USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Gazetteer and business directory of St. Lawrence County, N.Y. for 1873-4 > Part 16
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¿ The first town meeting was directed to be held at the school house in district No. 20, then in Russell, the second Tuesday in June, 1844. The first town officers were A. I. Brown, Supervisor; Joseph M. Beckwith, Town Clerk; J. M. Beckwith, James Marsh and Elijah Hill, Assessors ; John K. Ward, Collector; John Marsh, George Young and William H. Perkins, Commissioners of Highways; A. I. Brown, J. M. Beckwith and Elijah C. Hill, Justices of the Peace. H
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104,943 acres, being the third town in size in the county. Its surface is broken and hilly, but is mostly susceptible of cultivation, and is well watered by the Oswegatchie and its branches, and the numerous small lakes scattered over it. The soil is a moderately fertile gravelly loam. The settlements are comparatively recent and chiefly confined to the north part. The town is principally a wilderness. The timber is much of it beech and maple, with birch, spruce and hemlock and some elm, ash and cherry. Its elevation ensures immunity from malarious diseases and renders it remarkably healthy. The existence of iron ore in the town and the abundant water power furnished by the Oswegatchie, are elements which must, eventually con- tribute largely toward its growth and prosperity, when adequate means of transportation are afforded. The population of the town in 1870 was 603, of whom 511 were native, 92, foreign and all, white.
During the year ending Sept. 30, 1872, the town contained seven school districts and employed seven teachers. The number of children of school age was 261 ; the number attend- ing school, 186; the average attendance, 98; the amount expended for school purposes, $1,070.43; and the value of school houses and sites, $1,485.
FINE, (p. v.) (also known as Andersonville,) is situated on the north bank of the Oswegatchie, in the north part of the town, and contains an extensive tannery, an oar factory, a grist mill, two saw mills, a shingle mill, two blacksmith shops, one hotel, four stores, (dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes and drugs,) and about forty dwellings. The erection of a church is contemplated.
The first permanent settlement was made March 28, 1834, by Amasa I. Brown, though two previous attempts were made; the first in the fall of 1823, by Elias Teall, who, on the 24th of October 'in that year, contracted with the proprietors for the east half of the township of Scriba, built a house and mill, the latter on a branch of the Oswegatchie, made the first clearing and induced some settlers to join him, who, with himself, soon abandoned the attempt; the second, by James C. Haile, who, on the '6th of September, 1828, contracted with the proprietors, erected a saw mill on the Oswegatchie, a small grist mill, with one run of rock stones, without bolt or other appendages, built a house and barn and got in other settlers, and who, in May, 1833, having been abandoned by his com- panions, also left the settlement. In February, 1834, Mr. Brown contracted for Haile's improvements, with an additional tract of land, and on the 28th of the following month moved his family into the town. His nearest neighbors were ten miles
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distant. In a few weeks he was joined by G. Luther, who had previously attempted a settlement, and in the autumn by two. others, making four families who wintered in town the first season. About twenty persons took up land that fall, but only three or four became settlers. Its remoteness from other settle- ments, together with. a series of unpropitious seasons, which tended to impoverish the settlers and induced many to aban- don their improvements, and the superior advantages presented by other localities inviting immigration, especially the western part of the State, retarded settlements here, and it was many years before a healthy growth and increase was perceptible. Since the organization of the town a slow, but sure improve- ment has been made, and to-day a prosperous future awaits the inhabitants of this town if enterprise and capital are judi- ciously applied to its attainment.
FOWLER* was formed from Rossie and Russell, April 15, 1816.t The townships of Edwards and Fitz William (now Edwards and Hermon) were annexed from Russell, April 10, 1818, and were taken off upon the erection of Edwards, April 7,1827. Pitcairn was taken off March 29, 1836. It lies upon the south border of the county, west of the center, and contains 33,657 acres. Its surface is very irregular, being broken by ridges of gneiss. Its streams are Oswegatchie River, which flows in a tortuous course through the eastern and northern parts of the town, and Sawyers and Shingle creeks and numerous smaller streams tributary to that river. Sylvia Lake lies south of the center and Chub Lake, in the north-east corner. The former is noted for its transparency and depth, 200 feet of water being found in some places. A very fine quality of white limestone occurs in the vicinity of Hailesborough. Iron ore and other minerals are found in the town, but none are worked.
