Academy will thus be transferred to the Normal School building, and there be continued under the patronage and at the expense of the State.
Messenger Hall .- Akin to the institutions of learning in the vil- lage of Cortland, is the beautiful Hall in the Messenger Block, on the west side of Main street. This Hall is gorgeously decorated and fitted up with all the modern improvements. It is fifty-five feet square. The following remarks taken from an address deliv. ered at its dedication, by Hon. Iloratio Ballard, will give a good idea of its object and design :
" We are here to celebrate the completion of this magnificent IIall; and we do so because it is an event which illustrates the ma- terial growth and prosperity of this beautiful town. He saw the business of this town demanded more room, and he projected the ereetion of this block, which lifts its majestic proportions to the sight and embraces this splendid Hall. And for this edifice, grand in size, elegant in finish, useful in arrangement, durable in structure, we would here record our thanks and tender our gratitude to our noble eitizen, Ifiram J. Messenger. It is a monument of his genius, his taste and his liberality. Ile has connected his memory with the best specimens of architecture, and the most superb styles of internal finish, as the exquisite work on this lofty Hall fully attests. And while it is now dedicated to the use of publie assemblies, let us hope that its fair walls may hereafter be associated in the mem-
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ory with all that is exalted in intellect and attractive in truth. Free discussion in the public halls of the land is one of the most power- ful agencies to purify, to strengthen and perpetuate our civil and religious liberties. We will hold this place consecrated to these high purposes -- to the cause of Liberty and Union."
The Court House is a substantial brick building, standing upon the corner of Church and Court streets. The Jail is of hewn stone and stands in the rear of the Court House; and the Clerk's Office, of brick, stands on the west side of Main street.
The manufacturing establishments of the village consists of a foundry, machine cooperage, oil mill, grist mill, two planing mills, a sash, door and blind fretory, a pottery, a woolen factory, two car- riage factories, a saw mill and several mechanic shops. The foun- dry is devoted chiefly to the manufacture of agricultural imple- ments, and employs about twenty men.
Kinne's Machine Cooperage was commenced in 1843, and run with varied snecess until 1859, when Trapp's Patent Barrel Ma- chinery was introduced. The present owner, C. W. Kinne, came in possession in 1861. In 1868 a new building was erected. The motive power is water, with a 35 horse-power steam engine. The Factory is turning ont about 17,000 butter packages and $8,000 worth of churns aunually. The present year the proprietor has emtamenced the manufacture of cheese boxes and scale boards. It is giving employment to 15 men constantly. The Oil Mill has two hydraulic presses and is capable of running 100 bushels of seed per div. The Planing Mills prepare lumber for any purpose for which it is used about a building. The Mill is both a Grist and Fionring Mill, and capable of running from 300 to 400 bushels of grain por day. There is also a very extensive Lumber Yard, near the depot, in the cast part of the village.
Daily lines of stages run from this village to Groton, Ithaca, Norwich and Pitcher; and a tri-weekly line to Virgil.
The Cortland Silver Cornet Bund is an organization of this vil- lage.
Cortland has an efficient Fire Department, consisting of three "parate organizations, viz., Water Witch Co., Excelsior Hook and Lider Co. No. 1, and Water Witch Hose Co. No. 1. The Water Whitch Company was organized June 14, 1854, and numbers about forty members. Excelsior Hook and Ladder was organized De- enber 10, 1-64. and numbers about fifty members. Water Witch Hose Company No. I was organized in 1863, and consisted of twenty members, the present number is twenty-five.
The Young Men's Christian Association was organized in 1868, for the development of Christian character and the promotion of Evangelical Religion, and especially for the improvement of the mental, moral and spiritual condition of young men.
