Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 39

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

USA > New York > Erie County > Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1) > Part 39

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of them made an attempt to take possession of a farm, the holder of which was in arrears, he was bombarded with threatening notices; armed men gathered on the hillsides and indulged in ominous move- ments until the hapless agent's anxiety and fear drove him away be- fore his purpose was accomplished. There was, of course, no ground for contesting the title of the company and the Legislature refused to interfere. In most of the towns the large majority of the settlers, by persistent effort extending over many years and aided by the gradual further improvement of their farms and the resulting increase of prod- ucts, succeeded in paying their indebtedness and securing deeds to their lands. In a few localities so stubborn and long-continued was the resistance that the company put off forcible collections until the holders of farms acquired title by adverse possession, in which they were sustained by the courts. It is unquestioned that this state of af- fairs in the rural districts tended to cripple the energies of settlers, hinder progress and delay improvements.

The town of Tonawanda was set off from the town of Buffalo on the 16th of April, 1836, and included the present town of that name and Grand Island. The little village of Tonawanda, which then embraced what is now the city of North Tonawanda, had by that time begun to attain a small business importance.

Three other towns were erected prior to 1840. On the 14th of Feb- ruary, 1839, all that part of the town of Buffalo outside of the city was formed into the town of Black Rock. The new town extended around the city from Black Rock village to the lake shore. At the first town meeting held William A. Bird was elected supervisor. This town had an existence of only about thirteen years. On the 25th of March the town of Brant was formed, and Cheektowaga was erected on the 22d of the same month. The former was taken from Evans and Collins, and the first town meeting was held on the 16th of the following month at the house of Ansel Smith. Milton Morse had already in 1835 es- tablished the first store in the town, at the Center, which was for some time called Morse's Corners. Mr. Morse was also the first postmaster in the office established after the formation of the town.

The new town of Cheektowaga was formed from Amherst, its name being derived from an Indian term signifying " the place of the crab- apple tree," this fruit abounding in that section in a wild state. The territory of this town was quite well settled at the date of its formation. Alexander Hitchcock, long a respected citizen, was chosen the first

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supervisor, and is said to have suggested the name of the town. Israel Ely settled in the town in 1833; he had been sent out by the New York Missionary Society in 1818 to ascertain the condition of the Indians on the Holland Purchase. He was father of Judah, Israel N., E. Sterling, and E. Selden Ely. Israel N. Ely was member of assembly in 1833, and E. Selden Ely was eleven years supervisor of Cheektowaga.

As to progress in other parts of the county during the period under consideration, it can only be described as inconsiderable and unimpor- tant. The epidemic of cholera and the great financial panic were suf- ficient to account for this fact. The village of Williamsville made a little advancement and in 1837 a company was chartered to build a macadam road from Buffalo to the village; the road was finished with- in two years, and was the first attempt to thus improve one of the old highways.

On the 27th of April, 1837, the supervisors of the county were author- ized by an act of the Legislature to raise by taxation $5,000 in the towns of Lancaster, Alden and part of Amherst and Buffalo, with which " to make, repair and improve the road from the easterly termination of Genesee street in Buffalo, through the villages of Lancaster and Alden to the westerly line of Genesee county." Again, on May 9 of that year, the supervisors were similarly empowered to raise a like sum to improve the roads on the Indian Reservation in the towns of Ham- burg, Aurora, Wales, Holland, Colden, Sardinia, Concord, Boston, Collins, Eden and Evans. These improvements were much needed, as the roads of the county were in most cases and for many years in very poor condition.

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CHAPTER XXII.

TOWN AND VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT.

Features of Town and Village Growth-Condition of the County at the Date of Its Formation-Effects of the Land Sale to the Ogden Company-Development in Aurora between 1821 and 1840-Growth in Holland and Newstead-Beginning of the Village of Akron-Alden and West Seneca-Advancement in Hamburg and East Hamburg-The Celebrated Hamburg Cheese-Growth and Advancement in the Various Other Towns and Villages.

