USA > New York > Ontario County > Gazetteer and business directory of Ontario County, N.Y., for 1867-8 > Part 6
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86,335.10 was expended in the town of Manchester for school purposes in 1866-7. The amount apportioned was $1,157.71, and the average daily attendance 396. The school property is valued at $13,742.
Settlement commenced in Manchester, as early as 1793, Stephen Jared, Joel Phelps and Joab Gillett, being the first settlers. Na- than Pierce, from Berkshire, settled in 1795, and put up a log house,
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with floors of split bass wood, and destitute of gable ends, doors or windows. The wild beasts were his only neighbors, and they were noted for their many annoyances. Theophilus Short erected the first mill, at Shortsville, in 1804. the first store was opened by Nathan Barlow, and the first school was taught by Elam Crane in 1800. Joshua Van Fleet was one of the earliest settlers. He was an officer in the Revolutionary war, was the first supervisor of Man- chester, a Judge, magistrate and member of the Legislature from Ontario. James Stewart was the first physician. Peleg Redfield, an early settler, in his reminiscences says : " It was pretty easy for young men to secure farms in the earliest years of settlement. I knew many who received a dollar a day for their labor, and bought land for twenty-five cents per acre." Rev. David Irish preached in this town in 1797, and in Feb. 1800, a society was formed, but the first legally organized society was that of the Baptists, in 1804. Ebenezer Pratt, Joseph Wells and Jeremiah Dewey were the first trustees.
Among later events, Manchester is noted as having been the scene of the birth of Mormonism. Joseph Smith, father of the prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., was from New Hampshire, and first settled near Palmyra, Wayne county, but in 1819 occupied some land on "Stafford Street," in the town of Manchester. " Mormon Hill," called by the Mormons the "Hill of Shim," and locally known as "Gold Bible Hill," is on the road from Manchester vil- lage to Palmyra, and is in the town of Manchester. The father of the prophet was a l' .rsalist, and subsequently a Methodist. and is described as having been a smatterer in Scriptural knowledge. credulous, indolent, a money digger and a believer in the marvel- ous. Mrs. Smith was a woman of strong, but uncultivated intel- lect, artful and cunning; and the first intimations that a prophet was to spring from that household came from her. Their son Al- vah, was originally destined to be the introducer of the new creed, and was pointed out by the father and mother as the chosen one. But Alvah's spiritual nature was overbalanced by his carnal appe- tite ; he ate too many green turnips, sickened and died. The: mantle then descended on Joseph Smith. Jr. "Joe" was a lounger, idler. and, according to the accounts given of him, was not altogether free from vicious habits, while his intellectual ability was below the ordinary. But the embryo prophet was possessed of some of his mother's ambition, and, after catching a spark of Methodistic fire at a camp meeting, in Vienna, he became a passable exhorter. "Mor- mon Hill." had long been designated as the depository of hidden treasure, and old Joseph had often dng there while young Joseph ac- companied his father in his midnight delvings, and witnessed the in- cantations of the spirits that guarded it. There is but little doubt that the primitive design of the Smiths was to make money, and
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that the idea of founding a new sect was an after thought. The ac- count of the discovery of the gold plates, as given by Joe Smith him- self, is briefly as follows: The prophet Joseph was directed by an angel where to find the gold plates, by excavations of the place now called "Mormon Hill," and was compelled by the angel, much against his will, to be the interpreter of this sacred record, and to publish it to the world. He was further instructed that the plates contained a record of the ancient inhabitants of the country,"engraved by Mormon, son of Nephi." That on the box containing the plates would be found " a pair of large spectacles, the stones or glass of which were opaque to all but the prophet ;" that "these belonged to Mormon, the engraver of the plates, and without them they could not be read." Oliver Cowdry, a school teacher on Stafford street, was an intimate of the Smiths, and was identified with the whole matter. Martin Harris, a worthy farmer of Palmyra, a man given to religious enthusiasm and the running after new creeds, was wrought upon by the Smiths, till his sympathy was enlisted, and he gave out that himself and Cowdry were the chosen amanuenses to transcribe the new Bible, as it was interpreted by Smith, who, to guard against profane curiosity, declared that no one, not even his chosen co-operators, could be permitted to see them under penalty of instant death. Harris had never seen the plates, but the glowing accounts of their massive richness stimulated other than spiritual hopes, and he got a silversmith to estimate their value, taking as a basis the prophet's account of their size. Harris' wife was a rank infidel as regarded the whole affair, and she managed somehow to get possession of over one hundred pages of the manuscript and burn it up. It was agreed by the Smiths, Cowdry and Harris, not to re- print it, as the "evil spirit would get up a story that the second translation did not agree with the first." The after thought before alluded to, the founding of a new sect, seems to have been at the suggestion of one Sidney Rigdon, of Ohio, who made his appear- ance about the time the book was issued from the press. He had been a Baptist Elder, but had lost his standing in that society, and became the projector of the new sect. Joe Smith began to prophesy, Mrs. Smith assumed the air and dignity of the mother of a prophet, and one after another enthusiast was drawn in to swell the propor- tions of the disgraceful swindle. Then occurred the hegira to Kirt- land, then to Nauvoo, and, after a brief stay in Missouri, on over the Rocky Mountains to Utah, where dwellings, temples, cities and a State have been erected on its rotten and unstable foundations. Crooked Brook, the stream in which the baptism of Smith's moth- er and others of the first saints took place, runs through the north- west part of the town, and the occasion when these baptisms took place are remembered by many who are now living.