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The first settler of Cortlandville was John Miller, a native of New Jersey, but more recently from Binghamton. He located on lot 56, in 1792. In 1694 Jonathan Hubbard and Moses Hopkins came in, Mr. Hubbard loenting on the site of Cortland Village and Mr. Hopkins settling on lot 64, one mile west. Thomas Wilcox, from Whitestown, located on lot 61, in 1795, and Reuben Doud on lot 75. James Scott, John Morse and Levi Lee, located upon the same lot; and Dr. Lewis S. Owen, from Albany, on lot G6. During the years 1796-97, Aaron Knapp settled on lot 55, and Enoch Hotchkiss on lot 76. Samuel Crittenden and Eber Stone, from Connecticut, located on lot 66. Mr. C. came with an ox team and was twenty-five days on the road. Samuel Ingles and his son Samuel came from Columbia county in 1798, and located on lot 75; and in 1800, Wilmot Sperry came from Woodbridge, Conn., and located on lot 73. Wm. Mallery, from Columbia coun -. ty, came in 1802. Samuel MeGraw, from whom MeGrawville de- rived its name, came from New Haven, Conn., to Cortlandville, in 1803, and located on lot St, purchasing 100 acres. In 1809 he re- moved to McGrawville and purchased 200 acres. He had a large family, eight sons and four daughters. David Merrick came from Massachusetts in 1800, and located on lot 44. In 1797 he went to Whitestown to purchase a tavern stand and one hundred acres of land, then valued at three hundred dollars. He left without mak- ing the purchase, but went to Whitestown the next year to close a trade, and learned that the property was then valued at ten thou- sand dollars.
The first inn was kept by Samuel Ingles, in 1810, on the site of the Barnard Block ; and the first school, ou the present site of the Eagle Hotel. The first grist mill was erected by Jonathan Hlub- bard, in 1779.
The first church (Baptist) was organized Oct. 3d, 1801. There has been some dispute as to this subject, but it appears from an old record by Judge Keep, dated Oct. 3d, 1801, that " a council convened at Homer, at the request of a number of Baptist brethren, for the purpose of organizing a Baptist Church." This was the first church organization in the County. Rev. Mr. Hotchkin, in his History of the Presbyterian Church in Western New York, says the first organization was Oct. 12th, 1801, and that it was a Con- gregational Church. This old record of Judge Keep appears to settle the question. The munber of members at the time of the organization was sixteen; the present number is 312. The first church edifice of the First Baptist Church was erected in 1811; it stood between the villages of Cortland and Homer, and was ocet- pied until 1833, when the present building was erected in Cortland Village.
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The first Methodist meeting was held at the house of Jonathan Hubbard, in 1804. A sermon was preached by Rev. Samuel Hill, and subsequently a class was formed of ten members. This was the germ of the Centenary M. E. Church, which now numbers 400 members. Their first church edifice was erected in 1821 and was occupied until 1867, when their present building was erected. It is a substantial brick structure, ninety-seven feet by sixty, and one hundred and thirteen feet to the top of the spire. The cost was 825,000.
Grace Church (Episcopal) was organized in 1859, with fifteen members, and the church edifice was erected the same year. The present number forty.
The Universalist Church was organized in February, 1835, with 101 members. Their house of worship was erected in 1837, and is a substantial stone structure, the basement of which is owned by the town and used as a Town Hall.
At an early day the people of Cortland turned their attention to the subject of education, as the following record will show. It is given just as it was found in the Book of Records :
"Homer November 20-1806.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Second
School District in Homer [now Cortland]
1 Voted Levi Lec Moderator
3 Voted to build A School house 20 by 26
4 Voted to Set the Said house on Lot No 65 Near the Crotch of the Road that A Summer School shall be Kept this this Summer in Said District. a womans."
At another meeting we find the following :
" November 4 1809
Agreeabel to Notification. of the Second School District
Meeting opened at 6 o'clock PM
1 Voted to appoint a day to git up wood
3 Voted that all that Neglect to git longer than the first of Janu- ary Shall pay for gitting their Share of wood.
1 Voted to Set up Gitting wood at Vandue. John Morse bid it of a 5s pr Cord and if he Neglects to Git Said wood he is to pay the expence for Such Days that the School must Lie Still
Dissolved the meeting"
At another meeting we find the following :
" 2 Voted the Committee be Instructed to hire Mr Bato [ Barto] for Six months and that the price Does not exceed twelve Dollars Pavabel Three fourths in grain and one fourth in Cash."
This old record is found in the same book in which the records are now kept.
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From such small beginnings their march has been onward and upward until the youth of Cortland are now permitted to attend, within the shadow of their own homes, some of the best institutions of learning in the State.
The population of the town in 1865 was 5,008 and its area 31, 119 acres.
