History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 29

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840

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* Clark's Onondaga.

18*

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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK

lot where the front door of the hotel now opens on Salina street. This lot was used as a pasture till 1820.

So dense was the forest about Syracuse in 1819, that two young ladies, the present Mis. E. W. Leavenworth and Mrs. M. D. Burnet, in taking a morning stroll over Prospect Ilill, became bewild- cred among the thick brushwood and lost their way. They rambled about till the day was far spent, and strength and courage almost exhausted, with noth- ing before them but the dreary prospect of being obliged to pass the night in the wilderness. At length, late in the afternoon, they found themselves in the vicinity of the Lodi Locks, where they recognized familiar ground and were able to make their way home in safety.

THE SITE OF SYRACUSE RENDERED HEALTHY.

We have spoken of the unhealthfulness of Syra- cuse in the early stage of its history. It was so very sickly during a considerable portion of the year that probably it never could have been per- manently settled had not the foresight and sagacity of Judge Forman prompted him to take measures to secure the draining of the swamp and marshes. An instance illustrative of the sickness of the place is related of a Mr. Merrill who built a small frame house in the vicinity of Mr. Bogardus' hotel about the year the latter building was erected, but there was so much sickness in the neighborhood that he became discouraged and pulling down his house moved it away. During the building of the Erie Canal, from 1817 to 1820, the prevail- ing fever was very fatal. Dr. Basset, was the physician and did a vast amount of medical busi- ness among the sufferers on the works, nearly all of whom were sick with malarial diseases peculiar to the locality. The site of the village at that time has been described as a " dreary waste of swamp, approached only by means of 'corduroy' and 'gridiron' roads. All along where is now lo- cated the beautiful Fayette Park, was then a famous shooting ground for partridges and rabbits, and in the lower places were plenty of mud turtles and swamp rattlesnakes. In the spring the water did not usually subside sufficiently to allow people to pass with any degree of comfort till May or June, and those going from Onondaga to Salina were obliged to pass round on the high grounds east of Syracuse. over by-roads which were cut in every direction through the Reservation for the purpose of collecting wood in winter for the salt works. A person passing over the present im- proved streets and solid highways leading in and out of the flourishing city which has taken the

place of the dreary swamp of those days, can form no just conception of the impassable condition in which the roads then were in the spring and fall. In fact the only time when they were endurable was in the winter when they were perfectly frozen and covered with a good body of snow.".

Such was the state of things amidst which Judge Forman and his associates laid the foundations of Syracuse It was no casy task to build a city in a swamp such as Syracuse then was. Indeed, it was no less a herculean undertaking than the building of Chicago in a sunken mud prairie on the shore of Lake Michigan. Both, however, have been suc- cessfully accomplished, and furnish an illustration of what human energy and enterprise can accomplish in the face of obstacles apparently insurmountable.

To the foreseeing mind of Judge Forman it was clear that something must be done to improve the health of the place, or his plans would fail. Ac- cordingly, in the winter of 1821-2, he procured the passage of a law, in connection with an act author- izing the lowering of Onondaga Outlet, by which the Commissioners of the Land Office were to draw a map of the swamp and marsh about the villages of Salina and Syracuse, on which was to be desig- nated the route of several ditches and drains through the swamp and marsh lands, with an accompanying estimate of the sum necessary to be raised to effect that object. The Judges of the County Courts were authorized to appoint three discreet free-hold- ers of the County, who should assess the amount of money necessary to be raised on the owners of the lands contiguous to the drains, in proportion as they were supposed to be benefited by the same. In case of the non-payment of any assessment, the lands after being advertised four weeks, could be sold for payment, and if not redeemed within six months, with ten per cent interest and cost, the sale was made absolute and unchangeable. The law allowed the citizens to construct their own ditches on their own lands, according to rules prescribed by the Commissioners and the plan laid down on the map. In case they would not, the Commissioners were authorized to build them and charge the own- ers with the cost of construction and collection.

This law was considered at the time highly arbitrary, but it was the only feasible method by which the lands could be drained and the locality rendered healthy. The great advantages resulting from the improvement, soon reconciled all parties to the means employed. This has since been regarded by thousands who have enjoyed its benefits as the wisest and most beneficent measure ever adopted in

* Clark's Onondaga.

