USA > New York > Cattaraugus County > Historical review of Cattaraugus County > Part 3
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pared for it beforehand. According to one report, however, danger of famine enveloped the community during one season, probably when the ice was particularly late at going out of the river. It has been said that many shanties were put up in a crude manner by travelers who were unable to find accommodations in the taverns.
Among those who came to Olean with the intention of leaving for more distant points at the earliest opportunity were some who were attempting to escape from their creditors. It was not unheard of for a debtor to sail down the river only escaping his furious creditor, who had come to Olean in his own interest, by a narrow margin.
In the spring of 1820, four residents of Olean, Dr. Bennett, Joseph Lockwood, a man whose last name was Kibbey, and a fourth man whose name is believed to be Jeremiah Osbourne, were drowned in the Allegany River when their boat was upset in the vicinity of what was known as "Plumb-orchard Bend." It was believed that the boat had become entangled in a tree top, the river probably being swollen from the effects of the spring thaw. The bodies of three of the victims were recovered, but that of the fourth was never found. The four men were making their way to Ellicottville, where they planned on attending the spring session of court. Although it seems almost unbelievable today, it is quite likely that the Great Valley Creek at that time con- tained water enough for row-boats and rafts to ascend the stream to Ellicottville or perhaps even farther northward.
The Plumb-orchard Bend accident had the effect of discouraging passenger traffic on the river during high water, and may have been instrumental in hastening the state program of road-building, espe- cially the Olean-Ellicottville road via Chapel Hill.
A steamboat ascended the Allegany River to Olean in 1830 and its arrival was accompanied with some degree of jubilation, but the difficulties which accompanied its voyage were such that the use of steamboats on the river never became general.
The tornado of 1834 has been described by Adams as follows: "About 30 minutes past 3 o'clock on the afternoon'of March 30, 1834, the people of Olean observed a curious cloud hanging over the hills about two and one-half miles southwest of Olean approaching in a straight line with a swift swirling motion and an ominous sound. Its form was that of a cone with its apex resting on the earth. With terrible rapidity it gnawed at the earth, tearing everything in its path into ruins. Forests were prostrated, buildings totally demolished and all man-made obstacles swept aside for a width of eighty rods, leav- ing in its. wake a completely devastated countryside. So complete was the havoc wrought that hardly any vegetation was left. It continued in a northeasterly direction where it struck the outer edge of the village of Friendship. Here it killed one man and destroyed many
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buildings, finally ending in a swath of destruction forty miles long in Steuben County. Its line is known as the Windfall."
Between 1811 and 1819 the community grew rapidly, and the frame-work of a thriving village had been established. There is evidence of the streets being planned for the future, as is shown by the width of Union and State Streets, an advantage which was valu- able in the days of the trolley car and even greater in the days of heavy automobile traffic. Several of the streets received names of a historic character, such as Washington, Sullivan, Wayne, etc. The population of the township of Olean increased from 561 to 830 between 1830 and 1835, of whom about 500 resided in the village. Moreover, the state legislature was attempting to develop a road system by which Olean would be the chief beneficiary. Evans refers to Hoops as a man of considerable political influence, and to this he attributes his success in securing public improvements.
Olean's prosperity, however, was destined to be checked by two forces; the financial collapse of Adam Hoops, and the decline of the Allegany River as an avenue of commerce. Evans attributes Hoops' collapse to his "exaggerated opinion as to the value of his lands, and the consequent high prices which he set for them." F. A. Norton, who had purchased a half interest in Hoops' claims, passed his interest to his son, who retained one-third of the Norton share and allowed the remainder to revert to the Land Co. Adam Hoops' claims also reverted to the Land Co. in 1820.
