History of Chautauqua County, New York, Part 2

Author: Edson, Obed, 1832-; Merrill, Georgia Drew, editor
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : W.A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1068

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York > Part 2

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Hon. Francis B. Brewer,

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William W. Huntley,

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Clark R. Lockwood, Esq., Judge James Prendergast

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Alexander T. Prendergast,

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Hon. John M. Edson,

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Hon. Obed Edson,

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Hon. Richard P. Marvin, Hon. Reuben E. Fenton, Willard Mckinstry,

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602

Hon. Sextus H. Hungerford, Levi A. Skimmer.

601

Rev. Chalon Burgess,

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752

Mrs. Mary A. Prendergast, Hon. James Prendergast, Robert N. Marvin, Robert Newland.

William Broadhead.

Josephus H. Clark.

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Col. Elial F. Carpenter, Hon. James T. Edwards, Hon. Oscar F. Price,

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HISTORY

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, V

NEW YORK

SECTION 1. - PREHISTORIC.

CHAPTER I.

BOUNDARY, TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

" What country, friends, is this?" -Twelfth Night.

C HAUTAUQUA is the extreme western county of New York. It is bounded south by Pennsylvania, on the forty-second parallel of north latitude ; easi by Cattaraugus, on the line between the ninth and tenth ranges of townships ; northeast by Erie county, at Cattaraugus creek, and on a line extending northwest from its mouth to a point in Lake Erie in the boundary line between the United States and the British Dominions ; northerly by that line, which there extends along the middle of Lake Erie ; west by Pennsylvania, on the meridian drawn through the western extremity of Lake Ontario south to a monument erected by the states of New York and Pennsylvania in the forty-second parallel of north latitude. The west- ern boundary extends on this meridian about 22 miles in Lake Erie, and 18 iniles, 3,493 feet south thereof. Its southern boundary extends 36 miles, 473 feet ; its eastern 371/2 miles ; its northeastern boundary along Cattarau- gus creek 4 miles, and its shore line upon the lake, extends about 40 miles.

The area of the county, exclusive of Lake Erie, by these measurements is about 1, 100 square miles, of which about 20 square miles are included in Chautauqua lake, 600 acres in the Cassadaga lakes, 300 in Bear lake, 500 in Findley's lake and 1,000 acres in the smaller lakes, ponds and streams. This county is larger than the state of Rhode Island, and greater in extent

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.

than many of the most famous of the ancient states of Greece, and the smaller of the German states. It lies at the portals of the West, and is a gateway of communication and traffic with the East. Although it forms part of an eastern state, the northern portion lies in the basin of the Great Lakes, and the southern in the valley of the Mississippi. A wide belt of grass- covered hills extends from its eastern boundary southwesterly to Pennsyl- vania, forming the watershed which divides the waters that flow north into Lake Erie from those that flow south into the Mississippi. The steepest side of this watershed is northward towards Lake Erie, where the hills fall away in a rapid, but not precipitous, descent to the lower lands that border it. This side of the watershed extends in an irregular line northeasterly and sonthwesterly from three to six miles from the shore. From the foot of these hills northward is an undulating region gradually descending towards the lake, where it terminates in a bluff of the average height of 20 feet above the lake.

Lake Erie is 573 feet above the sea level, and no part of the county is less than that height above the ocean, while the hills of the watershed rise from 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the lake, which is equivalent to 1,600 or 1,800 feet above the ocean. From these hills a fine and extended view is afforded. To the north lie the rich and cultivated lands that border the lake, and broad and well trained vineyards form the principal feature of the landscape. In some parts these vineyards extend from the shore south ward across the lower lands, and nearly up the northern slope of the hills. Beyond this country of fruit and vines is spread the wide expanse of Lake Erie, so distant that its waves fade from sight, and it appears as smooth and blue as if painted on canvas. As seen from these hills in summer nothing relieves the monoton- ous blue of the lake but the long black lines of smoke from the steamers, and the snow-white sails of the lake craft that thickly speck its surface, dis- tance rendering them seemingly as motionless as "painted ships upon a painted ocean." Beyond the lake, 140 miles away, the " Queen's dominions " are dimly visible from Long Point to the historic ruins of Fort Erie. In winter where lies the lake you behold only a dreary waste of ice stretching to the north until it blends with the whitened shores of Canada.

