USA > New York > Orleans County > Gazetteer and business directory of Orleans County, N.Y. for 1869 > Part 10
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weeks in the journey, arrived at their place of destination with no shelter until one was erected by their own hands. The Oak Or- chard Road was originally an Indian trail which they were accus- tomed to travel in their visits from the south to the lake, where they annually resorted to catch fish, which in the spring came up the creek from the lake. The mounds of earth, containing bones and Indian implements, found upon the banks of the creek, indicate that this was a favorite burying ground for the natives. This trail passed over the dryest portions of the land, having little regard to direct lines or the distance to be traveled. The early settlers im- proved this road by cutting ont the trees and constructing sluices and causeways where the land was too wet for carriages without these improvements. For some distance through the north part of Main Street, in the village of Albion, a causeway of logs was laid at an early day, extending to the north line of the corporation. In 1803, or about that tinie, the Holland Company caused a survey of the Oak Orchard Road. By that survey it was laid due south from the Five Corners, in Gaines, to the forks of the road south of Barre Center, straightening so far the Indian trail. It was not opened precisely as laid out but bears north, five and a half degrees east, through the village of Albion. Settlements were commeroad along this road at an early day, it being the only road over wich teams could pass from Batavia to the lake, the two points between which communication was most important. From this and the Ridge Road settlers penetrated to all parts of the County, and the population was rapidly increasing, when the capture of Fort Ni- agara by the British so alarmned the citizens that many of them fled from their homes, but soon returned. After the return of peace the tide of immigration again set in and contined to flow steadily for several years. Settlements increased rapidly along the Ridge Road until the completion of the Erie Canal, when the region fur- ther south began to be rapidly filled up. Since that time steady progress has been made in every element of material prosperity, until the County occupies a front rank among the best agricultural regions of the State.
At an early period Mr. Ellicott, the agent of the Holland Com- pany, conceived the idea of laying out a town at the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek. In a letter to Paul Busti, he says: " You will permit me to mention to you the propriety of opening a township or two for sale on the Lake Ontario shore, as no doubt people will be moving into this purchase by water, and unless we have some establishment on the Lake, and a road etlected from the district to said establishment, such persons will be put to considerable in- convenience. I would therefore propose, as there is a good harbor for boats in township No. 16, 2d Range, that the said township should be opened for sale. Indeed an establishment on the Lake
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cannot, in my opinion, be begun at too early a period, as the farm- ers in the Purchase will require a place to convey their potash to deposit on the Lake, in order to be sent to Montreal or New York, as may be most likely to produce a market, and also for a place to receive their salt, and without such an establishment many will have to go considerably farther, as well as carry their money into other settlements in which we are not interested."
In 1803 a village called Manilla was platted at the mouth of the Oak Orchard Creek. It was supposed that the trade from a large portion of the Purchase would find its channel through the Lake, and as there was a tolerable harbor at this point, Manilla was des- tined to be the commercial emporium of a large extent of country. It was with a view to this that the Oak Orchard Road, from Ba- tavia, north, to this place, was opened at so early a day. Any vessels that were upon the Lake at that time could enter the har- bor without difficulty. The harbor has been gradually filling up, rendering it Less valuable until the recent improvements, and those already projected seem destined to make it more available for commercial purposes.
It has already been stated that black salts formed an important article of export during the early years of the settlement. Every kettle that could be made available was brought into use, and some- times several would club together and purchase a caldron kettle for the purpose. It is related of Hon. Ephraim Hart, of Utica, that he transported one hundred potash kettles from that place to Batavia, and sold them to the settlers chiefly on credit, that they might have the means of converting their ashes into a marketable com- modity. Soon after the war, Van Rensselaer Hawkins, James Mathers and Messrs. E. & D. Nichols, commenced the manufac- ture of pot and pearl ash at Gaines. This afforded a ready market for black salts and was about the only means afforded for obtain- ing money with which to purchase the few necessaries of life not raised upon the soil. The sugar maple afforded a supply of sweet- ening, but many articles, now considered indispensable, could not as readily be procured.
Lumber became an article of commerce in 1816 or 1817, and soon extended along the Lake to Niagara River. Staves were ex- ported at first and subsequently ship timber, until the fine groves of oak between the Ridge and the Lake disappeared. Most of it was sent to Montreal.
