USA > New York > Onondaga County > Gazetteer and business directory of Onondaga County, N. Y., for 1868-9 > Part 7
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Geddes, ( p. v.,) in the south-eastern part, was incorporated April 20, 1832. It contains a church, an union school, and about seven hundred inhabitants. There are several manufacturing establish- ments worthy of special notice. The Syracuse Iron Works are lo- cated in this town. The business is carried on by a joint stock company, with a capital of $200,000. They manufacture all kinds of bar and hoop iron, railroad spikes, &c., employing about two hundred hands, and using 200 tons of coal per month. Stoneware is manufactured in this town to some extent; it consists of butter jars, jugs, &c., of an excellent quality.
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The manufacture of crockery was commenced a few months ago, and is now carried on by the "Empire Crockery Manufacturing Company," with a capital of $75,000. They are at present mak- ing $1,600 worth of ware per month, but expect soon to enlarge their works so as to make the same amount per week. They make C. C. ware, and various kinds of granite ware, pearl white, corn colored and decorated, all of superior quality, and far surpassing the same grades of foreign manufacture. Rockingham ware is also made by the same company.
The Onondaga Salt Company have an establishment for the manufacture of staves for salt barrels, making about 10,000 per day.
The New York State Asylum for Idiots is located upon a beau- tiful site near the line of Syracuse. Its grounds contain about twenty acres, lying upon an eminence that overlooks the city .- The building is a beautiful brick structure, in the Italian style of architecture, and is one of the best arranged and most convenient buildings of the kind ever constructed. It is under the superin- tendence of Dr. H. B. Wilbur. The building was erected in 1853 and 1854, at a cost of $70,000. The site and grounds were donated by the citizens of Syracuse. The enterprise has been highly suc- cessful, and has fully demonstrated the utility and necessity of schools of this description.
James Lamb built the first frame house at Geddes, about 1803, and kept a tavern. The first school house was built of logs, near where the old church stands, in 1804, and afterward the present brick school house. The first physician was Dr. Thayer, and the first lawyers were E. W. Curtis and R. S. Orvis. The Apostolic Church, Geddes, was first organized January 1832, and the church edifice was erected the same year ; Rev. Richard Salmon and Rev. M. Whiting, clergymen.
The census of 1865 gives the town a population of 3,246, and an area of 6,374 acres. There are four school districts, employing twelve teachers, and an average attendance of 533 pupils. The amount expended for school purposes in 1867 was $6,779.53.
LAFAYETTE was formed from Pompey and Onondaga, April 15, 1825. It is an interior town, lying south-east from the center of the County. Its surface is hilly and broken. Butternut Creek flows through the east part, and Onondaga Creek through the west. The high ridge between the valleys of these streams has steep declivities, and its summit is from 300 to 600 feet high .--- Conklings Brook, in the south-east part, flows from the east, and within the space of a mile it descends 500 feet. The soil is gener- ally a sandy and gravelly loam, and a portion is thickly covered
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with large water worn pebbles. About one half of the Onondaga Indian Reservation lies in the north-west corner of this town.
Lafayette, ( p. v.,) on the ridge near the center of the town, contains one church, and another one building, one wagon shop, cradle shop, and 25 houses. Cardiff, ( p. v.,) on Onondaga Creek, has a.church, a grist mill, a carriage shop, and about 30 houses. Linn is a post office in the south-east part.
The first settler was John Wilcox, who located upon lot 14, in 1791. The first church (Cong.) was formed in 1809. Rev. Benj. Bell was the first preacher. Comfort Rounds and William Has- kins located in the town in 1792; Solomon Owen and James Sher- man in 1793; and John Houghtaling, Amziah Branch, James Pearce, Samuel Hyatt, Amasa Wright and Reuben Bryan, in 1794. The first child born was Amy Wilcox, in 1791 ; and the first marriage that of Solomon Owens and Lois Rounds, in 1793. The first death was that of Moses De Witt, in 1794. Rev. Amziah Branch taught the first school; Mr. Cheney kept the first inn ;- Sloughton Morse the first store; and James Sherman built the first saw mill, in 1795.
The census of 1865 gives the town a population of 2,397, and an area of 22,200 acres. There are twelve school districts, em- ploying 21 teachers. The whole number of pupils is 660, and the average attendence 269. The expenses for schools in 1867 were $3,321.79.