The population of the town in 1870 was 1785, of whom 1609 were native, 176, foreign and all, except one, white.
* Named from Theodosius Fowler of New York, a captain in the Revo- lutionary war, and former proprietor. It originally embraced Townships Nos. 7 and 11, or Kilkenny and Portaferry, of Great Lot No. III. of Macomb's Purchase; but now comprises the former and only a small triangular tract in the north-west angle of the latter. .
+ The first town meeting was directed to be held at the house of Noah Hol- comb. The first town officers were Theodosius O). Fowler, Supervisor; Sin- eon Hazleton, Town Clerk; Noah Holcomb, Elvan Cole and Benj. Brown, Assessors; John Parker and Noah Holcomb, Commissioners of Highways ; Noah Holcomb and Benj. Brown, Overseers of the Poor ; Simeon Hazleton and Samuel B. Sprague, Overseers of Highways; Alvan Wright, Constable and Collector; Alvan Wright, Simon Hazleton and Elam Cole, Commis- sioners of Common Schools; Theodosius O. Fowler, Jedediah Kingsley and Richard Merrill, Inspectors of Common Schools.
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During the year ending Sept. 30, 1872, the town contained sixteen school districts and the same number of teachers were employed. The number of children of school age was 611 ; the number attending school, 525; the average attendance, 259; the amount expended for school purposes, $3,076.94; and the value of school houses and sites, $4,172.
HAILESBOROUGH,* (p. v.) situated on the Oswegatchie, in the north-west part, two and one-fourth miles south-east of Gouverneur on the R. W. & O. R. R., contains one church, a hotel, a store, a grist and flouring mill, a saw mill of small capacity, a shoe shop, two blacksmith shops, one carriage shop, a shop for the manufacture of sash, blinds, doors, brackets, moldings, spokes and axle-trees, a tannery, a quite extensive woolen and carding mill, about forty houses and 225 inhabit- ants.t The hotel and a few of the residences are supplied with water from the river by means of a hydraulic ram. A very superior water privilege is afforded by the Oswegatchie, which descends within half a mile a distance of eighty-four feet, and a like distance within the next mile above this. The cheese factory owned by J. F. Hodgkin is located near Hailesborough. It uses the milk of 400 cows, though it possesses facilities for using that of 600.
FULLERVILLE,Į (p. v.) (Fullerville Iron Works, p. o.) is located on the Oswegatchie, in the south-east part, and con- tains two churches, one hotel, two stores, two saw mills, one grist mill, about twenty-eight dwellings and 150 inhabitants. The erection of a new furnace to replace the one destroyed a few years since is contemplated.
LITTLE YORK§ (Fowler p. o.) is located a little east of the center, and contains a church, hotel, two stores, a wagon and blacksmith shop, a shoe shop, about twenty-five dwellings and 125 inhabitants.
The Little York Cheese Factory, located near the village, has facilities for using the milk of 800 cows, though it is received from only 500 the present season.
WEST FOWLER is a hamlet located on Sawyers Creek, west of the center, and contains a church, saw mill, about twelve
* Named from Gen. James Hailes, under whom settlement was com- menced.
+ The population of this village in 1870, according to the census of that year, was 177.
¿ Named from the Fuller Bros., who introduced and engaged in the manufacture of iron here.
§ Named from Little York, Canada, the former name of Toronto, on the capture of that place during the war of 1812.
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dwellings and fifty inhabitants. The West Fowler cheese factory, located west of this hamlet, and owned by A. E. Goodenough & Co., uses the milk of 500 cows.
HOMER'S FACTORY, situated on the Oswegatchie branch, in the north part, derives its name from the cheese box and butter tub factory, owned by Mr. Homer, located here. There is also a saw and shingle mill, a blacksmith shop, about ten dwellings and sixty inhabitants.