Verdant hills and picturesque valleys constitute the characteristic features of the scenery of Chautauqua county. Yet in winter its highlands are cov- ered with snow, drifts lie deeply around the farmhouses, and bury the fields and fences from view, while travel is blocked upon the highways, and the inhabitants of the hills are for a while imprisoned by the storms. At length the bleak aspect is changed, abundant springs and heavy dews keep the meadows and pastures green, and the sultry air of summer is tempered by cool breezes from Lake Erie. Groves of trees, chief among them the maple, are clothed in spring in brightest verdure, their shades deepen under the

BOUNDARY, TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

summer sun, and finally the frosts of autumn paint the woods in many colors. The glory of the American forest has long been celebrated, and nowhere does it appear in greater splendor than among the hills of Chautauqua. Nature seems to have spilled her choicest pigments upon the woods.

Ere, in the northern gale, The summer tresses of the trees are gone, The woods of autumn, all around our vale, Have put their glory on. The mountains that infold, In their wide sweep, the colored landscape round, Seem groups of giant kings, in purple and gold, That guard the enchanted ground.

The watershed of the county is deeply furrowed into a series of wide valleys, that extend northerly and southerly in nearly parallel lines across it at right angles with the shore of Lake Erie. Between these valleys, and extending in a like direction, are high ridges, which the waters have seamed and scored transversely into chains of hills. These hilly ranges as they extend to the southeast slightly decrease in altitude, and terminate quite abruptly in the southeastern part of the county, where these long and wide troughs between the hills merge and form the broad valley of the Cone- wango. The deep depressions that cross this highland region have nearly the same level, and but slightly descend as they drop to the southeast into the greater valley of the Conewango, each being about 700 feet above Lake Erie. In each, near its northern terminus, are one or more lakes and ponds. In these little lakes all of the principal streams of the county that flow south- ward into the Mississippi have their origin. The lakes all lie very near the northern face of the ridge, so that a few rods of low land only intervene and but little labor would be required to turn their waters northward into Lake Erie.

In the wide valley that extends along the eastern part of the county, Rows the Conewango, (pronounced by the Indians Ga-no-wun-go, meaning " in the rapids,")-the principal stream of Chautauqua county. It empties into the Allegany near Warren, Pennsylvania, and has its source in two of these' lakes, which lie near the northern verge of the ridge and are known as Mud lake and East Mud lake. In the deep and wide valley in the central part of the county flows the Cassadaga, called by the Senecas Gus-da-go, and also Ze-car-ne-o-di, meaning " under the rocks," according to one authority. It is a large and crooked stream, emptying into the Conewango six miles north of the Pennsylvania line. The Cassadaga has its source in a cluster of lakes, now a celebrated summer resort. Five or more of these little lakes sparkle near the northern declivity of the highlands, the largest one so near that its waters were once by the labor of a few men in a short time almost turned

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.

northward into a tributary of Lake Erie. Bear creek flows through another valley into the Cassadaga. Its source is a pleasant sheet of water called Bear Lake, which also lies very near the northern verge of the ridge.

In the valley' next west of the Bear and Cassadaga valleys, and extending in the same direction from the northern face of the ridge, is that depression in which lies Chautauqua lake, the largest body of water within the limits of the county and one of the most beautiful in the state. In this notch cut so deeply across the hills gleams its bright waters-a paradox among lakes. Poised in the crest of the highlands where the sky only is reflected in its crystal depths, it is so near to Lake Erie" that we expect to see its waters pour down the steep declivity to join it, and finally meet the sea upon the cold and barren coast of Labrador. Instead of this we find them running southward, and, after a long and sinuous journey of over 2,500 miles, flowing consecutively through its outlet ( which might appropriately be called Celoron from the name of its first navigator), the Cassadaga, Conewango, Allegany, Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to mingle at last with the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi seems to stretch forth an arm far beyond its own great valley that it may receive the pure water of this highland lake. The cool dews of this elevated region, the pure air and gentle winds bearing health and strength upon their healing wings, combine with the great beauty of the lakes to bring thousands annually to its shores in search of rest, instruction and pleasure.

The hills that rise to the westward of the valley in which Chautauqua lies divide the waters flowing into this lake from those that run into the Broken-Straw and French creeks. These are important tributaries of the Allegany. Findley's lake, the second lake in size in the county, lies farther from the northern face of the ridge than the others, and discharges its waters into a tributary of French creek. Two islands grace this lake, and, like the others, it is filled with pure waters, and surrounded by pleasant shores.

