USA > New York > Oneida County > Kirkland > History of the town of Kirkland, New York > Part 13
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Here let it be mentioned also, that two furnaces for working up scrap-iron were established in Clinton within the past fifty years, namely, one by Lewis Pond, in the hollow directly east of the Village Green, and another by Andrew Pond, on the Manchester road, just north of Mr. Gunn's house. Both were of short duration.
A cotton factory was built at Manchester, in the year 1815, the name given in its charter being "The Man- chester Manufacturing Company." Its capital stock was $100,000. The works were put up on a contract by Thomas R. Gold, Theodore Sill, and John Young, and the building was stocked with such machinery as was then in use.
The power-loom was not known at that time, and all the cloth of this period was woven by hand. From this factory a large amount was put out into private families far and near, some of it being sent from twenty to thirty miles for weaving. The price paid for weaving was eight cents a yard. On the introduction of the power- loom and other improvements in machinery, the cost of manufacturing was so much reduced that in a few years the cloth was sold for six and eight cents per yard.
In 1831, the factory was enlarged, and ninety-six
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
looms and other new machinery were added. In the year 1854, the factory was burned to the ground, and was not rebuilt. During the past year, a blast furnace, called " The Clinton Iron Works," has been built on the site of the old factory, and uses the same water-power.
IRON ORE MINES.
The most important manufacturing industry ever organized in the town of Kirkland is the blast furnace, known as the Franklin Iron Works. The iron here pro- duced is made from ore dug from the neighboring hill- sides. This ore was discovered quite carly in the history of Kirkland, on the farm of the late James D. Stebbins ; and it lay so near the surface that it was turned up by the plowman while preparing his field for a crop. Pat- rick little knew that he had uncovered the most useful of all minerals. Since then, it has been found in many places along the eastern and western slopes of the town. For many years it was dug in small quantities, and carried to Taberg, Constantia, and. Walesville, where it was worked into pig-iron ; but the business of mining did not flourish to any great extent until the Franklin Iron Works went into operation in 1852.
From an instructive paper read by Mr. John E. Elliott, before the Clinton Rural Art Society, in Decem- ber, 1864, I glean the following facts : -
Iron ores are found in various parts of Oneida County. The deposits run across the county in northwest and southeast lines. They crop out first in the western parts of the county, in the town of Verona, near Oneida Lake. A considerable amount of ore was drawn from this bed in former years, but after the opening of the richer beds in the town of Kirkland, these old deposits were abandoned.
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IRON ORE MINES.
Iron has been found and mined in several parts of the town of Westmoreland. " It is a little remarkable," says Mr. Elliott, " that the Hecla Furnace Company drew a large part of their ore from the town of Kirk- land, a distance of six miles, driving their teams over an undiscovered bed of ore lying near the surface within one mile of their own works, and with an abundance of it in the immediate vicinity." Passing southward into the town of Kirkland, we find it again on the farms of Messrs. Healey, Gunn, and Norton, from which beds much has already been drawn to the Franklin furnace. At this point the Oriskany Valley cuts the vein in two. Crossing the valley in a southeasterly direction, we find the ore again on the Kellogg farm, where it has been mined extensively. From this point it extends easterly, cropping out on the farms of Henry L. Barker, James D. Stebbins, and Charles Wells. Beyond this last- named land the vein becomes thin and of a poor quality. It however reappears in New Hartford, and is of con- siderable richness, though not abundant.
The ores of the town of Kirkland, " when properly sorted," says Mr. Elliott, " and melted with charcoal, will make about fifty per cent. iron ; melted with anthracite coal, from forty to forty-five per cent. The Westmore- land ore will not make over thirty to thirty-five per cent. ; the Verona ore still less. In New Hartford, on the west side of the Sanquoit Valley, it would probably be about twenty-five per cent. On the east side of the valley, it is as rich as the Kirkland ores."
The ores of this region when used alone make the finest of castings for ornamental purposes ; in their molten state they flow like water, and fill up every part of the mould with perfect nicety. A large portion of the iron
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
made in this town is used for stoves, and other castings requiring a high finish. It is not suitable for making railroad iron or wrought iron bars, because it lacks in strength ; but when mixed with other ores, it is valuable for such purposes. At Poughkeepsie, it is used for making pig-iron in about equal proportions with the Lake Champlain and hematite ores. At Buffalo, it is mixed with the Kingston magnetic and the Lake Superior ores, and makes an excellent grade of railroad bars, chairs, spokes, etc. The Kirkland iron is largely used in the manufacture of the famous Fairbanks' Scales.