RESIDENCE OF PATRICK LYNCH, JAMES STREET, SYRACUSE, N.Y.

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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

connection with Syracuse. The effect is thus de- scribed by Mr. Clark : "In the summer of 1822, the lands were brought under subjection by drain- ing, the place assumed an air of healthfulness, disease and sickness kept at a distance, a marked difference was manifest at once, confidence was placed in the future, and the past was quickly for- gotten. Since the draining of these lands they have been as healthy as any in the country."

Judge Forman has justly been esteemed the founder of the village of Syracuse. After an ab- sence of five years, he returned on a visit to the city in 1831, and was everywhere received with de- monstrations of joy and respect. Every voice cheered him as the founder of a city and the bene- factor of mankind. The citizens of Syracuse through their committee, consisting of Stephen Smith, Harvey Baldwin, Amos P. Granger, L. H. Redfield, Henry Newton, John Wilkinson and Moses D. Burnet, availed themselves of the oppor- tunity to present to him a tribute of the high respect and esteem entertained for his talents and character, and in consideration of his devotion to their interests in the early settlement of the village. The plate, an elegant silver pitcher, bore the inscription : " A Tribute of Respect, Presented by the Citizens of Syracuse to the Honorable Joshua Forman, Founder of that Village." On the opposite side was a device representing the friendship of the city, of two hands united in fraternal grasp ; above this the word "SYRACUSE," and below, the date "1831."

EARLY MERCHANTS.

Sidney Dole and Milan C. Taylor, the owners and occupants of the mill, in 1814, opened the first store of general merchandise. Their store was next west of that afterwards kept by William Malcolm. The firm of Northrup & Dexter, who had a con- tract on the Erie Canal in 1817, were the success- ors of Messrs. Dole & Taylor, and continued in business till 1821. In that year General Amos P. Granger came down from Onondaga Hill and established himself as a dry goods merchant on the site of the present Syracuse Savings Bank Build- ing. At this time there was no other store in Syra- cuse, except two or three small groceries. From this time for two or three years merchants multi- plied rapidly. Mr. Henry Newton opened a store in 1822 ; Archy Kasson, hardware, 1822 ; Kasson & Hermans, dry goods, groceries and hardware, 1823 ; G. M. Towle, commission and forwarding, April, 1823; George Davis & Co., general mer- chandise, July, 1823 ; Henry W. Durnford, gro- ceries, drugs and medicines, 1823 ; John Rogers &

Co., (from New York,) November, 1823 ; William Malcolm, 1823 ; Haskell & Walbridge, saddlers and furnishers for the trade, 1824 ; J. Vanderheyden, Mead & Davis, A. N. VanPatten, and H. & W. Dowd, 1824; Hiram Judson, watchmaker and jeweler, 1824; H. Hyde & Co., forwarding mer- chants, 1824. These are the principal pioneer merchants who established business in the village of Syracuse prior to the completion of the Erie Canal. Since this important era merchants have become so numerous that it would be impossible to follow them in detail.

THE EMPIRE BLOCK.

The hotel built by Bogardus was for many years called the " Mansion House." In 1845, the old patched up establishment, with its outbuildings, was torn away to make room for the present Empire Block. This block was finished in 1847, by John H. Tomlinson and Stephen W. Caldwell, of Syra- cuse and John Thomas, of Albany. On its comple- tion Mr. Tomlinson became sole owner. Mr. Tom- linson was killed by a railroad accident at Little Falls in 1848. The block was then sold at auction, and after several changes became the property of Colonel James L. Voorhees, in 1850.

THE SYRACUSE HOUSE.

The lot on which the Syracuse House stands was purchased by Messrs. Buell & Safford, who began the erection of the " Syracuse Hotel" about 1820. While the building was in progress Mr. Safford was killed by a fall from a scaffold. The property then passed into the hands of Mr. Eckford, who com- pleted the hotel in 1822. It was three stories high, and the first brick building of any considerable dimensions erected in the village. For several years it was kept by Mr. James Mann. After the Syra- cuse Company came into possession of the premises, the house was rebuilt, and has since been enlarged and improved to its present ample dimensions and style. At the time of the rebuilding it was named the " Syracuse House," after which it was kept by Mr. George Rust, then by Daniel Comstock and H. T. Gibson, then for a long time by P. N. Rust, Esq., who was succeeded by Gilbert & Knickerbocker in 1848.