The streams in the northern part of the county are generally shorter and have less volume than those in the southern part. They rise among the hills that form the ridge, run northwardly, and empty into Lake Erie. Flowing into the lake from the end of each of the principal valleys that bisect the ridge is a corresponding stream. These are the largest watercourses north of the ridge, and each usually has a fork, or two branches, that flow from opposite sides of the northern termination of the valley it represents. Twenty-mile creek, for instance, has its source in the valley in which lies Findley's lake. Chautauqua and Little Chautauqua creeks flow from opposite sides of the valley in which Chautauqua lake is situated, unite above Westfield, and flow northward in the course of the valley of Bear lake. The east and west

*It is eight miles from Lake Erie. The source of one of the streams flowing into it is less than five miles from Lake Erie.

BOUNDARY, TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

branches of the Canadaway flow from opposite sides of the Cassadaga valley, and unite above Laona. Walnut and Silver creeks, called by the Indians Ga-a-nun-da-ta, "a mountain levelled down," have their sources in op- posite sides of the Conewango valley, and unite at Silver Creek. Cattaraugus creek (Cattarangns formerly pronounced Ga-da-ges-ga-go, and also Ga-hun- da, from which Gowanda is evidently derived, and meaning " fetid banks" or "stinking waters,") flows along the northern border, and is much the largest of the streams that empty into Lake Erie. It is also the longest watercourse of the county, being over fifty miles in length. No other stream in the county flows into Lake Erie from beyond the highlands forming the watershed. The Cattaraugus rises in Cattaraugus county, fol- lows a deep depression among the hills, and passes beyond the ridge into Lake Erie. At Gowanda, thirteen miles from Lake Erie, it is but four miles east of the headwaters of the Conewango, and yet, according to the railroad survey, its waters are six hundred feet below the headwaters of that stream, and but two hundred feet above Lake Eric.

The streams that flow northward from the highlands have worn deep channels in the soft Portage shales that form the northern face of the ridge. The east bank of the Canadaway, near the western boundary of Arkwright, flows through a deep and wide chasm, where its waters have cut a still deeper but narrow channel. Here, where the bed of the stream is more than three hundred feet lower than the bank, on either side concealed beneath the dense foliage of the trees that fill the wide gorge and overhang its frowning sides, are several fine cascades. But few, even of those living near, have visited this beautiful glen, and some who have lived long in its populated vicinity do not even know that such wild waterfalls exist so near them. Hemlocks grow in profusion in and along the basin of this stream, and along all of its upper waters. From this the stream derives its Indian name Ga-na-da-wa-ow, "running through the hemlocks."* The waterfalls, deep gorges and wild scenery of the East Branch of the Canadaway are characteristic of all the streams that flow through the soft shales of the Portage formation. Chan- tanqua and Twenty-mile creeks are especially interesting in this respect. From the side of the canon in which flows the Chautauqua, and not far from the main highway between Mayville and Westfield, a spur of shaly rock pro- jects at right angles for many rods into the gorge, and slopes gradually from a great height at the brink of the canon to the level of the stream. The sides of this ridge are very steep, and the top is very narrow, not wider than a footpath, and is used as such to descend into the gorge. A similar ridge occurs near one of the principal falls of the Canandaway, and a number of others, known as "hog's backs," occur near several other streams flowing through the Portage rock.

*H. L. Morgan, in "League of the Iroquois."

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.

The topography of the county is such, that, notwithstanding its limited extent, it can be said to have three quite different climates. The narrow strip of territory, in width from three to five miles, bordering on Lake Erie, has the lowest elevation of the county. Lake Erie is 573 feet above tide- water. This belt of land, from a level of about twenty feet above Lake Erie, gradually rises to the southward, until at the foot of the hills it is about 250 feet above the lake. Although this portion of the county is subject to the rigorous winters common to its latitude, its climate is much milder that that of the other parts of the county. Its lower altitude and its proximity to the waters of the lake postpone the cold of winter, and its humid atmosphere protects against the frosts of spring. It is however subject to more severe drouths than the other parts of the county. The influence of the lake extends, not only over this narrow border of land, but over the northern slope of the hills. All this portion of the county is well adapted to the pro- duction of cereals and fruits, especially the grape.