The iron ore of Kirkland is a greater source of wealth to the town than many suppose. The product of the several mines is now about thirty-five thousand tons a year ; and when the new furnace at Manchester is com- pleted, it will be greatly augmented.
THE FRANKLIN IRON WORKS.
The existence of numerous beds of iron ore in this town carly suggested the project of building a furnace for their reduction here. For it seemed plain that if furnace-companies in other towns could afford to draw the ores of Kirkland to their distant works and find it profitable to do so, then it would be more profitable to manufacture the iron here ; since it would cost less to bring the fuel to the ore, than to carry the ore to the fuel.
In the year 1850, a company was formed in this town for the manufacture of iron, consisting of the following persons : Lester Barker, Mills and Parker, S. P. Landers, Miss L. M. Barker, H. H. Kellogg, Henry L. Barker, Thomas J. Sawyer, Rollin Root, Frederic Tuttle, Morris S. Wood, John E. Elliott, John R. McConnell, and John
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FRANKLIN IRON WORKS.
Owston. The capital stock was $16,000. It was re- solved to build a furnace of sufficient capacity to make from six to ten tons of iron per day. The construction of the works was commenced in January, 1851, and con- tinued through the year. In the progress of this enter- prise, Mr. Jonas Tower, of Crown Point, a man well skilled in the manufacture of iron, was employed to superintend the work here, and he soon advised the company to build a larger furnace than they had at first projected. As the original stockholders were unable to furnish the capital required for this enlargement, a new company was formed early in the year 1852, with Mr. Alfred Munson, of Utica, and Mr. Tower as additional stockholders, and with the capital stock increased to $32,000. The work of construction was then resumed, and carried forward to completion.
Since this beginning of the manufacture of iron here, the works of the company have been greatly enlarged and improved. In the words of Mr. Landers (to whom I am indebted for the foregoing statistics), " This 'fur- nace has made a blast of four years and ten months' duration, probably the longest ever made by any furnace in this country, if not in the world. It has converted the ores which had been lying waste under the ground since the creation, into useful products, has increased the resources of those who projected it, and has helped for- ward in many ways the best interests of the town of Kirkland."
In the year 1864, the furnace property passed into the hands of a new corporation, with the following officers : O. B. Matteson, president ; E. B. Armstrong, vice-president ; Delos De Wolf, treasurer; H. S. Arm- strong, managing trustee; C. H. Smythe, secretary. The capital stock was then increased to $100,000.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
The first stack was of sufficient capacity to produce one hundred tons of iron per week. In 1869-70, a new stack was built which now makes one hundred and sixty tons a week, using about three hundred and fifty tons of ore and two hundred and forty tons of coal for the same. This stack was constructed with an iron casing resting upon six columns. It is fifty-five feet high, and fourteen feet diameter at the base. The furnace, as now arranged, is blown by a direct acting engine, which was manufactured by Knowles & Sibley, of Warren, Massa- chusetts. The blowing cylinder is seven feet diameter, and ten feet stroke.
The old stack was rebuilt in the year 1871, and was made of the same capacity as the new one. It was put in operation in the summer of 1872. Both stacks have closed tops. The waste gas is brought down to the ground, and is used for making steam and heating the blast.
CLARKS' MILLS.
In the summer of the year 1846, a cotton factory was established on the Oriskany Creek, near the northern line of the town, by Messrs. Ralph Clark, Eneas P. Clark, and A. B. Clark. This factory, as well as the settle- ment which grew up around it, was styled Clarks' Mills.
The corner-stone of the main building was laid June 16, and the brick-work was finished November 14. It was four stories high, two hundred and seventy-five feet long, seventy feet wide, with a wing in the rear of about one half the dimensions of the main building. One hun- dred and eleven looms were set in place April, 1849. Spinning began in April, and carding in May. Subse- quently the woolen factory at Clinton and the Peckville Mills were purchased, the first being at the time thor-
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CLINTON IRON COMPANY.
oughly repaired and enlarged, and the latter rebuilt. A mill for making batting and rope was also established at Clarks' Mills by the company.
