History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 139

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) 1n; Lewis, J.W., & Co., Philadelphia
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 922

USA > New York > Clinton County > History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 139
USA > New York > Franklin County > History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 139

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT.

A few features may be noted marking the progress towards the settlement of this region. Commencing with the Dick-

inson or western tier of townships in Franklin County, we find that the main tide of civilization has been from north to south. In 1831, what is now Dickinson Centre, or Thomasville, on Deer River, was the outpost, containing only one house, and in 1839 mills were ereeted here. In 1850 the completion of the great Northern Railroad from Ogdensburgh to Lake Champlain gave a new impetus to the lumber business in this region, and about 1855 Ham- mond's saw-mill was built on the St. Regis River, at St. Regis Falls, some three miles into the wilderness from Thomasville.

In 1859, Chauney Merrill settled under the shadow of Blue Mountain, eleven miles up the river from St. Regis Falls, near the centre of township 13, and this is now the last settlement. Some thirty years ago a road was surveyed through this entire township, about thirty miles through the woods to the foot of Tupper Lake, but it was worked from the north only three miles south from the Merrill place at Blue Mountain to the State Dam, at the foot of the sixteen-mile level. Following the line of this old road- survey to the foot of Tupper's Lake, we find a small settle- ment at Lough Neagh, the name of Raquette Pond. The first settler here was Michael Cole, who came about 1849, and is said to have been a Frenchman from Canada, though his name belies the alleged faet, and seems to furnish a clue to the great profusion of Irish names scattered through this region, though this is mere-and probably baseless-con- jecture. Michael Cole was a farmer, and evidently eame to make himself a home for his wife and family of seven or eight children on the rich interval of land inclosed almost into an island of several hundred acres by the waters of the Raquette River, Tupper's Lake, and Lough Ncagh. There are now eleven families here, all of whom support theni- selves mainly by farming, and who find a good market for all surplus supplies in the ready and liberal purchases of summer visitors to this charming spot.

They have two schools at the upper and lower settle- ments, some two miles apart, but find no occasion for law- yers or justices of the peace, and have neither settled eler- gymen nor doetors, depending upon outside settlements, some thirty miles away, at Harrietstown or Bloomingdale, for the latter, when obliged to,-which is but seldom, so healthy is the elimate,-and dispensing with the former en- tirely, with the exception of an occasional missionary in tourist's garb or otherwise.

These citizens are practically disfranchised on account of the distance to "town,"-sixty miles by the best prae- ticable route, -- and in order to get their news and supplies they must travel by boat and trail about thirty miles. And yet they say the tax-gatherer never fails to reach them at regular intervals, so that they feel they are not entirely cut off from civilization. This little settlement of eleven fam- ilies is the only one in the town of Dickinson south of Blue Mountain at the centre of township 13,-an area of over 160 square miles.

In the corresponding square townships of the next tier east, or Brandon, there are probably about the same number of families, including keepers of sporting-houses already enumerated, one family at Keese's Mill, and a few on the road leading eastward from the foot of Saranae Lake. Of

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THE ADIRONDACKS.

these, the first permanent settler was probably C. V. Bart- lett, whose hotel, between Upper Saranac Lake and Round Lake, is noted far and wide among sportsmen for the excel- lent fishing- and hunting-grounds all about, and the hospit- able entertainment always found within. Jesse Corey's rustic lodge, at the foot of the Upper Saranac, is also a favorite stopping-place, and at E. R. Derby's Prospect House, at the head of the lake, a fine view is afforded and good cheer.