During the nearly twenty years that elapsed between the date of the formation of Erie county (1821) and 1840, the history of which as far as relates to Buffalo and to subjects of general county interest has been told in the two immediately preceding chapters, considerable material advancement was made in all parts of the county, the historical aspects of which are of especial interest in connection with the various towns. Seven new towns were formed during that period, besides three that were created in the month of March succeeding the erection of the county in April, 1821. In the county at large many hamlets were developed, some of which in later years grew to thriving villages, where the shops of the early shoemaker, tinsmith, wagonmaker, black- smith, and the store of the merchant were established; where mills were built, if there was the least available water power, to which the farmer of those days carried his grain to obtain flour and meal for his family use, or drew the saw logs to be cut into lumber for his own buildings; where the pioneer physicians, unselfish and frequently over- taxed in covering the wide extent of territory to see their scattered patients, settled and dwelt; and where here and there a lawyer found, or hoped to find, a living in his profession.

When Erie county was formed a large portion of its territory was yet covered with forest and many wild animals still stealthily visited the remote settlers to deplete their accumulations of live stock. Many thousands of acres of this forest were cleared during that period and put under tillage, to be covered in the autumn months with fields of ripening grain, in which wheat was most conspicuous. The nationality

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of the inhabitants was in the mean time materially modified, the influx of Germans being very large. At the date of the formation of the county the population was almost wholly American-Yankees from the Eastern States, with a few Irish and a very few Swedes and Germans. But the Germans soon constituted a prominent element and brought to the agricultural communities, as well as to the city, a conservative, methodical, rather slow-moving, and yet industrious, prudent and every way useful class of citizens. The village and agricultural dis- tricts profited more or less by the new canal, which, if it did not actu- ally increase prices of farm products during that period, made a more active market in Buffalo to which the farmers could go with confi- dence that they would receive for grain, vegetables, etc., rates as high as those paid in other localities; while merchants and shopkeepers paid far less for freighting their goods and supplies in from eastern markets than before the canal was opened.

In the years of reckless speculation country merchants and many farmers, particularly in towns near to Buffalo, became to some extent infected with the prevailing heresy; but instances of speculation and subsequent disaster were not numerous among them. They suffered severely, however, in the general depression and stagnation that fol- lowed, although they had contributed little to the causes.

The purchase of lands from the Indians by the Ogden Company in 1826, which is fully described in Chapter I, opened to settlement a vast area in some of the towns, which was speedily sold and occupied. The towns most affected by this sale were Marilla, Alden, Lancaster, Cheek- towaga, Elma, West Seneca, Wales, Hamburg and East Hamburg, Aurora and Concord.

During the period from the formation of the town of Aurora (1818) to 1830 and a little later it was one of the most thriving regions in Erie county. Settlement was rapid, and numerous mills of various kinds, but generally of modest pretensions, were built. Besides the mill erected by Abram Smith at West Falls, another was built called the lower mill, where the Big Tree road crosses Cazenove Creek, and when the old mill built by Phineas Stephens was burned, it was succeeded by another erected by John C. Pratt. About 1820 Lemuel Spooner built still another grist mill in the southeast corner of the town, which was subsequently owned by Lyman Cornwall. At about the same time David Nichols built a carding mill on the west branch of Cazenove Creek a mile and a half above its mouth, and about 1822 Sylvester Mc-