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NAPLES, originally called " Watkinstown," and by the Indians Nun-da-wa-o, "Great Hill," was formed Jan. 27, 1789, as " Middletown," but the name was changed in April, 1806. Italy was taken off in 1815, and a part of Springwater in 1816. It is the extreme south town of the County, and the surface is a hilly an elevated upland, broken by the deep and narrow valleys of Canandaigua and Honeoye Inlets and Grindstone Creek. The hill summits are 600 to 1,000 feet above the lake surface, and 1,300 to 1,700 feet above tide. . The declivities bordering on the streams in general are very steep, High Point and Hatch Hill being the high- est summits. Upon the hills the soil consists of clay and gravel mixed with disintegrated shale and slate; and in the valley's it is a rich, gravelly loam, mixed with alluvium. Considerable atten- tion is given to fruit growing. Peaches are raised quite exten- sively, and the cultivation of grapes forms an important and suc- cessful feature in the business of the town. In the southern and western parts the hillsides are everywhere dotted with thrifty and beautiful vineyards, and their cultivation is proved to be highly profitable. The Isabella and Catawba are the principal varieties cultivated. Wool growing and the breeding of fine sheep is also receiving a great deal of attention.
Naples ( p. v.) on the Canandaigua Inlet. four miles from the lake, is a beautiful and flourishing town of 700 inhabitants. It contains four churches, three grist mills, an iron foundry and man- ufactory of agriculture . Anplements. and a carding factory. A valuable hay fork is also manufactured here. The Naples Leade- iny was founded in 1860, and is capable of accommodating 200 to 250 pupils. The school is located in the central part of the village, and is in a flourishing condition. The building is of brick, of hand- some architectural design and proportion, and is surrounded by ample and beautiful grounds. A stage line connects Naples with Woodville, at the head of Canandaigua Lake, whence connection is had with Canandaigua by the daily steamers. The trip from Can- andaigua to Woodville affords a delightful variety of beautiful and picturesque scenery, and will well repay the traveler who makes it. Along the west side of the Inke numerous cabins are to be seen nestling among the shrubbery near the verge of the water, which are the summer retreats of various Sportsmen's Clubs, who aunu- ally repair thither in search of game. The ruilled grouse, duck, and various kinds of small game, are abundant in the proper season, and the lake abounds in trout, black bass, white fish and pickerel. Seneca Point, ten miles above Canandaigua, is a charming summer retreat, reached by steamer four times a day. A new hotel has recently fbeen opened at this place, and there are also mineral springs, de- lightful groves for pic nics; excellent facilities for rowing and bath-
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ing, glens, walks, and everything necessary to make the place at- tractive and pleasant.
William Watkins, of Berkshire, Mass., from whom the town took its original name, was one of the original purchasers from Phelps and Gorham, and commenced a settlement there as early as 1789-90. In Feb., 1790, Samuel, Reuben, and Levi Parish. with their families, came in; and, in the following April, Nathan and William Watkins, John Johnson, Jonathan Lee, and William Clark, with their families, numbering thirty persons, also became settlers. The Duke Liancourt visited the settlement in 1795, while on his way from Bath to Canandaigua, at which time it seems there was a considerable settlement. He speaks of "Capt. Met- calf," with whom he staid over night, his "lands, inn and saw mill," and states that a school had been started. The first birth was that of Phineas T. Lee, and the first marriage that of Benj. Clark and Thankful Watkins in 1795. The first saw mill was put up in 1792, by Benj. Clark and Jabez Metcalf. Susannah Parish taught the first school, in 1792. Myron H. Clark. Ex-Governor of the State of New York, was born in this town Oct. 23, 1806. Rev. Zadock Hunn preached the first sermon, in June, 1792. There are now five churches in town.
