USA > New York > Franklin County > Historical sketches of Franklin county and its several towns > Part 45
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From the single teacher with which the academy opened the faculty
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has grown to sixteen in number; a respectable collection of apparatus for work in chemistry, geology and physics has been provided; and the district has a library for reference and general purposes that contains over ten thousand volumes. The work is of a high grade, and the insti- tution is rated by educators and the State department of education as among the best of like schools in the State. It has at present an enroll- ment of four hundred and fifty students, and besides the usual academic courses it has a business and commercial and an agricultural depart- ment, and one in home making. Its graduating class for 1915-16 numbered fifty-five, and for 1917-18 fifty-four.
Franklin is the only academy in the State that was ever chartered for a limited period. In 1851 the charter was extended in perpetuity. When application was made for such extension the trustees reported the value of the academic lot as $1,500; of buildings $4,000; library $237; apparatus $188; and other property $1,534, with a debt of $701. Conditions attached to the extension were that the endowment should never be reduced below $2,500, that the premises should be used for academic purposes only, and that before April 27, 1854, the institution should be reported free of debt, or the charter become void.
Though merged with the village graded schools fifty years ago, Franklin Academy continues to retain its corporate existence, with a self-perpetuating board of trustees, who choose from their own number five of the ten members of the village board of education -the tax- payers of the district electing an equal number.
The academy has three separate scholarship funds: one of three thousand dollars bequeathed by Hiram Taylor of Bangor; one of two thousand dollars given by Mrs. Mary A. Leighton of Malone for a memorial to her daughter, Josie; and one of five thousand dollars, devised by Dr. Henry Furness of Malone. The income from these several funds is divided annually between eight needy and deserving students, and because of these scholarships no small number of boys and girls who must otherwise have foregone advanced studies have been enabled to enjoy the benefits of academic instruction, broadening them and fitting them for life's duties.
After the erection of Franklin Academy the so-called Harison Academy building. known later as the central school building, went into disuse for school purposes for a time, and became a tenement, with the Odd Fellows occupying a part of it for a lodge room. Then it became a school house again, and until 1868 accommodated the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades, with a male principal in charge of the
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higher grades. These principals were Cyrus Bates, Cyrus Thomas, Sidney L. Sayles and Marcus Johnson. The predecessor of Mr. Sayles had not been a good disciplinarian, and the pupils under him had grown to think that they could run the school. How that view worked out ,one of the students under Mr. Sayles told twenty years later, when Mr. Sayles was under criticism for having handled a boy roughly in a school in St. Paul, Minn .: "Tore his clothes? That's nothing. We have seen the time when we considered ourselves lucky if we didn't get an arm or our whole head torn off by that same professor. At the old central school house in Malone we have frequently marched up stairs - three steps at a time- with professor just ahead of us, his hand twined affectionately in our hair, with an occasional yank to help us along. And wasn't it a beautiful sight to see him go for a boy in the schoolroom ! A hand lighting on his coat collar so lightly as to drive his spine half way through. the seat, and when the victim lit he was generally as far away as the school house walls would let him go. And it wouldn't do any good to hold on to the desk, either. After Sayles had run that school a month there wasn't a desk but what had been loosened from the floor a dozen times, and the trustees thought it only a waste of time and nails to fasten them down again."
OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
St. Joseph's Academy was founded, under the auspices of Bishop Gabriels, by Ursuline Nuns in July, 1898, from the mother chapter at Bedford Park, near New York city. The Edwin L. Meigs or Horace A. Taylor residence property on Elm street was purchased and greatly enlarged, involving an expenditure of about $25,000. Both day and boarding pupils are received, and the branches taught conform to the usual public school curriculum, with Christian doctrine added. The institution holds a charter granted by the State Board of Regents, and employs eight teachers. There are at present 25 boarding pupils and about 300 day students. Protestant as well as Catholic children are accepted for instruction.
