History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 153

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 153

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" At the time the Johnsons came upon the patent, Noah Simons, who also claimed to be an owner of it, was engaged in making a survey, but soon left, and never came to the patent afterwards."* The heirs of Noah Simons afterwards went to considerable expense in tracing out the title in England, and found the record of the original conveyance to their ancestors. If attended to in season the tract could have been secured to the Simons family, but on examina- tion they found that the Johnsons and Craige had so long since sold the whole of their rights to the settlers that they were barred by the statute of limitations.

"Seth Johnson, the senior partner of that firm, was born in Mid- dletown, Connecticut, Nov. 2, 1767, and died while on a visit to Hol- land Patent, Dec. 8, 1802, and was the first person buried in the burial- ground he had given for the use of settlers upon his lands.

" A few families moved upon the patent previously to 1797, having purchased of Simons. The date of the first settlement cannot be pre- cisely ascertained. One of the author's informants was of the opinion that Holland Patent was settled a little earlier than Trenton village. Of the settlers under the title of Simons, Rowland Briggs, Eliphalet Pierce, Eliphalet Cotes, Benjamin White, and a few others, who pur- chased of Simonds, repurchased of the Johnsons and Craige. Soon after the survey the proprietors (Johnson and Craige), wishing to es- tablish an actual and permanent settlement, sold one-quarter of the patent to Bezabel Fisk, Pascal C. I. De Angelis, Hezekiah Hulbert, and Isaac Hubbard, for the location of which these four drew shares, after selecting two lots each. In this way a nucleus was formed, around which gathered a hand of hardy pioneers, the descendants of whom to this day bless their memory. They encountered many hardships, and suffered from many wants and privations. Bears and wolves were also quite too plenty. One of these pioneers, Eliphalet Cotes, was at the killing of forty-nine bears. It was the uniform eus- tom when they met for public worship to take with them their gune, and on one occasion worship was adjourned that they might repair to the neighboring forest to kill one of the pests of the pig-sty,-a bear. Mrs. Kelsey, the wife of an early settler, having been to Whitestown to dispose of some of her handiwork, on her return became lost in the woods, and for the want of a more convenient sleeping apartment spent the night in the top of a tree; she climbed to a sufficient eleva- tion to save herself from being made the supper of some of the wild beasts, which had almost undisturbed possession of that section of country. She did not very highly enjoy the music of her serenaders, although they were adorned with the moustaches and whiskers so necessary to modern musical excellence, yet she comforted herself with the reflection that if she had been less fortunate in securing a place of safety she would soon have lost all power to listen to the music, harsh as it was. Daylight, however, made her persecutors retreat, and she reached home in safety."t

Of the four persons who purchased one-fourth of the Holland Patent and settled upon it in 1797, Hezekiah Hurlburt died in January, 1800, while on a visit to Con- necticut, aged fifty years; Bezabel Fisk died also in Con- necticut, aged eighty-eight years ; Pascal C. I. De Angelis died in Holland Patent in 1839, aged seventy-six years ;

Isaac Hubbard died in Ashtabula Co., O., in 1848, aged ninety-nine years.

HOBART HALL ACADEMY

was incorporated by the Legislature in 1839, and P. C. I. De Angelis was its first president. This is now used as a union school building.

A post-office was established here subsequent to 1804, previous to which date the only one in town was at Trenton village. This office was on the route from Utica to Sacket's Harbor, and weekly trips were made by a carrier on horseback. The present postmaster is Watson Williams.

The large brick building known as the " Clarendon Ho- tel" was erected in 1876 by Hamlin Williams, and cost, including furniture, $20,000. It was built principally for the accommodation of summer boarders.

The village contains 2 hotels, a nnion school, 5 churches, 5 stores, a wagon-shop, several blacksmith-shops, and a post-office.

STITTVILLE

is a small village in the southwest corner of town, con- taining 2 stores, a post-office, blacksmith- and wagon-shop, 1 shoe-shop, 1 harness-shop, an old tannery (not now in operation), a cider-mill, a large cheese-factory, owned by A. G. Bagg, a Methodist Episcopal Church, and a knitting- factory, established in the spring of 1878, by John S. Maxwell, employing about 35 hands.

The post-office at Stittville was established about 1851-52, and William Graut was appointed the first postmaster. The present incumbent of the office is F. C. Mizer.

VILLAGE OF PROSPECT.