The present value of school property in Naples is $4,965; the amount of public money appropriated in 1866-7 was $1,004.68 ; the school expenses 83,496.55, and the average daily attendance 272.
PHELPS .- The original name of this town was "Sullivan," but in 1796, at the request of Oliver Phelps, the original proprie- tor of the land. it name was changed. and as a bonus for the hon- or, he gave the inhabitants an entertainment at Oaks' Tavern. The town was formed in 1796, under the act of Jan. 27, 1789. A part was annexed to Lyons, Wayne County, April 11, 1823. It is the north-east corner town of the County, and has a rolling surface, the ridges rising in gradual slopes 20 to 100 feet above the val- leys, the highest point being 300 feet above Canandaigua Lake. The soil in the east is a sandy loam with a clay subsoil ; in the north a mixed sandy and clayey loam, and in the west a sandy and coarse gravelly loam. It is exceedingly fertile and productive. Canandaigua Outlet, which is the principal stream, flows, east and north, through the centre. Extensive quarries of gypsum and water limestone lie along its course, and the Onondaga and cor- niferous limestones are likewise quarried in town. The amount of money expended during the school year of 1866-7, was 88,481.79, the amount apportioned being $2,022.58. The value of scho 1 property was 816,425, and the average daily attendance 630.
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Phelps. (p. v .. ) formerly called "Vienna," is located on Flint Creek, near its junction with Canandaigua Outlet. It was incor- porated Jan. 2, 1855, and is now a growing and beautiful village. It contains a flourishing union school, a newspaper office, a bank of deposit, and six churches. There are seven malt houses in the village, with an aggregate capacity of 250,000 bushels. The grain is mostly drawn from the surrounding country, and the malt is marketed principally at New York and Philadelphia, though Balti- more is also becoming a good market for the article. Quite an extensive paper mill for the manufacture of printing and wrapping paper from straw. under the new hydrostatic process, is situated on the Canandaigua Outlet, just outside of the village limits. There are also five flouring mills with about 15 run of stone, two plaster mills, a cheese factory, an iron foundry and manufactory of agricultural implements, a tannery, soap factory and yeast cake factory, in the place. It numbers about 1,500 inhabitants, and is situated on the N. Y. C. R. R., in the midst of as fertile and beau- tiful a tract of country as can be found anywhere in Central or Western New York. The beds of gypsum which lie on the banks of' Canandaigua Outlet from Phelps to Gypsum, a distance of five iniles, form no inconsiderable source of wealth to the town. Or- leans (p. v.) is situated on Flint Creek, and contains a flouring mill, a slate flour mill, for grinding slate used in the manufacture of plastic roofing, a saw mill and two churches. There are extensive slate quarries along Flint Creek, which have only recently been opened. The populati .s about 200. "Oaks' Corners, ( p. 2.,) on the N. Y. C. R. R., contains about 20 houses, and one church, (Presbyterian.) which was raised in 1804, being the first house of worship in the town. The culture of raspberries is extensively carried on at this place.
