USA > New York > Ontario County > Gazetteer and business directory of Ontario County, N.Y., for 1867-8 > Part 7
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SENECA was formed in 1793, under the act of Jan. 27, 1789. It is the south-east corner town of the County, and lies on the west shore of Seneca Lake. The surface is rolling, the ridges rising 20 to 200 feet abr . the valleys. The bluffs which form the lake shore rise abor. 100 feet above the lake level. Flint and Keshong Creeks, and Burrall's and Castle Brooks are the principal streams. The soil, which is a deep, rich loam, consisting of sand, gravel, and clay mixed, the gravel predominating on the ridges, is admirably adapted to the business of the nursery, which has be- come one of the leading pursuits of the town. Over 2,500 acres of nursery are under cultivation in the immediate vicinity of Sen- eca. The land is well adapted to the raising of grain, which at- tains a most luxuriant growth. Commerce and manufactures are also receiving considerable attention.
Geneva, (p. ".) the principal village. was incorporated April 4, 1806; has now over 5,000 inhabitants, and is one of the most thriving and beautiful towns in the State. Probably no other place in the country has been more justly and enthusiastically praised by tourists for beauty of scenery and situation. It is lo- cated at the foot of Seneca Lake, the business portion being mainly on the level ground north, and at the foot of the bluff which forms the lake shore on the west. Along this bluff, its entire length com- hnanding a beautiful view of the lake, extends main street. a broad avenue, finely shaded and lined with elegant mansions, surrounded
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by luxuriant flower gardens. The evidences of taste and luxury in the grounds, added to the natural beauty of the lake view, forms a charming scene, which, having been once viewed by the traveler, will not soon be forgotten. Geneva contains two banks, two news- paper cffices, an extensive furniture manufactory, two carriage manufactories, a large elevator, foundry and other important estab- lishments. In matters pertaining to education this town has al- ways stood among the first in the State, and her schools have ac- quired a wide reputation. The Union School of Geneva, was one of the first established in the State, and for many years was taken as a model for others. The plan was proposed by that great pro- moter of education among the people, Francis Dwight, and al- though strenuously opposed at the outset, it demonstrated its supe- riority, and its former enemies became its most earnest friends and supporters. The school accommodates about 800 pupils daily and employs 14 or 15 teachers. The village schools are graded, and embrace a complete common school and academic course. The Walnut Hill Seminary, a large boarding school for boys, is beauti- fully located, and is an excellent and flourishing institution. Be- side these there is the Geneva Grammar School, established in 1866, and also several private schools for ladies. Geneva is also the seat of Hobart College, formerly known as Geneva College, which was founded in 1813 as an Academy, and was incorporated in 1825. It was established mainly through the influence of Bishop Hobart, whose name it now bears. A medical department was created in 1834, and in 1841, the Medical College, with its spacious lecture rooms and laboratory, was erected, the State paying $15,000 toward the edifice. The trustees and members of the College Faculty are generally members of the Protestant Episcopal church, but the College is open to all, and free, no charge being made for tuition and room rent. The College Faculty is composed of a President, six Professors and a Tutor, and the Medical Department has a Fac- ulty of six Professors. The College grounds are beautifully situa- ted on a bluff, commanding a view of Seneca Lake, and contains about 12 acres, on which there are two large buildings for the use of pupils, a building for the Medical Department, and a handsome stone chapel, erected at a cost of 812,000 and presented to the College by William B. Douglass. The Geneva Water Cure and Hygienic Institute is finely located near the center of the village, in what was formerly the Geneva Hotel building, erected in 1794. There are seven or eight church edifices in town, including some fine structures, and a costly stone edifice, to be called "The De Laney Memorial Church," is soon to be erected in memory of Bishop DeLancy. The Young Men's Association was formed in 1860, and incorporated in 1864, since which time it has been in active operation. A library was established in 1861, which now
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contains about 600 volumes. Connected with it is a reading room, supplied with the leading daily and weekly papers, and home and foreign magazines, both secular and religious. The room is sup- ported by subscriptions of the members, and is a credit both to the Association and the village.
