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 32
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Commerce. The commerce of the county is increasing in value and importance. Ogdensburgh is the principal port. The shipping of the Oswegatchie district amounted, in 1845, to about 1500 tons.
STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Butter, cheese, potatoes, oats, corn, peas, wheat, sugar, wool, potash and lumber,
SCHOOLS. There were 402 common schools in the county in 1846, taught an average period of seven months each, and attended by 22,263 children. The teachers were paid $22,023. The libraries contained 33,191 volumes.
The number of select schools was twenty-three, with 303 scholars; of acade- mies, four, with 346 students.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Presbyterians, Methodists, Con- gregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Universalists and Ro- man Catholics. Total number of churches, seventy-five; of clergymen, 125.
. HISTORY. The French erected a fort at Oswegatchie, in this county before 1740, which they named Fort Presentation. This fort was captured by General Amherst, in 1760.
The first permanent settlement in the county seems to have been made in 1796, by Judge Nathan Ford, at Oswegatchie. At that time the Oswegatchie Indians had a village near his settlement, and attempted several times to drive him away, but without success. The next settlement was made at Canton, by
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Mr. Stillman Foot, in 1799. These were soon succeeded by others, mostly from New England, and a line of settlements was speedily formed along the river. Much of the land in the county is held by the Messrs. Van Rensselaer, Gouverneur Morris and other wealthy capitalists.
During the late war with Great Britain, some interesting in- cidents occurred in this county. On the second of October, 1812, the British, in retaliation for the destruction of a large quantity of their stores at Gananoque, Canada, by Captain For- syth, commenced a heavy cannonade upon Ogdensburgh, from their batteries at Prescott, a Canadian village, on the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence. They continued the cannonade for two days, and on Sunday, the fourth of October, attempted to storm the town.
For this purpose, about 1000 men were embarked in forty boats; as they approached the American shore, General Brown ordered his troops to fire upon them. They did so, and for two hours the British attempted to land, but the galling fire of the Americans was too severe to be endured, and at length they were compelled to retreat to Prescott, with the loss of three boats and a number of men. The American force engaged in this contest, was only about 400 men.
On the twenty-first of February, 1813, the British again attack- ed Ogdensburgh with a large force, and, though encountering the most determined resistance, succeeded in driving out the Amer- ican troops, and capturing the village.
Two schooners, two gunboats and the soldiers' barracks were destroyed, and the enemy returned to Canada. The army of General Wilkinson embarked for the campaign of the autumn of 1813, from Morristown, in this county. Since the war, the increase of population in this county has been exceedingly rapid. Its population has nearly quadrupled in twenty-five years; and from its extraordinary facilities for manufactures, mining and agriculture, its future growth must necessarily be rapid.
In 1838, this county and the Canada shore opposite, was the scene of some of the exploits of the Canada Patriots, (so called.) The battle of Prescott was fought at Windmill Point, nearly opposite Ogdensburgh, and several of the citizens of New York, who had aided " the Patriots," were taken prisoners and execu- ted, and others banished to Van Dieman's Land.
ANTIQUITIES. In the town of Gouverneur, is an ancient Indian fortification, consisting of an embankment, enclosing three acres, and containing some remains of rude sculpture.
VILLAGES. CANTON village is the county seat. It is situated on Grasse river, and contains besides the county buildings, an
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academy, and some manufactories. A fine wooden bridge, with three piers, crosses the river here. Population, 1300.
Ogdensburgh, in the town of Oswegatchie, and at the mouth of Oswegatchie river, was incorporated in 1817. It is a flour- ishing village of about 4000 inhabitants. It has an academy in a very prosperous condition. It is at the foot of sloop naviga- tion on the St. Lawrence, and-is the terminus of the proposed Ogdensburgh and Plattsburgh railroad.
Potsdam, incorporated in 1831, is the seat of the St. Law- rence academy, a chartered institution, with two large stone edifices, each four stories high. It has also several manufacto- ries. Population, 1200.
Rossie is celebrated for its valuable and inexhaustible lead mines. Population, 800.
Brasher's Falls, on the rapids of Deer river, is finely situated for manufacturing purposes.
Waddington is a manufacturing village in the town of Madrid. It was incorporated in 1839, and is rapidly increasing in popu- lation. A bridge connects it with Ogden's island, in the St. Lawrence. Population, 600.
Gouverneur is the coldest place in the state. Here is located the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary. Population, 600.
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XXXIII. SENECA COUNTY.
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Square miles, 308. Population, 24,972. Organized, 1804. Valuation, 1845, $5,674,034.
