USA > New York > Geography of the state of New York. Embracing its physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, history, pursuits of the people, government, education, internal improvements &c. With statistical tables, and a separate description and map of each county > Part 16
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There are several female academies and seminaries ; among which, the Albany Female Academy, and Female Seminary, the Troy, Rut- gers, in the city of New York, Poughkeepsie, Amsterdam, Schenec tady, Clinton, Utica, Auburn, Ontario at Canandaigua, Batavia, Le Roy, Seward, and Rochester Female Seminaries, are the most prominent.
Theological Seminaries. Of these there are nine, viz: the Ham- ilton Theological Institution, now forming a department of the Mad- ison University, in Hamilton, Madison county, under the patronage of the Baptist denomination, but open, without distinction, to students of every religious denomination, designing to prepare themselves for the gospel ministry ; the Oneida Conference Seminary, founded by the Methodists, and located in the village of Cazenovia, Madison
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county ; the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, Livingston county; Auburn Theological Seminary, (Presbyterian;) the Hartwick Theological Seminary, (Lutheran ;) the Theological Seminary of the Associate Reformed Church of New York, at Newburgh, Orange county ; the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Epis- copal Church in the United States, located in New York city ; the Union Theological Seminary, in the same city ; and the Roman Cath- olic Ecclesiastical Seminary, at Rose Hill, in Westchester county. Collegiate Schools. There are seven of these institutions, located in different sections of the state. St. John's College, a Roman Cath- olic institution, pleasantly situated at Rose Hill, Westchester Co., about twelve miles from New York city, numbers 115 pupils ; St. Paul's College, St. Thomas' Hall, and St. Ann's Hall, at Flushing, Long Island, are under the patronage of the Protestant Episcopal de- nomination ; the latter is specially designed for the education of young ladies; the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, is located in the flourishing village of Poughkeepsie, and has a high reputation ; the Black River Literary and Religious Institute, is a well ordered and flourishing seminary, situated at Watertown, Jefferson county, and averages about 200 pupils ; and the New Brighton Collegiate School, situated on the heights, overlooking the village of New Brighton, on Staten Island, six miles from New York.
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GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
OF THE
COUNTIES.
LAND PURCHASES REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK. -
IN the description of the several counties, references are made to the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, the Livingston Manor, the Kayaderosieras Patent, the Har- denburgh Patent, Phelps' and Gorham's Purchase, the Holland Land Company's Purchase, the Pulteney estate, the Military tract, Bingham's Purchase, Morris' estate, &c.
The first three of these, are fully described in the general historical sketch, and in the description of the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia and Saratoga.
The Hardenburgh Patent was granted at an early date to a Dutch citizen of wealth, and comprised the larger part of Delaware and Sullivan counties.
Phelps' and Gorham's Purchase included the Holland Land Company's purchase, the Pulteney estate, and the Morris estate.
The history of this purchase is as follows:
The second charter of Massachusetts, granted by William and Mary in 1691, bounded the territory of that colony westwardly, by the Pacific Ocean: thus dividing the present state of New York into two parts, separated from each other, by a section of the width of the state of Massachusetts.
The colony of New York, under the grants made to the Duke of York and Albany in 1664, claimed the whole extent of territory, at present included under ber jurisdiction. These conflicting claims gave rise to long and harassing dis- putes, and protracted legal proceedings, but on the 16th of December, 1786, the controversy was settled, by a convention between the two states, concluded at Hartford, Conn.
By this convention, Massachusetts ceded to New York, all claim to the gov- ernment, sovereignty, and jurisdiction, of the lands in controversy; and New York granted to Massachusetts, the right of pre-emption, (or first purchase,) from the Indians, and when so purchased, the fee simple of the soil, of all that part of the state, lying west of a meridian drawn through Seneca lake, except a tract one mile wide, along the shores of Lake Erie, and the Niagara river ; a territory now comprising thirteen entire counties, and the larger part of Wayne county, and containing nearly 600,000 inhabitants.
On the first of April, 1788, the state of Massachusetts contracted to sell to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, the right of pre-emption, to the whole of this vast tract, for the sum of one million dollars, to be paid in three equal instal- ments.
