USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York, from the earliest historic times to the beginning of 1907 > Part 54
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was appointed county clerk in 1822 in his place, and Orrin Gibbs was appointed surrogate.
The next question to be settled was the selec- tion of a site for county buildings. Three lots were offered to the commissioners ; one the lot now ocenpied by the court-house, and two others on the east side of the river, one being a part of Enoa Stone's garden, and another a lot on North St. Paul street. It was argued that the site afterward selected was the best, as the larger part of the county lay west of the river, and that this terri- tory would adunit of a much larger population than that on the cast. the east side having much more poor laud, and the soil on the west side being more sandy, and consequently drier and less muddy in wet weather : ilant the lots offered on the east side were less comfortable for use, as more exposed to the high, cold winds in winter, and that the ex- pansion of the population of the village would cer- tainly be toward the west to meet the incoming trade upon the canal, as Colonel Rochester said in one of his petitions to the legislature: "In vain does man design towns and villages where nature forbids."
The first board of supervisors of Monroe county assembled at the house of John G. Christopher, in Rochester, on the 8th day of May. 1821, and there were present the following: Clarkson was repre- sented by Aretus Haskill, Brighton by Ezekiel Morse, Gates by Matthew Brown, jr .. Henrietta by Elijah Little, Mendon by James Smith, Ogden by James Baldwin, Pittsford by Simon Stone. 2d, Penfield by Henry Fellows, Perinton by Reuben Willey, Riga by Joseph Sibley, Rush by Peter Price, Sweden by Silas Judson and Wheatland by John Garbutt. Matthew Brown was selected 28 chairman, and Josiah Sheldon clerk, of the board, and Samuel Melancton Smith was chosen county treasurer. The second meeting was held at Avon, June 13th, where it was resolved to build a court- house. The compensation of the first board of su- pervisors was $344.10, as against $21,000 for the present board. The assessed value of the real estate of the county in 1821 was $3,183,953, and in 1907 $156,249,991. The county contains 400,000 acres. Population of Monroe county was stated in petitions to be about 80,000 in 1821; it now is 239,434, 181,666 residing in the city, 57,768 in towns outside of the city.
. In setting forth the foregoing details of this controversy the writer has been much assisted by a paper read by Mr. Howard L_ Osgood before the Rochester Historical Society. May tath, 1892, and also by original documents kindly loaned by Mr. William H. Samson
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
PUNCTIONS OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
The mission of Rome was to give us our laws, the mission of Greece was to give us learning, art and literature ; the mission of the Hebrew or Jew- ish race was to give us our religion; the mission of America is one of freedom, republicanism as dis- tinguished from monarchy, democracy in the sense of unity of brotherhood and equality of man. America stands for the perfection of the common man. In ancient days despotism was prevalent, and even now in some places one man absolutely rirles thousands, yea millions, but in America to- day thousands. yea millions, rule themselves, and every American citizen is an individual monarch. So the sovereignty of the state rests in the people of the state, subject to the provisions of the con- stitution, which has been adopted by the people. and their power is exercised through the state legislature, which is representative in its capacity and elected by the people of the various Senatorial and Assembly districts, being composed of two branches, the Senate and the Assembly.
And all the right that we have to exist as a mu- nicipal corporation is derived from the sovereign power of the state, as exercised by the legislature. Even our land escheats, or reverts, to the state up- on failure of heirs. Our city government has only such powers as have been delegated to it through its charter, passed by the state legislature, which in our case is called the White charter, and governs likewise Syracuse, Albany and Troy, all cities of the second class. These powers are ex- pressed in the charter, and it only has such implied powers as are necessary to carry out its express powers. Hence the necessity of going to the leg- islature for an enabling act, whenever some un- usual need arises .*
Counties are of a lower grade of municipal cor- poration and are sometimes called quasi-municipal corporations. They are involuntary in their in- ception, being political divisions of the state set off originally for the purpose of the administration of justice and election purposes. They have no charters and have only such powers as have been given them by statutory enactment of the state legislature; most of the powers of a county are expressed in the general county law, but there
have been special acts granting certain powers to this county. County in England is synonymous with shire. The word is of French origin and means the territory of a count. The legislative power of this county is vested in a board of super- visors, consisting of forty-one members, elected biennially, one from each of the twenty-two wards and nineteen towns, receiving an annual salary of $500 each. They meet to perform their committee duties two or three days before the first of each month, where their most important work is done; and they hold formal sessions on the first and second days of each month, the committee reports and resolutions are received and printed the first day and are called up for adoption on the second day. They organize on the second day of January each year. They have the care and custody of all the corporate property of the county, which con- sisis of the court-house, jail, penitentiary, peniten- tiary farm, almshouse, Monroe County hospital, and also the care and custody of the Armory and the Naval Reserve Station, which belong to the state. They audit the bills of all of the foregoing departments of the county, including the expenses of the operations of the courts, jurors. witness fees, etc.