In the year 1873 the factory changed its proprietors. The officers of the new company are W. A. Ogden Hege- man, president ; George W. Adams, secretary ; Edgar B. Clark, treasurer ; William Allison, receiver and book- keeper ; and William Young, superintendent. The pres- ent number of looms in operation is two hundred and eighteen. The Central Mills manufacture on an average 30,000 yards of sheeting per week ; and their annual pro- duction is expected to reach 1,750,000 yards. The Clin- ton Mills produce about 700,000 yards annually, of den- ims and ticking. The number of operatives employed by the company is two hundred and fifty, and more will be added in the course of this year. The capital stock of the corporation is $500,000.
THE CLINTON IRON COMPANY
was organized in November, 1872, with a capital of $100,000. The officers are Theodore W. Dwight, LL. D., president ; S. A. Bunce, vice-president ; Theo- dore Avery, secretary and treasurer ; B. S. Platt, super- intendent. The furnace is located at Manchester, on the site of the old cotton factory. Several farms containing ore have been purchased by the company. The stack, which was commenced in April, is now finished. It is forty-eight feet high from the hearth, forty feet being of stone and eight feet of iron. The base is thirty-one feet square on the outside. The bosh is thirteen feet in diameter. It is expected that this stack will produce fifteen tons of iron daily. The stack-house is sixty feet by one hundred, and the cast-house is fifty feet by one
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
hundred and ten. The wheel-house is thirty-six feet by forty.
The furnace is connected with the Rome and Clinton Railroad by a switch one half mile in length. It is ex- pected that the works will commence the manufacture of iron in January 1874.
CHEESE FACTORIES.
Cheese factories were established in this town about twelve years ago, and have proved to be quite an impor- tant industry. The sale of milk has not only yielded a fair profit to the farmer, but has relieved the farmer's family from a great burden of care and labor.
The first company organized was that at Manchester, in the fall of 1862. Its original capital was $2000, afterwards increased to $3000. Its first officers were Benjamin Barnes, president ; George W. Pixley, secre- tary ; and E. C. Lewis, treasurer.
The factory has received the milk from four hundred to six hundred and fifty cows, annually, varying in num- ber from year to year. The amount of cheese made in 1863 was 112,154 pounds. In 1866, it was 149,658 pounds. In 1867, it was 159,480 pounds. In 1871, owing to the high price of butter, it was only 74,466 pounds. In 1872, the factory was leased for three years to Jones, Faulkner & Co., of Utica, for the manufacture of butter and cheese. They use at present the milk of four hun- dred and fifty cows.
In the year 1864, a cheese factory was set up in the Chuckery district by a stock company, consisting of J. H. Hubbard, Alfred Jones, Robert W. Evans, Enos Pot- ter, and W. W. Palmer. From that time to the pres- ent their constituency of cows has ranged from three
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CHEESE FACTORIES.
hundred to six hundred. The amount of cheese made has also varied from 85,000 to 182,000 pounds annually. The prices received have ranged from ten cents to twenty-six and a half cents per pound. This factory is in operation from May 1 to October 1 of each year. At present Enos Potter is treasurer of the company, and R. W. Evans secretary.
The factory at Franklin was established by Thomas T. Sawyer, Jr., in 1866. The first year it made 100,630 pounds of cheese, which sold for $17,310.89. From that time to the present its sales have ranged from $20,493.46, to $11,768.71. In 1872 its sales were $12,654,04. For the first two years Cyrus Nichols was superintendent ; since then it has been under the man- agement of Charles B. Van Slyke. For the first year R. Ferris was treasurer ; since then its accounts have been kept by Thomas H. Brockway.
12
CHAPTER VIII.
OF MANY THINGS.
THIS history would be incomplete without some rec- ord of those men who were prominent here at an early day in the several professions and in the pursuits of busi- ness. Accordingly, I mention of Physicians, the names of Sewall Hopkins, Seth Hastings, John Fitch, and Emory Bissell. Of Lawyers, Joseph Symonds, William Dowes, William Hotchkiss, John Kirkland, Ebenezer Griffin, Julius Pond, and Othniel Williams. Of Merchants, George W. Kirkland, Ralph Kirkland, Thomas Hart, and his two sons Ephraim and Thomas, Job Herrick, Chauncey Gridley, Orlando Hastings, Eurotas, Hastings, Joseph Stebbins, Orrin Gridley, and Solomon Lamberton. Of Farmers, the more prominent were Nathaniel Griffin, Eli Bristol, Joel Bristol, Samuel Kirkland, David Com- stock, Ozias Marvin, Solomon Gleason, Jesse Curtis, Barnabas Pond, James Bronson, Samuel Royce, Judah and Joseph Stebbins, Salmon Butler, Aaron Kellogg, Amos Kellogg, David Pixley, Reuben Gridley, John Hart, and others hardly less conspicuous.