This enterprising village is located in the northeast part of town, on the West Canada Creek, at the upper or " Prospect Fall." Colonel Adam G. Mappa was with the surveying-party which laid out the village, and while stand- ing on the brow of the hill above the basin and looking eastward across the creek valley and upon the varied scenery, exclaimed, " What a beautiful prospect ! I pro- pose we call this place Prospect," and so the name was given it. Truly is the location beautiful. " Prospect Fall," the first of the Trenton falls, is about 24 feet high, and extends in semicircular form across the stream, here quite broad. In high water the darkly-rushing torrent pours in an unbroken sheet over the wall of rock, and roars and foams on into the narrow gorge below and towards the more majestic cataracts farther down the stream.

The first store in the village was opened by George Watkins and John Owens, in the brown building now used as a dwelling, and standing near the old hotel under the hill ; this was in 1823. Before establishing himself in the mercantile business, Mr. Watkins had taught school in the village. His father, Phineas Watkins, was an early settler of the town, locating near what is called " Birch Ridge." The Watkins family was from Berkshire Co., Mass., and settled first at Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., removing afterwards to Trentou.

The school-house in which Mr. Watkins taught was a frame building, with a wide fireplace, and stood on what is known as the Jenkins property, now owned by James Roberts. Mr. Watkins was among the earliest teachers in

* Jones' Annals.

t Jones;

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

this building, which was erected soon after a saw-mill had been built on West Canada Creek.

A saw-mill was built on the Herkimer side of the creek by John G. Squires, and another on the Oneida side,-the latter owned for many years by George Watkins, who was the proprietor of a considerable amount of land along the creek. After dissolving partnership with Owens, in 1830, Mr. Watkins moved upon the hill in the village, where his widow now resides, and lived there until his death, Feb. 21, 1871. He did much towards building up the place, and was one of its prominent citizens.

The oldest resident in the village is Smith Crosby. He was born in July, 1803, on the farm settled by his father, Judah Crosby, about a mile north of the place. The elder Crosby died when the son was but a small boy. He was of English descent, and, with two of his brothers, settled very early in this part of the State. The union church at Prospect was built by Smith Crosby.

The grist-mill on the creek at Prospect was built by George Watkins, after his saw-mill was in operation. It at present contains three runs of stone, and does a good custom business. It is now the property of William Griffith, who also owns the tannery near by, built by Mr. Watkins about 1845. The latter building has been remodeled and enlarged, and furnishes work for five hands besides Mr. Griffith and his son. Water-power is used exclusively, except for heating the tannery, where steam is used. The business of the tanDery amounts annually to $50,000 or $60,000, and that of the grist-mill, which manufactures large quantities of feed, from $12,000 to $13,000.

The Prospect post-office was established as early, proba- bly, as 1815-20 (?), and the mail was carried on horseback between here and Remsen. The present postmaster is G. Wheldon.

"Union Hall," the large hotel in the upper part of the village, was built by Clark Hoyt about 1825, and is at present owned by William P. Dodge. A large hall is con- nected with it, for the accommodation of dancing-parties and audiences to various lectures, concerts, etc. During the summer season the hotel is filled with guests, who come to this locality to spend a few months in pleasurable recre- ation. " Mine host" and his well-kept house are deservedly popular with the traveling public.

"Goshen Hall," formerly well known as " McMaster's Hotel," is located in the lower part of the village, and was built probably by Porter Davis, at an early period in the settlement of the town. It was at one time a great resort for teamsters and travelers, but in later years the custom has been transferred principally to the " Union Hall."

The Prospect Band was organized July 24, 1871, with eight members; has at present twelve pieces of the Slater manufacture, and is an excellent band, considering the time it has been in practice. Its leader is Julius A. Farley.

John T. Thomas Post, No. 39, G. A. R., was chartered May 3, 1875, with 22 members, the person for whom it was named having been killed in the service. Sixteen persons who enlisted from Prospect are now deceased, the majority of them dying or being killed while in service. The room occupied by the Post is in the upper story of the building owned by G. B. and George R. Farley, and

was furnished by the Post. The officers for 1878 are the following persons, viz. : Commander, A. B. Smith ; Senior Vice-Commander, J. G. Burney ; Junior Vice-Commander, G. W. Laraway; Quartermaster, M. Boh; Surgeon, Dr. George Morey ; Chaplain, C. P. Lounsbury ; Oficer of the Day, A. E. Jones ; Officer of the Guard, G. W. Fay ; Sen- tinel, John Santmire; Adjutant, George R. Farley ; Quar- termaster-Sergeant, Ed. Jones; S. M., H. Lamb. The membership was 18 on the 1st of March, 1878.