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Kay established an oil mill on the same dam, and near by Benjamin Enos built a tannery. At Griffin's Mills in 1820 there were in opera- tion a grist mill, a saw mill, a distillery and an ashery, while Robert Griffin kept a tavern and Adam Paul a store. In 1822 a brick hotel was erected. Ledyard R. Phelps established a tannery there in 1828 and James Ives opened a store in 1825. Joseph S. Bartlett built a carding and fulling mill on the east branch of Buffalo Creek a little above the site of the Stephens grist mill before mentioned; this was burned in 1865. Most of the owners of these various early industries carried on farming also. In the mean time the early Upper and Lower Villages which now constitute the one village of East Aurora assumed considerable business importance. Nathaniel Fillmore settled in the town about 1820, and in the fall of 1821 his son, Millard Fillmore, the future president of the United States, arrived at his father's house. He had already devoted some time to the study of law and soon found a little business in that profession, at the same time teaching school in the winter of 1821-22. In the spring of 1822 he went to Buffalo and studied and taught school until he was admitted to practice, when he returned to Aurora and opened an office. In 1830 he settled perma- nently in Buffalo. Nathaniel Fillmore was a brother of Calvin, who also settled about the same time in Aurora. Dr. Erastus Wallis settled at the Lower Village, as it was then called, about 1825 and acquired a large practice, while Dr. Jonathan Hoyt continued at the Upper Vil- lage; a little later Dr. Jabez Allen and Dr. George H. Lapham located in the village. Stephen Holmes, who established his store in East Aurora in 1828, continued in business nearly thirty years, and in 1831 Samuel W. Bowen purchased the mercantile business which had been conducted some years by N. G. Reynolds; both of these stores were at the Lower Village. At the Upper Village Joseph Howard, jr., con- ducted a store and hotel from about 1820, and in 1828 built a brick block, in part of which he kept a store; he continued in active business until his death in 1836. Joseph Riley, also an active business man, settled in the place in 1830. Nathan K. Hall studied in Mr. Fillmore's office and followed him to the city a little later. The well known Aurora Academy was opened in 1833 and added to the prosperity of the place; and in 1835 Almon N. Clapp began the publication of the Aurora Standard. Peter M. Vosburgh settled in the village some time between 1830 and 1835 as a lawyer and remained in practice about ten years, until he was appointed surrogate of the county, when he re-

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moved to Buffalo. Isaac V. Vanderpoel was in company with him nearly ten years. At the Upper Village Lafayette Carver settled soon after Mr. Fillmore's removal and practiced there about twenty years. Albert Sawin began practice there before 1837 and remained till 1850, when he removed to Buffalo. James M. Humphrey was admitted to the bar in 1847, and practiced at the Upper Village ten years, when he was elected district attorney and he, too, removed to Buffalo.

The Globe Hotel was established in 1824 by C. P. Persons, and in 1826 the Congregational society (later the Presbyterian) united with the Baptists in building of a house of worship which was completed in 1828. The rivalry between the two sections of what is now the village of East Aurora and the belief on the part of many citizens that the place would eventually become the seat of large business interests, led to consider- able speculation during the inflated period before described, and the village was long in recovering from the effects of the crash that fol- lowed.

Some time prior to 1825 the Congregational church was organized as one of the results of the labors of "Father Spencer," and in 1827-28 united with the earlier organized Baptist society in building a house of worship in the Upper Village; both congregations occupied it nearly twenty years on alternate Sundays. The Methodist society erected their first church in 1827 in the Lower Village. In 1843 the Congrega- tional society adopted the Presbyterian faith.

Following the settlements in the town of Holland described in Chap- ter XVIII, made prior to the formation of Erie county, many families located and improved excellent farms in various parts of the town. Among these may be mentioned the Crooks, Rogers, Davis, Whaley, Hawks, Colby, Sleeper and Dustin families. Vermont Hill and West Hill, as well as the lower parts, received accessions to their population. Moses McCarthy, who was supervisor of the town of Wales fourteen years, settled on Vermont Hill. Isaac Dickerman settled in 1829 ad- joining Humphrey's so-called Fort farm, before mentioned, and built one of the few brick houses in the town. Colden was taken from Hol- land in 1827, leaving the latter with its present area. Amos Hall built a saw mill in Holland village in 1820, which long ago disappeared. Hoyt & Flinn were the second merchants in the place, in a building that was moved back in 1829, to make room for a hotel erected by one of the partners, William Hoyt. Hoyt & Adams was also an early firm of merchants. The first hotel, opened by Joshua Barron in 1816, was con-

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tinued until 1829, when it was succeeded by the one just mentioned. A Dr. Parker, whose first name cannot be learned, was the first physician in the village, where he settled about 1825. Dr. Zoroaster Paul located there about 1833. The first post-office in the town was established in 1822, Lyman Clark postmaster; he was succeeded by Elam Clark. About 1840 Israel Rich built a saw mill on the dam that formerly sup- plied water to the mill of Amos Hall, and also operated a carding mill near by. In later years mill stones were put in the saw mill for grain grinding. A Baptist church was organized in 1829, but a church edifice was not erected until 1844. At the point where a little settlement gath- ered called Protection, John Dake was making spinning wheels, etc., as early as 1830, and a small business interest sprang up there. Mr. Dake built a saw mill in 1840. The hamlet is on the Sardinia line and partly in that town.