Coming once more to the third tier, we find the country a little more thickly settled. The first inhabitants came in here soon after the opening of the Northwest Bay road from near Westport on Lake Champlain, through Eliza- bethtown, Keene, North Elba, and westward to Ogdens- burgh, about 1812. On this road, a few rods east of the town-line between North Elba and Harrietstown, within half a mile of Saranac Lake village (December, 1879) lives Har- vey Moody, now seventy-two years old, and in the full pos- session of his faculties, to whose recollection we are indebted for some interesting particulars. Mr. Moody came here when twelve years old, in 1819, with his father, Jacob Moody. At that time-sixty years ago-Mr. Moody says their nearest neighbor on the Northwest Bay road-prob- ably the only road at that time in what is now Harrietstown and Brighton-was Isaae Livingston, who lived five and a half miles north, at the Nokes settlement, now known as West Harrietstown. The next neighbor on that road was Samuel Johnson, near the height of the land, about two miles east of Paul Smith's. Johnson and Livingston, Mr. Moody thinks, settled here about 1815. About one and a half miles farther west, near where the neat little Episcopal church-St. John's in the Wilderness-stands, lived Levi Rice ; eight miles farther north was Amos Rice's house, now the McCollum place; nine miles beyond that lived Alva Rice, these three being brothers ; fifteen miles beyond, near Hopkinton, lived Samuel Meacham. These were the only settlers sixty years ago between the Saranac River bridge at Harrictstown, since known as the Milote Baker place, and Hopkinton. To the eastward Mr. Moody's nearest neigh- bors were Moses Hazelton, four and a half miles ; five miles farther was the Scott place, now Lyon's Hotel ; half a mile beyond was Mr. Osgood ; four miles farther was Brooks, and half a mile farther was Joseph Estey's. For some time after 1819 these settlers got their grain ground at Alva Sherburne's mill in Keene, but soon afterwards Levi Rice built a grist-mill, with one run of stones, on Sucker Brook, which empties into lower St. Regis Lake, or Follensby Pond, about half a mile west of Paul Smith's. This stream flowed through a beaver-meadow, and ran over a ledge of rock which constituted a natural dam already constructed for the mill. These three Rice brothers-Levi, Amos, and Alva-were sons of Amos Rice, who owned a grist-mill at Elizabethtown.

At what is now the village of Saranac Lake the first set- tler was Capt. Pliny Miller, from Wilmington, who, with James Bushnell, bought a tract of land, and the fine water- privilege now in use there. Bushnell never became an actual settler, and the property subsequently fell into the hands of Miller, who erected the first saw-mill, about 1824 or 1825. Ilere, now, is a pleasant village of 300 or 100

inhabitants,-a favorite resort of tourists,-the frontier set- tlement on the south branch of the Saranac River. One of the most interesting features in this village is the Prot- estant Episcopal church known as the

CHURCH OF ST. LUKE THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN.

" This edifice," says a friend, " was begun in May, 1878, and finished in January, 1879. The first service was held Jan. 12, 1879, and the building consecrated by the Bishop of Albany on July 10th of the same year. The project originated in services held throughout the winter by the Rev. Dr. John P. Lundy, and generous subscriptions were at once made by the winter visitors at Saranac Lake during the winter of 1878-79. The residents of the place showed their appreciation of what had been done for them by con- tributing freely towards the undertaking in money, labor, and material; some large donations were made by several of the summer guests at Paul Smith's (one lady giving $500), and the whole amount necessary was realized in less than six months. Dr. E. L. Trudeau was mainly in charge of the undertaking. The edifice was planned by Mr. R. M. Upjohn, the celebrated church architect ; it consists of a cruciform frame building, 75 by 42, with recess chancel. Much care and labor have been expended on the interior ; the ceiling, tinted of a dark blue, is open throughout, show- ing all the roof timbers ; the chaneel ceiling forms a high dome, intersected with light mouldings; the vestry and organ-rooms are situated either side of the chancel. Oiled black ash is used for pews and interior finish, and polished butternut for chancel furniture, the latter being all made to order by J. & C. Lamb, of New York. The three chaneel windows are of stained glass, and represent figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity ; they were presented by Mrs. R. M. Townsend in memory of her husband, who died at Saranac Lake. The front window is a gift from Miss S. Paton ; all the other windows are of ground glass with colored border. The land on which the church stands was given by Miss Arvilla Blood, the bell by Mrs. Edgar, the altar and priest's chair by Mrs. Thomas Smith, the communion service by Mrs. Lathrop, the bishop's chair by the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. J. P. Lundy, and the linen for communion by Mrs. Mary King, while Mrs. Ogden Hoffman gave the font, and the organ was presented by the young people of the place. The church is in charge of Rev. C. S. Knapp. The prop- erty is valued at about $4000, and is deeded to the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church in the diocese of Albany."

Some time previously to the year 1852 a man by the name of Fuller made a settlement at the foot of the Lower Saranac Lake, about a mile and a half distant, and about 1852, William F. Martin commeneed keeping a sporting- house at that point, since which time he has gradually been adding to his premises, and now has an elegant hotel capa- ble of accommodating 150 gnests,-a favorite summer resort. and point of departure for the remoter recesses of the wilderness.