LYSANDER was formed March 5, 1794. Hannibal (Os- wego Co.,) was taken off in 1806, and Cicero in 1807. It is the north-west corner town of the County. Its surface is level and somewhat swampy in the east, and gently rolling in the west. Seneca River forms its south and east boundaries. This stream takes the name of Oswego River below the mouth of the outlet of Oneida Lake. In the south-west part are rapids known as Jack's Rifts. At Baldwinsville is a fall of seven feet, affording a valuable water power. Mud Lake, a large pond, south-west of the center, covers an area of about 300 acres. The soil is a sandy and gravel- ly loam, with occasional patches of clay, formed by the disintegra- ture of the red shales.
Baldwinsville, (p. v.) situated on both sides of the Seneca River, is a flourishing village. The part of the village in Lysander con- tains three churches, an academy, an union school, a printing office, a bank, and several manufactories. The Morris Axe and Tool Co., are doing a large business, making about 300 axes, besides 150 or 200 other tools, daily. It is a joint stock company, with a capital of $80,000. The Woolen Mill Co. make plain and fancy cassi- meres, about 400 yards daily. The Otisco Fork Factory manu-
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factures from $75,000 to $80,000 worth annually. J. Frazee & Co. are doing an extensive business in their flouring mill, saw mill, lime mill, &c. About 300,000 feet of lumber is also used in Fuller & Bliss' sash and blind factory. The population of the north side in 1865 was 1,181.
Betts Corners (Lysander p. o.) contains three churches and about 40 houses ; also a foundry and carriage shop. Little Utica (p. v.) con- tains one church and about 30 houses. Plainville ( p. v.) contains a church and about 25 houses. Jacksonville contains a carriage fac- tory, church, and about 25 houses. Lamsons ( p. o.) is a rail road station.
The first settler within the present limits of the town was Jona- than Palmer, a revolutionary soldier, who drew lot 36 and located upon it in 1793. The first church (Pres.) was formed in 1813. Among other early settlers were Benj. DePuy, Reuben Smith, Adam Emerick, Elijah and Solomon Toll, and Dr. Jonas C. Bald- win. Dr. Baldwin was the early proprietor and founder of Bald- winsville. He built the first saw and gristmill, in 1807, and opened the first store during the same year. By his energy the place soon became an important manufacturing village. Daniel Ayers kept the first inn. The first child born was John Toll.
The population in 1865 was 4,813, and its area 38,000 acres.
MANLIUS was formed March 5, 1794. A part of Onon- daga was taken off in 1798; a part of Salina in 1809, and De Witt in 1835. It lies on the east border of the County, north of the center. The surface of the 'north half is level, and that of the south rolling and hilly. Limestone Creek flows north through the town near the center. At the northern extremity it receives But- ternut Creek from the west, and the united streams flow into Chit- tenango Creek, which forms the north-east boundary of the town. A few rods south of the canal, near the center of the town, are two small lakes, similar in character to those already described in De Witt, but somewhat larger. They are known as the Green Lakes. In the south-west corner of the town is another small pond of the same kind. The east branch of Limestone Creek, near the south border of the town, falls down a limestone precipice 100 feet, form- ing a beautiful cascade. Several sulphur and other mineral springs are found in the town, but none of any considerable note. Deep Spring, called by the Indians, Te-ungh-sat-a-yagh, is a spring 60 feet in diameter, on the east line of the town, near the old Seneca Turn- pike. In the west part are extensive quarries from which are ob- tained immense quantities of waterlime, quicklime and gypsum .- The soil is a deep fertile alluvium in the north, and a sandy and clayey loam in the south.
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Manlius, (p. v.) on Limestone Creek, near the south line of the town, was incorporated March 12, 1813. It contains four churches, an academy and union school, and several manufactories. Todd's mill manufactures stocking yarn, using about 30,000 pounds of wool annually. The paper mill runs two engines, and one ma- chine, making one ton a day of printing paper. The paper is made of rags, and is of excellent quality. Several varieties of mowing machines, water wheels and mill gearing, are made here.
Fayetteville, (p. v.) on Limestone Creek, two miles north-west from Manlius, and one mile from the Erie Canal, with which it is connected by a navigable feeder, was incorporated May 6, 1844. It is finely situated on a gentle elevation, and has a number of valu- able water privileges formed by the Ledyard canal (which was built by the citizens at a cost of $35,000,) and Bishop Brook. . This canal is formed by dividing the waters of Limestone Creek, two miles south of the village, and that in connection with Bishop Brook, which runs parallel to it through the village, make 12 water powers, with an average fall of 20 feet each. It contains four churches, a graded school, a bank, a printing office and several manufactories. Among the latter are a large flouring mill, a foundry, a bedstead factory and a large paper mill, manufacturing news, book and wrapping paper. There are also mills from which are sent out an immense amount of water lime. The population of Fay- etteville in 1865 was 1,480. Manlius Center (p. v.) is a canal vil- lage containing about 20 houses. Manlius Station ( p. v.) and Kirkville ( p. v.) are small villages and stations upon the Central Rail Road. The latter contains one church and about 40 houses. High Bridge, in the south-west part, contains a church, two plaster and lime mills, a saw mill and grist mill. An extensive water power is formed at this place by the construction of a hydraulic canal from Limestone Creek, and another from a brook flowing from the east. This power is used by all the manufactories in the village, and but a small portion of it is occupied. Matthews Mills, (North Manlius p. o.) Eagle Village and Hartsville, are hamlets.