On the 8th of July, of the same year, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham made a treaty with the Indians in the neighborhood of Canandaigua, by which the Indian title was extinguished to the tract lying east of the Genesee river, and a tract extend- ing twelve miles west of that river, from York, in Genesee county, northward to the lake. This tract was confirmed to the contractors, by the Massachusetts legis- lature, in November, 1788.
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In February, 1790, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, having paid $666,666, on che purchase money, and being unable to pay the third instalment, at the time agreed, proposed to the state of Massachusetts, to surrender to the state the remaining portion, to which the Indian title was not extinguished, and should the amount already purchased of the Indians, prove more than one-third of the whole tract, to pay for the excess, at the average price of the whole. This proposition was accepted.
On the 18th of November, 1790, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham sold to Robert Morris, all of their tract east of the Genesee river, except the portion already sold to settiers, and two townships reserved to themselves. The tract thus sold, con- tained 1,264,000 acres, and Mr. Morris paid about $200,000 for it.
The lands surrendered to the state of Massachusetts were sold to Sammuel Og- den, and by him to Robert Morris, who extinguished the Indian title for the sum of $100,000. Mr. Morris, by this purchase, became possessed of the greater part of the tract, originally purchased by Mesers. Phelps and Gorham.
. Mr. Morris, soon after, sold to a company formed in Holland, a portion of the land thus purchased, comprising 3,200,000 acres, and including the present coun- ties of Erie, Niagara, Chautauque, and Cattaraugus. This company was known as the Holland Land Company, and their tract as the Holland Purchase. They established a land office at Batavia, and sold the land to actual settlers. Those lands which remained unsold, were, after a time, transferred to other associa- tions, but by far the larger part, are now owned by the inhabitants.
The tract purchased of Phelps and Gorham, by Mr. Morris, was sold by him, to Sir William Pulteney, and hence called the Pulteney estate. It comprised nearly all of Steuben, Yates, and Ontario counties, the east range of townships in Alle- gany, and the principal part of Livingston, Monroe, and Wayne counties. About one-third of the whole tract had been sold to companies and individuals, previous to Sir William's purchase. Mr. Williamson was appointed his agent, and opened land offices at Geneva and Bath. To his energy, public spirit, and liberality, the peo- ple of those counties are much indebted.
The tract lying between this estate, and the Holland purchase, was retained by Mr. Morris, and sold by him to actual settlers. It embraced portions of Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, and Allegany counties, and contained 500,000 acres.
The Military tract, or rather tracts, for there were two to which this name was applied, were bounty lands, granted by New York, to her soldiers, who had served during the revolutionary war ; an appropriation of 600 acres was made to every private soldier, and larger quantities to the officers.
The act, granting these lands, was passed in 1786, and the grant was made. with the proviso, that the Indian title should first be extinguished. The lands thus granted, comprised the present counties of Onondaga, Cortland, Tompkins, Cayuga, Seneca, and part of Oswego, and Wayne. It contained 1,680 000 acres. As, however, the Indian title was not immediately extinguished, the legislature, the same year, appropriated twelve northern townships in the present counties of Clinton, Franklin, and Essex, containing 768,000 acres, to the location of revolutionary patents. This was called the Old Military tract. The Indian title to the other traot, however, being extinguished in 1789, the greater part of the bounty lands were located in Onondaga, and the adjacent counties.
Bingham's Purchase was a tract some twenty miles square, lying partly in Broome county, and partly in the state of Pennsylvania. It was purchased by Messrs. Bingham, Wilson, and Cox, of Philadelphia, in 1785. Immediately north of this, was another purchase, made the succeeding year, by a company from Massachusetts, and containing 230,000 acres. There were sixty proprietors in this company.
Large tracts of land are also beld in the counties of Jefferson and St. Law- rence, by the Messrs. Van Rensselaer, and Governeur Morris; and in different sections of the state, by Gerrit Smith, Esq, of Peterboro, Chenango county, and the heirs of the Messrs. Wadsworth, of Livingston county. .
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COUNTIES.
I. ALBANY COUNTY ..
Square Miles, 515. Population, 77,268. Organized, 1683. Valuation, 1845, @15,603,161.
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TOWNS.
1. Albany, 1686.
2. Watervliet, 1788.
3. Rensselaerville. 1790.
4. Coeymans, 1791.
6. Berne, 1795
7. Guilderland, 1803.
8. Westerlo, 1815.
9. Knox, 1822.
5. Bethlehem, 1793. 10. New Scotland, 1832.
Mountains. g. Helderberg Hills.