In what is now the town of Brighton the first settlement was made by Oliver Keese and Thomas A. Tomlinson, of Keeseville, in the spring of 1851, according to the recollee- tion of Daniel Redwood, one of the oldest survivors of

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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Kecse & Tomlinson's employees. Here they built a dam and mill, at the rapids below the outlet of Follensby's Pond, and embarked in the lumber business. Quite a settlement sprang up at this point, and there are now about 15 families in the vicinity, who live chiefly by farming, the mill having gone to decay, not so much from lack of lumber, as in consequence of the heavy expense of hauling logs up hill, and the long distance from market, about fifty miles.

PAUL SMITH'S.

Three miles above Keese's Mill is a spot which has always becn, even to the remotest limit of the oldest settler's niem- ory, a favorite resort for hunters and fishermen. This place is on the west bank of Follensby's Pond, the head-waters of the St. Regis, while a few rods to the rear is Osgood's Pond, from which flows the east branch. Back to the ut- most limit of historic time, Capt. Peter Sabattis, a noted St. Regis Indian, used to eamp here, and later that myste- rious old hunter, Moses Follensby, built and occupied a camp on this spot several seasons, summer and winter ; and many old hunters and fishermen now living can attest, from personal experience, that there was no place like Follens- by's Pond for killing deer and catching monstrous speckled trout. In 1853, Paul Smith commenced providing enter- tainment for sportsmen on Loon Lake, on the Port Kent and Hopkinton Turnpike, at the spot then known as the Lovering Place, and now kept as a sporting-house by F. Chase. There Paul Smith stopped until 1858; then he moved down into the valley, a mile below, to the edge of the north branch of the Saranac, where he remained one year, at the place now known as Hunters' Home. But still he was not satisfied with his location for working out the mis- sion of keeping a sporting-house, which he began to feel was his destiny, and finally he came to Follensby's Pond in 1859, where he set himself down, perfectly satisfied with the spot. Since then he has kept adding year by year to the modest little structure he first moved into, and now, if the old hermit, Moses Follensby, or Capt. Peter Sabattis, should come back to their former haunts, they would be astonished to find, instead of the little log and bark shanty they left, a palatial hotel with accommodations for 300 guests, and in which 400 people are fed during the " season." Everything inside is first-class and modern, and no better mcals are served in city or country. The house stands on a high sand ridge, about fifteen feet above the level of the lake, in the midst of primitive pines ; the nature of the soil is such that no pools of standing water are ever seen even after the hardest showers. Pure spring water is furnished in abundance, and nothing is omitted which can add to the health or comfort of guests. In the boat-house, down at the edge of the water, are about 100 boats, and through- out the warm season crowds of guests arrive daily in stage- coaches, and stop permanently at the hotel, or make this their starting-point for camping- tours scores of miles away into the wilderness, reaching in all directions the vast sys- tem of waters of which this forms a part.

The time was when the saying was rife among tourists that there was "no Sunday in the Adirondaeks,-that Sunday always got lost in coming up the long Black Brook Hill." But this can no longer be said at St. Regis Lake,

for a few rods away a little Protestant Episcopal church has been erected, whose musical bell reminds guests every Sunday morning during the height of the season of their religious duties. The following is the story of this enter- prise :

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS.

" The church at St. Regis Lake, called St. John's in the Wilderness, was begun in April, 1877, and completed in August, the first service being held on the 5th of that month. It was consecrated on Sept. 13, 1877, by the Bishop of Albany, W. C. Doanc, D.D. Dr. E. L. Trudeau had entire charge of the undertaking. The plans for the edifiee were donated by Mr. Hathorne, a New York archi- tect. The building is 50 by 22, of oiled logs, cruciform in shape, with entrance at the side. The finish of the interior is very beautiful; the walls are stone color, the ceiling arched and tinted blue; oiled black ash being used for pews, chan- cel furniture, and wainseoting. The entire cost was about $4000. Mrs. Lewis Livingston, of New York, held a fair in her parlors in aid of the undertaking, and realized in two days the handsome sum of $1400; other generous contributions were willingly made by the guests at Paul Smith's, and the cost of the edifice was defrayed before it was completed. The land and logs were presented by Mr. A. A. Smith. Many memorials were also given, as follows : Mrs. Rosman donated the chancel window ; Mr. A. A. Low, the end window ; the Rev. T. C. Norton, the bishop's chair ; Mrs. R. M. Townsend, the bell ; while the font was given by Mrs. E. L. Trudeau ; the reading-desk by the Rev. W. A. Leonard ; the organ by Mr. R. Morgan ; the surplice by Miss Rosman ; the communion-service by Rev. and Mrs. J. P. Lundy ; the linen by Mrs. Churtz ; besides other gifts, such as a brass book-rest, altar-eloths, etc. The Rev. C. S. Knapp is at present in charge. The property has been deeded to the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church."