In the early days of 1884 Henry C. Rider, himself a deaf-mute, came to Malone, and proposed to a number of well known and influential citizens the establishment here of a school for the deaf and dumb. He backed the proposition with statistics showing a considerable number of children of this afflicted type in the northern counties, growing up in ignorance and without any vocational training to equip them for a better life than that of common laborers, and urged that such a school
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as he was advocating must attract the attendance of these and become a success. People considered his project interestedly and favorably, but at first there seemed to be no one willing to work actively for it except Mrs. Letitia Greeno and Mrs. J. J. Seaver, whose efforts enlisted co- operation after a little time, with the result that the Northern New York Institution for Deaf-Mutes was soon incorporated. The first term of school opened September 10, 1884, with 12 pupils in the Parker or Rounds house on the flat, and with Henry C. Rider as superintendent, and Edward C. Rider as the sole teacher. A fund of nearly a thousand dollars was raised by subscription to defray expenses until the institu- tion should become self-supporting. Mr. Rider's forecast in regard to attendance was quickly justified, and it was not long until parts of three buildings additional to the original quarters had to be obtained for dormitories. Three years later the institution had so proven its success and the necessity for its continued existence that the State appropriated $40,000 for the purchase of a site and the erection of a building, and in 1889 $20,000 additional was voted for completing the edifice. Subsequent State appropriations for additional structures and to replace the original building, which was destroyed by fire, total $200,000. Pupils over twelve years of age are instructed and main- tained at the expense of the State, and those under that age by the counties in which they respectively reside. The State allowance is $400 and $30 for clothing per pupil per school year, and that by the counties $400. Not only deaf-mutes, but also children of defective hearing or speech are included among the pupils. Of these latter there have been a number whose infirmity or affliction had caused them to be regarded while in attendance at public schools as dull or stupid, but who made such progress under the special training here, which considered intelli- gently the peculiarities of each case, that they have had pronounced successes in life - at least one of them having won high standing as a physician in a large city. The use of arbitrary signs for communication between pupils is discouraged and prohibited, all instruction being oral as far as possible. This method is pursued through lip-reading or " hear- ing " of speech by the eyes. The art is not easy of acquirement, but once mastered the results are marvelous. While it is difficult to read a single word from the lips, in grouping words into sentences one recog- nized word may enlighten the whole. Then, after a little, the ability to form and utter speech follows. The proficiency which some of the pupils acquire in lip-reading and speaking is wonderful, and, as a single illus- tration, it is not at all uncommon for these deaf children when in attend-
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ance at a " movie " to read from the pictures what the actors were saying in their rehearsals. But occasionally a child evinces incapacity to read the lips or to acquire ability to talk, and in such cases the finger-alphabet is employed. Ordinarily it requires four or five years of painstaking instruction before a deaf-mute acquires even the slight comprehension of the English language that a hearing child possesses at five years of age - which indicates something of the awful handicap fastened upon these unfortunates. Besides instruction in the studies common to all schools, the institution gives vocational training in printing and car- pentry to the boys, and in cookery, sewing and dressmaking to the girls. The institution has a farm of 41 acres, on which the boys help in plant- ing and harvesting the crops, so that they learn also about practical agri- culture. The pupils at the autumn term in 1917 number 110, the lit- erary teachers ten, and the vocational instructors four. The annual expenses reach a total of about $35,000, most of which, other than pay- ments for salaries, is for supplies bought from our home merchants. No enterprise ever justified more abundantly its inception and mainte- nance, and hundreds of men and women who have had the benefit of training in the institution are to-day leading happier and more useful lives than otherwise could possibly have been their lot. The elder Mr .. Rider resigned the superintendency some years ago, and Edward C. Rider succeeded him, and continues to hold the position. In person- ality, zeal, excellence of judgment, executive efficiency, considerate kind- ness to the pupils and great tact in managing them, the trustees of the institution are confident that no other like school has his superior as its head, and that Malone is exceptionally fortunate in having him as a citizen and as superintendent of so valued and beneficial an institution.