Townsend Block was erected in 1842; Market (now City) Hall in 1845 ; Granger Block in 1844, burned in 1849, rebuilt in 1866; Globe Building in 1846-'47 ; Malcolm Block, in 1847 ; Bastable Block in 1849, rebuilt in 1863-'64; Corinthian Block in 1853.

Wieting Block and Hall were erected and finished in 1849-'50. On the 5th of January, 1856, one of

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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the coldest days during the winter, this block was burned to the ground. Dr. Wieting at once took measures for its reerection, and soon completed a larger and more elegant block. The new hall was dedicated on the 9th of December, 1856, eleven months after the destruction of the former build- ing.

FIRST POSTOFFICE

The first Postoffice in the village was established in February, 1820; John Wilkinson, Esq, Post- master. It is said that Mr. Wilkinson used to carry the mail in his hat and deliver it to parties whom he met about the village. For some time the office was kept in General Granger's store, when, for greater convenience, it was deemed advisable to move it to John Durnford's printing office. Mr. Durnford at first objected on account of lack of room, but when he found that Mr. Wilkinson had brought the whole contents of the office, mail matter, boxes, letter boxes, &c., on his shoulder, without the ne- cessity of returning for another load, he waived his objection, and the postoffice was fairly installed in the office of the first newspaper in Syracuse.

SALI. OF STATE LANDS.

In 1822 a considerable portion of the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation was sold under the direc- tion of the Surveyor-General. It was parceled out into small lots and sold to individuals. Several of these lots were taken by Messrs. Kellogg & Sabin, and eventually passed into the hands of the Syra- cuse Company A large portion of the present site of the city, now covered with costly buildings, was included in these sales, the land being pur- chased for mere nominal prices. Such were the lots on James street on which now stand stately mansions-probably the finest residence avenue in the city-together with a large tract including the old cemetery. These brought at the sale from eighteen to thirty dollars an acre. The lands east of Fayette Park sold for six dollars an acre.

General Granger took several lots in the swamp near Lodi, between the canal and turnpike, at ten dollars and fifty cents an acre. Citizens agreed not to bid against him on condition that he would clear the land immediately. This was done at great expense the same season and put into a crop of wheat. Most of this ground is now covered with fine buildings.

In 1828 there was another sale of State lands, embracing the lots in the vicinity of the old Court House, and on other portions of the Reservation.

FIRST PACKET-BOAT AT SYRACUSE.

The first packet-boat on the canal was named

the " Montezuma."

It arrived at Syracuse on the 2Ist of April, 1820. This boat was built and fitted up by a company of gentlemen at Montezuma from a model furnished by Col. Comfort Tyler. It was seventy-six feet long and fourteen feet wide. Its arrival created great excitement. Hundreds of anxious spectators lined the banks of the canal to witness the wonder, and this practical illustration of the benefits of the canal was not without its in- fluence. It hushed the hostility of opponents of the enterprise and strengthened the more timid ; visionary theories yielded to simple fact, and wild speculation to tests of experiment. The canal was now navigable from Montezuma to Utica, ninety- four miles, and at once business received a new and vigorous impulse.

INDEPENDENCE DAY-1820.

" The 4th of July, 1820," was a glorious day for Syracuse. The canal was in practical operation, the prospects of the future city began to brighten ; a most brilliant day dawned upon a land heretofore a swamp and bog. It was hailed as a day of joy, festivity and rejoicing. Invitations had been ex- tended to the friends of the canal throughout the State, particularly in the Western District. Thousands of guests from the surrounding counties came to witness the novelty of canal navigation, and to celebrate the day. Some of the most dis- tinguished men in the State were present, among whom were Governor Clinton and suite, General VanCortland, Myron Holley, Thomas J. Oakley and John C. Spencer. Judge VanNess adjourned the Circuit Court then in session at the Court House, and the Court and Bar attended in a body. Thaddeus M Wood, Esq , presided on the occasion. The declaration was read by N. P. Randall, Esq .. and the oration delivered by Samuel Miles Hopkins, Esq., to more than two thousand people. The numerous procession was formed in front of Mr. Cossit's tavern, escorted by the Salina band. They proceeded to the pine grove directly in the rear of the Townsend Block. The platform upon which were seated the orator, the reader and distinguished guests, was under a large spreading pine, which has long ago bowed its towering head to make way for the rapid and substantial improvements which have since been made. This was the first celebration of our national independence at Syracuse, and those who were present number it among her proudest days."

