USA > New York > Washington County > Gazetteer and business directory of Washington County, N.Y. for 1871 > Part 11
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North Argyle, (p. v.) situated two and a half miles north-east of Argyle village, was first settled as a business place by Daniel Stevenson. It contains three stores, one hotel, two wagon shops, three blacksmith shops, one saw and grist mill and a United Presbyterian church.
South Argyle, (p. v.) located four miles south of Argyle vil- lage, contains three stores, two wagon shops, three blacksmith shops, one harness shop and a United Presbyterian church.
The Hook is a hamlet containing a store, tin shop, wagon shop, blacksmith shop and a school house.
This town was conveyed to 83 families, and the first settle- ment was commenced in 1765. Alexander McNaughton, Archibald Livingston, Duncan Campbell and Roger Read settled on the Batten Kil, and James Gilles, Duncan Taylor and George Kilmer near the center of the town. Many of the lots were never visited or claimed by their proprietors and they were taken up by squatters.
Duncan McArthur, who, says Arthur Reid in his "Reminis- ences of the Revolution," was one of the 107 grantees of the Scotch patent from the Duke of Argyle, to whom it was origi- nally granted by George III., so narrowly escaped butchery by the fiendish Le Loup and his band of Indians, whose barbarity spread such consternation among the few settlers in the wilder- ness which then marked this vicinity during the early stages of the patriot struggle with the Mother country that the incident connected therewith must ever actuate his family descendants with the liveliest and profoundest emotions. In the year 1765 he moved his family into a rude dwelling, erected on the farm lot, which was supplemented about ten years later by a more permanent and'commodious one. It was in this building, whose dimensions were 20 by 24 feet, constructed of pine log3, which were still in use at the time (1859) the pamphlet from which this narrative is extracted was printed, situated in the south- east corner of the present township of Argyle, surrounded by a dense forest, that his family lived at the time the incident re- ferred to occurred. Le Loup and his band of Indians, with nu- merous other tribes, were readily induced to form a coalition with the British troops under the command of Gen. Burgoyne, against their common enemy, the Colonists, smarting as they
unical Goods of all kinds, Wholesale and Retall, at B. H. HID- LEY'S, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. Y.
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were under the recent death of one of their number by the hands of a settler, which fact doubtless added ferocity to their otherwise vindictive natures. They entered into a general and indiscriminate massacre of Tories and Federals with a char- acteristic energy and fiendish delight that is as disgusting to contemplate as it was appalling to those against whom their vengeance was wreaked ; and evidently feeling secure in the per- petration of their bloody atrocities under the assumed sanction of the British. Historians are generally disposed to condemn Burgoyne for "neglecting" to stop this indiscriminate slaughter and charge him with conniving at its perpetration, though it is known that he strenuously opposed the employment of In- dians in the war waged against the Colonists. He was obliged however to yield "to the positive instructions of the British Ministry," who were less familiar with the Indian character than he by contact with them had become, and form an al- liance which he doubtless foresaw would prove disastrous and humiliating. Charity at least would suggest that, in view of the fact that the descendants of these Indians have been con- verted to peace loving pursuits and are brought under the pro- tection and fostering care of the Government their fathers fought, and in remembrance of the many virtues which adorn- ed Burgoyne's life, he be spared the imputation of complicity in or sanctioning these inhuman barbarities from which he strictly and openly charged them to refrain. It seems more than probable that he found the Indians an uncontrolable ele- ment and himself unable to prevent their irregularities. The dwelling of McArthur was the first in the tract of country which Le Loup contemplated devastating and to massacre the inhabit- ants. The family consisted of six persons, viz: the parents and four children, the eldest of whom was ten, and the youngest four years old. But it was singularly fortunate, and, as the sequel shows, was the cause of their escape from a terrible death, that, on the day when the work of death and destruc- tion commenced, two men from a distant neighborhood were assisting McArthur in harnessing and breaking a young horse. As the Indians approached the clearing on which the dwelling stood, after having prepared their implements of warfare for instant and effective use, and partaken of a hasty repast,-the material of which was the fruit of their plunder-they advanc- ed with stealthy steps to its edge, being cautious to keep them- selves concealed behind the trunks of trees while peering through the interstices in the foliage. After having made as thorough an examination of the house and its surroundings as the circumstances would admit, they retired a short distance and assembled in council. The discovery of three men on the
)Id Instrumentsof all kinds taken In exchange for New, at B. H. Hid- ley's Music store, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. Y.