Near the northeastern corner, on Rainbow Pond, is the neat and well-kept sporting-house of J. M. Wardner, who came here in 1854.

In Franklin and adjoining towns there yet remain large tracts of wilderness, chiefly about the head-waters of the Saranac, and also in the northwest portion, and at intervals in these portions are scattered houses for the especial ac- commodation of sportsmen. Among these may be men- tioned Hunter's Home, on the Saranac; Chase's Hotel, on Loon Lake; Squier's, ncar Elbow Pond ; Shepard's Hotel, on the Upper Chateaugay Lake; Fifield House, on Chazy Lake, and many others, no full enumeration being here attempted.

STEAMBOATS. .

The usual mode of travel through the unsettled portion of the wilderness is by small boats, but, to the dismay of a majority of sportsmen, steamboats are gradually intruding upon these sylvan waters. On the Upper Saranac the " Mosquito" plics regularly between Prospect House and the foot of the lake; the " Forester" runs between the head of Tupper's Lake to Sweeny's Carry on the Raquette River, leaving only a three-mile carry to Upper Saranac Lake; on the Lower Saranac and Lake Placid steamers

CHURCH OF ST JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS, AT. PAUL SMITH'S.

PAUL SMITH'S, OF TH

SKETCHED FROM S' RIGIS LERI H) HP WHINNERY)

ADIRONDACKS .

F TH

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THE ADIRONDACKS.

run, another on Blue Mountain Lake, and other steamboat routes are in contemplation.

RAILROADS.

Hitherto, up to within a few years, railroad-routes have kept clear of the grades offered by the steep slopes of the Adirondack plateau. About thirty years ago the " Great Northern Railroad" of New York was built from Ogdensburgh to Lake Champlain, along the northern border of these highlands. Later the Rome and Watertown line was pushed southwestward from Ogdensburgh, intersecting with the Black River Railroad at Philadelphia, from which point it struck off southerly, uniting at Utica with the New York Central line, running eastward to Albany, whence a continuous line now passes northward, on its way to Mon- treal, to the " place of beginning" at Rouse's Point. Thus these lines circumscribed the Adirondack wilderness with a belt which encircled the base of the plateau and crept along its border. From this iron girdle, marking more or less definitely the bounds of civilization, only a few little, com- paratively insignificant lines have from time to time been injected towards the heart of the wilderness,-one from the Black River Railroad, at Carthage, from the west ; one from the south, at Fonda, on the New York Central ; at Saratoga, the Adirondack road-laid out thirty years ago through the very centre of the happy hunting-grounds-has progressed one hundred and eighty-five miles on its way to North Creck ; at Fort Edward a line runs five miles up the Hudson towards its source in the gloomy Indian Pass; from Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, a narrow-gauge road creeps thirteen miles up the eastern edge of the plateau; at Port Henry is a line seven miles long, westward, up a steep grade; at Plattsburgh, the Ausable Branch, twenty miles long, reaches to the Ausa- ble River, some twenty miles from its mouth ; and from the same point the Plattsburgh and Dannemora line, with its Chateaugay extension, attains, thirty-five miles from Lake Champlain, an elevation of one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight feet in the heart of the great Lyon Mountain wilderness, the only line which has climbed up to the very crest of the Adirondack table-land. But there remains yet a vast expanse of woods and waters,-" a boundless con- tiguity of shade,"-which is doubtless destined to be left undisturbed for many years yet by the shriek of the loco- motive.

SOME OF THE PIONEERS.

Occasionally a locality is stumbled upon in these wilds marked by flint chippings, fragments of pottery, and stone implements, all of which afford glimpses of a period so far back into pre-historie times that even tradition is silent with . regard to it. And if search is made for the records of even the first of the present races of white men and their asso- ciates, who wandered through these wilds, it is found ahnost as ineffectual as in the other case, the men being dcad long ago who could have supplied the materials for complete sketches ; hence only an imperfect account is possible.

The name of Capt. Peter Sabattis has already been men- tioned as one of the oldest remembered pioneers. He was a St. Regis Indian, who doubtless wandered from the set- tlement of his tribe, at the mouth of the St. Regis, on the St. Lawrence, and was so enchanted with the head-waters

of his native river-named after the philanthropic Jesuit priest who died in France in 1640-that he could not tear himself away again. Capt. Peter was a mighty hunter, frapper, and fisherman, one of whose exploits was the eap- ture of 40 beaver in a single season, within the memory of living men; and one of the Labradorite ribs of the Adirondack Mountains, which crops out across Follensby's Pond, opposite Paul Smith's, now bears the name of Captain Peter's Rock, said to be one of his favorite fishing-places.