The first mail was carried through on the Ridge Road, by James Brown, on horseback. In 1816 there was a daily stage line, and this mode of conveyance continued to increase until the completion of the canal ; sometimes as many as eight or ten loaded coaches passing in a day.
Bilious fever, and ague and fever prevailed extensively for seve-
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ral years, but as the forests were removed, the stagnant water and the decaying vegetable matter gradually disappeared, until no healthier region can be found in the State than Orleans County.
The Erie Canal was commenced July 4, 1817, at Rome. The middle section was completed in 1819. In 1821 it was so far com- pleted that boats passed from the east side of' Genesee River to Little Falls, and on the 8th of October, 1823, it was navigable to the Hudson River. Nothing was done west of the Genesee River, except to execute the preliminary surveys, until 1821, when the route wa's decided upon, and the work immediately put under con- traet and prosecuted with great vigor. The entire work was so far completed as to admit of the passage of boats on the 26th day of October, 1825. Great preparations had been made for a grand jubilee at the opening of the Canal. A fleet of boats upon which were Governor Clinton, with other State officers, and delegations from the cities and villages along the line, entered the Canal at Buffalo, under a salute from the Military. Cannon were placed at intervals along the line ard discharged in succession as the signal from the west announced the departure of the fleet from Buffalo, and in this way the information was telegraphed to the Metropolis. All along the line the greatest demonstrations of joy were manifest. The grand pageant ended by the sailing down the Bay of New York of an immense fleet and there, accompanied by appropriate ceremonies, a keg of water carried from Lake Erie was poured into the ocean. The keg was then filled with sea-water and returned to Buffalo, where it was poured into the lake, thus uniting the inland seas with the great ocean.
When the news of the capture of Fort Niagara reached Orleans County, Captain McCarty, of Gaines, rallied a company which had been previously organized, and started for the frontier. As they approached Mulyneux's Tavern, in Cambria, in the night, they saw a light, and making a reconnoissance discovered several Indians and soldiers asleep with their guns stacked in one corner of the room. The house was surrounded and Captain McCarty with a few men rushed in and succeeded in getting between the soldiers and their guns. A few of the Indians in attempting to reach their guns were killed ; one soldier was also killed ; the others surrendered. They encamped at Hardscrabble, and while there captured a squad of marauding British as they were proceeding to Youngstown with their booty. The British were compelled to carry back their plun- der and were afterwards sent as prisoners to Batavia. McCarty and his company remained in the service fifteen or twenty days, and were then discharged, their places being supplied by others. Captain MeCarty died soon after.
The Orleans County Agricultural Society was organized in 1856. Fairs have been held annually since that time, and the results have
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been generally satisfactory. A good degree of interest has been manifest among the farmers, and a generous rivalry, that has tended to improve the farms and lead to a great improvement in the char. acter of the stock of the County. The Fair Ground of the Society, embracing 17 acres, is located in the west part . of the village of Albion, is well fenced and contains several buildings erected for various purposes and a good trotting course of half a mile in extent. The officers of the Society are John N. Proctor, President; Benj. F. Baldwin, 1st Vice President; Howard Abel, Treasurer ; Henry Curtis, Secre- tary.
The war that so recently raged in our country, carrying sorrow and sadness to so many heartsand homes, but resulting so glorious- .ly for Liberty and Humanity, was nobly sustained by the loyal citizens of Orleans County. The Census Report of 1865 is too unreliable upon which to base an estimate of the number of men volunteering to serve in the army during the war, and other statis- tics are not at hand by which we can do justice to the patriotism of the County. It must therefore suffice to say that Orleans sus- tained an honorable position among the counties of the State, both as regarded men and means for sustaining the Government when its life was threatened by the reckless cohorts of treason and sla- very. Though the great mass of the people were engaged in the peaceable pursuits of agriculture, the furthest possible from the camp and the battle-field, yet when the intelligence was flashed across the continent that Fort Sumter had been attacked and its gallant defenders compelled to surrender to the overwhelming hosts of the Rebels, every loyal heart beat with indignation, and resolved that the stain should be wiped out, though at the cost of his own blood. How promptly they responded to the repeated calls for men to go to the field, is known to the citizens, and how many cheerfully gave their lives in defense of the principles for which our fathers fought, cannot now be told, but their memory will be as incense arising morning and evening, reminding us of the blessings preserved and perpetuated to us and our posterity to the remotest period of time. Let us ever remember for what they fought and shed their blood, and let us remember too that it is for us to see that these blessings be not lost by any neglect to preserve by the ballot what was so gloriously transmitted to us by the bul- let, but may Union and Liberty go hand in hand until the Heavens and the Earth shall pass away and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
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GAZETTEER OF TOWNS.