Rivers, &c. C. Hudson. F. Mohawk. h. Norman's kill. c. Co- eymans creek. d. Haivnakraus kill. e. Provost creek. f. Foxes creek.
Falls. b. Cohoes falls.
Cities and Villages. Albany, West Troy, Coeymans, Rensselaer- ville, Cohoes.
BOUNDARIES. North by Schenectady and Saratoga counties ; East by the Hudson; South by Greene ; and West by Scho- harie county.
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SURFACE. The surface is much varied. Along the Hudson, extends an alluvial valley, from a fourth of a mile to a mile in width. From this valley the land rises abruptly, 140 feet, and thence a table land gradually ascends, to the base of the Hel- derberg hills. Along the Mohawk, the surface is rugged and broken.
The Helderberg hills extend through the western part of the county, uniting, on the south, with the Catskill range.
They are from 400 to 500 feet in height, and very precipitous. Their eleva- tion is quite uniform, displaying no isolated peaks.
RIVERS AND STREAMS. The county is well watered. Besides the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, which partially bound it, the Norman's kill, Coeymans creek, Haivnakraus kill, Provost creek, Foxes' creek, Boza kill, Vlamans kill, and the Pa- troon's creek, are the principal streams.
Most of these, as well as several smaller streams, have valuable waterfalls, af- fording great facilities for manufacturing.
The Cohoes, or Great Falls of the Mohawk, at the village of Cohoes, lie partly in this, and partly in Saratoga county.
The river here descends, at a single leap, 70 feet, and then pursues its way, over the rocks, in the channel, which its waters have cut through the solid rock, to the depth of more than 100 feet, to the Hudson. Few cataracts possess more picturesque beauty.
RAILROADS. The Troy and Schenectady, and the Mohawk and Hudson railroads, cross the northeastern section of the county, and the Catskill and Canajoharie, the southeastern.
CLIMATE. The climate is quite variable, being subject to great extremes of heat and cold. Though unfavorable to those affected with pulmonary diseases, it is considered as generally healthy.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. The geological formation of the county is transition; graywacke and slate are the prominent characteristics of the banks of the Hudson and Mohawk. In the Helderbergs, are fond lime and sandstone, both abounding in organic remains.
In the elevated table lands, lying between the Helderbergs and the Hudson river, are thick beds of blue and yellow marl, of clayey consistence, and destitute of fossils. They are cov- ered with yellow sand.
Bog iron ore is found, in numerous localities, in the county. Mari, and water limestone, also abound. There are several mineral springs, some of which con- tain sulphuretted hydrogen, others carbonic acid gas, iron, and magnesia.
Epsom salts are found at Coeymans Landing, and petroleum in Guilderland. In the limestone cliffs of the Helderbergs, are several extensive caverna, contain- ing quartz and other crystals, stalactites and stalagmites of great beauty ; calcare- ous spar, bitumen and alum also occur in the county. -
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. A portion of the soil is
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fertile and productive, and most of that, which was naturally sterile, has, by the skill of the husbandman, been made to yield abundant returns. Considerable tracts, however, are not sus- ceptible of cultivation,
The timber of the county is principally pine, hemlock, oak, hickory, elm, chest- nut, and birch.
PURSUITS. Agriculture is the pursuit of a majority of the in- habitants. This may be reckoned as one of the grain growing counties, although not one of the most productive.
Oats, corn, rye, buckwheat, and barley, are the principal grains; potatoes are raised in considerable quantities. The western part is favorable to grazing, and butter is there largely produced. The number of sheep in the county is large, and increasing annually.
Manufactures also occupy the attention of a large number of the citizens of the county. In 1845, these considerably exceeded two and a half millions of dollars, of which about two millions were produced in the city of Albany.
The principal articles manufactured were, iron ware, flour, malt liquors, coaches and sleighs, machinery, cotton and woollen goods, brick, cordage, oil and oil cloths.
Commerce. The navigation of the Hudson river, and the Erie and Champlain canals, furnishes employment to large numbers, and this commerce is increasing, in a rapid annual ratio.
Tolls were received, in 1845, in the county, upon produce valued at about twenty-seven millions of dollars. About thirty-five steamers, seventy tow boats, and 630 sloops and schooners, beside scows, &c., are employed in the Albany trade, on the Hudson. The total amount of shipping, belonging to the county, is about 60,000 tons.
STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Oats, corn, rye, barley, buckwheat, butter and wool.
SCHOOLS. There are, in the county of Albany, 160 district school houses. In 1845, schools were taught, on an average, ten months. During that year, 14,600 children were instructed, at an expense of about $25,000, for tuition. The district libra- ries contained about 29,000 volumes.
There were also, in the county, the same year, 111 unincorporated private schools, with 3,856 pupils ; three academies, and two female seminaries, with 637 pupils ; one state normal school, with 294 pupils ; and one medical college, with 114 students.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Dutch Reformed, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Friends, Unitarians, Lutherans, Congregationalists, Universal- ists, and Jews .*
HISTORY. When Henry Hudson ascended the North river, in 1609, he despatched Hendrick Corstiaensen, with a small
* The religious denominations are given, throughout this work, in the erder of their numbers, beginning with the most numerous.
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crew, in a boat, to ascertain the highest point to which that river was navigable. Corstiaensen penetrated as far as Troy, or Lansingburgh, but landed at the present site of the city of Albany.
In 1611, or 12, he returned and erected a trading house, on Boyd's island, a short distance below the Albany ferry. In the ensuing Cpring, this was so much injured by the ice and the freshet, that he was compelled to abandon it. He then erected a fort, on a hill, about two miles south of Albany.
In 1623 a fort was erected near the present Fort Orange Hotel, in the city of Albany, mounting eight large cannon .* It was named Fort Orange, in honor of the Prince of Orange, who, at that time, presided over the Netherlands.
This fort was intended to subserve the double purpose, of affording convenient accommodations for the traffic with the Indiana, and also of serving as a protec- tion against sudden attacks from them. It was only occupied during the autumn, and winter, by the tradera, whose object was trade, not colonization.
In 1630, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a wealthy pearl merchant, of Amsterdam, purchased, through his agents, a large tract of land, including most of this, as well as several of the adjacent, counties.
Over this extensive tract, he possessed all the authority of a sovereign, and, anxious to improve it to the best advantage, he sent a colony here, in 1631, well provided with whatever was necessary, to commence a new settlement. To his estate he gave the name of Rensselaerwyck
It is believed that he never visited his colony. The administration of justice, and the management of its financial affairs, he committed to a commissary gene- ral. Fortunate in the selection of these, his colony prospered much more than that at New Amsterdam, and it was to the good offices of Van Curler, or Corlaer, the first commissary, that the colonists at New Amsterdam were indebted, more than once, for their preservation from destruction, at the hands of the savages. This excellent man cultivated the most friendly relations with the Indians, and so strong was their affection for him, that, ever after, they applied the name of Cor- laer to the governors of New York, as the highest title of respect.
In 1642, Mr. Van Rensselaer sent over the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, as minister of Rensselaerwyck, supporting him at his own expense. The first church was erected the suc- ceeding year, and furnished with a bell and pulpit, by the Dutch West India Company. In 1646, the venerable patroon died, at Amsterdam. His son Johannes, then a minor, succeeded him.
During the administration of Governor Stuyvesant, serious difficulties occurred between him and the agent of the patroon, which were finally referred to the states general of Holland, for decision. After New York came into the possession of the Eng-
* Stone pieces, they are called in the original Dutch records; meaning, ac- cording to Judge Vanderkemp, that they were loaded with stone, instead of iron balls. They were of very large caliber.
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lish, the name of Beaverwyck, which had been bestowed upon the settlement, was changed to Albany, that being one of the titles of the Duke of York. The right of soil was confirmed to the patroon, by a new patent, but the government was retained in the hands of the governor of the colony.
In 1686, Governor Dongan granted a charter to the city of Albany, and Peter Schuyler, the friend of the Indians, was elected the first mayor.
In 1689-90, the citizens of this county refused to submit to the administration of Leisler and Milborne, but were at length compelled, by the fears of an Indian invasion, to yield allegi- ance. No sooner, however, did Colonel 'Sloughter arrive, than he was welcomed by the people of this county, whose at- tachment to Leisler had never been ardent, or sincere.
In all the treaties with the Indian tribes, the citizens of Albany bore a con- spicuous part, and so entirely had they won the confidence of the savages, that from the date of its settlement, the county was never invaded, by these sons of the forest. The Schuyler family, for several generations, exerted a powerful in- fluence over the Indians.
