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 21
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reinforcements, and when these arrived, a storm prevented an engagement.
Meantime, on the night of the Ist of November, Washington abandoned his encampment, and removed to a stronger position, near North Castle, some seven or eight miles north of White Plains. Finding it impossible to dislodge him from this, the British general withdrew from the pursuit, and determined to reduce the posts, still held by the Americans, in the neighbor- hood of New York city.
The principal of these were Fort Washington, on New York island, and Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. Despite Washington's efforts to prevent it, he succeeded in capturing both these forts, though not without severe loss, and the American general was compelled to retreat, with a con- stantly diminishing army, into New Jersey.
In March, 1777, the Americans having collected a quantity of military stores at Peekskill, General Howe sent a powerful ar- mament up the river, to destroy them. The American troops, finding it impossible to defend them, set fire to the stores and abandoned the place, leaving the British a barren victory.
In August, 1777, while General Putnam's head quarters were at Peekskill, two noted British spies, Strang and Palmer, were detected in the camp of the Americans, and hanged at Oak hill, in the town of Cortland, near Peekskill village. Sir Henry Clinton interfered in behalf of the latter, by sending a flag of truce, demanding his release. General Putnam's reply was characteristic ; it was as follows :
Head Quarters, 7th August, 1777.
Sir,-Nathan Palmer, a lieutenant in your king's service, was taken in my camp as a spy, he was tried as a spy, he was con- . demned as a spy, and you may rest assured, sir, he shall be hanged as a spy. I have the honor to be, &c.
ISRAEL PUTNAM.
His Excellency Governor Tryon.
P. S. Afternoon. He is hanged. I. P.
With a view of making a diversion in favor of General Bur- goyne, then closely besieged by General Gates, Sir Henry Clinton in October, 1777, ascended the Hudson with a force of between 3000 and 4000 troops, and landed at Verplank's point, a short distance below Peekskill ..
From thence he proceeded secretly across the river and gain- ed the rear of forts Clinton and Montgomery, in Orange county. By his adroit manœuvres he succeeded in deceiving General Putnam, and prevented his affording aid to those forts, which might have prevented their surrender.
After the capture of the forts, the British again crossed the Hudson, burned Continental village, where military stores to a
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considerable amount had been deposited, and proceeded up the river to commit similar ravages upon the towns of the adjacent counties. They were, however, soon compelled to return to New York.
During the whole war of the revolution, this county was neu- tral ground between the two contending armies-the British lines being generally in the neighborhood of Kingsbridge, and those of the American army in the neighborhood of White Plains.
The territory between these two armies was infested by a gang of marauders attached to each army. That belonging to the British army was principally composed of tories of the most infamous character, who were denominated "Cow boys." The American gang were equally unprincipled, and had received the title of" Skinners." The inhabitants of the county were plundered by each in turn, and dispirited by their sufferings and losses, looked on all whom they met, as foes.
It was in this county that in September, 1780, Andre was captured, on his return from the interview in which Arnold had consummated his treason.
The place of his capture was in the town of Greensburgh, about a fourth of a mile north of the village of Tarrytown. The names of his captors were Isaac Van Wart, John Paulding and David Williams. They were militia men, and had been on an expedition to rescue some property taken the previous night by the Cowboys.
They were concealed for this object, when Andre, disguised as a citizen, passed on the road near them, on horseback. 'They stopped him, and, losing his presence of mind, he exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I hope you belong to our party." One of them enquired, " what party ?" Andre replied, " the lower party." They answered " we do," and Andre at once declared himself a British officer, on urgent business, and begged to be suffered to proceed without delay:
Paulding then informed him that they were Americans, and Andre immediately produced the pass with which Arnold had furnished him, and professed that his former statement) was a falsehood, invented to enable him to escape from arrest by the British patroles.
Their suspicions, were, however, aroused, and they insisted upon searching him, and found papers in his stockings, proving his real character and his purposes. He offered them immense rewards if they would permit him to escape, but in vain.
They delivered him to their commanding officer, Colonel Jamieson, then sta- tioned at North Castle, who imprudently suffered him to apprise Arnold of his arrest. He was tried by a court martial and sentenced to be hung as a spy, and was accordingly executed at Tappan, October 2d, 1780.
Each of his captors were rewarded by Congress with a farm worth $1250, an annuity of $200 for life, and an elegant silver medal with the inscription on one side "Fidelity," and on the other " Amor vincit Patria,"-The love of country conquers.