The first settlers were David Tripp, who located one mile north- west of the present site of Manlius village, and James Foster, who located on the present site of Eagle village, in 1790. The first child born was Baron Steuben Shaeffer, in 1794. It is related that on the night of his birth, Baron Steuben and a party of friends put up at Mr. Shaeffer's, who then kept an inn on the present site of Manlius. The Baron was much disturbed during the night, and in the morning severely reprimanded Mr. S. for allowing his guests to be so annoyed that they could not sleep. Upon seeing the in- fant, he apologized for his ebullition of temper, bestowed his own name upon the child, and gave him a deed of 250 acres of land. The first marriage was that of Nicholas Phillips and Katy Garlock,
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Jan. 1793, and the first death that of the father of David Tripp, in 1792. The first church was formed in 1798. Samuel Edwards taught the first school in James Foster's barn. James Foster kept the first inn, in 1790, and Charles Mosely the first store, in 1793. Elijah Phillips and three others built the first saw mill, in 1792-93, and William Ward the first grist mill, in 1794.
The population in 1865 was 6,276, and its area 30,300 acres. The number of school districts is 21, and the number of teachers employed 46. The whole number of pupils is 2,059, and the aver- age attendance 762. The amount expended for schools in 1867 was $10,558.79.
MARCELLUS was formed March 5, 1794. A part of On- ondaga was taken off in 1798; Camillus, in 1799; a part of Otisco in 1806 ; and Skaneateles in 1830. A part of Sempronius (Cay- uga County,) was annexed in 1804, and a part of Spafford in 1840. It is an interior town, lying south-west of the center of the Coun- ty. Its surface is a rolling upland, broken by the deep valley of Nine Mile Creek, which extends north and south through the cen- ter. The declivities which border upon the creek are steep, and from 200 to 500 feet high. Upon the creek are several falls, fur- nishing a large amount of water power. Lime and plaster abound. The soil is generally a deep black loam, formed by the decomposi- tion of the Marcellus shales, intermixed to some extent with clay. Manufacturing is carried on to a limited extent along the Nine Mile Creek.
Marcellus, ( p. v.,) on the creek, near the center of the town, was incorporated April 29th, 1853. It contains two churches, a woolen factory, a grist mill with four runs of stones, and a saw mill. The population is about 400. Marcellus Falls ( p. v.,) has in its vicin- ity a plaster mill, three paper mills, a woolen factory, a grist mill, and about 30 houses. Marietta, ( p. v.,) upon Nine Mile Creek, in the south part, contains a hotel, a grist mill, and about 20 houses. Clintonville is a hamlet. Thorn Hill ( p. o.,) is a hamlet in the south-west part.
The first settler was William Cobb, who located on the east hill, in 1794. The first church was built in 1803. Mr. Atwater was the first preacher. The town rapidly filled up with settlers, chiefly from Massachusetts. The first child born was a daughter of Wil- liam Cobb. Miss Aseneth Lawrence taught the first school, in 1796; Dea. Samuel Rice kept the first inn, in 1796, and Elnathan Beach the first store, in 1796. Daniel Bradley and Samuel Rice built the first saw mill, in 1795-96, and May and Sayle the first grist mill, in 1800.
The census of 1865 gives the town a population of 2,577, and an area of 18,900 acres. There are thirteen school districts in the
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town, employing fourteen school teachers, with an average attend- ance of 328 pupils. The amount expended for school purposes in 1867 was $4,652.98.
ONONDAGA was formed from Marcellus, Pompey and Manlius, March 9th, 1798. A part of Salina was taken off in 1809, and a part of Camillus in 1834. The surface is mostly a rolling and hilly upland, separated into two ridges by the valley of Onondaga Creek. The ridge is rocky and broken, and the west is generally smooth and rolling. A fine wide intervale extends along the creek, and is bordered by steep hillsides, the summits of which are 200 to 400 feet high. A valley, forming a natural pass between Onondaga and Nine Mile Creeks, extends south-west through the town. Along the north line, the highlands west of the valley descend abruptly to the north, presenting in some places the face of a nearly perpendicular precipice, 100 to 150 feet high. The declivity is known as Split Rock, in the ledge of which is an irregular crack or chasm, which is said to extend downward to the depth of 100 feet. Ice remains in it during the greater part of summer. The stone was obtained from these quarries for building the locks upon the canal and the aqueduct across the Genesee River ; and it is justly esteemed a building stone of superior qual- ity. It lies in the north-west corner of the town. About one half the Onondaga Indian Reservation lies in the south-east part of the town. For many years after the organization of Onondaga Coun- ty, the county seat was located at this village.