The streets laid out at the first settlement of the place were the following : the street leading from the Village Green to Utica, with that which branches off from it at the right and runs easterly through the Butler and Steb- bins' neighborhood, and formerly called Brimfield Street ; the streets running from the southeast corner of the
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MODES OF COMMUNICATION.
Green to Chuckery and to Paris Hill; College Street, with the road branching off from it at Professor Dwight's and leading to Deansville, and the two streets branching from it north and south at the foot of College Hill ; the street running from the village directly north to Manches- ter, with the road branching from it near the old ceme- tery, and leading to Lairdsville.
Mulberry Street was opened in the year 1833 or 1834. William Street, Marvin Street, and Chestnut Street were opened in 1850 ; Canal Street in 1851; Meadow Street in 1856 ; Franklin Avenue in 1858; Elm Street in 1861; Prospect Street in 1864; and North College Street in 1873.
The Chenango Canal which leads from Utica to Bing- hamton, and crosses this town diagonally from northeast to southwest, was constructed during the years 1834-35. The lockage of this canal within the limits of the town is about two hundred feet.
A plank road, leading from Utica to Waterville, and passing through this town, was built in the year 1848. It was for many years a great convenience to the public, and was profitable to the stockholders ; but since the con- struction of the several railroads in this county it has de- clined in importance and value.
In the year 1854 a telegraph line was opened between Oxford and Utica. John Foote, of Hamilton, was the first president of the company ; and John H. Tower was the superintendent of the office in this place for several years. In the course of five years, the enterprise not proving very profitable, the stock was transferred to the Albany and Buffalo Telegraph Company. It was after- wards sold to the Western Union Telegraph Company, by whom the business of the line has since been con- ducted.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
An express office was opened here in the year 1858, under the charge of Gen. Samuel Comstock. The busi- ness at that time was very small, but has since greatly increased. It is now conducted by the American Ex- press Company.
In the year 1845 a bank was established in Clinton by Orrin Gridley, he being its proprietor and president. It was named the Kirkland Bank. It was reasonably profitable to its manager, and was in many ways helpful to the business of the town. On the decease of Mr. Gridley, in April, 1847, the bank passed into the hands of his son, Albert G. Gridley, who conducted it until the fall of 1854. At this time the bank, not proving suffi- ciently remunerative, its circulating notes were called in and its affairs closed.
Subsequently an exchange office was opened by E. S. Hopkins, and was continued for a year or more.
In 1862 the Lincoln Bank was established, with Wil- liam H. Marston as president, and Henry M. Burchard as cashier. It was discontinued in June, 1864.
In January, 1866, a banking house was opened by George Bissell & Co., in the building formerly occupied by the Kirkland Bank. Mr. Philip J. Hart was the cashier. It was closed in August, 1868.
Another banking house was established January 19, 1870, by Messrs. Bunce and Dunbar, in the building al- ready referred to, on the east side of the park. It is still in successful operation as a bank of deposit and for the negotiation of drafts and loans.
The village of Clinton obtained from the Legislature a charter of incorporation, April 12, 1843. Its charter was amended and considerably enlarged March 25, 1862; and it was amended a second time April 2, 1866, and a third time in 1873.
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NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISES.
The population of the town of Kirkland at present (1873), is about four thousand and fifty. The popula- tion of the village of Clinton is eighteen hundred.
On the 10th of July, 1846, the first newspaper was issued in Clinton, by L. W. Payne, under the name of " The Clinton Signal." After two years, certain mem- bers of the senior class in Hamilton College proposed to . the proprietor a change in the name and style of the pa- per, and offered their assistance in its editorial manage- ment and in procuring subscribers. He acceded to their request, the paper being called " The Radiator," and in its new form, a neat quarto of eight pages. The lumi- nary shone well for a time. But at the end of twelve months it went out ; in other words, it did not prove re- munerative and was given up, and the old name and style of the paper resumed.