VILLAGES. WHITE PLAINS, one of the county seats, is a pleasant village on the Bronx river. It has an academy and a female seminary, both in a prosperous condition.
BEDFORD, the other half shire village, in the town of the same name, is a small place, only important as being the county seat. It has a female seminary ..
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Singsing, in the town of Ossinging, is delightfully situated on the bank of the Hudson. From the village, the prospect of Hud- son river, forming Tappan bay, in connection with the distant mountains, and the lofty wall of the palisades, is hardly sur- passed by any other in the Union.
The Mount Pleasant academy and female seminary are both excellent institutions, well located, and occupying elegant edifices.
The Croton aqueduct bridge, a noble structure, here crosses the Singsing creek by a single arch of eighty-eight feet span, and is 100 feet in height.
There are several extensive quarries of marble, worked by convicts.
The Mount Pleasant State Prison located here, on the bank of the Hudson, is ap immense marble structure. The main building is 484 feet long, forty-four wide, and five stories high, containing 1000 cells. Connected with it are workshops of different kinds, and apartments for the keepers,-all built of marble.
The female prison, also of marble, of the Ionic order, stands on elevated ground, and bes nearly 100 cells, besides apartments for the matron. All these buildings were erected by the convicta.
The name given to the town, Ossinsing, is of Indian origin, and signifies " the place of stone." Population about 2600.
Peekskill, in the town of Cortland, is pleasantly situated on Peekskill bay, a beautiful expansion of the Hudson. It is famous for having been the head quarters of both Washington and Put- nam. The small one story house occupied by the latter, is still standing. The Peekskill academy. located on Oak hill, near the village, is situated but a short distance from the spot where the tory spies, Strang and Palmer, already mentioned, were executed. The village has some manufactures. Population, 3,000.
Tarrytown, in the town of Greensburgh, is finely situated on the Hudson, and contains the Irving Institute, and the Green- bank female seminary, both schools of high reputation. The village has some trade with New York city. Population about 1000.
The capture of Andre near this village, has been already noticed. Near it too is the far famed "Sleepy Hollow," whose legend, Washington Irving has rendered immortal.
Mr. Irving resides about two miles below the village, in'an ancient Dutch man- sion, known as the Van Tassel house, which the former proprietor forfeited by his adherence to the British interests.
New Rochelle is pleasantly situated on Long Island Sound, and is a favorite resort for the fashionable from New York, during the summer months. Its first settlers were Huguenots, who named it from their native residence, Rochelle, in France. Many of their descendants still reside here. It has one male and two female boarding schools. Steamboats ply between the village and New York, daily.
Dobb's Ferry is only worthy of notice from its historic interest.
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VIII. ULSTER COUNTY.
Square miles, 1095. Organized, 1683.
Population, 48,907. Valuation, 1845, 85,898,989.
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TOWN'S.
1. Hurley, 1789.
2. Kingston, 1788.
10. Shandaken, 1804.
3. Marbletown, 1788.
11. Wawarsing, 1806.
4. Marlborough, 1788.
12. Esopus, 1811.
5. New Paltz, 1758.
13. Saugerties, 1811.
6. Rochester, 1788.
14. Olive, 1823.
7. Shawangunk, 1788.
15. Rosendale, 1845.
8. Woodstock, 1788.
16. Lloyd, 1845.
Mountains. P. Shawangunk mountains. h. Blue. i. Southern . * termination of Kaatsbergs.
Rivers, &c. C. Hudson river. V. Shawangunk. a. Esopus creek f. Rondout. g. Wallkill river.
Falls. Honk's falls. Lakes. k. Shin's lake.
Battle Fields. Kingston. Wawarsing.
Villages. KINGSTON. Rondout. Saugerties, or Ulster. New Paltz. Wawarsing.
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BOUNDARIES. North by Delaware and Groene counties ; Kast by the Hudson river ; South by Orange county ; and West by Sullivan county.
SURFACE. Mountainous. The Shawangunk mountains enter the county from Orange, and traverse it in a north-easterly direction, for nearly thirty miles, approaching the Hudson at Kingston.
The Blue mountains, a continuation of the Allegany chain, enter the county from Sullivan county, and spread over its west- ern section, mingling in the northern part with the Catskill range. They are said to rise, in some places, to the height of 2000 feet. Between these and the Shawangunk mountains, is a broad valley through which flows the Rondout ereek.