JAMES STREET IN 1824.

In 1824 James street was only an Indian trail * : Clark's Onondaga, p. 98.

AP Grunn

GEN. AMOS P. GRANGER was born in Suffield, Hartford Co., Conn., 1789. He removed to Manlius, Onondaga County, in 1811, and entered upon mercantile pursuits at that place. About 1820 he removed to the village of Syracuse, and became one of the first residents, and one of the most active promoters of the busi- ness interests of the place. For a number of years subsequent to his removal to Syracuse he was a merchant, his store standing on the ground occupied by the Syracuse Savings Bank. He carly invested largely in real estate, the rise in the value of which made him one of its wealthiest citizens.

The first election of officers of the village of Syracuse occurred on March 3, 1825, and Joshua Forman was chosen president, with Amos P. Granger, Moses D. Burnet, Herman Waldridge, and John Rogers as trustees. In the War of 1812, General Granger raised a company of militia, and proceeded to Sacket's Harbor. He continued in the militia service after the war, rising through successive gradations to the rank of general, which was his distinguishing title through life. He was often honored with positions of trust by the citizens of Syracuse. One very marked in- stance of this was his selection to deliver the reception address on the memorable occasion of Gen. Lafayette's visit to Syracuse, in 1825.

General Granger was always an active, energetic, and enthusi- astic politician. He was a member of the Whig party, and was among the very first in the country to protest against the aggressions of the slave power, and to divine that a new organization of ex- isting parties must take place before they could be successfully resisted.

Elected a delegate from Onondaga County to the anti-Nebraska convention held at Auburn, in October, 1853, of his own volition he offered the following resolution :

Resolved, That the Baltimore platforms adopted by tho Democratic and Whig national conventions, without anthority, and in direct violation of the sentiments of a vast majority of this State, we, Whigs and Democrats, hereby repudiate for the past, the present, and the future.

This and three other resolutions offered by General Granger were unanimously adopted by the convention, and formed the basis on which was afterwards erected the Republican party of this State, if not of the nation To General Granger, as much as to any other one man, the Republican organization owes its existence.

Shortly after his return from Auburn he was elected by the liberal Whigs of this district to the Thirty-fourth Congress. He was an active and useful member. His voice and vote was always on the right side. He was an effective speaker.

If lack of early education had deprived his phrases of scholastic finish, it could not divest them of a sharp incisive power, which is oftentimes more effective than polished oratory. One incident characteristic of his courage and self-reliance to meet opposition in other ways than by reason and force of words is related. A Virginia bully, a congressman, attacked him in a public convey- ance in Washington. The attack was made by a young and vigorous man upon one much advanced in years ; but his years did not diminish the ardor of the general, who, strong in his principles of freedom, offered to " waive his age," and try physical results with a scion of Virginia chivalry.

Since 1858, General Granger occupied no official position, but was strong in his advocacy of true political ideas. Through the war he was an enthusiastic and outspoken advocate of the Union cause. During the campaign of 1864, though suffering from paralysis, he attended the Union meetings, that he might show by his presence the feelings of his heart. General Granger was for half a century a consistent member of the Protestant Episcopal church. There was no layman so well read as he in the history of that church. Upon coming to Syracuse he was, in 1826, one of the first to organize a parish there, and attempt the erection of a small wooden church, he being at the time of its completion, as he often related, " the only solvent man in the congregation, and himself with only a dollar or two in advance." General Granger was among the first vestrymen, and was warden of the same for over thirty-five years.

In the year 1813 he married Miss Charlotte, daughter of Benja- min Hickcox and Huldah Holmes, of East Haddam, Conn. She was born in Hampshire Co., Mass., in the year 1790, and has survived her husband some eleven years, being now in her eighty-eighth year, possessing at that age an active mind and great energy of body. She united with the Episcopal church as early as 1825, and has been a consistent member of the same for some fifty-three years.

General Granger died Aug. 20, 1866.

Photo, by Bunta & Curtis, Syracuse.