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premises in connection with the three buildings, (the temporary house first erected by McArthur and a rude barn erected about the same time were still standing.) led the Indians to suppose there were three families, in which case they would probably be outnumbered and overpowered if they ventured an attack. This naturally disconcerted and alarmed them and, after a heated discussion, pro and con, in which La Loup made an inflammatory speech, calculated to incite his followers to an attack regardless of the danger which attended it, they took counsel of their better judgment and finally abandoned the pro- ject. They were seven in number, but in the event of an attack it would require one to guard the prisoner they had with them, a white man, through whom this information was obtained, thus leaving but six to contend with a force of whose number they were ignorant. Though chagrined at their failure to ac- complish their design upon this family, their thirst of blood was by no means abated, and they at once set to work to execute another equally diabolical plan, which resulted more tragically. Mr. John Allen's family, consisting of himself, wife and three children, and temporarily residing in the family, Mrs. Allen's sister, two colored men and a colored woman, were the victims of their next design. Arriving at a position which enabled them to reconnoiter the premises surrounding the dwelling of Mr. Allen without exposing themselves, the Indians, on discov- ering the men at work in the harvesting field, matured a plan of attack, to be carried into effect at noon, when the family was at dinner. The reason for selecting this time was doubtless to prevent the escape of any and because they could then best ap- proach the house without being discovered. The signal for din- ner was also the signal for the commencement of the bloody tragedy by the ambushed miscreants who eagerly listened for and welcomed its sound. Little thought the doomed nine as the gathered at the house to enjoy a frugal repast and a brief respite from labor, that the signal to which they so cheerfully responded was a tocsin which foreboded so great a calamity to them. The Indians, filled with an insatiable thirst for blood, a thirst intensified, if possible, by the delay, emerged from their concealment and with a terrific yell rushed upon the ansus- pecting family. The scene which presented itself to those who, at the solicitation of Mr. George Kilmore, father-in-law of Mr. Allen, and whose slaves the negroes were, visited the pre- mises for the purpose of interring the mutilated corpses, beg- gars description, and showed how terrible and certain was the work of death accomplished. The whole nine lay weltering in their gore. Apparently alarmed by the yell of the savages, and apprehending the danger which threatened them, they had at-
The acknowledged unequaled Steck Plano Fortes, to be found at B. II. Hidley's, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. Y.
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tempted an escape, but without avail. The feelings of the set- tlers in the immediate vicinity on hearing of the fate of the Al- lens can be better imagined than described. This and sim- ilar atrocities by the Indians undoubtedly induced many who would otherwise have retained their allegiance for the British Government to transfer their sympathies and support to the Colonists, and very largely contributed to the overwhelming defeat of Burgoyne, which soon afterwards occurred. There is a conflict of authority as to when the tragic event above refer- red to occurred, but the best information at our command fixes the date on Friday, the 25th of July, 1777.
The first death in the town was that of Mrs. Archibald Brown. The first supervisor in the town was Duncan Campbell. He held the office for ten successive years from 1:71.
The First Presbyterian Congregation of Argyle was organized in 1793. Rev. George Mairs was the first pastor and continued as such to his death in 1842, when he was succeeded by his son Rev. George Mairs, Jr., who was ordained and installed as col- league of the former in June 1823. This, says French's State Gazetteer, was the first church formed in the town ; though Allen Corey, in his "Gazetteer of the County of Washington," says the Associate Presbyterian Congregation of South Argyle has existed, in an organized state, since 1785.
The County Poor House is located in this town, about two miles directly south of Argyle village.
The population of the town in 1570, per census of that year, was 2,851, and its area 34,554 acres.
CAMBRIDGE was incorporated by patent July 21, 1761. It was formed as a town in Albany County, March ?, 1788, and annexed to Washington County Feb. 7, 1791. White Creek and Jackson were taken off in 1815. It is situated in the center, on the south border of the County. The surface of the town is hilly in the north and rolling in the south. The sum- mits of the hills are from 200 to 300 feet above the valleys. The east part embraces a portion of the valley of Owl Kil, which is celebrated for the beauty of its scenery. Upon the west of this valley are high undulating hills, the broad sweeps of which show alternate patches of green woodland and cultivated farms, and upon the east the Taghkanick Mountains, rough and broken, rise above a valley which is smooth and level. Wam- pecack Creek, Whiteside Brook and several other small brooks are the other principal streams in the town. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam producing good crops. Flax is exten- sively cultivated. The Greenwich and Johnsonville R. R., which
Before purchasing a Plano, Organ or other Musical Instrument, call on B. 11. Midley, If Mansion House Block, Broadway. Troy, N. T.