BARRE, named from Barre, Mass., was formed from Gaines, March 6, 1818. It is the central town upon the south border of the County, and embraces the original Townships 14 of Ranges 1 and 2, and parts of Townships 15 of the same Ranges, being th .. largest town in the County. Its surface is undulating and its soil a rich loam underlaid by the Niagara limestone. The Tonawanda Swamp occupies a narrow strip along the south part.
Albion, (p. v.) originally called Newport, is the County Seat and was incorporated April 21, 1828. It is situated on the Erie Canal. is the principal station on the New York Central Railroad between Rochester and Lockport, and about midway between these places. It contains six churches, viz., Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian. Episcopalian, Free Methodist and Roman Catholic; the County buildings, Phipps Union Female Seminary, Albion Academy, two newspaper offices, two banks, several manufactories and about 5,- 000 inhabitants. The village is regularly laid out and the streets are ornamented with beautiful rows of shade trees. There are several large business blocks and many beautiful private residences in various parts of the village. Considering the beauty of the sur- rounding scenery, the facilities for communication with all parts, its literary institutions and the healthfulness of the location, it is one of the most desirable places for residence in Western New York. The village is lighted with gas.
Phipps Union Female Seminary, incorporated by the Regents, February 11, 1840, is located upon a beautiful site commanding a view of the village and the surrounding country. The main build- ing is of brick, forty by sixty feet, and four stories high, including the basement. A large wing, two stories high, has been added
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since the erection of the main building. The grounds are orna- mented with beautiful shade trees and the whole presents one of the most attractive objects in the village. The Catalogue of 1868 reports 175 students during the year. The value of the site and buildings is about $10,000 and the other property about 84,000. Valuable additions have been made during the year to the ap- paratus and library of the Institution, to which all students have access free of charge. The germ of this Institution was a private school, established in 1833, by Miss Caroline Phipps. So great was her success that at the close of the first year she found her school had increased beyond the capacity of her house. Calling together a few of the most public spirited of the citizens, she laid before them a plan for founding a permanent Female Seminary that should supply the wants of her school and afford a place to educate their daughters and at the same time add largely to the prosperity of the village. She proposed that the citizens should loan to her the funds necessary to erect a suitable building ; that she would erect the building and give her mortgage upon it, con- ditioned to repay the loan in a series of years as she could make the money from the school. Some expressed a preference for an academy for boys, and Miss Phipps suggested that her mortgage could be sold and the proceeds used to erect an academy for the education of boys, and thus the educational wants of both sexes would be supplied with schools of a high order. For a time action was delayed, but the ability and energy displayed by Miss Phipps in conducting her school and business affairs, convinced the citi- zens that she would prove equal to the responsibility which she proposed to assume, and during the summer of 1836 they raised by subscription nearly the sum which she at first required and placed it in her hands. With this sum, in addition to $3,000 of private credit, she erected the main building of the Seminary. It has from the first been a boarding and day school for young ladies. The course of instruction embraces all the useful and ornamental branches of an education usually taught in the best Female Semi- naries of the country. It is now under the management of Rev. G. A. Starkweather.
Albion Academy, incorporated by the Legislature, May 1, 1837, and by the Regents, Feb. 27, 1841, is located on a lot of three acres in the west part of the village. The value of the buildings, apparatus, library, &c., is reported to be 89,675. The whole num- ber of- pupils in attendance during the past year was 368; the average attendance, 221. The building is of brick, forty feet by sixty, and four stories high, including the basement. It is sur- mounted by a cupola furnished with a bell. The funds for the erection of the building were raised by the sale of the mortgage given by Miss Phipps, for money loaned by the citizens of Albion
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to build the Female Seminary. Edwin R. Reynolds, A. M., now a prominent lawyer of Albion, was the first Principal. Oliver Morehouse, A. M., is the present Principal.