Pulley Howlett

The subject of this sketch was born in the town of Shafts- bury, Vt., June 1, 178t. He was second son, in a family of five sons and three daughters, of Parley Howlett and Barsheba Parker, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter a native of Connecticut.

The family of Howlett is descended from Parley Howlett, one of three brothers ( the other two named William and John ) who emigrated from England in the ship " Mayflower," and landed at Plymouth Rock, 1620.

His father came to Onondaga County with his family, and settled in the town of Onondaga, in the year 1797, an one of the hills of that town now bearing his name, purchased land, and was one of the pioneers of this county, and died in 1803.

Parley spent his minority clearing land and farming, receiving a very limited education from books ; but in early life he be- vaine so inured to self reliance and habits of industry as to make his subsequent years a worthy record in the history of Onon- daga County.

At the age of twenty-three years he purchased one hundred acres of land, and began clearing the same. To this purchase, in ISI1, he added some two hundred acres more, very nearly the whole of which he caused to be cleared, and, after the salt in- terest began, be caused the timber to be cut into wood, hauled the wood to Geddes, and used it in the manufacture of salt. He early engaged in the salt business : first using eight kettle-blocks. afterwards using sixteen, and subsequently thirty-two kettle- blocks. He was the first man who shipped salt west, boating it down the Oswego river, thence by the lake, drawing it with teams around the falls; found a market first at Silver Creek, afterwards Eric, Pa., and Ashtabula, Ohio, and subsequently at Cleveland ; exchanging his salt for horses and cattle, he drove them back to this county. After two years he killed his cattle and packed the meat for the castern market. After the canal was finished he packed his meat in Syracuse, his packing-house being located opposite the present way-locks in the city. He shipped the first beef and pork in barrels, by the Erie canal, that was sent east from Onondaga County.

The history of Mr. Howlett's operations west goes back so far in the early settlement of the country he passed through with his stock in returning home, that he related passing through twenty-five miles of woodland, by marked trees, from one clearing to another. His whole life was spent in active business until within a few years of his death. He lived and died on the farm he had purchased in 1807. He was liberal in his views of edu- cational interests, and gave largely for the support of the same.

In polities he was identified with the Anti-Masonic party, with the Whig party, and upon the formation of the Republican party became a warin supporter of its principles; and so opposed was he to the principles of slavery that, upon the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1860, that question seemed to occupy his whole attention, and he desired that the war should never be ended until that institution was abolished, but he ouly lived until May 18, 1861, just at the beginning of the war.

In the year 1805, July 21, he married Miss Phebe Robbins, a native of Connecticut, but of this county at the time of the marriage. To them were born cleven children : Solomon R., Horatio G., Myron P., Latitia E., Jane M., Parley Ja, Alfred A., Celestia S., Daniel, Francis (', and Jerome Howlett, six of whom are now living ; and Alfred A. desires by this sketch and portrait above to place upon the pages of history a few facts re- lating to one of Onondaga's pioneer active business men.

Parley Howlett was no ordinary person. He was a man of quick apprehension and strong convictions, frank and fearless in their expression, and energetic in carrying them out. He possessed strong common sense in great abundance, uncommon sagacity in business. Was sanguine in his temperament, and hopeful; ready to meet and strong to overcome the difficulties in the way of self-made men, and admirably fitted by the possession of these qualities to fight the battles of a pioneer life. He was a good neighbor and a warm friend. He commanded the respect of his fellow.citizens, and was three times a candidate of the old Whig party for the office of high sheriff of the county ; he failed not for the want of personal popularity, but only because the Dem- vratie party in those early days was largely in the ascendency.

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leading over the hills to what was then Foote Settle- ment, now the first gate on the plank road. The eye of the lonely wayfarer on that trail was not gladdened by the sight of the lordly and palatial residences which now give so grand and aristocratic an appearance to this fine avenue. The only object on this trail was the dwelling house of Major Burnet erected that year by Rodney Sargents, of Auburn; this house stood on a slight eminence occupied by the late residence of Major Burnet. It fronted towards the south and had a sort of tem- porary road leading directly to the tow-path on the Erie Canal. The house then stood far out of town and the only avenue of approach for teams was by the tow-path and the private road. Persons on foot could reach it by taking the trail and beat- ing across through the underbrush.

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History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 29

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 840

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840