Settlement was commenced in the fall of 1807, at Hailes- borough, by Brig. Gen. James Haile, of Herkimer, N. Y., who in June of that year purchased a tract one mile square, under the agreement to build mills within a year. Mr. Haile brought with him several men, among whom were Capt. Ward, a mill- wright, and Capt. Robinson, a carpenter, to commence the erec- tion of mills. A saw mill was built that fall, and a small grist. mill with one run of stones was got in operation the following year. The latter was swept away by a freshet in 1809 and re- built the next year. Elijah Sackett came in from Hartford, N. Y., in 1808, and was employed as miller until his death in 1812. This is believed to have been the first death which occurred in the town. These were soon followed by Lemuel Arnold, John Ryan, Ebenezer Parker, -- Cleveland and others. In 1811 a settlement at Little York was commenced by Samuel B. Sprague. Alvin and Oliver Wright were early settlers in this locality. The next year John Parker located about three-fourths of a mile below Fullerville and commenced the first settlement in that vicinity. In this year the first marriage was contracted by John Parker and Miss Elizabeth S. Sackett. A saw mill was built at the falls in Fullerville, in 1813, by John Parker. The war of 1812 tended to retard set- tlement, and the fears of Indian raids it engendered caused many to leave the town. Early in 1818, Gen. Haile moved his family into the town. He resided here till his death, Dec. 17, 1821. From this period settlements were made more rapidly. In 1825 Jasper Clark erected a mill at Hailesborough to saw the white limestone in that vicinity. The business was carried on by himself, and subsequently by A. Giles, for several years. It was used for building and tomb stones, its coarse texture un- fitting it for the finer kinds of ornamental work. It makes excellent lime. A grist mill was built in 1826, by S. Fuller & Co., who sold it in 1838 to Rockwell Bullard & Co. In 1832 the Fuller brothers, (Sheldon, Stillman, Heman and Ashbell,) originally from Ferrisburgh, Vt., but immediately from the Rossie iron works, erected a furnace at Fullerville. They ob- tained the first ore in the vicinity of Little York. The manu-
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facture of iron under various processes and proprietors was carried on here for several years, and is likely to be revived very soon.
West Fowler Free Will Baptist Church was organized in 1826, by Elders Dodge and Waite. The church edifice will seat 450 persons, and was erected in 1852, at a cost of about $1,250. Rev. Amasa Chandler was the first pastor; Rev. B. F. Jefferson is the present one. The society numbers twenty-four members. Its property is valued at $2,000 .*
GOUVERNEUR, was formed from Oswegatchie April 5, 1810 .¿ A part of Macomb was taken off April 3, 1841. It is an interior town, lying in the south-west part of the county, and contains 41,342 acres. It is drained by the Oswegatchie River and Beaver Creek, which, with a slight exception, form the north boundary of the town. The Oswegatchie twice crosses the town. It enters it first about the center of the south-east border, and crossing the south-west corner, leaves the town to form the Ox Bow in Jefferson county, where it turns upon itself and again enters it on the line of Macomb, pursuing a north-east course to the north angle of the literature lot, where it turns, forming the little bow, and crosses the literature lot and the east angle of the school lot, when it again turns and flows in a north-east direction to the center of the north-east border, where it finally leaves the town. The surface is generally level, though somewhat broken in the north
** Information furnished by Wm. Hull, from the records in his possession. + The town originally embraced the township of Cambray, of the Ten Towns. It was named from Gouverneur Morris, an extensive land-holder in Northern New York, and an eminent American statesman and orator. ·Mr .. Morris was born at Morrisania, Westchester county, Jan. 31, 1752, and graduated at King's College (now Columbia College) in 1768. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1771, and attained great celebrity in that profession. He became interested in politics at an early day. In 1775 he was a delegate to the Provincial Congress from this State, and signed the articles of Confederation. During the Revolution he was employed in the public service in various capacities, in all of which he displayed great zeal and ability. A few years after the war he was called to France on com- mercial business, and while there he received the appointment of United States Minister to France in 1792, which office he held until October, 1794. While in that country he witnessed the excesses of the French Revolution, and incurred much personal danger in the discharge of his official duties. He returned to America in 1798, and his efficient services as minister to the French Court were acknowledged by'his native State by his election to the United States Senate in 1800. After three years service in Congress he spent seven years in Philadelphia. 'He died Nov. 6, 1816.
# The first town meeting was held at the house of John Spencer, and Richard Townsend was elected Supervisor; Amos Comly, Town Clerk; Rufus Washburn, Isaac Morgan and Pardon Babcock, Assessors; Amos Comly, Benj. Smith and Ephraim Case, Commissioners of Highways; Jonathan S. Colton and Israel Porter, Overseers of the Poor; Barnabas Wood, Constable and Collector; Jonathan S. Colton and Isaac Morgan, Fence Viewers; and Israel Porter, Pound Master.