Mount Albion Cemetery, though not within the bounds of the corporation, may properly be described in this connection, as it be- longs to the village. It is situated about two miles east of the Court House, on the' south side of the highway leading to Holley. The land, embracing twenty-five acres, was purchased in 1843, for $1,000, and laid out in paths, avenues and lots, by Marvin Porter. From the highest eminence a fine view of the surrounding country and of Lake Ontario is obtained. The soil is sand and gravel, and always dry and easy to dig, and yet retains its place, no difficulty from caving ever being experienced. A public dedication of the Cemetery took place under the direction of the Trustees, Septem- ber 7, 1843, when an address was delivered by Daniel R. Cady, Esq. In 1862, by act of the Legislature, the Trustees were author- ized to appoint three Commissioners whose duty it should be to take charge of the Cemetery. One Commissioner is chosen each year, for the term of three years. The grounds are laid out so as to conform to the natural beauty and variety of surface; many trees and shrubs have been planted, and it bids fair to equal any rural cemetery in Western New York. Though originally de- signed for the village only, many from other towns have been at- tracted thither, and so great is the demand for lots that the Com- missioners already have it in contemplation to enlarge the grounds so that all who wish to secure lots for the burial of their friends may be accommodated. The grounds are kept in a neat and be- coming manner and surrounded by a good fence.
The manufacturing of Albion is limited to a flouring mill, a saw mill, a foundry and manufactory of agricultural implements, and the usual mechanic shops.
IIon. Noah Davis, Jr., late Judge of the Supreme Court, and now a member of Congress, is a resident of Albion. Governor Bullock, of Georgia, and G. M. Pullman, of sleeping car notoriety, are natives of Albion.
Barre Center, (p. v.) in the central part of the town, contains a church, a hotel, several mechanic shops and about twenty houses.
South Barre, (p. v.) in the south-east part, contains a church, several mechanic shops of various kinds and about twenty houses.
West Barre, (p. o.) in the south-west part, contains a church, several mechanic shops and about a dozen houses.
The first settlement in the town was commenced by William McAllister in 1811. He located on the site of the Phipps Union Female Seminary and erected a log house, the first in the village and in the town also. Mrs. McAllister died soon after, and was at the time the only white woman in the town. There was no female
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present at her funeral and no person present to conduct religious services. Her coffin was made of planks, split and hewn from trees, and pinned together for want of nails. Mr. McAllister took an Article from the Holland Land Company for several hundred acres of land, including all of the village east of Main Street. II .. subsequently sold the whole to William Bradner, who settled here and cleared his land along Main Street from where the Canal now is to Chamberlain Street. William Bradner sold one hundred acres of the south part of his purchase to his brother Joel, who cleared off all adjacent to Main Street, south, and erected a loz house on land now owned by Hon. Sanford E. Church, south of the Railroad. Mr. Bradner afterwards sold one hundred acres, in- cluding the whole front on the east side of Main Street, from a lit- tle below Madison Street, north, to the town line, to Nehemiah Ingersoll and others. Mr. Ingersoll soon bought out his partners. and in 1821 employed Mr. Orange Risden to survey and draw a plan of village lots and streets on the east side of Main Street. from where the Canal now is, south, including Madison Street, and east, including Market Street. This plan was generally observed in the early sales of lots by Mr. Ingersoll.
In 1815 Jesse Bumpus took from the Holland Land Company an Article for the land lying on the west side of Main Street, from the town line on the north, nearly to State Street, and extending far enough west to include 163 acres of land. The whole tract was an unbroken forest, but Mr. Bumpus erected a log house, moved into it with his family and cleared the whole front of his land on Main Street. The first framed dwelling was erected by Jesse Bumpus and his son Philetus, on the lot where Mr. L. Burrows now resides. Mr. Philetus Bumpus still resides in Albion and is the oldest inhabitant of the place.
Elijah Darrow took an Article for one hundred acres, lying upon the south bounds of the village, on the west side of Main Street, but sold to Frederick Holsenburgh, who erected a log house and commenced clearing land previous to the Bumpus purchase. John Holsenburgh took up land from the Holland Company, on Mah: Street, between the Bumpus purchase and that of Darrow, and subsequently sold to Goodrich & Standart.