The theory that Olean represented a dividing point between navigable and non-navigable sections of the river was not wholly sus- tained by events. On the one hand, small rafts had been known to sail from as far up-stream as Port Allegany and Coudersport during the high water season. On the other hand, difficulties often had to be sur- mounted even in rafting further down stream than Olean. Mill dams, islands and the irregular course of the channel in some places were obstacles to general transportation. To this must be added the ten- dency of the stream to recede in depth after the forests on its banks had been reduced. It is quite possible that a scientific survey might have established Warren, where the waters of the Connewango Basin nearly double the river's volume, as the most northern point for main- taining practical navigation. Even to maintain it permanently to this point would have called for huge expenditures. The completion of the Erie Canal diverted passenger traffic from the Allegany River to the Great Lakes. Small inland waterways were destined to be largely abandoned after the advent of the railroads. The completion of the Genesee Valley Canal (See Section 16) caused a revival of hope 'in Olean's future. Shallow water channels, however, proved utterly un- able to develop Olean into the thriving city which Hoops had en- visioned.
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SECTION SIX
ROADS IN THE EARLY DAYS
For many years after its opening settlement, Cattaraugus County was ill-supplied with satisfactory roads. Indian trails were early used as an aid to oxen and horses in short jaunts into the forests, but were far too narrow for general use; also their route was more often than not indirect, hilly, or lined with swamp-land or muck. An Indian trail leading from the mouth of Cold Spring Creek northward, following the creek, had been used by Governor Blacksnake in a hike from Cold Spring to Buffalo, on which he is said to have walked both to and from Buffalo in record time.
A map of the Holland Purchase published in 1805 indicates a road from the southern bank of Cattaraugus Creek heading in a generally southeastern direction through the present vicinities of Cattaraugus, Salamanca and Limestone, to the state line. The road is labelled "Penn- sylvania Road Now Opening." This road was probably never com- pleted to the state line, and it is doubtful that most of it was ever built.
It was proposed in 1809 to open up a road across the southern tier counties, but nothing was done about it at the time. However, in 1813, an act of the legislature authorized a road from Ceres to Olean, thence westerly to Jamestown. The road was constructed as author- ized, but was extended westward as far as Erie, Pa. This highway, in spite of its favorable location, never saw a considerable amount of use. It is said that, like the Buffalo-Olean highway mentioned above, it was scarcely possible for two wagons to pass.
A road was opened up from Olean to Buffalo, following Olean and Ischua Creeks to the village of Franklinville, thence northward, prob- ably through Delevan and Yorkshire, but passage on the road was difficult and it saw but little use for several years. The expense of building this road was borne half by the state and half by Niagara County. By 1813 a road had been cleared from Olean down the Alle- gany River to the state line, but it seems quite likely that this road, like others mentioned above, was ill-fitted for service.
A road was constructed from Angelica to Olean about 1815. Four years later the state authorized its improvement.
An act of the legislature in 1823 appointed a commission to build a road from Olean to the Pennsylvania state line, where it was expect- ed to connect with a road from Kittaning, Pa. It was expected to pay for this highway by the state tax on salt. The New York part of this road was built from Olean southward, passing Rock City at about the same place as the present highway passes it.
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In 1828 a road was opened from Olean to Ellicottville, the expense being largely met by the Holland Land Co. This road probably fol- lowed Five Mile Creek toward Chapel Hill, across the hill to Humph- rey, and thence to Ellicottville by taking a course through the pres- ent village of Great Valley, thence to Ellicottville.
Plank roads, featured by toll-gates, were built in later days, one of the best known being the one from Killbuck to Ellicottville. This road was opened in 1852 and resulted in taking in less in tolls than were necessary in its upkeep. It was discontinued after about ten years. One of the most objectionable features of this type of road was the danger which broken planks were likely to be to the safety of the horses, sometimes resulting in broken legs.
Corduroy roads were also used to some extent, these being built by nailing small tree-trunks or branches diagonally on long poles, the whole being covered with gravel or dirt. They were of some use in eliminating the muddy features of travel, but the practice of build- ing corduroy roads never became general. In view of the prevalence of good roads in the county today, one can easily pity the early in- habitants in their crude efforts to supply some kind of passable roads.