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by low ridges of white limestone. The soil is very productive, being composed chiefly of clay and loam, mixed with sand in some places. The town furnishes an abundance of useful and interesting minerals. From the Kearney mine* in the south angle has been taken an immense quantity of iron ore. The recent discovery of a great variety of mines and quarries by D. Minthorn, late chemist and mineralogist of New York City, has given a new impetus to the mineral interests of the town. Most of them are near the village of Gouverneur, and all within the town. They consist of iron ore beds, which afford the bright specular, red oxide and spathic varieties, and the ochers ; quarries of syenite equal, if not superior to any from the old world, including the varieties of granite and marble from the ordinary gray to the sacred oriental and classical Egyptian- massive feldspar, either mottled with hornblende or specked with adularia, some with uniform jasper shade, others snow white, with green (porphyry) tint, also verde antique feldspar and white and verde antique marble; large deposits of potters' clay, blue clay and coarse sand, suitable for the manufacture of brick and tile; and large quantities of chalk, steatite, kaolin and feldspar for glazing. Mills have been erected for grinding the soft ore for paint, and a pottery and kilns built for working the clays. Measures are being taken to enlist talent and enterprise to fully develope these discoveries and give them a commercial value. +
The population of the town in 1870 was 3,539, of whom 2,834 were native, 705, foreign and all, except three, white.
During the year ending Sept. 30, 1872, the town contained 19 school districts and employed 23 teachers. The number of children of school age was 1,230 ; the number attending school, 932; the average attendance, 440; the amount expended for school purposes, $6,610.77; and the value of school houses and sites, $15,920.
The Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg R. R. enters the town in the south angle and extends through the south-east part.
GOUVERNEUR (p. v.) is eligibly situated on the Oswegatchie and the R. W. & O. R. R., in the south-east part. It was incor- porated Dec. 7, 1847, and has a population of 1627.1 It is a
* This mine is located on the boundary line of the towns of Rossie, Gouverneur and Fowler. The bed comprises 280 acres, and is owned by Wheelock & Pope, and leased by Geo. F. Paddock & Co.
+ A fuller description of the mineral productions of the town is given on page 65.
# Census of 1870. What its present population is we are not advised, though it is probably much in excess of that number, as it is growing rapidly.
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thriving, healthy village, whose broad and well cared-for streets and comfortable residences give it a pleasing appearance. It is the seat of a prosperous seminary of learning* and contains a
* The Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary is the outgrowth of a long cherished and early desire among the residents of the town for an institu- tion of learning which should fully meet the wants of the community ; and the devotion to the educational and material interests of the town which rendered its establishment possible, has fostered and supported it through the many vicissitudes which have from time to time threatened its existence. On the 31st of March, 1826, a subscription was started for the purpose of raising funds to build a second story to the brick school house then in process of erection, for an academical department, which was to be under the control of the subscribers. Each subscriber was en- titled to one vote for every $10 subscribed. Fifty-four shares were taken, amounting to $540, with which the plan was perfected, and in November the institution was styled the Gouverneur Union Academy. The build- ing of the school house, according to the original plan, was contracted by Elwell E. Austin for $873. The building was completed in 1827, and a school opened by a Mr. Ruger, brother of Wm. Ruger, the author of Ruger's Arithmetic. This measure was not effected without encountering opposition from that too conservative element which is antagonistic to every innovation upon established customs. The academy was incor- porated by the Legislature as the Gouverneur High School, April 25, 1828. Its government was entrusted to nine trustees, and John Spencer, Aaron Rowley, David Barrell, Harvey D. Smith, Josiah Waid, Alva Smith, Almond Z. Madison, Robert Conant and Joel Keyes, the corporators named in the act, were constituted such until others should be elected. Their ap- pointment was continued by an election held the same month. Feb. 19, 1829, application was made for participation in the literature fund-a privilege which was readily granted and has since been enjoyed. The prosperity of the school soon rendered its accommodations inadequate, and in 1830 meas- ures were instituted to provide a building commensurate with its immedi- ate and prospective requirements. By the 6th of Sept. of that year $2,755 was raised by subscriptions, and although that sum was barely sufficient to erect and inclose the walls of the projected building, the trustees, trust- ing in the sentiment of the motto of their seal, then recently adopted, that " brighter hours will come," resolved to commence work upon the building, relying upon the generosity of the community for means to complete it. In March, 1832, the trustees petitioned for $1000 of the literature fund, but without avail, and another appeal to the liberality of its friends became necessary. The previous subscriptions were increased, and in 1834 an elegant and substantial building was completed. March 29, 1837, an arrangement was entered into between the trustees and John Loveys, W. C. Mason, Jesse T. Peck, C. W. Leet and R. Reynolds, a committee appointed by a convention of ministers of the Potsdam District of the M. E. Church, by which the former agreed to transfer con- ditionally at least 100 shares of stock to persons authorized to receive it in trust for the Methodists, that the latter might subscribe to any amount within the limits of the charter ($20,000,) and that the chapel might be used as a place of stated worship on the Sabbath and for quarterly meet- ings, when not interfering with the regular exercises of the school; and the latter, to pay off a mortgage then existing upon the property, to employ one or more agents to solicit donations for its better endowment, to engage as speedily as possible three competent teachers, to keep the school open to students of any and all religious tenets, without preferment, and that the school should remain strictly a literary institution. This compact was promptly ratified by the stockholders the same day. Rev. Jesse T. Peck, (now Bishop Peck,) was the first principal under the new regime, and under his efficient management the school continued to prosper until on the night of Jan. 1, 1839, the building with the apparatus, a valuable cabinet and the bell were burned. The bell was the only one in town and was excepted in the conveyance of the school property to the Methodists.