Rescue Lodge, No. 475, I. O. G. T., also uses the hall for meetings. This Lodge was chartered Jan. 25, 1877, with 26 members, and is at present in a flourishing condi- tion, with a membership of about 60.

There were on the 1st of March, 1878, in Prospect vil- lage, seven stores, two hotels, a two-story frame school build- ing, four blacksmith-shops, one wagon-shop, two cooper- shops, two shoe-shops, a tannery, a grist-mill, a post-office, a Post G. A. R., a Lodge I. O. G. T., a marble-shop, three stone-quarries, doing a large business (one, owned by Thomas & Jones, furnishing stone for the government building at Utica ; one worked by William Perkins; and the other by Callahan, of Utica), and a population of about 350. -

GANG MILLS

is a small village on West Canada Creek, partly in the north- east corner of the town of Trenton, but principally in Her- kimer County. A saw-mill was built here as early as 1810-12 by a man named Corp. An extensive saw-mill was built here about 1850, and is now the property of Messrs. Hinckley & Ballou. It has been greatly enlarged, and has a capacity for sawing five to six million feet annu- ually. Lath, joists, broom-handles, etc., are manufactured. The water-power is one of the best in the State. These mills give employment, in the forest and at the mills, to a large number of men, and in prosperous times of business furnish comfortable support to nearly one thousand persons, including the employees and those depending on them.

In the Oneida County portion of the village there are a store, a blacksmith-shop, a wagon-shop, and a large hotel. On the Herkimer side are the post-office, established about 1873 (W. H. Stanton, postmaster), a store, a large planing- mill, and a broom-handle factory.

SOUTH TRENTON.

This village is located in the southeast part of the town. Mention has already been made of Cheney Garrett and others who located here early, and the following items were furnished by Mr. Garrett's son, John P. Garrett, now re- siding at the village.

Chevey Garrett was from New Haven Co., Conn., and purchased 104 acres and some perches of land from the Holland Land Company, npon which most of the village of South Trenton now stands, the deed having been made July 18, 1796. John P. Garrett's residence is upon a por- tion of it. Cheney Garrett came to Utica in 1794, and worked there at the carpenter's trade for two years, after which (1796) he removed to South Trenton. He first built a log house, in which he lived five years, and in 1801 erccted the house now occupied by his son. In this latter building he kept public-house for twenty years or more, it

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

being the first tavern in the place; he had also kept trav- elers in his log house. Mr. Garrett was the first settler in this locality, and died in 1845. His father, John Garrett, came to the town about 1798-1800, and his house was built in 1801. He was a school-teacher, and taught here until he was nearly eighty years of age.

The first store at South Trenton was a small establish- ment kept by Hugh Williams, from Liverpool, England. The building he occupied was purchased of Cheney Gar- rett. The latter built a saw-mill on Nine-Mile Creek as early as 1796. A grist-mill was built on the same stream within recent years, but has been destroyed by fire. There have also been a mill for cleaning clover, a flax-mill, and a peppermint-still, the latter owned by Origen Perkins, who was afterwards killed in California. A brick-yard was established about 1837 by H. W. and J. P. Garrett (the former still owning it), and Cheney Garrett made brick very early about three-fourths of a mile above the village.

South Trenton post-office was originally established some three miles south of the village, on the old Utica road ; but the one at the village was established about 1832-33, with Daniel Schermerhorn as first postmaster, and the old office was discontinued. The present official is W. P. Jones.

South Trenton contained in the spring of 1878 one store, one blacksmith-shop, one harness- and shoe-shop, one hotel, one wagon-shop, a fine two-story frame school-house, built in 1877, a brick-yard, a church, and a post-office. Nine-Mile Creek flows through the village.

The Summit House, midway between the villages of Trenton Falls and Prospect, was built in 1871, and opened as a resort for summer boarders in the spring of 1872. It is a fine brick building, and during the hot season is filled with tourists and pleasure-seekers, many being turned away from lack of accommodations. William Perkins, the pro- prietor, is a grandson of George Perkins, who came to the town about 1808, from Enfield, Conn., and occupied the farm where William Perkins now lives. His son, Elam Perkins, lived on a portion of the homestead originally taken up by the elder Perkins; and another son, Daniel, owned that part on which the " Summit House" now stands. Elam Perkins died in 1866, aged sixty-six years. Some of the boys were soldiers in the war of 1812. Mr. Perkins' farm extends to the West Canada Creek, and borders upon it, where the scenery is wild and picturesque enough to suit any taste. About a mile in distance along the stream has here been made accessible, and in visiting the far-famed cataracts no one will miss the delicious treat in store for him at the rear of the " Summit House," while the genial proprietor of this house, with his amiable and pleasant wife, may be commended to the public, or that portion of it which has as yet not made their acquaintance. Those who have stopped with them once will go again, and the same may be said of the various places for the entertain- ment of guests along this magnificent stream.