The nearest grist mill was at Irondequoit, in Monroe County, and thither the first settlers went for their milling.
To show how abundant the wild animals were at this time the following incident is given :
" Mr. F. Holsenburgh at one time caught a cub near the present site of the Railroad depot, and carried it alive to his log cabin. The next night the old bear tracked its young one to the cabin and commenced scratching and gnawing at the door to get at the eub. Holsenburgh having no gun or means to kill the bear was obliged
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to release the cub before he could get rid of his dangerous assail- ant."
The first tavern erected in the village was by - - Churchill, on the site occupied by the Orleans House Block.
Among the first merchants of Albion were Goodrich & Standart, John Tucker, O. H. Gardner, R. S. & L. Burrows. Roswell Bur- rows, the father of Messrs. R. S. & L. Burrows, purchased the principal part of the Bumpus tract. His sons came from Connec- ticut, as merchants, and after the death of their father succeeded him as owners of his real estate in the village, which they laid out into streets and lots. Mr. L. Burrows was for several years a member of Congress from this district.
The first warehouse built in Albion was by Nehemiah Ingersoll, east of Main Street, on the Canal ; the next one by Carey & Til- den, on the west side of the same street. William Bradner erected the first saw mill; on Sandy Creek, in the east part of the village, and soon after a grist mill on the same stream. A large stone flouring mill was built by Ward & Clark, on the bank of the Ca- nal, in 1833.
One of the first settlers of Barre outside of the village was Lan- sing Bailey. In November, 1811, he started on foot from Whites- town, with two others, for the Genesee. They carried their pro- visions with them, and on the fifth day arrived at Daniel Pratt's, on the Ridge Road, a little west of Gaines Corners. The best lots npon the Ridge and upon the Oak Orchard Road were taken up, but south of the Five Corners, in Gaines, were no settlements. Mr. Bailey and his brother took up 250 acres about a mile west of the present village of Albion, and in a few days started for home by the way of Batavia. He says they purchased but one meal during the trip, and the entire expense was 83.50. This sum was expend- ed for " lodging and a little of the creature to wash down our dry meals." The next February he fitted up an ox-sled, covered with eloth, and with wife and child and two yoke of oxen, started again for the wilds of the Holland Purchase, his brother driving a few head of cattle. In nine days they arrived at Pratt's. He purchased wheat at Riga and had it ground at Churchville. From the Five Corners to his new home there was no track, and the snow was three feet deep, with a crust that would bear a man but not an ox. Among the articles brought with him were a grindstone and a six pail kettle. He proceeded as far as possible, then fell trees across the road to keep his oxen from returning, and for browse, and then returned to Five Corners. The next morning, with a straw bed on his back, he started for his destined place of abode, and on reaching it shoveled away the snow and made a camp of boughs, built a fire and passed a comfortable night, though their feet were covered with snow several inches deep in consequence of their protruding from
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the cabin. Here Mr. Bailey and his brother remained until April, going to the Ridge Saturday night and returning Monday morning. After building a house twelve by fourteen feet, with split board. for floor and roof, and cutting a road through to Gaines Basin, h- removed his wife to her new home. He planted some apple seeds from which many of the orchards of the County were supplied .- He cleared fifteen acres the first year. When the time for sowing wheat arrived he went without bread three days rather than spend time to go to mill. In the fall he built a good log house without boards, nails or glass. It served as a comfortable dwelling for several years. The town of Ridgeway was formed in 1812, and in- cluded nearly the whole County west of the Transit Line. The first town meeting was held in April, 1813. Mr. Bailey was elect- ed Assessor for the east part of the town. At the general election in April, the polls were first opened at Brown's, on Johnson's Creek, and after receiving the votes in that neighborhood, the In- spectors of the Election adjourned to Elliott's, at Barnagat, then to Ridgeway Corners and the next day to Gaines Corners, where the election closed. The whole journey was performed on foot, not a horse being in town. Mrs. Bailey presented her husband with two babies about this time, and a cradle was made of a hollow log of sufficient length for one to lie in each end. No rockers were needed. Mrs. B. died in August, 1813.
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