They have the power to raise all county, state and town expenses by taxation and for this pur- pose prepare an annual tax levy. They fix the sal- ary and compensation of all county officers and em- ployees, not fixed by statute. They have power to borrow money for the erection of county buildings and the purchase of sites therefor, and for all other county purposes and uses and issue bonds therefor. The only indebtedness of this county is for bonds issued for the construction of the court-house, for which purpose $850,000 of bonds were issued, of which about $500,000 remain unpaid, being re- tired at the rate of $50,000 per year. One of the notable things accomplished by this county has been the construction under state aid of nearly one hundred miles of improved highway under the Higbie-Armstrong law, and over three hundred miles have been petitioned for and will be con- structed when reached.
DEVELOPMENTS.
Our grand old county in its gradual develop- ment has become celebrated along some lines of ac- tivity.
"After the Ist of January. 1909, Rochester will be a city of the first class, with a new charter of its own.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
Ten thousand men were enlisted from this coun- ty in the late war of the Rebellion, being nearly one for every ten inhabitants, or about one-half of the entire voting population. Notable among the regiments raised was the old Thirteenth infantry, which has always been held in fond remembrance as the "Old Thirteenth," a few of whose honored members still live among us. According to the . United States census this county stands second, among all of the counties in the Union, in the value of its agricultural products. Lancaster coun-
ty, Penn., being the first. Monroe is the fourth county in the state in population.
In view of the foregoing, and much more that might be adduced, we are to be congratulated upon the material advancement, growth, progress and prosperity of this great county and this beautiful garden city of homes. the Flower city.
"Almighty ! May thine outstretched arm,
Guard through long ages yet to be,
From tread of slave, and kingly harm,
Our Eden of the Genesee."
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CHAPTER XXIII
THE TOWNS OF MONROE COUNTY."
THE TOWN OF BRIGHTON.
Brighton was named for the well-known water- ing place in England. Orange Stone settled in what is now Brighton in 1790, and opened a house of entertainment near the council rock and elm. Enos Stone, jr., was one of those who drove through stock, cattle and swine from his eastern home until, in 1810, he became the pioneer set- tler of Rochester, and the owner of a farm located in what is now one of the most densely populated portions of the city. On March 25th, 1814, the old town of Smallwood was divided into Brighton and Pittsford. A part of Rochester was taken off in 1834, and Irondequoit in 1839. It lies upon the east bank of the Genesee river, a little southeast of the center of the county. Its surface is gently rolling with a slight inclination toward the north. The deep valley of Irondequoit bay is on the east border. Its streams are small brooks, tributaries of the Genesee river and Irondequoit bay. The soil is a sandy loam in the east and a clay loam upon the river. Near the center are gypsum beds formerly extensively worked. The people are large- ly engaged in raising nursery stock and vegetables for the Rochester market. A large brick and tile manufactory is located in the sonthern part of the town. In its immediate vicinity are the Mon- me county penitentiary, the almshouse, the Mon- me county hospital, the Rochester state hospital
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for the insane, and Mt. Hope cemetery. The original town of Boyle was formed in 1806, and in- cluded all that is now Brighton, Pittsford, Perin- ton, Irondequoit, Penfield and Webster. The name was changed from Boyle to Smallwood in 1812 or '13. As a part of the Phelps and Gorham pur- chase, Brighton comprised chiefly township 13, in range 7. The original purchasers of this town- ship were General Hyde, Prosper Polley, Enos Stone, Colonel Job Gilbert and Joseph Chaplin, none of whom, except Enos Stone, were ever per- manent residents in the town. The first white settler in the town was John Lusk, who came in 1787, spent some time in prospecting and visit- ing among the Indians, and then returned to Massachusetts. In 1790 he returned to the local- ity and became a permanent settler, establishing a tannery at the old Irondequoit landing.