Jolm Decker Robinson, of Claverack, Columbia County, the first settler, came to the town of Phelps, then Sullivan, in 1788, and purchased lot No. 14, in No. 11, in the first range of townships, which was surveyed to contain 320 acres. The wholesale price of land was 2s, per acre; but the surveyor was allowed to deviate from that to a limited extent and add a trifle when the quality of the land seemed to justify it. In the exercise of that privilege he sold the land to Mr. Robinson at 2s. 6d. per acre, but a mistake of 170 aeres in the survey, in the purchaser's favor, reduced the price to 2s. per acre. The purchase price amounted to $100, and Mr. Robinson paid it by building for Mr. Phelps a house at Canandai- gua, partly of logs and partly framed, valued at that amount. This purchase embraced a large part of the old village of Vienna, inelnd- ing some of the finest land in the whole County. In 1789, Mr. Robinson's family came to the new country, and, shortly after, three or four others followed them. Harry H. Robinson, son of
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John Decker Robinson, was the first white child born in the town. In 1791, following the lead of Robinson and the Grangers, came Jonathan Oaks, Seth Deane, Oliver Humphrey and Elias Dickin- son. Jonathan Oaks was the primitive landlord, building as early as 1794 the large framed tavern at Oaks' Corners, which is yet standing in a tolerably good state of preservation. It was consid- ered a very aristocratic establishment, as it rose up among the sur- rounding log cabins, and its enterprising builder was looked upon as being a good way in advance of the times. It was the second framed tavern west of Geneva, and probably there were not then half a dozen framed buildings west of that place. About the year 1816, the celebrated Race Course was established on the broad sweep of level ground on the Oaks farm, which passengers on the cars may observe in the rear of the church. For years it was a great gathering place for sportsmen ; race horses coming from the south, Long Island and New Jersey, to there test their speed. Seth Deane was the pioneer on the present site of Phelps village, and he put up the primitive grist mill and saw mill upon Flint Creek. Rev. Solomon Goodale was the first preacher of the Gos- pel,-preaching in school houses and dwellings before any churches were built. At the raising of the Presbyterian church at Oaks' Corners, Cotton Dickinson was instantly killed by a falling stick of timber. Dr. Joel Prescott was the first physician and one of the first supervisors. The first Town Meeting was held at Oaks' Corners, in 1796. Jonathan Oaks was chosen Supervisor and Solomon Goodale, Town Clerk. The first merchant in town was John R. Green, who commenced business at Oaks' Corners. Orrin Redfield was the first merchant in Vienna (Phelps). A-post office was established at the latter place in 1812, a sum being raised by subscription sufficient to defray the expense of carrying the mail on horseback once a week to and from Geneva. The first marriage was that of Joseph Annin-afterward Judge Annin-and Miss Read, daughter of Seth Read; Thomas Sisson, Esq., tying the silken knot. The bride's father was obstinately opposed to his daughter's marrying the man of her choice, and forbad him en- tering the house. But, one evening about twilight, young Annin happening to pass the house in company with Squire Sisson, Miss Read, who was milking the cows near the highway, put her pail aside for the time being, the parties stood up under the spreading boughs of a neighboring apple tree, and were then and there sol- emnly and legally made man and wife. The Justice and the bride- groom then proceeded on their way, and Mrs. Annin finished milk- ing the cow which she commenced as Miss Read.
The early settlers in Phelps, as in other sections of the then wil- derness, were not a little troubled by the Indians and wild beasts, their constant neighbors. Mrs. Whitmore, who lived to a good
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old age, used to relate many interesting incidents, and, among oth- ers. the following : On one occasion, all the members of the family except her, had left home, to be absent during the day and succeeding . night. During the day an Indian. partly intoxicated, came in and demanded bread. She informed him there was none baked, and to convince him exhibited the dough she had prepared for baking. He told her she lied, drew his knife, and, flourishing it over her, de- elared he would have some bread. On this she grasped the cheese tongs, the only weapon of defence in reach. and made toward her coppor colored antagonist. when he beat a precipitate retreat and never troubled her again, though she retired to her lonely couch that night in intense fear lest he should repeat his visit. In the night she heard a step in the shed where stood the cheese press, and was sure that the frightened brave had gained courage and was returning. The noise outside soon. ceased, but she did not dare to go to the door till morning, when she found that her cheese had been stolen, not by an Indian, but by a bear.
RICHMOND was formed in 1796, under the act of Jan. 27, 1789, as " Pittstown." Its name was changed to " Hon- roye," April 6, 1808, and to Richmond, April 11, 1815. A por- tion of Canadice was annexed April 30, 1836, and parts of Bristol and South Bristol in 1848; but the latter were restored in 1552. It lies on the west border of the County, south of the centre, and consists of a portion of 'oud nearly square, lying near the foot of Honeoye Lake, and a Low strip extending along the east shore of that lake and its inlet, to the south border of the County .--- This narrow section was added on account of its position, as high ridges of mountain shut it off from the business centres of both Canadice and South Bristol. The centre is occupied by a broad valley, opening towards the north, and surrounded on the three remaing sides by hills from 50 to 200 feet high. The summits of the southern part, which is extremely hilly, rise 500 feet above the surface of the lake. Honeoye and Hemlock Outlets, and Egypt Brook, are the principal streams. On the lowlands the soil is clay, and on the hills clay mixed with sandy loam. Much at- tention is given to improving the breeds of sheep and cattle, and it is the largest wool growing town in the County. The value of school property in this town is $4,875; the amount of money ap- propriated for the public schools for the year 1866-7 was $640.90 : the amount of school expenses, 82,035.47, and the average daily at- tendance, 155.