The country in the immediate vicinity of Geneva, presents a charm- ing variety of hill and dale. The land rises from the lake shore in a series of terraces or ridges, whose summits are adorned by fine mansions, embowered among the trees, and whose slopes smile with a profusion of luxuriant grass and grain. The White Springs Farm, owned by Mr. James O. Sheldon, Ex-President of the State Agri- cultural Society, is one of the finest in the State. Mr. Sheldon is greatly interested in the improvement of stock, and owns one of the most valuable herds in the State. The splendid residence of Judge Foote, and the large and elegant dwelling of Mr. Nehemiah Den- ton, are noticeable among the many showy buildings in the vicinity of the village. A daily line of steamers connects this place with the upper ports on Seneca Lake. The Geneva and Watkins Steam- boat Co., run a passenger boat daily, which connects at Watkins with the Northern Central Railway of Penn., and the Erie Railroad at Elmira. The " Duncan MaGee," owned by Capt. D. Dey, leaves Geneva in the morning, making the trip to Watkins and return the same day, with the same connections as the passen- ger boat of the other line. Several tugs are employed in towing on the lake. Geneva has water connection with the Pennsylvania coal mines, via Chemur 'anal, Junction Canal, and North Branch Canal, of Penn. Th. connage on this route is principally of coal. but considerable lumber is also transported. Watkins is a great coal depot, immense quantities being brought by rail in the winter season, and deposited there, the bulk of which is bituminous coal from the Blossburg mines. The place has also a water connection with the north-east, via Cayuga and Seneca Canal, which is 22 miles long, with the same depth as the Erie, and connects with the latter at Montezuma. Seneca Lake boasts a phenomenon in the shape of a remarkable tree, called "The Wandering Jew," which for many years has floated through the lake, alternating between cither end. It is alive, the branches being above water, while the trunk and roots are kept below, probably by the accumulations of earth and stones among the latter. It is traditionally held that the boat which hap- pens to run against " The Wandering Jew," is thereafter fated to all sorts of disaster and to final wreck. One feature of Seneca Lake is the fact that navigation is never obstructed by ice, as it is never known to freeze over. Mrs. Bradford in her well written historical sketch says: "I think we have got back about as far as we can go in our efforts to find the first traces of a settle- ment at Geneva, when we discover, in June, 1787, 'a solitary log
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house, and that not finished, inhabited by one Jennings.' But be- fore the close of another year, others had joined him, and Indian traders had begun to settle on the bank of the lake." In the fall of 1788, Geneva had become a pretty brisk place, being the cen- tral point for speculators, explorers, and the Lessee Company and their agents. It was the principal seat of the Indian trade for a broad region of country. Horatio Jones was living in a log house, covered with bark, on the bank of the lake, and had a small stock of goods for the Indian trade ; Asa Ransom, occupied a hut, and was manufacturing Indian trinkets ; Lark Jennings had a log tav- ern on the bank of the lake, and the Lessee Company had a framed tavern and trading -establishment, covered with bark, on the bluff near the lake shore. There was also a cluster of log houses all along the low ground near the lake. All that was done at Geneva prior to 1793, was under the auspices of Reed and Ryckman and the Lessees. The little village which had sprung up there, the scattered settlements in the Lessee towns and upon the Gore, to- gether with that of that strange person, "The Universal Friend," at Jerusalem, constituted a majority of all the population west of Seneca Lake. "The District of Seneca," which, so far as organization was concerned, embraced all the region reaching north to Lake Ontario, held its first town meeting in April, 1793, at the house of Joshua Fairbanks. Ezra Patterson was chosen Supervisor, and Thomas Sisson, Town Clerk. In 1800 the number of persons assessed to work on highways in the town of Seneca, was 290.
The limits of a work of this kind forbid that we should follow out the details of early settlement at Geneva, and a briefreview of some of the most noticeable facts must suffice. Herman H. Bo- gart commenced the practice of law in Geneva in 1797, and he ob- serves that when he came there land speculation was at its height. Board was 84 per week at the hotel; eligible building lots of three- fourths of an acre were sold for $500, and farming lands brought $5 per acre, that were afterward sold for $2 and $3. Mr. William- son, agent of the Pulteney Estate, had a sloop on the lake, engaged in bringing down lumber; the mail was brought from Albany twice a week. on horseback, and the new place was getting on swim- mingly. Other early lawyers were Pollydore B. Wisner, Daniel W. Lewis, Robert W. Stoddard, John Collins and David Hudson. The early merchants, other than those acting under Indian and Lessee occupancy, were Grieve and Moffatt, Samuel Colt, Richard M. Williams, Elijah H. Gordon, Richard M. Bailey, and Abraham Dox. Grieve and Moffat established the first brewery in all this section of country. Dr. Adams was the early physician. The first grist mill was erected by Cornelius Roberts, and the first saw mill by P. B. Wisner, in 1798. The first marriage was that of Dr.