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opened for business August 31st, 1870, extends directly north and south through the western part of the town, on a line with the Wampecack Creek. It is 14 miles in length and brings the people of this section in direct communication by rail with Troy and Albany by its junction with the Troy & Boston R. R. at its southern terminus, Johnsonville, and also opens a valuable ave- nue for the transportation of the farm and other produce of the surrounding country to these business centers.
Cambridge, (p. v.) in the north-east corner of the town, partly in White Creek, was incorporated April 16, 1866, and its char- ter successively amended April 10th, 1867, and April 22d and May 9th, 1868. It is a beautiful and enterprising village, sit- uated in a pleasant and fertile valley, and is a station on the Rutland and Washington R. R. It is distant twenty-nine and three-fourths miles from Troy, with which it is connected by the Rutland and Washington and Troy & Boston Rail Roads, which intersect at Eagle Bridge in the south-east corner of the town. The Owl Kil and a tributary to it pass through the center of the village and contribute to its industrial pursuits. It contains six churches, viz., two Presbyterian, one Methodist, one Episcopal, one Baptist and one Roman Catholic; one bank, a printing office, four hotels, twenty-seven stores, one extensive foundry and machine shop, a large steam saw and planing mill for the manufacture of sash, blinds, doors and mouldings, three wagon shops, four blacksmith shops and its compliment of pro- fessional offices, all of which conspire to make it one of the most flourishing villages in the County and the center of the rich farming country with which it is surrounded. As an evidence of its prosperity we may cite a fact related by a Mr. Ashton, an early settler. When he first visited the place, the swamps which then marked the site of its present pleasant dwel- lings and industrial buildings, made it so undesirable a loca- tion that the land could be purchased for a shilling per acre, and was a drug in the market at that price ; while at the pres- ent time farms in the immediate vicinity of the village com- mand $110 per acre.
The Cambridge Washington Academy was erected in the year 1800, on a half acre of land, the gift of Wm. Hay, with money raised by subscription the previous year. It was a commodious two-story frame building, 26 by 45 feet, finished for the ac- commodation of a school in which pupils were taught the com- mon and higher branches of an English education, together with a few classical scholars in their preparation for college. In 1814 a fund of $2,500 was raised by subscription, and appli- cation was made to the Regents of the University of New York for incorporation, which was granted in the year 1815. In
usical Goods of all kinds, Wholesale and Retail, at B. II. HID- LEY'S 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. Y.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY BUSINESS DIRECTORY.
ELLIPTIC ! ELLIPTIC !
LOCHSTITCH
GOLD MEDBILA!
Maryland Institute, 1836; American Institute, 1867.
HIGHEST PREMIUMIN! New York and Pennsylvania State Fairs. 1866.
The ELLIPTI SEWING MACHINE is the most simple In construction. having fre- galerie inter of management and cogaming le power to work it thin sur efter Marinne. It is noi-piessin io oneation, and will wear a By time with- Hardware. Good Agents Wanted in Every Thin. Santor Circular and
S. T TRULL
General Agent for Northern New York & Vermont. 10 Mansion House Block. Tror. N. Y. allen agent for the Celebrated Ftwrear Reversible Feed Vering Machines, making fare distinct stitches.
88 WASHINGTON COUNTY BUSINESS DIRECTORY.
EDGAR GUILDER
DEALER IN
DRY GOODS
Groceries, Crockery, HATS, GAPS, BOOTS AND SHOES, FLOUR, FISH & SALT, MIDDLE GRANVILLE, . T. .
Koope constantly a complete line of the above Goods and all other troede kept in a . Country Store. Call and examine before purchasing.
EDGAR GUILDER.
GEO. W. SHEPARD, -
800x BINDER AND
BLANK BOOK MANUFACTURER,
265 River Street, Up Stairs,) Troy, N. Y.
: Is prepared to execute all styles of BOOK BINDING in the best manner. on short notice, and at boty tales. BLANK BOOKS of every description. manufactured for the trade and to order.