TOWNS.
1. Ovid, 1799.
2. Romulus, 1789. .
3. Fayette, 1800.
4. Junius, 1803.
5. Covert, 1817.
6. Lodi, 1826.
7. Seneca Falls, 1829.
8. Tyre, 1829.
9. Waterloo, 1829.
10. Varick, 1830.
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Seneca.
Lakes. BB. Seneca, DD. Cayuga.
Falls. Seneca.
Villages. WATERLOO. OVID. Seneca Falls.
BOUNDARIES. North by Wayne county ; East by Cayuga county and Cayuga Lake ; South by Tompkins county ; and West by Seneca Lake and Ontario county.
SURFACE. The surface of this county rises from the lakes, which bound it on either side, to an altitude of 1200 or 1300 feet above tide water, and presents a pleasing diversity of beautiful valleys and hills.
RIVERS. The Seneca outlet is the principal stream, connect- ing Seneca and Cayuga lakes. The Clyde crosses its north - eastern corner.
FALLS. The Seneca outlet has a descent of forty seven feet, at the village of Seneca Falls.
LAKES. The lakes are Seneca and Cayuga.
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CANALS. The Erie canal passes through the town of' Tyre, in the north-east corner of this county, and the Cayuga and Seneca canal crosses the county, through the towns of Seneca and Waterloo, connecting the waters of the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, and the Erie canal, at Montezuma.
RAILROADS. The Auburn and Rochester railroad passes through this county, most of the distance running parallel with Seneca outlet and canal.
CLIMATE. Mild and temperate. The situation of the county between two considerable bodies of water, prevents the long continuance of snow in winter, and essentially modifies the climate. It is considered healthy.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The rocks of the northern section of this county, belong to the Onondaga salt group ; those of the central, to the Helderberg limestones; and the southern to the Ludlowville shales of the Erie group.
Gypsum, or plaster of Paris is found in extensive beds near Seneca falls, and is largely exported. Variegated marble occurs near Seneca lake. Petroleum or Seneca oil is found floating on the Seneca lake, and on springs near it. A pool twenty feet in diameter, near Cayuga, constantly gives off nitrogen gas in large quantities.
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is mostly a calcareous leam and mould of excellent quality, and well adapted to wheat and grass. Fruit is cultivated to a consider- able extent, and attains great perfection. Oak, maple, beech, elm, butternut, and in the highlands, pine and hemlock, are the principal forest trees.
PORSUTTE. The people are largely engaged in the culture of wheat and grass, and the rearing of cattle.
Manufactures are increasing. The principal articles are flour, cotton and woollen goods, distilled liquors, and leather.
Commerce. The county has considerable commerce, both by way of the Seneca and Cayuga lakes, and by the Erie canal. Gypsum and agricultural products are largely exported.
STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Wheat, oats, corn, hops, plaster of Paris, wool and butter.
SCHOOLS. In 1846, there were 110 common schools, taught, on an average, nine months each, and attended by 8065 chil- dren. The teachers' wages amounted to $13,023, and the dis- trict libraries to 14,956 volumes.
There were also twenty-two select schools, with 298 scholars, and three- acad- emies, with 248 students.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Presbyterians, Bap- tists, Dutch Reformed, Episcopaliane, Friends, and Roman Catholics. The whole number of churches is thirty-eight, of Jergymen, forty-six.
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HISTORY. The first settlers in Seneca county were Messrs. Horatio Jones and Lawrence Van Clief, who located them- selves at Seneca Falls, in 1784 or 1785. Mr. James Bennet settled at West Cayuga, in 1787. Colonel Mynderse, who es- tablished himself in Seneca Falls in 1795, founded the village of that name in 1816.
The county belonged to the Military Tract, granted to the sol- diers of the state, by the legislature, and the land titles are de- rived from them. The Indian title to these lands was not ex- tinguished till 1789. Its growth has been rapid since its first settlement.
VILLAGES. WATERLOO village, in the town of Waterloo, is a half shire town, lying on the north side of the Seneca outlet, and incorporated in 1824. It is a very flourishing manufacturing vil- lage, containing, besides the county buildings, a number of churches and a chartered academy, occupying a fine building, and amply provided with apparatus for the illustration of the natural sciences. Large quantities of limestone are quarried in the vicinity. The Cayuga and Seneca canal, and the Au- burn and Rochester railroad, both pass through the village. Population 3200.
OVID, a half shire village, was incorporated in 1816. It is sit- uated on elevated ground, about midway between the lakes, and commands a fine and widely extended prospect. It has a char- tered academy. Population 700.
