History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 68

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > New York > Orange County > History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 68

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

no realization of the pictures on the walls of his memory.

For the beauty of its private residences the city had not a high reputation fifty years ago, though per- haps its standard was quite up to the requirements of the age. The Ruggles house, in Washington Place, and the residences adjoining on the north, were, when erected, regarded as the most elegant, and views from the former found their way into the sketch-books of the times. Then came the Storms house (late Edward R. Johnes, south of the iron- works), and the residences of William Roe and David Crawford, on Montgomery Street; Francis Crawford (now Harvey Weed) ; John W. Knevels, north of the Washington Street school-house; Daniel Rogers,* between High and Grand Streets, and Benjamin Car- penter, adjoining, and those of Isaac R. Carpenter, Odell S. Hathaway, John W. Brown, and Frederick J. Betts (at Balmville). Now charming cottages and sumptuous villas are to be seen in every direction, and year by year the hills and plateaus in the city and vicinity are more and more crowded with the abodes of wealth, not only of modern structure but those whose walls have been rebuilt and enlarged ; among the latter, the former residence of Jacob and Thomas Powell, now of Homer Ramsdell; that of Samuel Downing, now of William W. Carson ; and that of William Leach, now of S. R. Van Duzer, the latter mainly the result of the skill of the late Dr. Hull. While on Water Street may be readily detected the prevailing architecture of places of busi- ness at different periods, on Grand, Liberty, and in- deed on almost all of the upper streets may be seen that of residences, the headquarters house represent- ing the earliest. More creditable to the city are those of the later period, from the fact that they are a per- | petual tribute to the memory of Andrew J. Downing, who, born amid the scenes which have been so briefly sketched, grafted his pure and artistie perceptions not only upon the community in which he lived, but upon the nation.

In the architecture and appointment of its churches, its schools, and its publie buildings improvement is everywhere apparent in the city. The years are but few since it could with truth be written, "In New- burgh are many very ugly places of worship; and as the city rises abruptly from the river, their ungainly proportions are, of course, prominent in every di- rection ;" but it can be written with truth no longer, for since it was penned (1857) not less than $250,000 have been expended by different denominations in the building and in the improvement of church edi- fices. Perhaps in no class of buildings is the change more marked, unless it be in those which have been erected for free schools.

Not the least in the evidences of progress are the

dispositions which have from time to time been made of the Glebe. Covering nearly one-half of the terri- tory of the city, it has necessarily entered into much of its history. Each half-century has brought its changes. Under the act of April 10, 1855, by which persons holding its lands by lease were enabled to ob- tain titles in fee-simple, by the payment of such sums of money as would yield an annual interest equal to the annual rent, a very considerable portion of the traet has been converted into fee-simple titles. The annual income, which, until 1869, was expended yearly in the support of schools, has, since that time, been found to establish an income upon which to found a School of Design, an object which, when ac- complished, will indeed be a monument to the an- cient bequest, from which will flow, if not the temples and the mighty works of ancient Rome, generations of mechanics converted by its instru- mentality into thinkers as well as practical workers.

IV .- VILLAGES, HAMLETS, STREAMS, Etc.

The town of Newburgh is in the extreme north- eastern part of the county. It has a river-front of seven miles, and extends westward from eight to eleven miles. It is about sixty miles in a northerly direction from New York, eighty-three miles south of Albany, fifty miles east of the Delaware River, one hundred and twenty miles from the head of Cayuga Lake, and two hundred and fifty miles from Lake Erie in a straight line. It contains 26,870 acres of land, and had, in 1875, a population of 3543. The surface of the town is stony, and is broken into high hills, which run northeast and southwest. The soil is composed of deposits of clay, sand, and loam, and along the river is warm, productive, and well culti- vated. In the western part of the town the soil is not so deep and warm, and requires more laborious culture. The rock formations are principally slate and lime.

The city of Newburgh lies in the southeast part of the original town of Newburgh. It contains 1570 aeres of land, and has a population of 17,433. It has a river-front of about two miles. Its harbor is the best on the Hudson, extending (including the frontage of the town) a distance of about eight miles, with a width from one mile to one mile and a quarter, and a depth of from five to seven fathoms, and is protected from storms by ranges of mountains which, extending from the river in a northerly and westerly direction, deseribe nearly a semicircle.