OLA LUVAS REBOUND Newly and Solototally. MUSIC MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS. kr., bund to order. **** Ogler delleind and prompturss and satisfaction guaranteed. .
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1844 the Trustees, by the aid of a generous community, enlarged the establishment by the erection of a brick edifice at an ex- pense of 84,000. The institution is open to both sexes, and, we are pleased to believe, continues to merit and enjoy the liberal support which it has received from the first.
The Washington County Post is published here.
The population of the village in 1870 was 1,590.
Center Cambridge (p. v.) is situated in the heart of a rich farm- ing country, about a mile east from the depot of the same name on the Greenwich & Johnsonville R. R. It contains a store and blacksmith shop. The hotel, which until recently had been kept here, was discontinued in consequence of a refusal on the part of the citizens to grant a license in 1870.
North Cambridge, (p. o.) situated about four miles, in a direct line, west from Cambridge village, contains a school house, store and blacksmith shop. The post office which had been discon- tinued here was re-established in December 1870.
Buskirk's Bridge, (p. v.) named from Martin Van Buskirk, who built the first bridge across the Hoosick River at this point, is pleasantly located on the Hoosick River, in the southern part of the town, partly in Cambridge and partly in Hoosick, Rensselaer County. It is a station on the Troy & Boston R. R., and contains three churches, viz., Methodist, Reformed and Universalist; three stores, a school house, two flax mills, a saw mill, a cider mill, a carriage factory and about 200 inhabitants.
South Cambridge, formerly known as Quakerhood, contains a Methodist church and a blacksmith shop. It is a station on the Greenwich and Johnsonville R. R.
The Vly * Summit, near the western border of the town, in a direct line from Cambridge village, is a station on the Green- wich & Johnsonville R. R., near its entrance from the town of Easton. Efforts are being made by the inhabitants to have a post office established here, and they are likely to prove success- ful.
Coila, (p. v.) on the line of Jackson, contains two stores, a school house, a harness shop, a United Presbyterian church and about 50 inhabitants.
Among the early settlers in this section of the town were Elisha Allen, Henry Sherman, Phenias Whiteside, Alexander Hill, Calvin Skinner, Abraham Pratt, Perry Kenyon, Job Sher- man, David Burrows, Robert Miller, William Hall, Samuel
*A term used to denote a inarsh overgrown with bog moes and low bushes. F
Id Instruments of all kinds taken in exchange for Now, at R. H. Hid- ley's Music Store, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy. N. Y
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Willett, Mumford Kenyon and - Phelps. John Weir settled near what is now known as King's Church, six years previous to the Revolutionary War, during which he served. The first frame building erected in this part of the country "by square rule" is now standing on the farm of Thomas E. Culver, and was built by Timothy Ruggles.
The patent embracing this township consisted of 31,500 acres and was nominally conveyed to sixty persons most of whom resided in Hebron, Conn. The real owners were six in number, only three of whom were mentioned in the charter. These were Isaac Sawyer and Edward Wells, of Connecticut, and Jacob Lansing, the founder of Lansingburgh. The other three owners were Alex. Colden, Wm. Smith and George Ban- yar, who were connected with the Colonial Government. The patent required the settlement of thirty families within three years. To meet this requirement the most inviting portion was surveyed and one hundred acres offered as a gift to each family who would remove thither. The lots lay in a double row on both sides of Owl Kil, from below the "Checkered House" into the present town of Jackson. They embrace the several village precincts from Davis Corners to near Stephen- son's Corners. The first settlers were thirty families who came in and located in the years 1761, '62 and '63, each of whom re- ceived one hundred acres of land from the proprietors. Among the settlers were James and Robert Cowan, James and John Cowden, John MeClung, Samuel Bell, Col. Blair, George Gil- more, George Duncan, David Harrow, Wm. Clark, John Scott and Thomas Morrison. A son of the last named was the first child born of civilized parents in the town. Hugh Kelso, a son of Col.Blair, was the first person who died in the town. It is said that of these thirty families, who for a time were the most thrifty in town, all but two lost their property and died in poverty, brought about mainly by intemperance. Most of them were from Colerain, Mass. Phineas Whiteside, from Pennsylvania, settled eight miles west of the Colerain Colony, in 1766. William Whiteside acquired the title to three lots of 400 acres each, of the finest land in town, and settled his sons, John, Peter, Thomas, William and James, upon large farms near him. Their descendants still occupy the same lands. The remaining lands were mostly leased by the six proprietors at an annual rent of one shilling an acre, but most of the settlers gradually acquired the title to the lands, as the proprietors were willing to sell for a sum equal to the present worth of the perpetual rent. The first inn was of logs, on the site of the "Checkered House," and was kept by James Cowden. Philip Van Ness built the first saw mill and grist mill, on Gordon's
he acknowledged unequaled Steck Plano Fortes, to be found at B. IL. Midley's, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. Y.