Seneca Falls was incorporated in 1831, and, like Waterloo, is situated on the Seneca outlet, the canal and railroad. It de- rives an abundant hydraulic power from the Seneca outlet, the water of which is constant and steady, and is applied exten- sively to manufacturing purposes, by means of four dams hav- ing a total fall of forty-seven feet. A flourishing academy is located at this village. Population 3000.
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XXIV. LEWIS COUNTY.
Square miles, 1122. Organized, 1805.
Population, 20,218. Valuation, 1845, $1,675,000.
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TOWNS.
1. Leyden, 1797. 2. Lowville, 1800.
3. Turin, 1800.
4. Harrisburg, 1803.
5. Martinsburgh, 1803. 6. Denmark, 1807.
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7. Pinckney, 1808.
11. West Turin, 1830.
8. Watson, 1821
12. Croghan, 1842.
9. Greig, 1828.
13. Osceola, 1842.
10. Diana, 1830.
Rivers. a. Black. b. Beaver. c. Moose. e. Independence Creek. f. Deer. g. Otter. i. Fish. j. Salmon. k. Indian. h. West branch of Oswegatchie.
Lakes. o. Fish.
Falls. Falls on the Black river, at Denmark and Greig. Villages. MARTINBBURG. Lowville. Copenhagen.
BOUNDARIES .. North by Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties; East by Herkimer ; South by Oneida, and West by Oswego and Jefferson counties.
SURFACE. The county is divided by the Black river into two nearly equal sections. The eastern ascends somewhat rapidly, from the river, to the mountainous region on its eastern line. The western is rolling and frequently hilly, rising from the Black river, for six or eight miles, and then inclining to the south and west. Broad alluvial flats are found along the Black river.
RIVERS. Black and Beaver rivers, Independence, Moose, Deer, Otter, Fish, Salmon, and Indian creeks, and the west branch of the Oswegatchie, are the principal streams.
FALLS. Black river has a fall of sixty-three feet, in the town of Leyden, and Deer creek of 175 feet, in the town of Denmark. CANAL. The Black river canal, when finished, will unite with Black river just below the high falls at Leyden.
CLIMATE. The climate of Lewis county is cold, but healthy. The winters are long, but the uniformity of the temperature renders them less unpleasant, than would be expected.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The country east of the Black river is primitive in its character. The rock underlying this portion of the county, and frequently appearing on the surface, is granite. West of the river, the whole county is underlaid with a fine compact limestone, which appears every where, on the borders of the streams. The Utica slate also occupies a narrow belt in the western part of the county.
Iron ore is very abundant and of a superior quality ; lead ore, (galena,) also occurs in considerable quantities. The other minerals worthy of notice are, sul- phuret of zinc, (blende,) very beautiful quartz crystals, scapolite, tabular spar, green cocolite, feldspar, sphene, crystallized pyrites, calcareous and fluor spar, manganese, and Rensselaerite. Probably few counties in the state are richer in mineral wealth.
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is various, composed of a fertile alluvium, or a gravelly, sandy, and clayey loam. It is susceptible of a profitable cultivation, and furnishes fine grazing. The timber is principally pine, spruce, hemlock.
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beech, maple, elm, ash, with some white oak and walnut. The eastern section still has extensive forests. From the maple. are manufactured considerable quantities of sugar.
PURSUITS. Agriculture is the chief employment of the inhab- itants; the products of the dairy are large.
Manufactures. The county has abundant water power, but as yet it is but little improved. Flour, lumber, leather, and fulled cloths, are the chief articles of manufacture.
Commerce. There is little or no commerce ; the completion of the Black River canal will aid materially in bringing the pro- duce of their rich and fertile lands to market.
The STAPLES of the county are butter and cheese, wool, po- tatoes, oats, and wheat. Considerable quantities of barley, buckwheat, flax, hops, and sugar, are also produced.
SCHOOLS. The district school-houses in the county, in 1846, were 150 in number, in which were instructed 6139 pupils. The average length of the schools was seven months. The teachers wages, $6196; the number of volumes in the district libraries, 11,886. There were six private schools with eighty- three scholars, and one academy with sixty-two pupils.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyte- rians, Congregationalists, Universalists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Friends. The total number of churches is thirty-seven, of clergymen, forty-four.