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SECTION SEVEN
THE LUMBERING INDUSTRY
The rapid progress made by Cattaraugus County during the early nineteenth century was due in no small measure to the lumbering in- dustry. The dense forests of hemlock and pine were especially valu- able because Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and other growing cities along the Ohio Valley, while accessible to hardwood in their own vicinity, were in demand for wood of the evergreen species, the chief kinds of wood used in building houses and other frame buildings. It has been stated that some of the most valuable lumber ever produced in Amer- ica was shipped down the Allegany in the early decades of the nine- teenth century.
In the early days of the industry, its location was practically limited to the area adjoining the river or its larger branches, but its territorial limits later expanded until it included nearly every town- ship in the county. Three main lumber districts stand out in the early days : the Olean district, the Great Valley Creek region, and the vicin- ity of Red House. The last mentioned district was chiefly concen- trated in the valley of Bay State Brook. The valley of Tuna Creek likewise was an early center of activity. The accessability to streams gave these places an important advantage in the industry, but the coming of the railroads opened larger fields, as the transportation afforded by rail was now better than the original method of floating rafts on the river, the streams having by this time taken a consider- able drop in their depth.
Lumber camps in the early days presented a crude but picturesque sight. The following adapted quotation from C. L. Mateaux's volume, The Wonderland of Work, may be taken as a more or less accurate description of camps as found in southwestern New York:
"We scarcely need inquire if these sturdy workers, having finish- ed their daily tasks, fail to make a hearty meal, or if they sleep well when presently they kick off their boots and get into bed, their bed being composed of great armfuls of small elastic twigs of hemlock or pine-sweet smelling and soothing. With the dawn, the whole lum- bering party is up and doing. Flap-jacks, hot breading and coffee-then off they are to work. The logging begins in real hard earnest, the best and likeliest trees being carefully selected by the leaders of the ex- pedition and soon marked out by a stern death-warrant signed with chalk as victims worthy of the feller's axe. Then the chopping. saw- ing and marking go on from morning till night, from week-end to week-end, with what appears to us to be a most wearisome monotony.
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It is a constant felling, smoked meat, coffee, bed and hard work. But time passes on, and an immense deal of this chopping, squaring and preparing wood gets done. As the tall trees fall one after another, their branches are struck off and their trunks are hauled together in great heaps, where they lie ready to be skidded as soon as snow enough has fallen and frozen so as to form the firm road needed to transport these huge forest victims to the mills or streams."
Life was made more exciting in the lumber camps or taverns by occasional resorts to the well-known method of ascertaining which of two was the "better man." The "best man" in one camp might find himself challenged by a similar figure from the camp "over the hill." The contest, which took place, was sure to draw a large array of spec- tators, the occupants of each camp cheering for a victory for their camp's representative. Generally speaking, such fights were kept within a reasonable standard of technical procedure, and it is prob- able that attempts at kicking, biting, or hitting while his opponent was down, were all methods likely to lead to intervention. It was cus- tomary for the fighters to shake hands at the conclusion and perhaps suggest a future contest.
William Thrall and William Shepherd, of Olean, were the first Cattaraugus County lumbermen to make commercial use of the river and their success was the forerunner to regular navigation in the lum- bering industry. The usual size of one raft was 16 x 20; ten rafts of this size made up one "train." At Warren, it was common for three of these trains, or thirty rafts in all, to complete the descent of the river. One man had charge of each oar and six oars were found on each train. Most expeditions saw a cabin on one or more of the rafts used as living quarters of the workmen.
As mentioned previously, the railroads gradually supplanted the rivers as the avenues of commerce during the latter half of the nine- teenth century. The river rafts, however, had played an important as well as interesting role in the opening up of Cattaraugus County.
Among the by-products of the lumber industry was a substance known as "black salts." This was a product used in making chemicals and was a result of burning certain hardwood to ashes. It was of considerable commercial importance in many localities. "Black salts" were often shipped down the streams on the same rafts as lumber.
Many of the villages contained small industries which were closely associated with lumbering. Cheese-box factories, barrel factories, kindling-wood or chemical plants, as well as mills producing building materials and shingles, were largely the result of the locality's wealth in forests. Several of what later became important villages owed much of their early growth to these industries.