RIVERS. Beside the Hudson which washes its eastern border, the principal streams of the county are the Wallkill and Sha- wangunk rivers, and Esopus and Rondout creeks, with their tributaries. The Nevisink river also takes its rise in this county.
FALLS. The Rondout, at Honk's falls, descends by a suc- cession of cascades, 200 feet, sixty feet of which is by a single cataract.
LAKES. In the northern and western section of the county are several small lakes or ponds. One of the most important of these is Shin's lake, the source of one of the tributaries of Esopus creek.
CANALS. The Delaware and Hudson Canal extends through the county.
CLIMATE. The mountainous districts are somewhat cold and subject to early frosts. The climate in the valleys is mild and delightful. The county is considered salubrious.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. Nearly the whole county belongs to the transition formation, being based upon slate, which is overlaid with limestone. The primary rocks, particularly gran- ite, occasionally appear on the surface, but only in beds of small extent.
The minerals are blue limestone, containing fossils, much used as a building material; hydraulic lime of fine quality, and in great abundance; excellent mar- ble; mari, slate, sulphur, alum, plumbago, (usually called black lead,) zinc ore, several of the mineral pigments, milkstones, said to be little inferior to the French, peat, &c. There are also several sulphur springs of some celebrity. A number" of skeletons of the mastodon have been discovered in this county.
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil varies with the surface, being barren upon the mountains, fertile on the lower hills, and composed of a deep vegetable mould, of exhaustless fer- tility, in the extensive valleys. The application of marl, which is abundant in the county, would render those portions naturally sterile, highly productive. It is well adapted to grazing. The
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timber of the county is oak, hickory, black walnut, pine and hemlock.
PORSUITS. A majority of the inhabitants are engaged in ag- riculture. More attention is devoted to the rearing of cattle and to the dairy, than to the grain culture, although corn, oats, and buckwheat are raised in considerable quantities.
Manufactures are also a popular pursuit. The manufactures of the county amounted, in 1845, to nearly two and a half mil- lions of dollars. Leather, lumber, flour, iron, cotton and woollen goods, hydraulic cement, oil, paper, furniture, white lead, and distilled and malt liquors, are the principal articles manufactured.
Commerce. The Delaware and Hudson canal brings to tide water immense quantities of coal and lumber, most of which is shipped for New York, and other ports. This business gives employment to about 600 canal boats, and eighty sloops and schooners. Several steamboats are also owned in the county, and ply between the ports on the Hudson and New York city.
Mines. The quarries of marble and limestone furnish em- ploy ment to considerable numbers.
STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Butter, corn, oats, buckwheat, wool, and lumber.
SCHOOLS. There were in the county, in 1846, 181 district schoolhouses, in which schools were taught an average period of nine months each. 11,547 children received instruction at a cost for tuition of about $20,000. The district libraries contain- ed 26,780 volumes.
There were in the county, the same year, forty private schools, with 811 pupila; two academies and two female seminaries with 135 pupila.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Dutch Reformed, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Friends, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics. There are seventy churches, and sixty-one clergy- men, of all denominations.
HISTORY. A trading house, or fort, was probably erected in this county as early as 1615 or 16, in the neighborhood of Kings- ton. At how early a period settlements were made in other sections of the county is uncertain. The frequent references to the settlements at Esopus, as the vicinity of the fort was called 'in the Dutch records, show that it had early become a location of some importance.
Situated about midway between the city of New Amsterdam and the colony of Rensselaerwyck, whose inhabitants did not always maintain the most friendly relations with each other, and with the Indians, it was more exposed to Indian hostilities than most of the other settlements.
In 1657, Van der Donk, the ex-attorney general, who resided at Esopus, slew a squaw for stealing peaches from his garden, and her tribe revenged the murder by killing several of the
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white settlers. From this and other causes much ill feeling, arose between the natives and the settlers, and in June, 1663, the Indians made a descent upon the settlement, and killed and carried captive sixty-five persons.
Circumstances rendered it probable that a conspiracy had been formed by the Indians to extirpate the Dutch colonists. Governor Stuyvesant summoned the magistrates of the differ- ent towns, to consult with him relative to measures of defence. Their views not coinciding with his own, he repaired to Esopus, and took the field in person against the savages, who, on the approach of Martin Creigier, one of his captains, had fled to the mountains.