Among the distinguished men who have at various times re- sided in this town is SAMUEL NELSON, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was born in Hebron, Washington County, Nov. 10, 1792. He was sent to the district school at au early age, where he made commendable progress. Ile fitted for college in Salem and at the Granville Academy, then in charge of the distinguished Salem Town. He entered Middlebury College in 1811 and graduated in 1813, at the age of twenty-one. He adopted the legal profession and studied law in Salem, and was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1817, and soon after located in Cortland Vil- lage. His talents soon won for him an enviable position among his associates. In 1823 he was appointed one of the Circuit Judges. and in 1831 he was appointed to the Bench of the Supreme Court of the State. In 1837 he was appointed Chief Justice of the State of New York. Ile filled this position with distinguished ability until 1845, when he was appointed Associate Justice of the Su- preme Court of the United States, a position which he still holds. Ilis career upon the Bench has been characterized by honesty, firm- ness, discretion and liberal equity. His great learning, eloquence and genius, have secured for him a pre-eminence in his profession, affording an illustrious example for the ambitious youth of our country. His present residence is Cooperstown, N. Y.
IRA HARRIS was born in Charleston, Montgomery County, May 31, 1802. His parents removed to Cortland County in 1808, and located on Preble Flats. He remained with his father, alternately working upon the farm and attending the district school until he was seventeen years old, when he entered Cortland Academy at Homer, where he pursued the studies which enabled him to enter the Junior Class of Union College in September, 1822. He grad- uated with the highest honors in 1824, and immediately entered upon the study of law in, Cortland Village, where he remained one year. He then directed his course to Albany and in two years was admitted to the Bar. During the succeeding twenty years he rose to an enviable position among the most distinguished of the Albany Bar. In 1847 he was appointed to the Bench of the Supreme Court, which position he held until 1861, when he was elected to the United States Senate for six years. He was elected to the As- sembly of the State in 1844 and 1813. He was elected to the Constitutional Convention in 1846, and was also a member of the Convention in 1867. While in the United States Senate he served
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on several important committees, and was one of the National Com- mittee appointed to accompany the remains of President Lincoln to Illinois.
CUYLER, was formed from Truxton, November 18, 185S. It is the north-east corner town of the County. The surface is a broken and hilly upland. The east branch of the Tioughnioga River enters the town near the north-east corner and flows diagon- .ally across, leaving near the center of the east line. The other streams are small brooks, and most of them tributaries of the Ti- oughnioga. Muncey Hill, near the center, is the highest land in the town, and is a wild, broken region, poorly adapted to cultiva- tion. The soil is chiefly a sandy and gravelly loam.
Cuyler, (p. v.) situated a little north of the center of the town, contains a Methodist Church, a hotel, several mechanic shops and about 200 inhabitants.
Kerney Settlement, situate on the north line of the town, contains a Baptist Church and about a dozen houses.
The first settlement of this town was made in 1794, by Nathaniel Potter, who removed from Saratoga County with a wife and a daughter five weeks old. He settled on Jot 96, paying one dollar and ten cents an acre for his land. He was killed in 1798 by the fall of a tree ; his little boy about five years old was with him at the time. Mrs. Joseph Keeler was the first to find him, crushed beneath a large tree, but still alive. He asked for water and was supplied by Mrs. Keeler, taking his hat as the only substitute for a fall. He then requested her to pray with him, but this request was not granted. The daughter of Mr. Potter is the mother of Stephen Patrick, and now lives with Wesley Patrick in this town. Mr. Morse was a soldier of the Revolution and drew lot 87, upon which he located. He came from New Jersey. James Lockwood caine with him from Pennsylvania. They came in a canoe up the Tioughnioga River, and then took an ox team to their place of des- tination. Joseph Keeler and brother settled on the same lot. Isaac Brown settled on lot 99, about the year 1806, and Zebadiah Gates on lot 88 in 1807. Charles Vincent settled on lot 78 in J-06, and James Vincent in 1800. Jesse Blanchard settled on lot Go in 1795, and Benjamin Brown, from Connecticut, settled on lot 57 in 1795. Daniel Page settled on lot 79, where widow linds how Hives. James Dorwood, from Rhinebeck, came into the town in 1-06. He was an ingenious mechanic and is said to have built the Orst carding machine in the State. He was a native of Scotland, and hit his native country when eighteen years of age to avoid be- ing drafted into the army by King George III. Huldah Dorwood, now 97 years of age, lives in the town. Jacob Hollenbeck and John Brown settled on lot 77 in 1806-8. Thomas Fairbanks, from
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