Among the other early settlers can be recalled the names of Erastus Lusk, Chauncey and Calvin Hyde, Joel Scudder, Timothy Allyn, Samuel Shaf- fer, Enos Blossom, Oliver Culver and Judge John Tryon, who took up his abode at the head of the bay, built a log warehouse and made preparations for the building of a village, and this place be- came known as "Tryon Town." Asa Dayton kept a public house here in 1801, a tannery and dis- tillery were in operation about the same time and Tryon Town at once became a settlement of im- portance in the new country. Ira West was one of the earliest storekeepers, and Solomon Hatch and Oliver Culver operated a saw mill on Allen's creek as early as 1806. During the war of 1812-15 the little settlement at the landing was a busy locality and much lake navigation had its beginning here.
"This chapter. as well as the foregoing. was prepared by Mr. Willis K. Gillette, the material for this being taken in large part from the "Landmarks of Monroe County," published in 1896.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
The first decked vessel to descend the St. Law- rence, it is claimed, was constructed here. Among the settlers about the time or soon after the war were the Cory and Dryer families, Francis Char- ter, Milo Barnes, Erastus Stanley, Barnabas Cur- tis, Hanford Boughton, Abner Buckland, William Crocker, Abel Follett, Enos and Israel Blossom, Roswell and Romanta Hart, Joseph G. Wheeler and others. It is proper to call to mind the old Genesee model school, incorporated in 1848, af- terward called the Clover street seminary. The village of Brighton was annexed to the city of Rochester in 1905 by act of the legislature, and now comprises the twenty-first ward of Rochester.
THE TOWN OF CHILI.
Chili was formed from Riga, February 22d, 1822. The first settlement was made by Joseph Morgan, in 1792. The first child born there was Joseph Wood, in 1799. It is an interior town lying southwest of the center of the county. Its surface is level or gently rolling, with a slight inclination to the east. The Genesee river forms the eastern boundary of the town, and Black creek, a sluggish stream, flows cast through the central portion of the town. The soil is a clay loam, mixed with sand. South of Black creek are several peculiar gravelly knolls, the principal of which is Dumpling hill, near the river. The early history of Chili is entirely contemporaneous with that of its mother town of Riga, which was known originally as East Pulteney, and a little later as East Riga, while Riga proper was known as West Pulteney and West Riga. In the town as at present constituted are five small villages or hamlets, known respec- tively as Chili, North Chili, Chili Station, Clif- ton and South Chili. The first settlers of the town were Yankees, that is New Englanders of pro- nounced type, and they brought with them the customs and manners peculiar to all inhabitants of New England. The pioneer of this locality was Joseph Morgan, who located near the south line, adjoining the lands of Peter Sheffer, the pioneer of Wheatland and the successor of the notorious Ebenczer Allan. Among the early settlers were Andrew Wortman, Colonel Josiah Fish and his son Lebbeus from Vermont, who settled on the river at the mouth of Black creek. The first in
dustry was a distillery built by Stephen Peabody in 1796. In 1797 Jacob Widner and his sons, Sam- nel, Jacob, Abraham, William and Peter, and also Joseph Cary, made a beginning here; and later, but prior to 1800, came Lemuel and Joseph Wood, Samuel Scott, Joshua Howell, Benjamin Bowman, John Kimball, Daniel Franklin, Mr. Dillingham, George Stottle and others. About this time came John MeVean from Ontario county, with his six sons, Duncan, Samuel, John, Daniel, Peter and Alexander, also William Woodin and his family from Seneca county. Later settlers were Joseph Sibley, Joseph Davis, William Holland, John Wet- more, Joseph Thompson, Isaac Burritt, Berkley Gillett. Isane Larey. William Pixley and others. James Chapman established the first store, in 1807. and James Cary built the first mill. Later store- keepers in the town were Mr. Filkins, Mr. Hawes and Theodore Winans. The first tavern was kept by Elias Streeter about 1811, on the Chili and Spencerport road. Paul Orton was the second landlord, and one, Pennock, kept the checkered tavern, an old historie building. Cary's mill was Incated on Mill creek, north of Clifton, and near hy. in 1807, Comfort Smith built a grist mill. Joseph Sibley built a saw-mill in 1811, near Buck- bee's Corners, and soon afterward a grist mill. In 1806 there was a school-house erected north of Black creek, one mile west of the Center. The town has not increased in population very mater- ially since 1825, when it numbered 1.827, as it 18 estimated that the present population is about 2.000. Chili is an agricultural town, being defi- cient in manufacturing and other industries, which is doubtless due to the absence of suitable water power. The Green nursery company operate a large nursery farm in the town, which consti- tutes the chief industry of the town. The chief educational institution is the Chili seminary, lo- cated at North Chili. There are eleven school dis- tricts in the town, each of which is provided with a comfortable school-house.