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HISTORY. The whole of this county was originally owned by Alexander Macomb. The western part was afterward sold to a company of capitalists in New York city, and the east- ern to a French company at Paris. The first settlers were pioneers from Connecticut and Massachusetts, who made their way, in 1797, from Utica and Fort Stanwix, (now Rome, ) at that time small settlements, by a line of marked trees, to the falls of Black river, and from thence to the town of Lowville, where they established themselves. Their families followed, the succeeding winter, through snow so deep as to make it necessary to break paths for the cattle and teams, while moth- ers, shod with snow-shoes, bore their infants in their arms. For some time after, the farmers were obliged to go forty miles to mill, carrying their grain upon their shoulders.
VILLAGES. MARTINSBURG, in the town of the same name, con- tains the county buildings, a female seminary, and a number of factories. Population 800.
Lowville is a village of some business in the town of Low- ville. It has an incorporated academy. Population 800.
Copenhagen, in the town of Denmark, is situated on both sides of Deer river. It is a flourishing village, and engaged in manufactures. Population about 500.
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XXXV. JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Square miles; 1125. . Organized, 1805.
Population, 64,999. Valuation, 1845, 8,6,536,651.
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1. Ellisburgh, 1797.
2. Champion, 1800.
3. Houndsfield, 1800.
4. Watertown, 1800.
5. Wilna, 1800.
6. Adams, 1502.
7. Brownville, 1802.
8. Rutland, 1802.
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9. Lorraine, 1804. . 15. Pamelia, 1819.
10. Rodman, 1804.
16. Alexandria, 1821.
11. Le Ray, 1806.
17. Orleans, 1821.
12. Henderson, 1806.
18. Philadelphia, 1821.
13. Antwerp, 1816. 19. Clayton, 1832.
14. Lyme, 1817. 20. Theresa, 1842.
Rivers and Creeks. I. St. Lawrence River. a. Black River. b. Indian River. d. Chaumont Creek. e. Perch. f. Stoney. g. Sandy.
Lakes, &c. J. Ontario. i. Perch. j. Yellow. k. Hungry Bay. 1. Black River. m. Chaumont Bay.
Islands. n. Gallop Island. o. Stoney. p. Grenadier. q. Fox r. Carlton. s. Grindstone. t. Wells.
Falls. On the Indian river. Op the Black river at Champion, Rutland, and Watertown. Long Falls, Wilna.
Forts. Sacketts Harbor.
Villages. WATERTOWN. Sacketts Harbor. Brownville. Cornelia. Carthage.
BOUNDARIES. North by the St. Lawrence River, and St. Lawrence county ; East by Lewis county ; South by Oswego county, and West by Lake Ontario.
SURFACE. The surface of Jefferson county may be divided into two terraces, the broader of which is on the northwest. The Ridge Road, extending from the Niagara river, at a dis- tance of from six to ten miles from the lake, and undoubtedly indicating the ancient limits of Lake Ontario, is here about 100 feet in height. The surface between this and the lake is level or gently undulating. From this ridge the county has a gentle descent toward the southeast, where an elevated ridge crosses it, and gives it a broken and hilly appearance.
RIVERS. The chief streams of the county, besides the St. Lawrence, are the Black and Indian rivers, Chaumont, Perch, Stoney, and Sandy creeks.
FALLS. There is a series of falls in the Black river, com- mencing at the Long falls in Carthage.
LAKES. The chief lakes are Ontario, Perch, and Yellow.
BAYS. Hungry, Black River, and Chaumont bays are inden- tations of greater or less extent, upon the lake coast.
ISLANDS. Along its western line are situated Gallop, Stoney, Fox, Grenadier, Carlton, Grindstone, and Wells islands.
CLIMATE. Equable and healthy. The winters are cold, but without sudden changes. The summer heats are moderated by the lake breezes.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The primary formation is confined to two or three small districts in the county, principally in the
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north and northeast part. In Alexandria, there is a small tract where the primitive rocks are near the surface. They are granite, primitive limestone, gneiss, and hornblende. The greater part of the county, however, belongs to the transition formation.
"The order of arrangement of the rocks of this formation, here, is the following, be- ginning at the northern part of the county : Potsdam sandstone, extending to a point a little south of Theresa falls ; calciferous sand rock and birdseye limestone, ap- pearing as far south as the Black river ; Trenton limestone, extending through Houndsfield, Adams, Watertown, and Rutland, and succeeded by a narrow beit of the Utaca slate ; this is followed by the Lorraine shales, lying in Rodman, Lør- raine, and Pinckney. In the southern line of towns, the gray sandstone occurs in small quantities.