The city and the town are alike remarkable for their healthfulness of elimate, and for the variety and beauty of their natural scenery. As has been already stated, the city was originally settled by German Palatinates ; the town by English immigrants from the eastern provinces and from the county of West- chester. The character of the population of the former was gradually changed, and that of the latter became divided into English, Scotch, and Irish nation-

* The residence of Daniel Rogers, the two Crawford mansions, and that of James S. Brown were erected about and prior to 1834.

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NEWBURGH.

lities. The site of the city was first called by the Igonquin title Quassaick, from the root terms qussuk, ignifying stone or rock, and ick,-literally, stony ind. The present name was first applied by Alex- nder Colden in 1743, and is from Newburgh, a town 1 Scotland, on the river Tay, which it resembles in any of its physical features .*

BALMVILLE.

A small collection of houses two miles north of the ity of Newburgh, and named from a large tree grow- ig there commonly called Balm of Gilead, which is emarkable for the strong balsamic scent of its leaves nd buds.+ The place was part of the original Ger- ian Patent ; was formerly called Hampton, and was ne of the commercial centres of the town as early as 767. In later times the freighting business was con- ucted here by Daniel Smith, and subsequently by he Messrs. Butterworth. The village has a district chool, a burying-ground, and one or two shops. In he vicinity are several fine country-seats.

MIDDLEHOPE.

A small hamlet four miles north of the city of New- urgh, and formerly called Middletown because half- ay between Newburgh and Marlborough. It has a ost-office and a store; a Methodist and a Presbyterian Church ; a district school, and a cemetery under the itle of " IHighland Cemetery," owned by an associa- ion organized under the general statute of the State. After the establishment of a post-othce here, consider- ble difficulty arose out of the fact that there was mother of the same name in the county ; and, at the uggestion of the Postmaster-General, a meeting of he residents in the neighborhood was held for the purpose of changing the title. At this meeting sev- ral names were proposed and rejected, until finally he late Mr. James P. Brown, recollecting that there vas a village in Scotland, the land of his birth, by he name of Hopeton, proposed that of Middlehope, which was adopted.

* The first application of the present namo was to that portion of the atent long known as the "Old Town of Newburgh Plot" (1731). It as next applied to the parish (1752), then to the precinct (1763), then to he town (1788), to the village at its incorporation (1800), and retained u the title of the city.

+ In regard to this remarkable tree,-which is certainly the "oldest habitant" of the town, -Mr. Gilbert Williams, now (1875) in his eight- eth year, and who became a resident in its vicinity in 1808, relates that when in Nova Scotia (where he resided for nine years prior to 1832) he ecame acquainted with John Cosman, who was au apprentice to Wil- iamı Bloomer before the Revolution, who stated that while he was an pprentice he had shod horses under it many a time, and that it was a arge tree then. Mr. Williams measured the tree in 1832, and its circum- erence (two feet from the ground) was fifteen feet two inches. lle measured it again in 1868, and found it to be nineteen fect five inches, howing its growth to havo been four feet and three inches in thirty-six ears. His own recollection of the tree added to Cosman's carries it back t least a hundred years, from which data and that of its rate of growth e is convinced that its age is much greater than that given to it by the Demott tradition. The tree was evidently planted by some person, as it s not an indigenous one. The first settlers were there in 1709, and may have brought it with them, but the probabilities favor a later period. It s decaying now, and will soon be gone.

THE DANS KAMER.

" De Duyfel's Dans Kamer !" (the Devil's Dance Chamber), so the point of land forming the north- western head of Newburgh Bay was described by some Dutch skipper more than two centuries ago. It has ever since borne the title of The Dans Kamer. The first notice of it oceurs in the journal of De- Vries, under date of April 26, 1640; and as De- Laet, in his very minute description of the river, written in 1624, makes no mention of it, the name -- must have originated between 1624 and 1640. An explanation of the origin of the name is found in certain religious rites of the Indians, which were often performed here. These rites consisted in the worship of their God Bachtamo, and were denominated " devil worship" by the Dutch. For the celebration of this worship, the Indians held meetings prior to starting on expeditions of hunting, fishing, or war, to ascertain whether they would be successful or not. " At these meetings," says a paper describing the natives of New Netherland, written in 1611, "con- jurors act a wonderful part. These tumble, with strange contortions, head over heels ; beat themselves, ; leap with a hideous noise through and around a large fire. Finally they all raise a tremendous caterwauling, when the devil appears (they say) in the shape of a ravenous or a harmless animal,-the first betokens something bad, the second something good." Lieut. Couwenhoven witnessed an exhibition of this char- acter at the Dans Kamer during the war with the Esopus Indians, in 1663.# The spot was dedicated to this rude worship, and was so occupied for perhaps a hundred years after the discovery of the Hudson. In point of fact, there were two dance chambers,-the first being the rocky point which juts out into the river, called in the original deed "the little dans kamer;" and the second, the plateau occupied by the Armstrong residence, which is specified in the same instrument as "the large dans kamer." The little dans kamer has a level surface of perhaps half an acre, and is separated from the mainland by a marsh over which the water flows at times, while the large dans kamer embraces a plot of ten acres.