During the twenty years under consideration the town of Newstead made more rapid progress, perhaps, than any other in the county, its most marked advancement taking place between 1830 and 1840 in the village of Akron. Dr. Isaac Parcell settled at the site of Akron in 1831, as the first physician there. In 1831, or earlier, a tavern was built and in that year passed to Spencer S. Harrington who kept the house sev- eral years. In the same year Mitchell Osborne opened a grocery and continued in business in the village more than fifty years. Elisha Adams opened a general store about the same time, and two or three years later John Wainwright and Harrison Osborne began mercantile business. About the year 1832 "Squire " Huntley built a dam across Murder Creek and erected a carding and fulling mill. Hezekiah Cum- mings purchased the business a little later and a large custom was secured for many years. In 1835 there was a mail route from Medina to the Newstead post-office, over which Lorenzo D. Covey carried the mail. At this time there was a very large travel from east to west over the Buffalo road. At the post-office, then called Erie (the town bore that name in early years) there was a large store, a hotel or two, and a constant stream of travel, and it seemed that the place would become the largest village in the town; but such was not to be the result. With the sale to the Ogden Company of about 7,000 acres within the limits of the town from the south side of the Tonawanda Reservation, as described in an earlier chapter, only about 2,000 acres of the res- ervation were left in the town. This large tract was speedily divided by the Ogden Company and put in market, and new settlers went into

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that region, among them Nathan L. Barney, James McMullen, Robert Benedict and others. Gradually the business interests of the town left the old point on the Buffalo road and drifted to the new location on Murder Creek- the site of Akron. In April, 1831, the name of the town was changed from Erie to Newstead, and soon afterward the post- office also received the new name; but it still remained at the old lo- cation for several years. As late as 1837 there was a post-office called Newstead on the Buffalo road, with John S. Ball postmaster. A little earlier than this, however, the settlement on the site of Akron, which had so far been known as " The Corporation," was given its present name. A horse railroad was built in 1835 from Medina, Orleans county, to Akron, and thence to Richville, Genesee county; the bulk of the stock was owned in Medina, the citizens of that thriving village be- lieving their place would be greatly benefited by opening such a line of communication southward. The rails of this pioneer railway were white oak timbers six inches square, laid on cross ties, and one passen- ger car and one freight car made daily trips; the fare was sixty-four cents from Akron to Medina. The road never paid and it was soon abandoned. In 1839 occurred the discovery by Jonathan Delano of the celebrated hydraulic limestone cropping out on Murder Creek at the point which became known as Fallkirk, now in the eastern part of Akron village. He obtained a lease of the land for a few years and in 1840 built a small kiln and began the manufacture of water lime. Not long after the discovery the State caused an exhaustive examination of the cement to be made, and finding it of superior quality, the canal com- missioners contracted for a large quantity to be used in the construction of the Genesee Canal and the feeder dam at Tonawanda. This busi- ness gave a spirited impetus to the growth of the village, as described in the later Gazetteer of Towns. A Presbyterian church was organized here in 1835, and a Baptist church in 1837; the latter erected a house of worship in 1838.

About 1840 or a little earlier Julius Swift settled on 500 acres of land on Murder Creek, built a saw mill and grist mill and opened a store. This center became known as Swift's Mills and much of the business of Northern Newstead was for some years transacted there. Mr. Swift's sons carried on those business industries in later years.