3
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Joel Prescott and Miss Phila Reed, and the first school was taught by Samuel Wheaton, in 1792. A Presbyterian society was organ- ized in Geneva in 1798, but no church was built till 1811. In 1806, "nineteen persons of full age, belonging to the Protestant Episco- pal Church, assembled, and there being no Rector, John Nicholas presided," and Trinity Church was then and there organized. The Rev. Davenport Phelps was the first officiating clergyman. A church was erected in ISOS. Wm. Tappan, John and Abraham B. HIall, John Sweeney, Jonathan Doane, Moses Hall, and Jacob and Joseph Backentose were among the earliest mechanics .- Jonathan Doane was the father of Bishop Doane, and erected all the primitive churches. Jacob and Joseph Backentose were the pioneer tailors of the Genesee country, and the time was when to wear a coat from their shop marked the possessor as an aristocrat. Members, before going to Congress or the Legislature, generally got a coat of the " Geneva tailor," but never before elec- tion. Col. James Bogart, the early editor of The Geneva Gazette, says: "In 1805, Geneva contained but sixty-eight houses. There. were thirty-five on Main street, seven on Seneca street, five on Castle street, two on Genesee street, and one on Pulteney street .- Some of the more important streets of the village were not then laid out." * *
* * " It is worthy of remark that the north side of Seneca street, on which there is now (1833) a compact mass of beautiful and substantial buildings, was, long after we com- menced the publication of our paper, improved as a mowing field."
The society of Geneve has, from the very first, been noted for high tone of manners 4 cultivated intellect, and has attracted thither many eminent men. Among the most distinguished resi- dents at the present time are Commodore. T. J. Craven, Judge Samuel A. Foote, Gen. Joseph G. Swift, Senator Charles J. Folger, Comptroller Thomas Hillhouse, Gen. M. R. Patrick, Mr. James O. Sheldon, Commodore J. W. Swift and Commodore James Glynn.
Castleton, (Seneca Castle P. O.,) on Flint Creek, in the north- west part, contains two churches and thirty-five houses. Flint Creek, (p. o.,) Hall's Corners, (p. o.,) and Stanley's Corners, (p. o .. ) are hamlets.
About one and a half miles north-west of Geneva is a beautiful ground called the " Old Castle," where there was an Indian orchard, and where the ground has never been plowed, because of a stipula- tion to that effect with the Indians in the treaty of purchase. For many years the Indians came at plowing time and watched this ground, to see that the stipulation was not broken. It contains an Indian burial ground, and in one corner the trench of an ancient stockade fortification may be discovered. Many relies-as stone hatchets, arrow heads, pipes, etc., are found in this vicinity.
The amount of money expended for common school purposes in
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the town in the year 1866-7, was $12,660.90, the amount appor- tioned being $3,010.73, the value of school property $15,378, and the average daily attendance 1,094.
SOUTHI BRISTOL was formed from Bristol, March 8, 1838. It lies upon the west shore of Canandaigua Lake, south- west of the centre of the County. The surface consists of an ele- vated upland, divided into four ranges by the valleys of Grind- stone and Mud Creeks and Egypt Brook. The summits of the ridges rise 1,000 feet above the lake, and the declivities are very steep. The bluffs along the lake shore are 300 to 400 feet high. The soil is a mixture of clay and disintegrated slate, and although it is rich and productive, the hilly nature of the town has tended to retard its cultivation. The value of school property is $4,825. The amount of school expenses for the year 1866-7 was 82,715.33; the amount of public money apportioned, $647.28, and the aver- age daily attendance 176.
South Bristol (p. o.) is a hamlet, and contains a Congregational church, the only church building in town. Boswell's Corners con- tains a store and about a dozen houses. There is a saw mill and a grist mill near by. Cold Spring is a hamlet. Seneca Point, referred to in another connection, is a popular summer resort. It was originally known as " Wilder's Point," and set- tlement was commenced there by Gamaliel Wilder, in 1789. Ati Indian orchard, on the lake shore, at this place, induced him to settle here. This was the only Indian orchard left undestroyed in Sullivan's march, and a few of the old trees are yet standing. Mr. Wilder built the first' saw mill, the first grist mill and distil- lery, at the Point, in 1795. He also put up the first tavern, in 1808. Dr. Hewitt and Geo. Wilder opened the first store, in 1828. Joanna Forbes taught the first school, and Rev. Mr. Rolph was the first settled minister. The first child born was Eli Allen, in 1793.