WAR INFLUENCES
It is not to be overlooked that from the summer of 1812 into the winter of 1814-15 there were war activities, with markedly disturbing effects in Malone and throughout the northern part of the county. Many were withdrawn from home pursuits to engage in military service ; genuine terror prevailed lest marauding Indians or general enemy incur- sions jeopardize property or even life ; enterprise and development were halted, even paralyzed; greed led men into treason in supplying the enemy with cattle and provisions ; moral standards were lowered, affect- ing alike public and individual conduct; and immigration not only practically ceased, but people who had already located moved out. Malone's population decreased by thirty-two in these four years,
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Chateaugay's 218, and Dickinson's 226. Constable actually gained 73. How Malone was touched otherwise by the war is told in another chapter. While the war continued, and considerable bodies of troops were garrisoned in the county, money flowed freely, but at once upon the close of hostilities an almost inconceivable scarcity began to be experienced, and continued for years. Men had to save literally penny by penny to accumulate cash for taxes, and grain at the distilleries and potash were the only commodities salable for money.
1815 AN IMPORTANT YEAR
Nevertheless the year 1815 witnessed arrivals and events of far- reaching local consequence. Among the most significant arrivals of that year are to be reckoned those of Benjamin Clark and Jacob Wead, men apparently of means, certainly of aggressive and venturesome enterprise, and with relationships that are interesting. Mr. Wead had married Mr. Clark's sister, and other sisters were the wives of Apollos Lathrop, Paul Thorndike and Jonathan Lawrence, while daughters of Mr. Wead became the wives of Hiram Horton and John L. Russell, and a daughter of Mr. Clark married Dr. Horatio Powell. Add that John L. Fuller was the son-in-law of the elder Horton, and Benjamin Smith the brother-in-law of Mr. Clark, with doubtless other ramifications unknown, and we have a chain of family connections, embracing so many strong men that they must have been able to control and dominate the community. Mr. Clark's sons were Samuel S., Benjamin W. and Charles J. Mr. Clark, the head of the family, was first judge of the court of common pleas in 1825; Samuel S. was elected county clerk in 1831; and Benjamin W. sheriff in 1845. Benjamin S. W., a son of Samuel S., and a man of scrupulous honor, resolute character and great executive ability, became a merchant, was elected county treasurer in 1857, was identified for a long time with the management of the Far- mers National Bank, was appointed inspector of State prisons in 1876, and then agent and warden of Sing Sing prison. In 1878 he was made State superintendent of public works, a newly created office, and was afterward until his death in 1916 either a national or State bank examiner.
The elder Clark and Mr. Wead entered into partnership in the mer- cantile business, their store having been on the Baptist church corner, where Mr. Clark afterward (in 1826) erected a stone building almost a counterpart of the one that still stands at the corner of Main and Fort Covington streets, which was arranged on the ground floor for store
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uses, and the floor above for living apartments. It was regarded at the time as the finest building in the county, and merchandising was con- tinued in it until 1851 or later. Here was the center of trade for a number of years, and it was here, in the original frame building, that the people assembled in 1816, "the year without a summer," when starvation seemed imminent because of the almost complete crop failure, to await the arrival of a load of flour that was expected from Fort Covington, but which failed to come - causing poignant disap- pointment and almost despair. Scarcity, almost destitution, prevailed until Noah Moody went to Troy on horseback, and there bought a cargo of flour, which the people were so eager to secure, even at the price of sixteen dollars per barrel, that they bought it from the wagons as the latter were driven into the village. Upon the occasion of the disap- pointment at the Clark & Wead store strong men wept for the hungry little ones at home. Mr. Wead retired after a few years from the Clark & Wead store to enter upon business by himself in a building which he fitted up for a store and dwelling combined on Elm street, next east of the Episcopal church. Mr. Wead was apparently more versatile than Mr. Clark, or perhaps more venturesome, for while the latter stuck pretty closely to the counter, the former, besides continuing in mer- chandising, engaged in a number of ontside enterprises, including lumbering in several localities, distilling, and operating a grist mill and other works at "whiskey hollow." He was also for a number of years practically the town's banker, representing here the Ogdensburg Bank and then the Clinton County Bank, and was county treasurer by appoint- ment of the board of supervisors. The last few years of his life he was paralyzed, but until physically incapacitated had a larger part in the industrial and general affairs of the community than any other indi- vidual until his son, Samuel Clark Wead, and Guy Meigs succeeded to most of his interests, and became even more important figures in the town and county.