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SECTION EIGHT
THE PROGRESS OF RURAL SETTLEMENT
The story of Cattaraugus County's evolution from a land of dense forests and humid marshes into a land of prosperous farms, thriving rural communities and bustling villages in a few decades reflects the speed with which the interior of the United States was occupied. It had taken nearly two centuries to colonize the eastern coast from New England to Georgia, yet once the new federal government began to function, the lands of the "West" were colonized with such swiftness that before 1804 three new states from that region, Kentucky, Ten- nessee and Ohio, had taken their place beside Vermont and the original thirteen. While certain outposts existed in these regions in colonial times, to a large part their occupation was due to legislation which Congress passed making it easy to purchase lands in the new regions. The government was staggering under the debts incurred by the Revolutionary War, and was so anxious to secure revenue that a plan was put in operation which encouraged speculation by organized groups.
These organized land holders often planted settlements in the new regions in a similar, though generally less hazardous and more comfortable manner, than the proprietors and officers of the original thirteen colonies. Kentucky and Tennessee were settled largely by emigrants from Virginia and North Carolina. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan received a heavy stream of emigration from New Eng- land and eastern New York. The rocky and hilly farms of New Eng- land, many of them cultivated since the early days of settlement, had begun to show signs of exhaustion and their owners were only too glad to leave them behind for the fertile and less rocky land of the middle- West.
It has already been shown that "Olean Point" owed its prosperity largely to the fact that travelers from the old East to the new West came there by land to take passage on the rafts down the Allegany River. It is quite likely that many who originally intended to settle further westward obtained jobs as day laborers in lumbering camps or saw-mills and remained in the county. Moreover, it is probable that Cattaraugus County itself came within the scope of what easterners referred to as "the West," and consequently that many farmers and lumbermen saw in it the advantages which ordinarily accrue to a new country. Certain it is that the early emigration to Cattaraugus County was quite largely from the rural sections of New England and eastern New York.
It appears that many of the early pioneers of this region became disheartened by difficulties and misfortunes and soon left to look for "greener pastures," while those who remained behind and faced the
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difficulties of pioneer life had their efforts crowned by the prestige and prosperity which resulted from the ownership of farmland in a growing community. Wild beasts growled and snarled in the forests, the slashings which followed the clearing of the land were often in- fested with rattlesnakes, whole areas were covered with impassable swampland, and roads were little more than clearings often rendered unfit for passage by mud. Moreover, stores, school houses and church- es were so few and far-between that many of the early settlers must have isolated themselves and their families for the most part from communication with the outside world. Mass production of dairy products, an industry which in more recent times has become the life- blood of rural Cattaraugus, held out little encouragement, since means of preserving and shipping them had not been perfected.
Nevertheless, the early land tiller saw much to give him en- couragement. His land usually abounded in forests, evergreen trees finding ready market in the saw-mills, while hardwood could be utilized in preparing "black salts." Tan bark, hides and chemical wood were also valuable. The gravelly loam in the valleys was well adapted for raising grain, not only for his cattle, but often enough for many months supply of flour for household use. Distilleries and cider-mills were to spring up in several towns, bringing another market for his crops. All along, the farmer could feel encouraged by the fact that the county was on the up-grade; schools were being established, roads improved, new methods of communication with the outside world slowly making their way, and the villages increasing in population. Moreover, the cheap land was rapidly being occupied, both in the county and elsewhere, thus making his holding rise in value. Looking backward the pioneer settler saw hardship and struggle; looking for- ward he saw hope and comfort.