Sending out parties of wary and experienced soldiera, Gov. Stuyvesant not only kept them in check, but destroyed most of their mountain fastnesses, and so far subdued them that they asked for a truce, and, on the 15th of May following, a treaty of peace was concluded with them.
Wawarsing and some of the adjacent towns were settled.by the Huguenots, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, or the beginning of the eighteenth.
The convention, which formed the first constitution of the state, met at Kingston, in a chamber of the house of Mr. James W. Baldwin.
In October, 1777, during Sir Henry Clinton's expedition up the Hudson, for the relief of General Burgoyne, he despatched General Vaughan to Kingston. He landed and burned the village, at that time the third in the state for wealth, popula- tion, and elegance. Only one house escaped the flames. Sev- eral tories were executed at Kingston during the Revolution.
In 1778, two men, Anderson and Osterhout, were taken cap- tives by the Indians, and carried toward Binghamton. On their way they succeeded in killing their captors, and, after almost incredible hardships, returned to their houses in the town of Wawarsing.
In May, 1779, a party of Indians descended upon a small set- tlement of the Huguenots, on the Fantine kill in Wawarsing, and killed eleven of the inhabitants and burned several dwell- ings. They were pursued by Colonel Cortlandt with his regi- ment, but without effect. Soon after, another family were killed in the same vicinity.
In August, 1781, a large force of Indians and tories, some 400 or 500 in number, made an attack upon the village of Wawar- sing, and burned and plundered it. The inhabitants had had timely warning and were in the fort. The Indians in this expe- dition took but one scalp, while several of their own number were killed, and but for the tardiness of Colonel Cantine, they
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might have been signally routed. Other similar occurrences took place in some of the other towns of the county.
VILLAGES. KINGSTON, the county seat, is pleasantly situated on a plain, three miles west of the landing on the Hudson. The Esopus creek flows through the village. It was anciently called Esopus, and, as has been already noticed, was early settled by the Dutch.
It was burnt by the British in 1777, but soon re-built. It has considerable trade with New York, and some manufactures. Its business is not concentrated upon one street, but scattered over the whole village plat. It has a flourishing academy, and a female seminary. . Population 2500.
Rondout, also in the township of Kingston, is situated on the Rondout ereek. It is the place of deposit and shipment of the coal and lumber, brought to the Hudson, by the Delaware and Hudson canal. Nearly 200,000 tons of coal, and several mil- lions of feet of lumber, as well as large quantities of hydraulic cement, and quick lime, are annually exported from this port. A steam ferryboat plies between this place and Rhinebeck, in Dutchess county, and also one to Eddyville, in this county. The United States Government have erected a light house here. Population about 1800.
Eddyville, in the same town, is a small but thriving manu- facturing village.
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Ulsterville, in the town of Saugerties, is a village of recent growth, being founded in 1826, and incorporated in 1831. Its immense water power, derived from the falls on Esopus creek, has rendered it one of the most flourishing manufacturing vil- lages in the state.
There is an extensive rolling and slitting mill here, employ- ing 250 workmen. Axes, paper, white lead, starch, and bricks are also manufactured in large quantities. A beautiful bridge, with one arch of 260 feet span, crosses the Esopus creek in this village. A steamboat, and several sloops, ply between the village and New York. Population, 2500.
New Paltz, is a small but thriving agricultural hamlet. It has a flourishing academy. New Paltz landing, now included in the town of Lloyd, is a pleasant village, nine miles from the village of New Paltz.
Wawarsing and Naponoch, in the town of Wawarsing, are places of some historic interest.
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IX. DUTCHESS COUNTY.
Square miles, 765. Organized, 1683.
Population, 55,124. Valuation, 1845, $19,784,944.
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TOWNS.
1. Amenia, 1788.
10. Stanford, 1788.
2. Beekman, 1788.
11. Dover, 1807.
3. Clinton, 1788.
12 Redhook, 1812.
4. Fishkill, 1788.
13. Milan, 1818.
5. Northeast, 1788.
14. Hyde Park, 1821.
6. Pawling, 1788.
15. La Grange, 1821.
7. Poughkeepsie, 1778.
16. Pleasant Valley, 1821.
8. Rhinebeck, 1788.
17. Pine Plains, 1823.
9. Washington, 1788. 18. Unionvale, 1827.
Mountains. F. F. Highlands. T. Matteawan, or Fishkill Moun- tains. U. Taghkanic range. e. Old Beacon. f. New Beacon, or Grand Sachem.