ΠΑΜΡΤΟΝ.

This name was given by William Acker, son of Wołvert Acker, to the farm of his father, now the residence of Mr. Alexander Young, and is said to mean "a house or farm on a hill." It is in the ex- treme northeastern part of the town, and has a land- ing on the Hudson, from which Wolvert Acker estab- lished a ferry (known as Acker's Ferry ) soon after the Revolution.

FOSTERTOWN.

This is a hamlet about four miles northwest from the city. The patent on which it is located was first settled in 1768, by John Foster, William Foster,

# " Documentary History of New York." The dances were discon- tinued under an order of the English government.

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Richard Ward, and John Griggs. The lands of John Foster were sold by him to James Innis, the father of William Innis; and the place owned by William Foster is now or lately occupied by David Wyatt. The descendants of Richard Ward and John Griggs continue to hold the lands of their fathers. The Fos- tertown Methodist Episcopal Church is in this neigh- borhood. There is also a district school.

ROSSVILLE.

This is the name of a section of the town about six miles northwest of the city of Newburgh, and was originally covered by the Wallace Patent. As pre- viously stated, this patent was purchased by Joseph Penny, who sold about 250 acres to Robert Ross, and divided the remainder among his sons. Mr. Ross is said to have been the first to settle on the patent, i where he established a tannery. As early, probably, as 1770 he built a substantial stone house, which is still standing, and forms a part of the residence of John L. Aderton, who now owns the place. The sons of Robert Ross - Alexander and William -subse- quently attained distinction in the town, and their birthplace was called Rossville .* There is a Meth- odist Episcopal Church here, a district school, and a post-office and store. The post-office address is Savill, a name of no local significance; it was bestowed by the late Chauncey F. Belknap in honor of his son, Savill.+

LUPTONDALE.

This is a district and not a hamlet. It lies in the northwest part of the town, about seven miles from the city, and is not unfrequently called "Quaker Street." Mr. Birdsall, who bestowed the name, states, " They call the road west of the lake Rocky Forest, the name given to it by Mr. Kipp, and I gave this | brouck, by deed dated May 3, 1753 .; It remained in road the name of Luptondale in honor of William Lupton, who owned this part of the old patent."

ROCKY FOREST.

This district embraces the western part of the patent to Jacobus Kipp and Company. Orange Lake ad- joins it on the east, and from its elevation the views from many of its dwellings are unsurpassed in extent and variety. The name was conferred from the phy-

* Alexander Ross filled a number of military and civil offices with the approbation of the public. He died in 1826. His children were William, James, Alexander, Emeline, Mary, and Agnes. Emeline was the first wife of George W. Kerr, Esq., of Newhurgh ; Mary married Anthony Houston,-D. C. Houston, Col. Engineers U.S.A., and Theo. Houston, vice-president of the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, are her 8008; Agnes married Thomas T. Keene, now of Oshkosh, Mich. Wil- liam Ross has been noticed elsewhere. (See " Bench aod Bar.")

+ The name and the post-office had their origin in Mr. Belknap's office. The circumstances were these : An old gentleman from Rossville called at Mr. Belknap's office, and in conversation on neighborhood matters Mr. Belknap jokingly asked him why they did not have a post- office there? The gentleman replied he did not suppose one could be obtained. "Nothing easier," said Mr. Belknap, and turning to his desk he drew up a petitivo, which was signed by himself and Mr. Thomas George and forwarded to Washington, expecting that that would be the last of it. The department, however, regarded the application as having been made in good faith, and established the office and appointed a post- master.

sical features of a portion of the distriet, which was originally and emphatically a rocky forest. Henry W. Kipp, son of Jacobus, was the first settler here, and continued his residence as late as 1778, when he was enrolled as an exempt for military tax.