Onondaga Hill, ( Onondaga p. o.,) on the hill west of the creek, contains a church, a school with two teachers, two hotels and about 50 houses. It is a summer resort. Onondaga Valley (p. v.,) con- tains 2 churches, the Onondaga Academy and union school combined, two hotels, a grist mill with three runs of stones, and many fine residences. South Onondaga ( p. v.,) contains two churches, sev- eral mills, and a population of about 300. Navarino, (p. v.,) in the south-west corner, near the line of Marcellus, contains a church, a school, a foundry, and about 20 houses. Onondaga Castle is a post office near the Indian Reservation. Howlett Hill is a post office in the north-west corner. West Onondaga, a post office near the west line.
The population of the town in 1865 was 5,312, and its area 41,- 100 acres. There are twenty-nine school districts, employing thirty teachers, with an average attendance of 662 pupils. The amount expended for school purposes in 1867 was $12,389.25.
In a reminiscence of Onondaga there is a name so closely con- nected with the white man's history of the County, that it is and al- ways will be impossible to separate them. Ephraim Webster was a native of New Hampshire, and had served three years in the Revo-
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lutionary war. He afterwards became an Indian trader, and ac- quiring a good knowledge of the Indian language, became an inter- preter between the red man and the white. In 1786, he erected a trading house on the banks of the Onondaga Creek, near its mouth, which, for a long time, bore the name of Webster's Landing; here he continued his traffie for many years. He married an Indian wo- man, and, becoming a great favorite with the tribe, they made him a present of a square mile of land upon Onondaga Creek, a little south of the present village of Onondaga Valley. The Indians also granted him 300 acres near the north-west corner of the present Reservation. IIe afterwards married a white woman, by whom he had a large family of children. He was employed by the Govern- ment as a spy, interpreter and counselor, during the Indian wars that followed the Revolution, and he was in active service during the last war with Great Britain. He died in 1825. One of the Indian children, Harry Webster, was for a long time Chief of the Onondaga nation.
In 1788, Mr. Asa Danforth, through the influence of Webster, settled in Onondaga ; also Comfort Tyler. In 1789, the young men, Danforth and Tyler, after having visited the land of their birth, returned with wives, together with a family named Brown. Of the Danforths a child was born, considered to be the first born in the County. She was married to Col. Phillips of Syracuse, and was the mother of Mrs. Outwater. The birth of this first child is given as occurring in October, 1789, and the family name appears to have been very prominent since their locating in the County. Next in the order of prominent men who are connected with our history, is Thaddeus M. Wood, " a traveling lawyer," from Massa- chusetts, who found rest for the sole of his foot in Onondaga, where he afterwards became identified with the fortunes of the land of his adoption. The firm of Wood & Hall who were Democrats, and Foreman & Sabin who were Federalists, did the principal business of the County at that time. In the war of 1812, he was made a Colonel, and within twenty-four hours after notice of the threatened descent of the British at Oswego, he with his regiment was under way. He was celebrated for his wit and the quickness and severity of his retort. As a neighbor he was kind and obliging, ready at all times to render a service.
In the summer of 1796, John Cantine, assisted by Gideon Seely, under the direction of the Surveyor General, surveyed the Onon- daga Reservation, and in the fall of that year, Gideon Seely and Comfort Tyler bid off, at the sales in Albany, twenty-one lots of two hundred and fifty acres each, at two dollars per acre. Mr. Seely made the road from Samuel A.Beebe's to the south line of the town, including a bridge across the west branch of Onondaga Creek. The first saw mill built in the town was by Turner Fenner, on the
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west branch of Onondaga Creek, in 1793. Gen. Danforth erected a saw and grist mill, in 1794, on what is now called the Kirk Farm.