VICTOR was formed from Bloomfield, May 26, 1812, and is the north-west corner town of the County. The north part is occupied by the drift ridges, which rise 50 to 150 feet above the general surface. Extending across the south part, in a general east and west direction, is a ridge, 100 to 180 feet in height. The chief streams are Irondequoit, Mud, Hog Hollow and Fish Creeks, and Trout Brook. The soil in the central and northern parts is a light, sandy and gravelly loam, but in the south-east it is princi- pally clay. It is particularly adapted to the raising of root crops. Hops are grown to some extent, and considerable attention is paid to improving the breeds of sheep. 83,931.18 was expended for
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common school purposes during the year 1866-7. The amount of public money appropriated to the town for the same period was 8904.63 ; the average daily attendance being 285. The school property is valued at $7.850.
Victor ( p. v.) is a beautiful village near the centre of the town, half a mile from Victor Station, on the N. Y. C. R. R. It was called by the Indians, Ga-o-sa-ga-o, signifying "In the Basswood Country." It contains four churches, a graded district school, and has 510 inhabitants. . The Indian village of Gannagaro, which was utterly destroyed by the Marquis de Nonville, was situated near Victor. Fishers ( p. o.) is a station on the N. Y. C. R. R., in the west part, and East Victor is a hamlet on Mud Creek.
Settlement was commenced in 1789, by immigrants from Stock- bridge, Mass., Enos and Jared Boughton and Jacob Lobdell being among the first. Levi Boughton and Rufus Dryer settled at Boughton Hill, in 1792. The first birth was that of Frederick Boughton, in June, 1791, and the first marriage that of Zebulon Norton and Miss Boughton. Hezekiah Boughton opened the first tavern, at Boughton Hill, in 1792. The first saw mill was built the same year, by Enos and Jared Boughton. Joel Brace was the first practicing physician, and William Bushnell the first permanent merchant. The first town meeting was held in 1813, at which Ja- cob Lobdell was elected Supervisor; Nathaniel Boughton, Ezra Wilmarth, Selleck Boughton, Assessors; Ezekial Scudder, Elisha Williams, Joseph Brar Commissioners of Highways; Rufus Dryer, James Upt Overseers of Poor; Solomon Griswold, Constable and Collector. Few localities in this historic region so abound in interest as Victor Flats, Boughton Hill. and the imme- diate vicinity. When the pioneers penetrated to this section of the wilderness, they found, among the hills and valleys, rude imple- ments of war and of the chase, charred remains of wigwams, and burial places teeming with the moldering bones of by-gone gene- rations, all evineing that this was a favorite place of the Senecas, who were the original occupants of this beautiful and romantic country. Here they worshipped the " Manitous" of their simple faith, and here they assembled in the " Peace Council," or prepared for battle. Standing on the street of the quiet village, one sees spread out before him an attractive landscape, whose interest is in- creased by the throng of historic associations connected with the hills and vales that make up the pleasant scene. Over it all swept the proud hosts of the French invader, combatted at every inch by the Indian braves whose Spartan valor could not make up for their deficiency in numbers. Here glared the flames of their rude huts, the watch-fires of the encamping conquerors; and here, too, long after civilization had placed her imprint on the face of Nature, they lingered around the ruins of their former pride and faded
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glory, until they were thrust away on, on, over the wide desert and mountain barriers, to the shores of the Pacific !
WEST BLOOMFIELD was formed from Bloomfield, Feb. 11, 1833. It lies upon the west border of the County, north of the center. A ridge, 200 to 300 feet high, forming the declivity of a southern terrace, extends across the north part. The surface is gently undulating; the soil a deep, rich, gravelly loam, mixed with clay. In the south there is a spring of carburetted hydrogen gas. Tile and earthware are manufactured to some extent.
West Bloomfield (p. v.) is a village of about 350 inhabitants, situated one and a half miles south of West Bloomfield Station, on the N. Y. C. R. R. A handsome soldier's monument has been erected here since the war. The town contains two churches, and a number of shops and stores. North Bloomfield (p. v.) on the Honeoye Outlet, and Miller's Corners, in the east part, are also railroad stations. At the former there is a church, a woolen fac- tory, two grist mills and two saw mills; the latter is a hamlet, containing one church, and a few houses.