THE TOWN OF CLARKSON.
This town was named for General Matthew Clarkson, an extensive land owner in this locality, who gave one hundred acres to the town. It was formed from Murray, Orleans county, April 2d, 1819. I'nion was taken off in 1852 and comprises
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VIEW ON THE GENESEE RIVER.
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HISTORY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY.
the present town of Hamlin. It has been claimed that Moody Freeman was the first settler in Clark- son. James Sayres purchased at Clarkson Corners in 1804 and was the first settler on the Ridge road. Eli Blodgett also settled here in 1804, and there were many others prior to 1809. In 1819 and a year or two thereafter settlement and devel- opment progressed rapidly. It was the home of Henry R. Selden, judge of the Court of Appeals, and later lieutenant-governor of the state of New York. The first male child born was a son to Mrs. Clarkson, the first female birth was tha: of Betsey Palmer, in 1812. Charlotte Cummings taught the first school, in 1812. Henry McCall kept the first store, about 1810. Isaac Williams built the first frame house, and was the first black- smith. Dr. Noah Owen was the first physician and Dr. Rowe the second. John Bowman was the first lawyer. The first and about the only newspaper published in Clarkson was the Jeffersonian, in 1835, which continued only about a year. The first saw-mill was erected previous to 1811, by James Sayres, and stood a half mile east of the corners; about the same time Mr. Tolles built a grist-mill. Several distilleries were among the early indus- tries along the Ridge road. A post-office was estab- lished in 1816, Dr. Baldwin being the first post- master. The Ridge road was an important thoroughfare during the war times of 1812- 15, and Clarkson was the general rendez- vous for troops and the temporary deposi- tory for supplies and munitions of war. Clark- son village, then known as Murray Corners, was a hamlet of considerable note. the Ridge road being the main route between Canandaigua and Lewiston. The Corners was a stopping-place where horses were changed and travelers allowed a brief respite, but since the completion of the Erie canal, and the still later construction of the New York Central railroad. the town of Sweden has gained an ascendency and profited. while Clarkson has correspondingly lost in commercial importance.
THE TOWN OF GATES.
Gates was named for General Horatio Gates, a Revolutionary commander. It has been known as Northampton till its name was changed, June 12th, 1812. It is near the geographical center of the
county. Its surface is undulating with a gentle inclination toward the north. Genesee river forms a small portion of the eastern boundary. The peo- ple are largely engaged in raising vegetables for the' Rochester market. The first settlement was made in 1809 by Isaac Dean from Vermont. Among other early settlers were John Sickles, Au- gustus B. Shaw, Ezra Mason, Charles Hartford, John Harford, Isaac Ray, Samuel and Daniel Gil- man, Dr. Wellman, William Williams and Ira West. The first child born was a daughter of Ezra Mason, in 1818. Ira West kept the first store, and Isaac Dean built the first mill. John Harford was one of the largest land owners in the county and is said to have possessed at one time at least one twelfth part of Gates. He located near the junction of the Lyell and Spencerport roads.
The first town meeting was held at the house of Jeremiah Olmstead in 1809, Zaccheus Colby acting as presiding officer. Among other early settlers identified with olden times in Gates, subsequent to 1810, were Ansel Griffin, William Hinchey, Philip Lyell, for whom the road received its name, David Frink, Everett H. Peck, Thomas .Jameson, Lowell Thomas, Ira Waite, Tra and Cyrus Bartlett, Calvin G. Hill, Calvin Sperry, and others, many of whom still have descendants in the town. It was on the land of John Harford that the first grain was sown, while Isaac Ray, who married Harford's daughter, cleared some of the first land, and erected one of the first houses. The old log cabin, the pioneer hotel, was built in 1806, and William Jameson was its landlord. Joshua Beeman fol- lowed him as host. Mr. Caswell had a hotel at the rapids as early as 1810, and Dr. Wellman a little later on. Asa Munson's tavern west of the rapid« was opened in 1820. In 1823 Eleazer Howard opened a hotel at Gates Center, and later Lindsay Sturgis opened one on the Buffalo road. and later Chester Field in 1832. The old Buffalo enjoyed much the same early prominence as the Ridge road further north. The Dean saw-mill was built in 1819, near the Chili line. A part of the town was taken for the organization of Rochester in 1817, and in 1822 the erection of Greece took more than one-half of the remaining territory. In the eastern part of the town are several large manufacturing enterprises, which are really city interests, but have moved to Gates, presumably to escape city taxation, notable among which are the
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Pneumatic Signal company, the Pfaudler com- pany, the Rochester German Brick company, the American Fruit Product company, the Standard sewer pipe company, the Co-operative foundry. It is very probable that within a few years another extension of the city boundaries will absorb these interests. Gates's present acreage is 11,815, and the total assessed value of its real, personal and franchise property for 1906 is 82,725,158.