In the year 1852 the publication of the paper was sus- pended. Not long after this Mr. Payne, having associ- ated with himself Ira D. Brown, started a new paper called " The Oneida Chief," which, with some changes of ownership, continued in existence several years. In 1856 Mr. Payne sold his paper to Francis E. Merritt. About a year afterward Mr. Merritt sold it to the late Galen H. Osborne, who adopted the name of " Chief and Courier." Mr. Osborne was a spirited editor, but his paper did not enrich him. In August, 1859, M. D. Raymond purchased the paper, and has continued its publication to the present time. Under Mr. Raymond's management it has been well conducted ; and we are happy to know that, in connection with the business of job-printing, it has proved profitable to its proprietor.
An agricultural paper styled " The Northern Farmer," was established here, by T. B. Miner, in the year 1852.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
At first it was a monthly of sixteen pages. In 1854 a forty-eight page edition of " The Farmer" was issued in connection with the original paper. In January, 1856, " The Rural American " was added, a weekly quarto of eight pages. Not long afterwards both editions of " The Farmer " were dropped, and " The Rural American " continued in their place. This latter paper was subse- quently changed into a semi-monthly, and in its new form attained a marked success. At the close of the year 1855 it numbered nearly twenty-four thousand sub- seribers. In the year 1868 the paper was removed to New Brunswick, New Jersey.
The project of a railroad from Utica to Binghamton 1 through the Oriskany and Chenango valleys, was agitated at times for many years ; but the first company for that purpose was organized in 1853. A large amount of stock was subscribed, the route was surveyed and in some sec- tions located, and the right of way obtained. In June, 1854, Mr. James Hall, the chief engineer of the company, prepared and published an extended report, showing clearly the feasibility and importance of the enterprise. But the protracted illness of Alfred Munson, Esq., of Utica, the able and efficient president of the company, delayed the commencement of the work, and his death in 1854, led to its abandonment, and the dissolution of the company.
In 1859 the Legislature of the State passed an act granting a charter to build a railroad on the berme-bank of the Chenango Canal ; but as the company was re- strieted to the use of horse-power, which was not deemed sufficient for so long a route and so important a work, the company was never organized.
1 This sketch was prepared by Hon. O. S. Williams, President of the Utica, Clinton, and Binghamton Railroad.
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RAILROAD PROJECTS.
In 1862 the railroad project was revived, and in differ- ent forms was pressed with much energy. The Utica City Railroad Company was organized, and in 1863 built a street road from Utica to New Hartford. In 1864 the charter of this company was enlarged, the route extended, and the steam-road from New Hartford to Clinton was built, and trains commenced running upon it in Septem- ber, 1866.
Finally in July, 1867, the charter was again enlarged, and the route extended under the name of the Utica, Clinton, and Binghamton Railroad Company, with a capital of one million of dollars. The road was com- pleted to Deansville in December, 1867, to Oriskany Falls in December, 1868, and to Hamilton and Smith's Valley, in the county of Madison, in September, 1870, where it formed a junction with the New York and Os- wego Midland Railroad. In 1871 the company built a steam-road from New Hartford to Utica, and the whole route from Utica to Smith's Valley was completed and put in operation. The length of the steam-road is thirty- two miles, and its cost, including the equipment and roll- ing stock was about $1,200,000.
In December, 1871, the road was permanently leased to the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad Com- pany, with the guaranty of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, and it is now operated by them greatly to the advantage of the lessees and the public.
The Rome and Clinton Railroad Company was. or- ganized May 24, 1869. Its directors elected the follow- ing officers : namely, William S. Bartlett, President ; E. B. Armstrong, Vice-President ; A. W. Mills, Secretary ; Bloomfield J. Beach, Treasurer. Subscriptions to the stock in considerable amount were obtained, and the
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
several towns along the line of the road were bonded as follows : Kirkland, for $40,000; Westmoreland, for $40,000 ; Rome, for $60,000. The right of way hav- ing been obtained, and sufficient private subscriptions secured, mostly in Kirkland and Rome, the directors proceeded to let the contract for building the road, on the 28th of October 1870, to Willis, Phelps & Company. The road was completed .in the fall of 1871. It was then leased to the New York and Oswego Midland Rail- road Company, and said lease was guarantied by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Said lease runs for ninety-nine years, and includes a perpetual renewal of its charter. The cost of building the road was $370,000 ; and it is rented for $25,000 per annum, pay- able every six months.
PATRIOTISM OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
It would be unpardonable in us to make no record of the patriotism of the inhabitants of Kirkland. We only regret that our knowledge of what they suffered and achieved is so small. All that can now be learned is as follows : -
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