The deep wide valleys mentioned above, that extend at a much higher level through the uplands from the southern border of the county to the northern face of the ridge, have a severer climate. Cassadaga lake, according to the survey of the Dunkirk, Allegany Valley & Pittsburg railroad, is 732 feet above Lake Erie, and 1,305 feet above mean tidewater at Jersey City. Chautauqua lake, according to the survey of the Buffalo & Southwestern railroad, is 1.297 feet above the ocean, 724 feet above Lake Erie, and 8 feet below the level of Cassadaga lake. At the crossing of these two railroads at Falconer, however, the former road, according to its survey, is two feet higher than the altitude given in the survey of the latter road. Where the Buffalo & Southwestern railroad crosses the county line near the northeast corner of the town of Cherry Creek in the Conewango valley the railroad is 715 feet above Lake Erie. These data indicate that the northern terminations of these three principal valleys are within a very few feet of the same level. There is little doubt that had we like data respecting Bear lake and the northern termination of that valley we would also find them at the same level. These valleys converge and become one in the southeastern part of the county. Their slight descent as they extend southward appears by the measurements of altitudes taken from the surveys of the railroads traversing them. The altitude of the Buffalo & Southwestern railroad where it crosses the town line between Cherry Creek and Ellington is 717 feet above Lake Erie : at Kennedy station 688 feet ; at the crossing at Falconer 687 feet. The track of the Dunkirk, Allegany Valley & Pittsburg railroad at Cassa- daga is 736 feet above Lake Erie, and 4 feet higher than Cassadaga lake. At Moons, in Stockton, it is 730 feet above Lake Erie; at Gerry 722; at Ross's Mills, in Ellicott, 689, Frewsburg 688, Fentonville, at the state line, 670 feet. It thus appears that the valley descends only 66 feet from Cassa-

GEOLOGY .- THE GLACIAL PERIOD.

daga to the state line -- nearly 30 miles. The principal of the smaller val- leys that extend along the main branch of the Cassadaga and Conewango have a little greater elevation. The railroad station at Jamestown, at the entrance to the valley of Chautauqua lake, is 737 feet above Lake Erie. Sinclairville station, in the valley of Mill creek, is 757 feet above the lake. In consequence of the greater elevation of these principal valleys a severer climate prevails than along Lake Erie-the spring is longer delayed, winter comes earlier, and the snows lie deeper. From these and other causes the chief products of the soil are different. Fruit and grain are not so profitably raised ; stock raising and dairying occupy the attention of the farmer. . On the hills that rise 500 or 600 feet above these valleys, and occupy the greater area of the county, a much more rigorous climate prevails. The snow falls still deeper in the winter, and is piled into arifts by the winds, blocking the roads from travel. Sometimes in spring, when the grass is green and the early fruit trees are blossoming in the country along the lake, the hills of Ark- wright are white with snow. The apple is there the most profitable fruit, and dairying and grazing the most successful occupation.

CHAPTER II.

GEOLOGY .- THE GLACIAL PERIOD.

" When God said 'Be gathered now, ye waters under Heaven, Into one place, and let dry land appear.' "

T HE topographical features of the county, which we have described, are the result of causes and forces operating far back in the past. We must look to geology for an explanation of their existence. All geolo- gists agree that the first dry land that appeared above the shallow ocean that once covered this continent, was a long, narrow area, composed principally of granite and other crystalline rocks, extending from the coast of Labrador in a southwesterly direction, north of, and parallel to, what are now the St. Law- rence river and the two lower of the great lakes. At this point this belt of a continent, abruptly turning, extended in a northwesterly direction to the Arctic ocean. It included within its area nearly all of Canada, and is called Laurentian Continent. Scattered here and there in this ancient ocean were a few rocky islands. In Minnesota was an isolated and limited area of dry land. The Iron mountains of Missouri, the Black hills of Dakota, the Lar- amie range in Nebraska, and the Ozark mountains in Missouri had emerged

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.

from this ocean, forming islands. The Adirondack region, in New York, formed either an island. or a peninsular appendage of this Canadian conti- nent. All the rest of North America, including the county of Chautauqua, and the outlying Alleghany mountains, and the loftiest peaks of the Rockies, was then covered by a vast sea. This period is called Archean Time. Some fossils, representing the lowest and earliest forms of life, faintly appear in the metamorphic rocks of this early continent.