Bog iron ore, spathic iron, specular iron, arragonite, cacoxene, pyrites, celes- tine, terenite, tremolite, fluor spar, green malachite, tourmaline, strontianite, idio- crase, apatite, pyroxene, and massive heavy spar, tufe, peat, and graphite in six sided tablets, are the principal minerals.
There is a cave in the town of Pamelia, nearly opposite Watertown, contain- ing a number of apartments, and some fine spars. It has been explored for nearly half a mile.
SOH AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is generally a fertile sandy loam, with some clay and gravel, and susceptible of a high degree of cultivation. In the basin on the northwest, wheat grows abundantly, but the higher lands in the southeast are more favorable to grazing. The forests abound with oak, maple, beech, birch, walnut, ash, elm, hemlock, pine, tamarack, and red and white cedar. The cranberry grows abundantly in the swamps, and forms an article of export.
PURSUITS. Agriculture is the leading pursuit of the people. Great numbers of cattle and swine are reared for the east- ern market ; the products of the dairy are very large. Pota- toes, oats, corn, wheat, rye, barley, and flax are produced in great abundance, and the wool-growing interest is not neg- lected. The county ranks among the first for agricultural pro- ducts in the state.
The manufactures of the county are extensive and rapidly increasing. The principal articles are flour, lamber, iron, leather, distilled liquors, potash, and woollen goods. The value of articles manufactured in the county in 1845, was nearly $2,000,000.
The commerce of this county is large and constantly increas- ing. About one half of its produce finds its way to a market down the St. Lawrence; the remainder through the Oswego and Erie canals, enters the Hudson, or through the Welland and Western canals, and the great lakes, is distributed over the Mississippi valley. The shipping of this county amounts to about 5000 tons. The completion of the Black River canal will
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open a more ready and convenient conveyance for the produce of portions of the county.
STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Butter and cheese, potatoes, oats, corn, wheat, wool, flax, barley, and peas.
SCHOOLS. There were 368 district schools in the county, in 1846. The average length of the schools was seven months- number of scholars, 22,866-amount of teachers' wages, 824,141 -and number of volumes in the school libraries, 37,552.
There are also fifty-four private schools, with 1089 scholars, and two acade- mies, with 173 pupils.
RELIGIOUS' DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyte- rians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Universalists, Roman Catholics, Dutch Reformed, Unitarians, Friends, and Jews. There are ninety-two churches, and 106 clergymen of all de- nominations in the county.
HISTORY. The first settlement made in this county by whites, was at Ellisburgh, in 1793, by Mr. Lyman Ellis. The next was at Champion, not long after, by settlers from Connecticut. The third was at Watertown, in 1800, by Mr. Henry Coffin, of New Hampshire. In the succeeding year, emigrants from New Eng- land settled in Adams, Rodman, Brownville, and Houndsfield ; and the year after in Sacketts Harbor and Rutland. Mounds and fortifications of great antiquity, and exhibiting a high de- gree of architectural skill, are scattered over every part of the county.
At the commencement of the late war with Great Britain, Sacketts Harbor was selected as the principal naval depot of the lake frontier, on account of the excellency of its harbor.
On the twenty-second and twenty-third of April, 1813, General Dearborn, with a force of 1700 men, embarked from this port, to attack York, (now Toronto, ) Canada West. The assault on York was successful, though the brave General Pike, by whom it was led, lost his life by the explosion of the magazine. But the withdrawal of so large a body of troops from Sacketts Har- bor, left the important military stores there exposed; and as might have been expected, the British forces at Kingston, availed themselves of the opportunity, to make a descent upon that village.
On the twenty-eighth of May, 1813, they appeared off the harbor, with four ships, one brig, two schooners, two gun boats, and thirty-three flat bottomed boats, containing in all 1200 troops. The alarm of their approach had been given, and Gen- eral Brown had made every exertion in his power to defend the harbor. The British suffered themselves to delay, in the at- tempt to capture some boats, coming from Oswego with troops, and thus the militia from the vicinity had time to assemble ; but
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not more than 1000 troops could be collected in all, of whom more than 500 were raw militia, and about 200 more, invalids. General Brown arranged the militia behind a breast work, hastily thrown up, to oppose the landing of the enemy. In the rear of these he had stationed a part of the regular troops. The regular artillerists occupied Fort Tompkins, and Lieuten- ant Chauncey, with a small corps, defended the naval stores at Navy Point.
The British made an effort to land, but were at first repulsed with severe loss; but after the second fire, the militia became panic struck, and abandoning their breast work, fled in the ut- most confusion. Colonel Mills, their commander, was killed in the attempt to rally them.
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