TRENTON FALLS.

This pleasant hamlet is cosily nestled among the hills at the foot of the gorge in which are located the cataracts so well known to the inhabitants of this and other lands. A grist-mill was built here about 1822 by Henry Conradt,

who lived in a small log house north of the mill ; the latter is now the property of William M. Morgan. There is also a small saw-mill, built several years before the grist-mill.

The first store was probably opened by Romeo W. Marshall, about 1820. It is yet standing near the mill. A brick-yard was worked at an early date, and brick were made in it for chimneys when the neighborhood was first settled. As early as 1826-28, and possibly earlier, a post- office was established here, and Romeo W. Marshall was probably the first postmaster; the present incumbent is Michael Moore, Sr.

It is related that about 1808 the families of Colonel Mappa and others held a Fourth-of-July picnic on a large flat rock above the High Falls, which was at that time a spot very difficult of access.

In Mr. Seymour's address mention is made of Trenton Falls and the way they were brought into notice. From a small volume on this locality, published in 1851 origi- nally, and edited by N. P. Willis, containing Rev. John Sherman's description, a few items are taken :

John Sherman was a grandson of Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; he graduated at Yale College in 1793, and settled in Mans- field, Conn., where he was ordained a Congregational min- ister. He resigned his charge there about 1805, having preached doctrines " rather too liberal to suit the minds of a small part of his flock," and about that time received an invitation from Colonel Mappa and Judge Van der Kemp, who, with their families, had formed a small Unitarian society at Olden Barneveld, to visit the place, which he did, staying several weeks, and preaching to them. While here, he made his first visit to the Falls, called by the In- dians Kauy-a-hoo-ra,* or " leaping water." Mr. Sherman was struck with the beauty and wildness of the spot, and remarked "that it must eventually become one of the great features of our continent." He returned to his home at Mansfield, and soon after accepted a pressing invitation from the society at Olden Barneveld, and March 9, 1806, was installed pastor of the first Unitarian church in the State of New York. He subsequently established an aca- demy near the village (Olden Barneveld, now Trenton), "which was soon in a flourishing condition, and over which he presided for many years with high scholarship and ability; and in 1822 (still clinging to his old reminiscences) caused a house to be built at the Falls for the accommodation of visitors, which he called the ' Rural Resort,' the entire re- ceipts of which, for the first season, amounted to $187.35. In 1823 he removed thither with his family, and in 1825 a large addition was made to the conveniences of the place, -- Philip Hone, of the city of New York, his personal friend, furnishing a loan for that purpose." The first visitors who slept in that house were Philip Hone and Dominick Lynch. Mr. Sherman passed his remaining years at the " Rural Re- sort," and made many improvements in the pathway to the Falls. He died Aug. 2, 1828, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, and at his special request was buried "on the

* The authority is unknown for this statement, which is so com- monly made, as the name in the Oneida dialect is Date-wa'-eunt- ha'-go, meaning " Great Falls."

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

grounds he so much loved, within the sound of the loud anthem of the raging Kauy-a-hoo-ra, and in the view of the ' hostelrie' he had founded. The traveler, casting his eye to the northward of the hotel, may observe on the summit of a conical hill an inclosed space beautifully shaded : there rests what remains, earthly, of John Sherman."

The present proprietor of the hotel at the Falls is Michael Moore, Sr., whose wife is a daughter of Rev. John Sher- man. Mr. Moore enlarged the hotel, and has spent large sums of money in arranging it and the grounds for the comfort and convenience of his guests. He has built and cut numerous stairways and constructed foot-paths along the gorge, in order that people may safely view the beauties and wonders of Nature, which present themselves for in- spection along this famous stream.

The rock is the Trenton limestone, and from it have been secured many fine geological specimens, whose age dates back to the Lower Silurian days, before the advent of man upon the earth. This rock is made up of millions upon millions of specimens of the older animal formations upon the globe, and for the best ones as high as $75 have been paid by seekers after evidences of Nature's wondrous trans- formations. Mr. Moore has an excellent cabinet of these specimens. From the 1st of June of each year the hotel is filled with guests, and many picnic-parties find ample facilities in the neighborhood for enjoying themselves to the utmost. Among the celebrities who have visited the Falls are Baron de Trobriand, the poet Channing, Bishop Hobart, De Witt Clinton, John Quincy Adams, Chancellor Kent, Judge Story, Dr. Samuel Mitchell, Edmund Kcan, Joseph Bonaparte, and many others.