GARDNERTOWN.

This is a small settlement four miles northwest of the city of Newburgh, so called from Silas Gardner, one of the first settlers. There is a neat Methodist Episcopal church here, also a store or tavern, a dis- trict school, and one or two shops. A short distance south of the church stands the old residence of the original proprietor,-a massive stone structure of a style of architecture quite prevalent a century or so ago. In the same vicinity is the mill owned for many years by David Bond, but originally established by Gardner.

GIDNEYTOWN.

The settlement known as Gidneytown originally embraced the patent to John Spratt, which was pur- chased about the year 1760 by Eleazer Gidney, whose four sons, Joseph, Daniel, David, and Eleazer, about that time settled upon it. A part of the original purchase remains in the possession of the family.

DUBOIS' MILLS.

The water-power of the Quassaick Creek was first applied to practical use at the place long known as DuBois' Mills, about one mile and a half west of its confluence with the Hudson. Alexander Colden erected a mill here as early, probably, as 1743. This mill was one of the oldest, if not the first built, in this region. Colden sold it, and parts of lots No. 1 and No. 2 of the German Patent, to Jonathan Has-

the possession of the Hasbroucks until after the Revo- lution, and during the war was frequently occupied by the militia when called out on alarms. The Has- broucks soll it to a Mr. Van Keuren. From him it was bought by a Mr. Dickonson, who occupied it in 1798. Subsequently it became the property of Gen. Nathaniel DuBois, who erected in connection with it a saw-mill and a fulling-mill. It remained in his hands upwards of forty years. After his death it was purchased by a Mr. Weygant, who sold it to James R. Dickson. Mr. Dickson removed it (October, 1859), enlarged the water-power by a substantial stone dam, thus forming a lake covering some twenty-nine acres, and erected a large brick flouring-mill with six run of stone. Messrs. Enoch Carter and William B. Sanxay purchased from Mr. Dickson, and conveyed the prop- erty (1871) to the Messrs. Chadwick, who converted it into a bleachery of cotton cloths and erected addi- tional buildings.

# The price paid by Hasbrouck was $1050 for 100 acres, " together with the grist-mill and the appartenances thereof, the mill-house, the mill- dam and dams, also the bolting-chests or hoxes, bolts, bolting-cloths, wheat-screens, and all other implements and utensils."-Ulster Record of Deeds, E. E., 501 .

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NEWBURGH.

NEW MILLS.

The second enterprise of this sort, in the vicinity of DuBois' Mills, was Abel Belknap's (subsequently Daniel Niven's) grist-mill, about a mile and a quar- ter west of the city, south of the Cochecton turnpike, -now reconstructed and occupied as a woolen-mill. It was erected by Mr. Belknap some years prior to the Revolution, and was continued by Mr. Niven until his death in 1809. The third was undertaken by Chancey, Joseplı, Thomas, and Daniel Belknap, under the firm of C. Belknap & Co., who erected, in 1802, a large flouring-mill, and constructed a canal-the first, probably, in the State-to supply the water-power. This mill soon came to be called the "New Mills," and the name was extended to the hamlet which grew up around it. At the time of its erection it was one of the largest mills in the country ; and for several years its proprietors were the only Newburgh firm repre- sented on 'change in New York. It said that when it was built there was but one dwelling-a log house -between it and the then village, and a considerable portion of what is now Broadway (Western Avenue) was still covered with heavy timber. It was pur- chased from the Belknaps by the late James Halstead, from whom it passed to William H. Beede. It was destroyed by fire (Oct. 6, 1846), and a new mill was erected on its site by Mr. Beede, in 1847. Mr. James Ross is its present owner. The district is now known as

WEST NEWBURGHI.

A fine school building, erected by the Board of Education of the city, is located here ; the Third (or Grace) Methodist Episcopal church ; a fire-engine and house; the lime-kilns of Messrs. W. R. & C. L. Brown; several stores and manufacturing establish- ments, the latter including two tanneries ; and also a considerable number of improved dwellings. The Highland Hat-Works are a short distance west.