Another, named Sabyl, a St. François Indian, is remem- bered as a noted hunter, who used to wander hereabouts with his squaw, four papooses, and a niece.

Another of the old pioneers was Moses Follensby, whose name has been handed down to posterity tacked to at least three ponds in Franklin County. From what can be learned, it is judged that Moses Follensby was born about 1749, in England. What whirlwinds of misfortune struck him will probably never be known, but at the age of seventy he was a hermit in the Adirondacks, with the reputation of an honest man, but a shiftless vagabond and a poor hunter, who never seemed to bring in much game or fur to sell, but nevertheless managed to subsist. He lived summer and winter by himself, and made his own boats, splitting out the clap-boards for the sides from pine logs. About 1823 he disappeared from these parts, and it was rumored that he went to England to claim a large estate, which he had been heard to say belonged to him, but it is more likely that he perished in some of his lonely hunting expeditions.

Moses Sampson was another famous hunter, who, with Thomas Scott, caught 40 beaver in one season. But time would fail to tell of Jacob Moody, of North Elba; Capt. Simonds, of Elizabethtown ; Stephen Rollins, of Keene; Daniel Wickham, of Chazy Lake; and many others who slew deer, caught trout, killed moose, bears, and wolves, trapped beaver, and have long ago entered into their rest.

FISH AND GAME.

Trout is the favorite fish of the Adirondacks; in fact this may be said to be one of its chosen homes, the wonder- ful purity of the waters, abundance of spawning beds, and unlimited range, all offering rare attractions to this daintiest and gamiest of fish. And when trout are spoken of, speckled trout are, of course, understood to be meant. Fabulous sizes of these fish are sometimes mentioned as having been taken and devoured in the depths of the forest, far from any means of determining their weight; but this can be set down, that whoever takes an Adirondack speckled trout weighing over three pounds, performis a feat of which he may well be proud as an exceptional one. There are plenty of these beanties in the wilderness yet, but it requires about the same amount of skill to take them here as else- where, and whoever comes to the Adirondacks with the expectation of capturing them without dne exercise of the utmost cireumspection, is doomed to disappointment.

- There are many ponds and lakes, especially on the erest of the water-shed, which are entirely destitute, not only of trout, but all other kinds of fish, and these, with others, will doubtless nt some future time, not far distant, be used for the propagation of choice fish.

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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Lake trout are also caught in great abundance, twenty pounds being not a very unusual size. Within a short time black bass have been introduced into certain waters here with excellent results, showing that the conditions are all favorable for the cultivation of that fine-flavored and gamey fish.

Of the larger varicties of game, the caribou, elk, and moose have probably disappeared forever, and, in fact, it is con- sidered doubtful by good judges whether the caribou was ever here at all.

Nearly thirty years ago Harvey Moody killed a moose on the south branch of the Saranac River, and at different times previously he killed one on Ampersand Mountain, two on the river, between Lower Saranac Lake and Round Lake, and one on the Raquette River. Probably they dis- appeared about thirty years ago. They were usually killed by still-hunting in the winter, or by night-hunting during the hot summer weather, when they came into the streams or ponds to feed, or cool themselves.

Panthers are still occasionally killed, and many of these ugly beasts are yet roaming in the forests of Franklin County.

Wolves are here also, going usually in gangs of from three to half a dozen or more, but they are seldom seen or killed.

Bears are abundant. Harvey Moody trapped nine in 1877, and eight in 1878, and their capture in frontier settlements is not an uncommon occurrence. The lynx is seldom found. Otter are occasionally killed, and the sable, mink, and muskrat are plenty along the St. Regis and other streams, and trapping them for their fur forms a lucrative business. Up to within thirty years beaver were quite plenty, but lumbering operations have driven them from nearly all their old haunts, except the west branch of the St. Regis, where many of their dams yet remain, near the head-waters, where the stream is so small that logs cannot be floated. In 1865 nine beaver were caught on the sixteen- mile level of the St. Regis, and during the present season fresh marks of beaver were seen near the upper end of this same level.

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History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 139

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) 1n; Lewis, J.W., & Co., Philadelphia Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 922

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) 1n; Lewis, J.W., & Co., Philadelphia
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 922