Mr. Sherman, in his description of the Falls, written in 1827, says they are in latitude 43º 23', and 14 miles north of Utica. On the summit-elevation between West Canada Creek and Black River the distance between these streams is only three-fourths of a mile. To Mr. Sherman's descrip- tion many notes were added by N. P. Willis, and the various accounts and views of the Falls are in number legion. The stream contains a considerable number of the brook-trout in some localities.

Beginning at the " Prospect Fall," twenty-four feet high, the spectator proceeds down the stream a short distance, and finds his pathway suddenly obstructed by a huge wall of rugged rock, just above the fine iron bridge which here spans the creek, and which wall he must climb over or go around. From this point the stream becomes very narrow, and up from the winding gorge comes the roar of the darkly rushing waters, heaving aud foaming in their mad career, and no place of descent is found until we have reached the stairway in the rear of the " Summit House," where a small building has been erected for the accommodation of tourists seeking refreshments. Descending to the narrow ledge at the bottom of the gorge, and proceeding onward between the huge rocky walls, the locality is ere long reached which is known as the " Rocky Heart," from its resemblance to the figure of a heart on cards. All along the gorge is a seething rapid, and at its outlet is the magnificent " Cascade of the Alhambra." Here the waters seem to have concen- trated their powers in one mighty effort, and burst through the rocky barrier to find peace beyond. After the last vio-

lent struggle they spread themselves in a placid basin, upon whose bosom only the flecks of pure white foam give evi- dence of the turmoil above. This basin is surrounded by giant walls, adown whose steep sides, in early spring, tumble great masses of rocky débris, loosened by frost, endangering the adventurous explorer, and upon whose lofty summits are aged, gnarly hemlocks and cedars, their foliage contrast- ing darkly with the blue sky above. Below this broad space the walls again approach each other, and at some dis- tance is reached the " Mill-Dam Fall," fourteen feet high, and extending in an unbroken sheet across the stream ; it was named from the fact that a saw-mill was at one time built at its eastern end, the timbers of which may yet be seen. Below this fall the scenery becomes more and more imposing; the rush of the amber waters, the frowning walls of rock, crowned with dark forest-trees, the roar of the cat- aracts, and the clouds of mist transport the beholder into almost another world, with which and the world above there seems no connection. Now the mind is thoroughly awakened to the expectant glories beyond, and the feet instinctively move more rapidly onward, for at a short distance only is seen the parapet of another fall, of greater magnitude than any yet witnessed. We pass quickly the intervening dis- tance. We stand on the verge of the precipice, at the base of a tremendous cliff, and our souls are filled with awe at the stupendousness of Nature's wonders. Here is the " High Fall." Ah, what a concentration of beauties ! The foliage upon the overhanging trees seems to sway in unison with the music of the waters, and the breezes of heaven pause for a song above the heaving abyss, kissing the leaves of the forest as they pass, and paying tribute to this most glorious of waterfalls, in point of solemn grandeur and striking beauty, in the land ! In the centre of the fall a huge rock divides the waters, and rushing swiftly on either side, they plunge into the depths, more than forty feet below, and send up columns of dancing spray to greet the beholder and tell of their union with those already over. But a few rods farther the adventure is again attempted, and a second plunge of forty feet is accomplished, with a proportionate amount of noise and foam. Passing dowo the stairs at the upper part of the High Fall, and reaching the rocky ledge below, we proceed still on, the cliffs rising higher and higher above us, around a jutting point and underneath an overhanging shelf of rock, holding to a chain fastened with staples to the wall to prevent slipping into the dashing torrent, and at the distance of forty rods reaching the mag- nificently beautiful cataract known as the " Sherman Fall." Here the parapet-wall has been worn backward in one place a distance of several feet, and the volume of water becomes contracted, and pours down the narrow opening with a thun- derous sound, and rushes madly ou through the awful gorge, whirling and seething past the rocky battlements, and dis- appearing from the observer's gaze around a curve, to expend its fury finally at the " Village Fall," beyond the narrower channel, where the valley expands and the hills recede to the right and left, as if at last despairing of caging the foaming stream, and giving up the struggle without further effort. From here the river becomes smooth and placid, and in its further windings nothing can be traced of the fury of the conflict its waters have passed through.

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History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 153

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 920

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920