The first town meeting for Onondaga was held at the house of Asa Danforth, who presided, April 1798. Ephraim Webster was chosen supervisor, and Jabez Webb, town clerk; Samuel Searing, Daniel Earll and Sier Curtis, assessors ; and Elisha Alvord, Nehe- miah Earll Jr., and Elijah Lawrence, commissioners of roads. At this meeting swine were permitted to run at large, provided they were yoked and rung. George Hall, Esq., opened the first law of- fice, in 1802. Dr. William Needham located at the Hollow as a physician in 1793, and his brother in 1795. He opened the first school at the Hollow in 1796. Rev. Samuel Kirkland is believed to be the first Reformed minister who ever preached in the County of Onondaga. A post office was established at Onondaga Hollow in the year 1794, and Comfort Tyler appointed post master. This was the first post office established in the County. One however was opened at Cayuga, then in Onondaga County, the same year. So late as 1812, letters were distributed from the post office at Onondaga Valley to people living in the towns of Camillus, Pom- pey, Marcellus, Otisco, Spafford, Lysander and Manlius. George Kibbe was the first regular merchant in the town of Onondaga, in 1800.
Onondaga Academy was incorporated and organized in 1813, and the building erected in 1814. It was endowed by the State, by a gift of land (lot No. 9,) in the town of Lysander, belonging to the Literature Fund. The Rev. Caleb Alexander was its first Prin- cipal. In 1808 an act was passed authorizing the Governor of the State to deposit five hundred stand of arms at Onondaga, for the defense of the frontier, and such quantities of ammunition and mili- tary stores as would be necessary in case of an invasion. The Governor was also authorized to provide a suitable place for the keeping of said arms and stores. Accordingly, in 1812, was built under the direction of the Governor, the Arsenal, on the hill east of the Hollow. It has long since been abandoned. A newspaper was started in the Hollow, December, 1811, by Thomas Critten- den Fay. It was called the Lynx, having for its motto, " Liberty and my Native Country," published every Wednesday, and deliv- ered to subscribers in the village of Onondaga Valley at two dol- lars per annum. In his prospectus he says : " I shall endeavor to promote the nation's interest with the industry of a BEAVER, while I watch its enemies with the eyes of a LYNX." It was in the office of the Lynx that the celebrated Thurlow Weed first made his de- but. In the short space of twelve months he was devil, printer, journeyman, editor and proprietor. We might well suppose that he was able to keep time with his friend Horace of the Tribune. The first tavern on the Hill was in a log building, kept by William
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Laird. He committed suicide by hanging in October 1802. The first agricultural society formed in the County was held at Onon- daga Hill in 1819. Rattlesnakes were everywhere numerous at the time of the first settlement of the County, and were subjects of continual dread. They were often found in the corner of fire places, and wrapped in the covering of the beds. There are abun- dance of petrifactions in the north part of the town, and along the Onondaga Valley, and several deposits of Calcareous Tufa.
OTISCO was formed from Pompey, Marcellus and Tully, March 21st, 1806. It is an interior town, lying south-west of the center of the County. Its surface is principally occupied by the high ridge between the valleys of Onondaga Creek and Otisco Lake. The lake is 772 feet above tide, and lies upon the west border of the town, in a valley 1000 feet below the summits of the hills. Bear Mountain, (called from the number of these animals infesting it in early times) in the north-west part of the town, overhangs the valley of Onondaga Creek, and is the principal elevation. The soil is generally a sandy or gravelly loam, mixed with clay, and well adapted to grazing. The town is about five miles long and a little over four wide.
Otisco, ( p. v.) situated upon the high ridge near the center of the town, contains a fine church, a school, and several stores and shops.
Amber, (p. v.,) at the foot of Otisco Lake, where there is also a small weak salt spring, has a church and about 30 houses. The lake was called by the Indians, Otskah, also Kaioongk. It is about 5 miles long and one wide.
It was here that the Rust family, from Northampton, Mass., settled in 1801. A large number of settlers, principally from the same place of Mr. Rust, came shortly afterwards. Many literary men of great reputation were born in this town. The settlements were commenced in 1801, five years before its organization, while its territory was comprised in the townships of Tully, Pompey and Marcellus. The first settler in the town was Chauncey Rust, of Massachusetts. His son Timothy was the first white child born in the town. Other settlers soon followed, all of whom were from the New England States. Among them were Rufus Clapp, Ebenezer and Luther French, Otis Baker, Josiah Clark, Lemon Gaylord with. his famous son Wyllys, Charles J. Merriman, Benj. and Amos Cowles, Daniel Bennet, Elias and Jared Thayer, Henry Elsthrop, .. J. and N. Parsons, &c. The first settlement of the town was very. rapid. The first tavern kept in the town was by Benoni Merriman, in a log house near Otisco Center, in 1804. Michael Johnson suo- ceeded him. In 1808, Jesse Swan became the first merchant. A post office was established in 1814, with Dr. French for post mas -- E
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