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Brook, near Buskirk's Bridge. This neighborhood was called by the Indians "Tyoshoke," and they had a field of twelve. acres cleared for corn. Some of the other early settlers on the Hoosick Patent were Col. Van Wort and John Quackenbush. The expedition of Col. Baum to Bennington, Vt., passed through this town August 13, 1777, and the remnant of the fugitives returned on the night of the 16th.
The United Presbyterian Church was organized August 13, 1785, by Rev. Thos. Beveridge, the first pastor, and consisted of 80 members. The first house of worship was erected the next year. The present house was erected in 1833 and its present value is es- timated at $20,000 ; it will seat 700. This Church is remarkable for the permanence of the pastoral relation. Since 1808 there have been only two pastors in regular succession. Rev. A. Bul- lions, D. D., who died in 1857, was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Henry Gordon. The elders now officiating are WV. Sheland, George Robertson, Peter Hill, W. McMellon and John Sheland.
The Methodist Church of Cambridge was organized in 1788 by Philip Embury, the first pastor, who was one of the founders of American Methodism. The present house of worship was erect- ed in 1861 ; it will seat 500 and is valued at $13,000. 'The pres- ent membership is 165 ; the present pastor is W. H. Meeker.
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Whiteside Church was erected in 1800 by the Whiteside fami- ly, from whom it received its name. There has never been any regular church organization in connection with it, though it was at first a branch of the United Presbyterian Church of Cambridge village. It is now occupied by different denomina- tions. It will seat about 200 persons. The site for the cemetry connected with it was selected by Mr. Phineas Whiteside, one of the early settlers and a soldier of the Revolution. The first burial was that of a grandchild of Mr. W., in 1790, and the se- cond was that of Mr. W. himself, in 1793. The following in- scription is upon the stone which marks his resting place :
" In memory of Phineas Whiteside Esq., by birth a Hibernian, was born June 31, 1716. He saw this and many parts of America a wilder- ness. He saw Columbia struggling for liberty in which he took an active part; he saw her successfull; he died April 1, 1793.
" Full ripe in virtue as in age, For endless bliss he quit the stage."
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1853 by Rev. John Quiggby with 100 members. Their church edifice was erected the same year and will seat 600. Its present value is $7,000, but it is soon to be repaired to such an extent as to renderits value double that sum. The present membership is between 500 and 600.
B efore purchasing a Piano, Organ or other Musical Instrument, call on B. H. Midley, 12 Mansion House Block, Broadway, Troy, N. F.
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The population of Cambridge in 1870 was 2,598, and its area 23,042 acres.
DRESDEN was formed from Putnam as "South Bay," March 15, 1822; its present name was adopted April 17, 1822. It lies between Lake George and the south extremity of Lake Champlain. The surface consists of steep mountain ridges, several peaks of which are 1,500 feet above the lake. The declivities of the mountains are steep, sometimes forming per- pendicular precipices several hundred feet high. Along the shore of Lake George the mountains rise abruptly from the very edge of the water, but upon the borders of Lake Champ- lain there is a narrow strip of arable land. The principal mountain peaks are Black and Sugar Loaf Mountains and Diameter Precipice. Black Mountain is 2,879 feet above tide. Pike Brook and the head branches of . Mill Brook take their rise in these mountains. The surface in the interior is covered with forests or naked rocky peaks. The soil is hard and sterile and most of it unfit for agricultural purposes. The town was principally conveyed to non-commissioned officers and privates of the British Colonial army, and settlement was begun about 1784 by Joseph Phippeny at the foot of South Bay. Ebenezer Chapman, - Boggs and Daniel Ruff came soon after and settled along the bay and lake. Lumbering has been carried on to considerable extent. In several localities iron and other ores have been found but not worked to any great extent. A bridge was built, at the expense of the State, across South Bay, near its outlet, in 1856. There is no village or even post office in the town.
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