THE TOWN OF GREECE.
On the 22d of March, 1822, the legislature passed an act dividing the old town of Gates, and more than one-half of the northern part of its ter- ritory was set off and called Greece. The first set- tlement was made at the mouth of the Genesee river, by William Hencher and family in 1792. It is drained by several streams that flow into the small bays that indent the lake. These bays are six in number, and from west to east are named as follows: Braddock's bay and Cranberry, Long, Buck, Round and Little ponds. The shifting sand hars at the mouth destroy their commercial utility. The character of the soil is clay loam, with large tracts of drift sand along the lake shore. The village of Charlotte, named for the daughter of Colonel Troup, formerly agent for the Pulteney estate, is located near the mouth of the Genesee river, and is the lake port for Rochester, and the United States port of entry for the Genesee dis- triet. In June, 1813, a British fleet under Sir James Yeo, landed at Charlotte and seized a quan- tity of provisions and whisky. In September of the same year the fleet returned and commenced a heavy fire upon the place, but the American fleet came to the rescue and the British fleet escaped with difficulty. In May, 1814, the British fleet again made its appearance, and under cover of a flag of truce demanded the delivery of the public stores at Rochester. The few militiamen who were present passed into and out of the woods in sight of the British, giving the appearance of a great number, and the enemy, suspecting an ambuscade, retired, after having furiously bombarded the woods for an hour. Among the early settlers were John Love, in 1793, at the month of the river ; Zadock Granger and Gideon King. at the lower Genesee falls, afterward Hanford's landing, in 1796: and in the winter of 1796 and '97 Eli
Granger, Thomas King, Simon King, Elijah Kent, Frederick Bushnell and Samuel Latta, for whom the Latta road was named, settled in town. Eli Granger and Abner Migells built a schooner at Hanford's (then King's) landing, in 1799. This was the first merchant vessel built by Americans on Lake Ontario. The first marriage was that of Thomas Lee and a daughter of William Hen- cher. Frederick Hanford kept the first store, in 1810, and Nathaniel Jones built the first saw-mill. This lake region, and particularly the small bays and the Genesee river valley, were for many years the favorite hunting, fishing and trapping grounds of the Senecas. Between 1800 and 1810 many families took up their residence in Greece, among them Thomas Wood, Asa Hurd, John Mastick, the pioneer lawyer of the county ; Ephraim Spaulding, Daniel Budd, Wheeler Heacock, John Bagley, Silas Loyd, Joseph Bullock, Silas Smith, John Utter, James Dailey, Francis Brown, Aristotle Hollister. Benjamin Fowler, John Odell and others. Greece is territorially the largest town in the county, con- taining 30,232 acres, and has the largest assessed valuation, which amounted in 1906 to $4,411.625.
THE TOWN OF HAMLIN.
Union was formed from the town of Clarkeon, October 11th, 1852. The name was changed to Hamlin, February 28th, 1861, in honor of Hanni- bal Hamlin, who was inaugurated a few days later, vice-president of the United States. It is the northwest corner town of the county. Salt was manufactured to a limited extent by the early set- tlers. The first settlement was commenced in 1810 by Aretas Haskell: afterward came Josiah and Samuel Randall from Maine, Stephen Baxter, John Nowlan, Billings and Alanson Thomas. A. D. Raymond kept the first inn, Daniel Pease the first store, and Alanson Thomas built the first mill for LeRoy & Bayard. Among later settlers were a family of Dutchmen named Strunk, settled near the mouth of Sandy creek, Stephen Baxter, the Wright family on the Parma line. Thomas Hay- dlen, William Hayden, P. Beebe, Joseph Knapp, the Paul and Pixley families, Caleb James, Wil- liam Clark, Albert Salisbury and others. The Yankee pioneers of this town have been followed by the Germans. The first saw-mill was built by .Joshua Green, about 1813, and stood on Sandy
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