Rivers, Creeks, &c. C. Hudson river. a. Ten Mile creek. b. Fishkill. c. Wappinger's.
Lakes, &c. g. Stissing's Pond. h. Whaley's.
Villages. POUGHKEEPSIE, Fishkill, Matteawan, Fishkill Landing, Pleasant Valley, Hyde Park, Rhinebeck.
BOUNDARIES. North by Columbia county ; East by the state of Connecticut; South by Putnam county ; and west by Hudson river.
SURFACE. The surface is diversified, but generally moun- tainous, or hilly. Two great valleys intersect the county; the eastern bounded by the Taghkanic and the Matteawan, or Fish- kill mountains ; the western, lying between the latter and the high banks of the Hudson river. Beside these, there are nu- merous rolling ridges of less elevation, running through the valleys parallel to the mountain ranges.
The mountains rise in some places to the height of about 1700 feet. The river range presents some of the highest peaks of the Highlands. The Old Beacon, near the Fishkill landing, is 1471 feet, and the New Beacon,* or Grand Sachem, half a mile farther south, 1685 feet, above tide water. The prospect from the top of t latter is very extensive and beautiful.
RIVERS, &c. The principal streams are, Ten Mile, Fishkill, Wappinger's, and Crom Elbow creeks, with their tributaries ; several of the smaller str ams also possess valuable mill sites. The Fishkill is about twenty miles in length. Wappinger's creek is about thirty-five miles long.
CLIMATE. The climate is agreeable and healthful, though, from the elevations of some portions of the county, it is colder than some of the adjacent counties.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. The eastern part of the county is primitive. Granite and gneiss are the prevailing constituents.
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* These mountains received their names from the signal fires lit upon their tops during the Revolution.
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West of these, the country belongs to the Taconic system; slate and limestone being the principal underlying rocks, and frequently cropping out upon the surface.
The county abounds in minerals. Iron ore, of rare purity and in extraordi- nary abundance, exists on the western elopes of the mountains; both the hema- titic and magnetic ores occur in the county. Lead and zinc are also found in considerable quantities. Graphite, or black lead, is obtained in great abundance from a mine in Fishkill. Marble, peat, and merl, are found in almost every part of the county. Garnet, green actinolite, talc, anthophyllite, granular epidote, and Gibbsite are the other principal minerals.
In Dover is a cavern which, from its almost perfect Gothic arch, has received the name of "the Stone Church."
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil in general, is very fertile, though portions of the mountainous districts are somewhat sterile.
Gypsum is too much relied upon as a fertilizing agent, while the equally valu- able lime and mari upon, and beneath the coil are neglected; a beneficial change is however taking place in this respect. The timber is principally oak and chest- nut with some hickory. The county is well adapted to the rearing of cattle and sheep, and the culture of grain.
PURSUITS. Agriculture is the pursuit of a majority of the in- habitants of this county. In the production of corn and oats, it stands first in the state, and maintains a respectable rank in the production of other grains. In the growth of wool and the pro- duction of butter, it occupies a high rank; in the number of its swine too it exceeds any other county in the state. Flax and potatoes are also raised in great abundance.
Manufactures. Dutchess county is extensively engaged in manufactures. The most important articles are cotton and woollen goods, including prints, iron ware, flour, malt liquors, cordage, leather, oil, paper, &c. The entire value of manufac- tured products in 1845, exceeded two and half millions of dol- lars.
Commerce. The whale fishery is prosecuted from Pough- keepsie, and employs several large ships. Some eight or ten steamboats, and a considerable number of sloops, schooners and barges, are employed in the coasting trade.
Mines, &c. In Beekman, Dover, Fishkill, and Pawling, are extensive iron mines; in Fishkill a large mine of Plumbago; in Dover extensive quarries of white and black marble; and in ·Poughkeepsie numerous and extensive lime-kilne.
STAPLES. Corn, oats, butter, wool, beef, and pork.
SCHOOLS. In the county are 210 district school-houses, in which, in 1846, schools were maintained an average period of nine months. 12,854 children received instruction at an ex- pense for tuition of about $27,962. The district libraries con- tained about 28,000 volumes.
There were also in the county, eighty-three private schools, with 1155 scholar: four academies, and two female seminaries, with 298 pupils, and one collegiate school, with about 120 pupils.
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