The continent rose out of this ancient sea slowly during long stretches of time. Its boundaries continued to extend further and further westward and southward, until the whole area, as it now appears, had emerged from the ocean. The first addition to this incipient continent by the rising of the land and the recession of the sea, was a narrow strip of territory extending in an easterly and westerly direction along the south and western border of the azoic rocks of the Adirondacks. The rocks of this region are the Potsdam sandstone, and belong to the Prinoidal or Cambrian period, and contain fos- sils of extremely low forms of life. South of the Potsdam sandstone, and extending nearly east and west over the length of the northern half of New York in long and narrow strips in regular order, lie rocks of the succeeding periods, which make up that long era known in geology as the Silurian Age or Age of Mollusks, in which, with the exception of the trilobite aud a few other articulates, but little animal life existed higher than shell fish. The periods represented by these rocks in the state of New York are successively known as the Trenton, Niagara, Salina, Lower Helderburg, and Oriskauy periods. These rocks were formed in the bottom of the sea, during long periods of time, by the depositions of rivers and other agencies, and, as the deposits were elevated above the water, the rocks came to constitute the surface in the regular order they were formed beneath the sea.

In like manner were formed the rocks of the succeeding age or grand division of geological time, known as the Devonian Age or Age of Fishes, which commenced with the Corniferous period, that extends from the Hud- son to the vicinity of Buffalo. South of the corniferous rocks lie in a long and narrow strip the rocks of the Hamilton period. Next succeeded the rocks of the Chemung period, which extend in a wide band over the southern portion of New York.

As the rocks that underlie this county belong to the Chemung formation, a brief account is given of their origin and growth, the character of the shells and fossil seaweeds found in them, the mud-cracks that appear to have been made by a fiery sun shining upon clay shores and the bottom of shallow seas at ebb-tide, the oblique and irregular lamination of these rocks, the ripple marks, made in what were then shifting sands, and are now enduring rocks. relate the circumstances of their creation. They inform us that the county during the Chemung period was usually covered by a shallow sea of muddy

GEOLOGY .- THE GLACIAL PERIOD.

waters spread over great sandy flats and salt meadows swept by waves and tidal currents. The character of some of the rocks indicate that at times the submergence was greater, and that they were formed in deeper seas. The great thickness of the rocks of this formation in this county shows that during their growth there was a great subsidence of the land. The Che- mung period is made up of two epochs : The Portage and the Chemung. The rocks of the Portage are the oldest, and lic beneath those of the Che- mung. In the northern part of the county. the Portage rocks extend south from Lake Erie to the ridge or watershed that divides the waters that are discharged into Lake Erie from those that flow into the Allegany river, and up the northern face of the ridge to an altitude of about Sto feet above Lake Erie, or 1.400 feet above the tide. In this part of the county these rocks lie just beneath the drift, or loose gravel and sand that everywhere in western New York covers the surface of the earth. These rocks of the Portage group are best seen along Lake Erie, where they compose the high perpendicular bluffs that frown along its shores, rising in some places to a height of one hundred feet. Along the beds and sides of the channel worn by the Canadaway creek through the hills of Arkwright, and from there to Lake Erie, the Portage rocks may be seen to great advantage, particularly at the falls of the Cana- daway, and those of its west branch. Along the banks aud beds of Silver and Walnut creeks, and along Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Little Chau- tauqua and Twenty-mile creeks, and at various places in the northern part of the county, where smaller streams have removed the drift from the surface and exposed the underlying rocks, the rocks are well displayed. At Wheel- er's gulf in Pomfret, where in the construction of the Dunkirk, Warren & Pittsburg railroad excavations have been made in the upper strata of these rocks, the line can be seen where they gradually merge into the overlying rocks of the Chemung group. The Portage formation in this county has a thickness of perhaps 1,400 feet. But few fossils are found except fucoids or seaweeds. It contains however some crinoids, brachiopods, lameili branches, bellerophous and gonitates. The poteniocrinus occurs in great numbers, but broken into fragments, at a place on the shore of Lake Erie in Portland.

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, Part 2

Author: Edson, Obed, 1832-; Merrill, Georgia Drew, editor Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Boston, Mass. : W.A. Fergusson Number of Pages: 1068

Author: Edson, Obed, 1832-; Merrill, Georgia Drew, editor
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : W.A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1068