Honcoye, ( p. r.) at the foot of the lake of the same name, is the business centre of the town, and a place of considerable activity aol importance. It contains a church, furnace, machine shop, sev- eral mills and stores, and has about 300 population. Richmond
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Mills is a post office, and Richmond Centre is a hamlet, containing a church and a few houses. Allen's Hill, (p. o.) named after Na- thaniel Allen, one of the first settlers, contains two churches and about 20 houses.
There are six churches in town. Settlement commenced in 1789. In April, 1787, three young men,-Gideon Pitts, James Goodwin and Asa Simmons-left their native place, Dighton, Mass., to seek a new home in the wilderness. They located at what is now Elmira, and during the summer planted and raised a crop of Indian corn. On returning to their native town, their favorable representations induced the formation of the "Dighton Company," for the purpose of buying lands of Phelps and Gorham, as soon as the latter had perfected their title. Calvin Jacobs and Gideon Pitts were deputed to attend the treaty and select the tract. As soon as the townships were surveyed, the company purchased 46,080 acres, embracing the most of what was afterwards included in the towns of Richmond, Bristol, and the fraction of number nine on the east side of Canandaigua Lake. The title was taken in the name of Calvin Jacobs and John Smith. In 1789, Capt. Peter Pitts, his son William, Deacon George Codding and his son George, Calvin Jacobs and John Smith, came to the new purchase and surveyed what is now Richmond and Bristol. Rev. John Smith, one of the party, on their arrival at Canandaigua, preached the first sermon there, and the first in all the Genesee country, save those by the Indian missionaries, and the chaplain at Fort Niagara, and at Brant's Indian Church, at Lewistown. The lands were ap- portioned by lottery, and Capt. Pitts drew for his share 3,000 acres, at the foot of Honeoye Lake, embracing the flats, and a cleared field which had been the site of an Indian village destroyed by Sullivan's army. The improvement of the tract was begun by Gideon and William Pitts, in 1790, and for three years the Pitts family was the only one in town. Their house being on the Indian trail from Canandaigua to the Genesee River, which was also the primitive road traveled by white settlers, it enjoyed a wide notori- ety in those early days. Louis Phillipe, when from a lonely wander- er in the wilds of America he had risen to his throne, remembered and spoke of having spent a night in the log house of Capt. Pitts. The first training in the Genesee country was held at this place, the soldiers being a militia company commanded by Capt. William Wadsworth. Pitt's Flats was for many years afterward a popular training ground. Nathaniel Allen established the first blacksmith shop, at Allen's Hill. He was subsequently Sheriff of Ontario County, Member of Assembly, Army Paymaster in 1812, and Member of Congress in 1819. Capt. Pitts opened the first tavern, and the first saw and grist mills were built by Thomas Morris in 1795. Drs. Lemuel and Cyrus Chipman, who came in 1795, were
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enterprising and public spirited men. Lemuel Chipman was an early member of the Legislature, Judge of Ontario County, twice elector of President and Vice President, and a State Senator .- Roswell Turner was also an early and active settler, and his daugh- ter, Mrs. Farnum, says in her reminiscences : "I remember very well, that when early deaths ocourred in our family, no seasoned boards could be obtained for coffins, short of taking down a partition of our log house." On "Phelps' Flats," at the foot of Honeoye Lake, many brass kettles, beads, etc., were ploughed up by the first settlers. The Indians used to relate that the approach of Sul- livan's army was undiscovered by them till they were seen coming over the hill near where Capt. Pitts afterward built his house .- They were quietly braiding their corn and boiling their succotash, and all took to flight. One Indian admitted that he never looked back till he reached Buffalo Creek. The bears and wolves greatly annoyed the early settlers. The former would steal and devour their swine in broad daylight, and the latter were a terror to trav- elers. On one occasion, after unsuccessfully attacking a traveler, they ran off into the woods, where they had a fight among them- selves, and destroyed one of their own number.
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