POWDER MILLS.

About four miles northwest of the city, in the town of Newburgh, are the powder-works of Lafflin & Rand. The mill privilege here was originally occu- pied by Foster's saw-mill. It was purchased by Asa Taylor in 1816, who erected mills for the manufacture of powder. Mr. Daniel Rogers purchased the prop- erty in 1817, improved the mills, and converted them into over thirty substantial stone structures. He con- tinued the manufacture of gunpowder until 1838. Mr. Rogers' sons subsequently conducted the works for a few years. The present owners enlarged the works, which are now, as they were under Mr. Rogers, among the most complete and extensive in the country.

BELKNAP'S RIDGE.

This is about four miles west of the city. Its name is in honor of the Belknap family, who purchased and settled here in 1749-50.

EAST COLDENHAM.

A name originally given by Governor Colden to his settlement in the town of Montgomery, and still retained there, but subsequently extended to the hamlet in the southwest part of the town of New- burgh, about six miles from the city. The East Coldenham post-office is located here; there is also a hotel and one or two shops.

ORANGE LAKE.

This body of water lies in the northwestern part of the town, and covers about 400 acres. Its aboriginal name was Qussuk, or stony pond, from the large nnm- ber of bowlders on its western shore. The present name was conferred by the Rev. Dr. James Wilson, who resided in its vicinity. It is fed by internal springs, and by small streams which flow into it. Its outlet is the Quassaick Creek. The principal fact of historical interest in connection with it is the erec- tion of a coinage-mill, near its outlet, by Capt. Thomas Machin, about the year 1787-88. Capt. Machin be- gan to build a grist- and saw-mill here in 1784, and gave the name of New Grange to the place. In 1787 he formed a copartnership with several residents of the city of New York for the purpose of coining money. The firm was soon after incorporated with a similar company chartered by the State of Vermont,* and continued business for a few years. The coins of this mill are to be found in specimens of Vermont currency of 1787, etc., and are probably those known as " Vermon Auctori." No coins of other States were issued, as operations were conducted solely under the Vermont charter.

QUASSAICK CREEK.

This stream is composed of the outlet of Orange Lake and of the Fostertown and Tent-Stone Meadow

* On the 18th of April, 1787, Capt. Machin formed a copartnership with Samnel Atlee, James F. Atlee, David Brooks, James Grier, and James Giles, all of New York. The term specified for its continuance was seven years, with a capital of £300. The firm seems to have been formed for the avowed purpose of coining copper, providing Congress, or any of the State Legislatures, enacted a law allowing individuals to coin money. As the object was to make money, a small capital was con- sidered sufficient for the undertaking. On the 7th of June following that firm formed a copartnership with one then existing, which con- sisted of four partners,-Renben Harman, Esq., William Coley, of Ben- nington Co., Vt., Elias Jackson, of Litchfield Co., Conn., and Daniel Van Voorhis, goldsmith, of the city of New York,-for a term of eight years from the first of the following July, that being the limitation of an act of the Legislature of Vermont to said Harman for the coinage of copper.

At Machin's mills perhaps a thousand pounds of copper waa mannfac- tured, as appears by his papers, in the year 1789, previous to which time little seems to have been done. The business appears to have been dis- continued in 1790, for in a letter from J. F. Atlee to Mr. Machin, dated Vergennes, Oct. 14, 1790, he expresses a wish that the concern might arrive at a settlement oo equitable terms, and compromise their matters without a tedious and expensive lawsuit .- Simms' " History of Schoharie County," 596.

Capt. Machin died at Charleston, Schoharie Co., April 3, 1816, aged seventy-two years. During the Revolution, he superintended the con- struction of the chain and other obstructions to the navigation of Hud- son's River, and rendered other important service. IIe settled in New- Imrgli at the close of the war, and subsequently removed to Schoharie County. "To the camp and in retirement his qualifications were holden in very high consideration."

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Creeks. Though sometimes called Chambers' Creek, from the fact of its having been the north bounds in part of the patent to Chambers and Sutherland, its Indian name now prevails. Its water-power is very durable, and has been largely employed from an early period. The question of the right of the ereek to be regarded as the natural outlet of the lake was made a subject of legal controversy in 1825, it being assumed by the contestants that that outlet was a small stream further west; but this assumption was not sustained by the court.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 68

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1336

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336