In the town of Alden considerable further improvement was made from 1820 to 1840. The tavern opened by Amos Bliss, on the site of Alden village in 1815, was closed in 1820, in which year A. C. Burdick

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settled in the region afterwards known as the West Woods, and Stephen Church in 1821. In 1822 Thomas Farnsworth bought a farm on lot 17 of Aaron Botts, built a large frame house on the site of Alden village and erected a tannery on a branch of Eleven-mile Creek north of the village. In June, 1825, travel increased somewhat and the crowds going to see the execution of the Three Thayers made such de- mands upon him that he took out a tavern license. About the same time Dr. John Harrington located in the town as the first physician, and John Bryant opened a store about half a mile east of the village. Calvin Bishop was his clerk about two years and then established a store on the village site. When the sale of lands was made to the Og- den Company, in 1826, it opened a large tract of territory in this town (between twelve and thirteen square miles), which was promptly sub- divided and placed in market and was soon taken by settlers. The post-office at Alden village was established in 1823, with Joseph Free- man postmaster.

Among early merchants in the village were Horace Stanley, Litchfield & Barstow, Samuel M. Butler, and others. A Methodist society was organized in September, 1833. Many Germans settled in the town of Alden between 1830 and 1840, particularly in the northern and eastern parts.

At the time of the Ogden purchase the whole of the territory of West Seneca still remained in nominal possession of the Indians, except as they had permitted a few white families to reside on their reservation. Two roads ran through the reservation from the earliest settlements; one along the lake shore, and the other by a somewhat devious course from Buffalo to the site of East Aurora village. This became in late years the Buffalo and Aurora plank road. An early highway was also opened from East Hamburg, which extended across West Seneca territory south of Cazenove Creek, and one also from Abbott's Corners. which intersected the other within the present city limits. All of these roads were for many years in wretched condition. Among the families whom the Indians had allowed to live on the reservation were those of Isaac Earl, George Hopper, John Wells, Joel Decker, Peter Beal, Arte- mas Baker, and possibly a few others. At about the time of the sale to the Ogden Company Reuben Sackett built a frame tavern on the East Hamburg road, which was long and popularly known as "the old Sackett stand." In 1829 a missionary society built a church on the reservation north of Cazenove Creek, near the line between West

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Seneca and Buffalo; this church was maintained until the removal of the Indians.

During the period under consideration in this chapter there was noticeable improvement in the towns of Hamburg and East Hamburg, both of which were at that period included in the original Hamburg. The town was largely settled before 1821. Among the later comers were many Germans who have become owners of highly cultivated farms. In the latter part of the decade closing with 1840 this town be- gan to gain its later high reputation for the excellence of its dairy products, and particularly of the celebrated Hamburg cheese, which commanded a high price in the market. Village growth in the town was slow until later than 1840. Hamburg village bore the old name of Smith's Mills until 1820 or later. Thomas T. White was an early settler on the site of the village; he was father of Lewis T. White, long a leading citizen and business man. Ralph Shepard kept one of the earliest hotels in the place. In 1820 a post-office was opened with the name Smithville, and Mr. Shepard was made postmaster; it was dis- continued about 1822. After Thomas T. White engaged in business, about 1820, the place gradually took the name of White's Corners, and retained that appellation for fifty years. St. Peter's and St. Paul's Catholic church was organized at Hamburg village in 1831; there was already a Free Will Baptist society in existence, organized about 1826, and a Methodist society formed in the early years of the existence of the place. The first school was opened in the village in 1820. The second grist mill in the place was carried away by a freshet in 1822, but it was rebuilt by the father of John T. Mills; the latter became its owner and sold it to Abram Long about 1827, who superseded it with a fine brick mill in 1856. Thomas T. White became owner of the first tannery (built in 1808) about 1820, and it was sold in 1840 to John Sigel by Lewis T. White. In 1825 Willard Berry built a woolen and cloth factory near the grist mill, but it burned within a few years and was not rebuilt. Later settlement at Water Valley and other points in this town is left for the Gazetteer in later chapters.

The post-office with the name Hamburg, which was established at Green's tavern, in what is now East Hamburg, as related in earlier pages of this work, was superseded in 1820 by one located at Potter's Corners with the name East Hamburg; this, with two others in the western part of the old town of Hamburg, was discontinued in 1822, and a central one established at Abbott's Corners, with the name Ham-

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Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 39

Author: Truman C. White Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017