Jonathan Thompson, discharged from military service at Sacket Harbor, and intending to return to his New England home, was attracted by Malone and what he thought to be its possibilities in 1815, and located. He became an important factor. Securing the contract to carry the mails from Plattsburgh to Ogdensburg, he began the work with a single horse, which he himself rode with the mail in his saddle- bags, but as demand grew for passenger service he kept adding to his equipment until he had a hundred horses and a number of coaches. The grade of the courthouse hill in Malone was so steep and the track
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so heavy with sand in those days that the stages were driven up the hill leading to the academy, and diagonally across Academy Green to Frank- lin street. The road across the green was discontinued in 1851.
OLLA PODRIDA
A recital in a summary and disjointed way of incidents and develop- ments will help to picture old conditions and practices, as well as to make a partial record that may be found interesting and also useful for reference :
The first town meeting was held in 1805 at the farmhouse of Jona- than Hapgood, near the line now separating Constable and Malone - that point doubtless having been deemed central as regards population, as the entire county west of Chateaugay had very few inhabitants out- side of Malone. Constable, Westville and Fort Covington. Moira had a few settlers, and Bangor and Bombay none or next to none, while Fort Covington's people included so large a percentage of aliens that they might be regarded as negligible. Not one of the other present. towns west of Burke, Bellmont and Franklin had a single inhabitant. Subsequent town meetings were held in the Harison Academy until 1813, after which they were held for years in the court house. With all of Malone's progressiveness, it has never reached the point where it was willing to provide a suitable town house.
The entire amount of claims allowed against the town of Harison in 1808 was $701.94, which included $290 for wolf bounties and $250 for highways - making the entire cost of compensation of all town officials and for all other town purposes only $161.94. (The supervisor alone; now receives annually about seven times the latter sum.) Malone or Harison's assessed valuation in the same year was $172,636, and its: total tax, including its share of the county expenses, was $713.70, or probably about one dollar for each inhabitant. The entire county budget ranged for the first five years between $3.286.02 and $1,699.91 - the larger figure having been due to appropriations toward building the court house. Now Malone's annual town expenses aggregate more than twenty-seven thousand dollars, and its part of the county budget in 1917 was $56,398.07, or in all over seven dollars per capita. It is to. be borne in mind, however. that projects which were not thought of a century ago are now public charges. It is a foolish habit, lacking- reason, to long for " the old times." and yet in this day of high cost of living and extravagance men might properly sigh, if not for the old scale of expenditure, at least for the old rates of taxation.
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The second Amsden hotel, located near the site of the present Knapp, Commercial or Paddock block, on Harison Place, was begun in 1815, and was destroyed by fire something more than twenty-five years later. It was called the Franklin House, and was kept at one time by Jonathan Thompson. It had President Van Buren as a guest for a few hours in 1839.
The stone arch bridge was built in 1817. Prior to its erection a wooden bridge, strengthened by buttresses, had spanned the stream at quite a lower level. The first flooring of this first structure was of poles or saplings, with plank substituted later; and notwithstanding the buttresses it was a shaky, wavering affair as loaded teams passed over it.
The first visit of a President to Malone was that of President Monroe in 1817. The stone bridge not having been completed, the President crossed on foot, and his team forded the river above.
In the early days of the old court house, when it was jail also, Orlando Furness had a shoeshop in the basement of the building, and boarded the prisoners.
The speedway in early years was across the Flat, but according to the testimony of some of the pioneers the few horses then owned here (the whole number even as late as 1825 was only 341) were almost all for working purposes, and races could hardy have been exciting.
An agricultural society was organized in 1820, and held annual exhibitions at Malone for five or six years.
Daniel Gorton established a paper mill in 1820 on the west side of the river, just south of the tannery. The output was all handmade, and at first by Mr. Gorton alone. Subsequently he was able to give employ- ment to two girls. It was his custom to manufacture a quantity of stock, and then, shutting down the mill, to peddle it throughout the country. The industry was continued until 1831, when it was aban- doned, and Mr. Gorton returned to his old home in Massachusetts.