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bank, two newspaper offices, (the Gouverneur Times and The Rising Sun and the New York Recorder) and an excellent water privilege, which is the motor for the various establishments engaged in the manufacture of flour, leather, lumber, castings and various articles of wood, some on an extensive scale. · Cheese is also an important article of manufacture .* The village is supplied with water from the Oswegatchie for fire, domestic and mechanical purposes, by the Holly system of water works.t It has a beautiful rural cemetery on the south bank of the river, opposite the village, and a fine fair ground.
The institution was heavily in debt, and the embarrassment resulting from the fire was augmented by the loss of an insurance of $1,800 in the Jefferson Co. Mutual Company, which was repudiated on some technical quibble. Their only immediate resource was $500 insurance in a New York Company. This was supplemented by subscriptions of $1000 due in 1838-39, $800, in 1840, and $800, in 1841. Their indebtedness was $4,000. But this calamity was not allowed to impede the progress of the school, which was removed to its old quarters in the brick school house, and soon resumed its usual quiet and regularity. At the next town meet- ing the trustees were instructed to petition the Legislature for a loan of $2,000, to be refunded by tax within four years, which was effected. An additional sum of $2,000, was raised by subscription, payable in two equal installments in the years 1840 and '41. The present build- ing was completed in 1841, at a cost of $5,500, which exceeded the estimate by $1,500. The name of the institution was changed by the Legislature to that it now bears, April 25, 1840. In 1851 the State, by an ap- propriation of $2,000, removed an indebtedness which had long embarrassed it's trustees and impaired its usefulness. This enabled them to purchase new instruments, enlarge its library and make needed repairs. For many years it was, with the exception of the Potsdam Academy, the leading and only academic institution in the county. It still retains its former repu- tation among the numerous competing institutions of more recent date. It contains a library, chemical and philosophical apparatus and a cabinet of minerals. Instruction is given in common and higher English, ancient and modern languages, higher mathematics, natural sciences, commercial transactions, telegraphy, vocal and instrumental music, drawing and painting, It employs nine teachers, under the principalship of M. H. Fitts, and has an average number of 125 pupils.
* Prominent among its manufacturing establishments are those of S. B. Van Duzee & Co., which gives employment to 25 persons in the manufac- . ture of furniture; Litchfield & Corbin's foundry and machine shop, which employs about twenty persons in the manufacture of mill irons, stoves, plows &c, ; R. & J. Grinnell's sash and blind factory and planing mill, in which six to eight persons are employed; Graves & Eddy's flouring and custom mill, which contains four runs of stones, giving it a grinding ca- pacity of 400 bushels of grain per day; John Fosgate's flouring mill, which contains five, runs of stones, giving it a grinding capacity of 400 to 500 bushels per day; Starbuck, McCarthy & Co.'s saw mill and yard, which employ about twenty men ; W. P. Herring & Co.'s tannery, which employs seven men and tans about 20,000 sides of upper leather annually ; and A. G. Gillette's cheese factory, which was built in 1870, is in the shape of an L, 80 by 80 feet, and three stories high in the main part, has a wing 18 by 34 feet, and receives the milk of 1,500 cows.
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