During the revolution, the Albany committee nobly sustained their countrymen, in their opposition to British sway, and af- forded aid, in troops and money, to the suffering inhabitants of Tryon county, to assist them in repelling the frequent attacks of the merciless horde of tories and Indians, who ravaged their settlements.
Burgoyne had boasted, at the commencement of his campaign, that his army should revel upon the spoils of Albany, but he only visited the city as a captive. Sir Henry Clinton twice attempted to invade it, but met with sufficient obstacles to prevent his success.
It became the capital of the state in 1807. Since the intro- duction of steamboats, and the completion of the canals, the growth of the city and county have been rapid, and the lines of railroads, which connect it with Boston and Buffalo, are giving it a still greater impulse.
The extensive manor of Rensselaerwyck, occupying a territory twenty-four by forty-eight miles in extent, descended, by entailment, to the eldest male descendant of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. The last proprietor was the late patroon, Stephen Van Rensselaer, a man, whose munificent patronage of every object which could benefit his fellow citizens, or aid in diffusing happiness among men, has embalmed his memory.
At his death, the manor was divided between his two sons, Stephen and William P. Van Rensselaer, the former receiving the portion west of the Hudson, and the latter, that lying east of the river.
The lands had usually been granted on permanent leases, the rental being pay- able in produce. Some personal services were usually required, by the terms of The lease, but seldom exacted by the patroon. The effort, on the part of the present proprietors, to enforce the collection of the rents, was met by strenuous opposition, on the part of the tenants, who formed themselves into armed organiza- tions, and in their conflict with the officers of the law, several individuals were killed.
These organizations have, of late, assumed a political character. Both the
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proprietors and the tenants have sought redress from the legislature, but as yet no decisive action has been taken, by that body. The inconsistency of the feudal tenure, with the spirit of our institutions, will be admitted by all; but there a great difficulty in legislating justly upon the subject.
CITIES AND VILLAGES. ALBANY CITY is situated on the west bank of the Hudson, 145 miles above New York. It appears to great advantage, from the river, rising rapidly from the bank, and exhibiting its public buildings in bold relief. The alluvial valley of the Hudson extends about a quarter of a mile from the river bank. From this valley, a bluff rises abruptly, 140 feet, and, in the distance of a mile, about eighty feet more. Upon this bluff, are situated most of the public buildings.
In 1845, the city had 116 streets and lanes. It is divided into ten wards, each of which elect annually, an alderman and as sistant alderman, who together form the common council of the city.
The public buildings are, many of them, elegant and costly. The Capitol, erected at an expense of $120,000, is a fine free- stone edifice. The State Hall, built of white marble, and fire- proof, is an elegant building, of the Ionic order, surmounted by a dome. It cost $350,000. The City Hall stands near it, and is also a fine Grecian structure, of white marble, surmounted by a gilded dome. The Albany Academy, an elegant building of Nyack freestone, opposite the state hall, cost, including the grounds, more than $100,000.
This building, and the capitol have large parks, in front, surrounded by sub- stantial iron fences, and planted with ornamental trees and shrubbery.
The Albany Female Academy is a chaste, marble building, erected at a cost of about $30,000. The Albany Exchange, of massive granite; the Museum, of marble; the Medical College, of brick, and well adapted to the purposes, to which it is applied; the State Normal School; and the State Geological rooms, oc- cupying the old state hall, are the other principal buildings.
Several of the churches, also, are deserving of notice for their architectural beauty. Among these, we may mention the Mid- dle Dutch church, on Beaver street; the Pearl street Baptist church, a finely proportioned structure, in the Ionic style, and surmounted by a splendid dome ; the Hudson street Methodist church, one of the most chaste and beautiful models for a church in the United States; the Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches, in Chapel street, &c., &c.
Among the hotels the Delavan House, stands preeminent for simple grandeur and chasteness of architecture. It was comple- ted in 1845, and cost about $200,000. The Eagle, Congress Hall, Mansion, Townsend, American, Carlton, Stanwix Hall, and the Franklin House, are also well conducted hotels.
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The State Library, founded by the munificence of the state, has an excellent collection of works on history, geography, and general literature. An extensive law library is connected with it. The entire collection numbers over 15,000 volumes, and is accessible to all, without charge.
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