It has been seen that Olean was the county's earliest general settlement, and it followed that most of the outlying settlements sprang from that direction, hence Olean is sometimes referred to as "the parent town of Cattaraugus County." The extension of rural settlement was to gradually lead to the rise of other villages and ham- lets of various sizes and appearances in every township of the county. Interesting indeed is the study of how these villages and four-corner settlements sprang up. The early land which was cleared for farms was nearly all bottom land in the valleys of the river or creeks. The roads followed the streams and the junction of two streams hence often became a similar meeting place for the two roads. If the num- ber of residents of the two valleys were sufficient to demand it, it often followed that the junction of these two roads was accompanied by a school-house, a general store or a grist-mill. Continued expansion might, in the course of time, result in a church, blacksmith shop, cheese factory or a tavern. By this time the corner was more than
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likely to have a post-office and some enterprising business man might favor it as a sight for a cheese-box factory, a chemical works, or a barrel factory. The corner might soon contain several stores, two or three taverns and a number of dwelling houses. The meeting of the two dirt roads, with a little red school-house and a blacksmith shop at each corner in 1840, might 100 years later have become a bustling center where automobiles would wait in line for a traffic light to turn from red to green.
Among the prominent villages having their origin as being at a "forks" of two or more streams might be mentioned Franklinville, where Saunders Creek and Gates Creek join with Ischua Creek; Delevan, near the meeting place of Elton Creek and Lime Lake Outlet ; Allegany, where the Four Mile and Five Mile Runs empty into the Allegany River from the southern and northern banks, respectively; and Portville, where Dodge Creek empties into the Allegany River.
Another influential factor in the location and growth of villages was the coming of the railroads. Like the early highways, the rail- roads followed the rivers and creeks wherever practicable. A station for passengers and freight was built in all villages of any importance, and it frequently followed that a planing or wood-working mill or a tannery located itself close to the tracks. An inn or tavern was like- wise usually found near the depot and the side-lines of the railroad tracks assumed an air of activity and importance similar to the "water front" of a sea-port or lake-port. It sometimes happened that the railroad passed through the valley on the opposite side of the stream from the main part of the village, the community thus receiv- ing either a stimulus to expand or a suggestion to move. The village of Limestone was located on the western side of Tuna Creek at the mouth of Limestone Run until the railroad was built on the eastern side of the creek. This fact, combined with the subsequent construc- tion of a tannery along the tracks, had the effect of practically moving the village to the eastern side of the creek. The village of Cold Spring, at the mouth of Cold Spring Creek, a hamlet whose taverns were well known to lumbermen of early times, saw most of its business places and white inhabitants move to Steamburg after the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad had seen fit to establish a station there. East Randolph and Randolph were villages of about equal size, the former showing the greater industrial activity, until the railroad ignored East Randolph and traversed Randolph. Other villages whose origin or growth was highly influenced by railroads were Cattaraugus, Car- rollton, Dayton, Ashford and Farmersville Station. It is interesting to note that, of the thirteen incorporated villages in the county at present, all except East Randolph (whose separate existence from Randolph is little more than a technicality) are traversed by a rail- road.
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Like the townships of the county, the names of villages and ham- lets changed frequently, thus causing some confusion in identifying certain localities. The village of Allegany was known as Burton for many years, Delevan as Yorkshire Center, Otto as Waverly, a name it probably abandoned because another village by the same name existed in eastern New York, and Ischua was known as West Hins- dale, a designation somewhat misleading, as it is situated almost directly north of Hinsdale. The present hamlet of Ashford, often called Ashford Junction, is not in the township of Ashford but in that of Ellicottville. The 1839 map indicates a post-office called Ashford in the township of the same name, at what is now known as Ashford Hollow. The federal act establishing certain areas on the reservation, technically called "villages," as regions where white people could lease land from the Senecas resulted in one such area being established at Killbuck which received the name of Great Valley, thus making it liable to confusion with the village ordinarily known by that name, about seven miles northward.
In the early days, post-offices were kept at many of the smaller hamlets, and in a few instances even in localities at which no hamlet had yet appeared. Elkdale, Mansfield, Maples, Sugartown, Cadiz, Cheslea and Hopkins were all the scene of a post-office at one time or another. It was not uncommon for a new postmaster, upon taking office, to remove the post-office to his home or place of business; hence the establishment might be located a considerable distance. under one regime from where it had previously been. It is well to remember, when considering the multitude of post-offices, that no regular system of rural delivery existed in this section until the last decade of the nineteenth century. A number of post-offices placed at convenient spots was considered, therefore, the most satisfactory means of giv- ing service to the rural population.
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