The first newspaper, the Franklin Telegraph, was founded by Francis Burnap in 1820, and continued for nine or ten years. Jacob Wead, B. Clark and Peter Hoople were the only merchants who had advertise- ments in the paper in 1820, though two shoemakers and a dresser of deerskins each had an announcement in it, and "Ben the Butcher" called upon debtors to settle, as else "he will be in a horrible pickle." One advertisement, after stating that farm products and potash would be taken in exchange for goods, naively added that " cash will not be refused if offered." The school tax collector offered to accept good wheat delivered to Captain Warren Powers or good corn and rye delivered at J. Wead's distillery in satisfaction of taxes, and the Tele-
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graph's publisher advertised for clean paper rags at two and a half cents per pound in payment of subscriptions. The paper contained next to no local news, while its advices from Washington and New York bore date about two weeks earlier than their publication, and from Europe about two months before. But it was an excellent news- paper for the time, and its occasional editorials indicated a good deal of ability.
In 1822-3 hope began to be entertained that the isolation of the town was to be lessened through the construction of a canal from Ogdensburg to connect the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain. The story of the project is told in the chapter on " Transportation Develop- ment."
" Whiskey hollow " promised at one time almost to rival the village in importance. It had a saw mill and grist mill very early, with a dis- tillery not much later, and then a brickyard, a pottery, a hemp mill and a rope walk, and in 1831 an iron forge. John Wood, Jacob Wead, Apollos Lathrop and perhaps two or three others appear to have been the earliest operators at the point named, but the principal activity was under the direction of Guy Meigs and Samuel Clark Wead, beginning about 1829. In 1832, when a proposed tariff revision was pending in Congress, information was sought from various industries throughout the country, and Meigs & Wead reported that their forge was started in the spring of 1831 with a capital of $2,500; that it had paid for wages and material $4,320; that it employed five men in the forge, three at the mine, and ten in making charcoal : that bloomers' wages were $1.25 a day, and colliers' 90 cents ; that the general scale of wages then prevalent in the locality was $9 to $12 per month. exclusive of hoard ; and that the proprietors expected to realize a profit of 1212 per cent. The forge was run for twelve or fifteen years, its supply of iron having been procured from a mine about three and a half miles west of the village. One night in the forties when the Millerites were in hourly expectation of the end of the world, the glare of the furnace fire was taken for the coming of the flame that was to envelop the earth, and the disciples of the cult were certain that the day was at hand when " there should be time no longer."
The only business buildings now standing on Main street that were erected prior to 1831 are one at the corner of Main and Catherine, which was so long occupied by Hubbard & Mallon, and now by the Duffy store, and the other the cotton factory, now owned by the Malone Light and Power Co. The former was built by Daniel Brown for a
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carriage shop, and a quarter of a century later a new front was added, the original structure having set back several feet from the street line. The upper part of the cotton factory is altogether changed from its original appearance. The next oldest of our store buildings was erected by Meigs & Wead in 1831 on the corner of Mill street, and is now occupied by the Peoples National Bank. For the site of the former Mr. Brown paid $30, and the consideration for that of Meigs & Wead was $100.
Malone's first fire engine was bought in 1832, and, an extremely crude contrivance, amounted to little more than a pump set in a box on wheels. It was operated by a crank on each side, and not more than eight men could work on it at a time. It was back-breaking business when one kept at it long. The water had to be dumped into the box from buckets, and the stream which the pump delivered was small and feeble.
The Miller House, which occupied a part of the site of the present Flanagan Hotel, and which for a long time was the hotel of the town, was built by W. D. House, a tailor, for a residence. Orlando Furness bought it, enlarged it, and was landlord in it until his death, when Philip B. Miller succeeded him. While Mr. Furness was there he was also the operator of the Horton fulling, carding and cloth-dressing mill, with Mr. Miller as foreman. The day that the latter married the daughter of his employer was a busy one in the mill, and Mr. Miller continued at work until within an hour or two of the time fixed for the ceremony, and an hour later was again at his post. Wedding trips were not common in those days.
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