This town was purchased by Amos Hall, Robert Taft, Nathan Marvin and Ebenezer Curtis, and was settled by them in 1789. Mr. Hall was from Guilford, Conn., and took the first census of Ontario County, in 1790, represented the County in Assembly in 1798, and was Major General of militia in the war of 1812. John P. Sears, Peregrine Gardner, Clark Peck, Jasper Marvin, Samuel Miller, John Algur and S. Thayer, settled in 1789-90. Benjamin Gardner, with his sons John and Peregrine, are supposed by some to have been the first settlers. The first birth was that of Lucinda Gardner, in Sept. 1791. Jasper P. Sears kept the first inn, and Royal Hendee the first store. The first saw mill was built by Ebenezer Curtis; the first grist mill by Reuben Thayer. The first religious service was held in 1793. There are now four churches in town.
The amount expended for school purposes in West Bloomfield for the year 1866-7, was $2,280.93 ; the amount of public money apportioned, 8592.88 ; the average attendance 153, and the value of school property $2,835.
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THE STATES, THEIR SETTLEMENT, ETC ..
THE STATES,
THEIR SETTLEMENT, ADMITTANCE TO THE UNION, POPULATION, SUFFRAGE LAWS, ETC.
ALAB.1.1 was settled near Mobile, in 1702, by the French ; was formed into a Territory by act of Congress, approved March 3, 1817, from the eastern portion of the Territory of Mississippi ; framed a Con- stitution August 2, 1819, and was admitted into the Union December 14 of the same year. Area 50,722 square miles, or 32,462,080 acres .- Population in 1860, 964,201, of whom 435,080 were slaves. It is the chief cotton growing State of the Union. White male citizens who have re- sided one year in the State and three months in the county, are entitled to vote. An election for a Convention was held December 24, 1860, and a majority of over # 00 votes cast for secession ; the Convention met January 7, 1861, and . the 11th passed the ordinance of secession, by a vote of 61 to 39, which was followed on the 21st by the resignation of its members of Congress.
'R KM. VSAIS was settled at Arkansas Post in 1685, by the French, and was part of the Louisiana purchase ceded by France to the United States, April 30, 1803. It was formed into a Territory by act of Congress, March 2. 1819, from the southern part of the Territory of Missouri ; its western boundary was settled May 26, 1824, and its southern, May 19, 1828. Having adopted a Constitution, a memorial was presented in Congress, March 1, 1836, and an act for its admission into the Union passed June 15 of the same year. Area 52,198 square miles, or 33,406,- 720 acres. In 1860 its population was 435.450, of whom 111,115 were slaves. It is an agricultural State, its staples being corn and cotton .- Citizenship and residence in the State for six months, qualify voters in the county and district where they reside. January 10, 1861, its Legislature ordered a State Convention, which assembled, and on May 6, voted to secede, 69 to 1. January 4, 1564, a Convention assembled in Little Rock which adopted a new Constitution, the principle feature of which consisted in a clause aboli-hing slavery. The Convention adjourned January 22. This body ako inaugurated a Provisional Government. The Constitution was submitted to the people, and 12,177 votes cast for it, to 226 against it. The State was re-organized under the plan. contained in the Amnesty Proclamation of President LINCOLN, in pursuance of which an election was held! March 14, 1864. The vote required under the Proclamation was 5,405. About 16,000 votes were cast.
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THE STATES, THEIR SETTLEMENT, ETC.
CALIFORNIA was settled at Diego in 1768, by Spaniards, and was part of the territory ceded to the United States by Mexico, by the treaty concluded at Guadaloupe Hidalgo, February 22, 1848. After several inef- fectual attempts to organize it as a Territory or admit it as a State, a law was passed by Congress for the latter purpose, which was approved September 9, 1850. Area 188,981 square miles, or 120,947,784 acres. Population in 1860, 305,439. It is the most productive gold mining re- gion on the continent, and also abounds in many other minerals .- White male citizens of the United States, and those of Mexico who may choose to comply with the provisions of the treaty of Queretaro, of May 30, 1848, who have resided in the State six months and in the county or dis- trict thirty days, are entitled to vote.
CONNECTICUT was settled at Windsor, in 1633, by English Puri- tans from Massachusetts, and continued under the jurisdiction of that Prov- ince until April 23, 1662, when a separate charter was granted, which con- tinued in force until a Constitution was formed, September 15, 1818. It was one of the original thirteen States, and ratified the United States Con- stitution, January 9, 178S. Area 4,674 square miles, or 2,991,360 acres. Population in 1860, 460,147. It is one of the most densely populated and principal manufacturing States in the Union. Residence for six months, or military duty for a year, or payment of State tax, or a free- hold of the yearly value of seven dollars, gives the right to vote.
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