Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 61

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 61

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The second hotel was opened by David Stanley in 1818; a third was built in 1822 by Samuel Cochran, and a fourth by Rufus C. Eaton in 1824. The American House was erected by Philip Hatch in 1843 and the Leland House in 1878 by the Leland Brothers.

Wales Emmons was the first acting lawyer as well as the first cabinet- maker. Other lawyers were Elisha Mack in 1827, Thomas Sherwood, Hon. Charles C. Severance, B. S. Wendover, Hon. Wells Brooks, Morris Fosdick, A. W. Stanbro, Frank Chase, Lowell M. Cummings, William H. Tichnor, Edwin A. Scott, David J. Wilcox and Scott Cummings.

The first physicians in the town were Drs. Daniel and Varney Ingalls, brothers, in 1818; Dr. Carlos Emmons came in 1823 and practiced nearly fifty years, dying in 1875. Other physicians were Drs. John House, Lynde, Jackson and Stanbro.

The Springville Express, the first newspaper, was started in 1844 by E. H. Hough and continued four years; the Herald was established in 1850 by Hough & Webster, was published by Erastus D. Webster and later by J. B. Saxe, and was discontinued in 1863. The American Citizen was started in 1856 by L. D. Saunders and the Penny Paper in August, 1859; both were short lived. The Herald was published from January, 1864, to April, 1865, by A. W. Ferrin, and the Tribune from March, 1865, to January, 1867, by N. H. Thurber. The Student's Re- pository was commenced in 1867 by W. R. De Puy and J. H. Melvin, and soon discontinued. The Springville Journal, now the Journal and Herald, was started March 16, 1867, by Walter W. Blakeley, who has owned it most of the time. The Local News was established in 1879 by Fred G. Meyers and John H. Melvin; its name was changed to the Springville News, and it is now published by N. H. Thurber & Son.

Leland & Co. opened a private bank in 1866; on April 2, 1883, it was

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reorganized as the First National Bank of Springville with William O. Leland president; H. G. Leland, vice-president; E. O. Leland, cashier. It suspended in September, 1896, W. A. Douglass, of Buffalo, being appointed receiver. The Farmers' Bank was organized January 3, 1883, with S. R. Smith, president; Bertrand Chaffee, vice-president; F. O. Smith, cashier; the capital is $25,000.

In 1814 a grist mill was built by Rufus Eaton and Benjamin Gard- ner and a woolen factory and a carding machine by John Russell and Samuel Bradley; these mills were later owned by Bradley & Russell, Rushmore & Bradley, Roswell Alcott, Col. E. W. Cook (from 1833 to 1876), and Warren G. Ransom; they were burned about 1886. About 1835 Manly Colton erected a grist mill which has been owned by Mor- gan L. Badgeley, Rufus C. Eaton, D. B. Joslyn, William Barkley, C. J. Shuttleworth, Madison Scoby and others, and since 1874 by Bertrand Chaffee. A Mr. Barnett built a foundry about 1830 and Shuttleworth & Bloomfield another in 1861; the later was burned in 1874. Charles J. Shuttleworth established a foundry, planing mill, machine shop and saw mill in 1875. Sherill & Sears built a factory about 1840 which was rebuilt by P. G. Eaton; it was converted into a tannery, was sold to Jay Borden in 1873, burned in 1879, and rebuilt by Mr. Borden, who still conducts it. A cheese factory was started by S. R. Smith in 1865, passed to Smith & Clair in 1883, and is now operated by John Clair. The Western New York Preserving and Manufacturing Company es- tablished a plant here in 1879, but finally went out of existence. There are also in the village a shoe factory owned by D. W. Blood, the saw mill and sash factory of Philip Herbold, the saw mill of Frank M. Fox, the feed mill of George Chesbro, and the cheese box factory of Harvey L. Huyck.

The post office at Springville was established in 1820 with Rufus C. Eaton as postmaster; among his successors have been Elisha Mack, Dr. Hubbard, Mr. Blaisdell, Morgan L. Badgely, Camden C. Lake, Perrin Lampson, Luther Killom, Carlos Emmons, Theodore B. Norris, Carl Chaffee, George Barker and George Richmond.

In 1829, $2,000 having been raised by subscription, the Springville Academy was organized and a building erected; school was opened in 1830 with Hiram H. Barney as principal. It flourished until 1865, when Archibald Griffith gave $10,000 as a fund the interest of which was to be used for the education of orphans and indigent children; the name of the academy was then changed to the Griffith Institute, which

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it still bears, notwithstanding that it was reorganized as a Union high school in 1875 by the consolidation of common school districts Nos. 7 and 8 into Union School district No. 1. The principals have been :

Hiram H. Barney, 1830-31; Lorenzo Parsons, 1831-34; Edwin E. Williams, 1834- 38; Alexander Hurst, 1842-44; Ephraim C. Hall, 1844-45: William Mosher, 1845-46; J. W. Earle, 1846-51; Mose Lane, 1851-53; Ezekiel Cutler, 1853-54; Eden Sprout, 1854-55; William S. Aumock, 1856; Rev. David Copeland, 1857-59; Rev. C. R. Pomeroy, 1859-65; Rev. William H. Rogers, 1865-66; A. R. Wrightman, 1866-70; Rev. W. W. Rogers, 1870-72; Rev. Mr. McIntyre; J. W. O'Brien; S. W. Eddy, 1875-79; George W. Ellis, 1879-82; Elbert W. Griffith, 1882-88; Robert W. Hughes, 1888-98; with fourteen assistants.

The attendance is about 500. In 1885 a new brick building was erected and in 1894 the old Utrich hotel was converted into an annex.

The village was incorporated in 1834, and at the first election held on May 6 the following officers were elected;

Carlos Emmons, Ebenezer Dibble, Jacob Richmond, Joseph McMillen, and Sam- uel Cochran, trustees; John Bensley, Richard Wordsworth, and Theodore Smith, assessors; Peter V. S. Wendover, clerk; Pliny Smith, jr., treasurer; Mortimer L. Arnold, collector; Abial Gardenier, poundmaster.

A fire department, consisting of Fountain Hose Co. No. 1, was or- ganized in February, 1881, with fifteen members; for several years a hand engine was used. The department now consists of a hose and a hook and ladder company. The Springville Water Works Company, organized in 1886, established a water system in 1887, supplying water from springs and later from three artesian wells. On March 5, 1897, the village purchased the plant and began extended improvements. Two trunk sewers were laid about ten years ago. In the fall of 1895 natural gas was introduced; the supply is taken from wells at Zoar. An electric light plant, owned by the village, was established in 1894.

The churches of Springville are as follows: The Presbyterian, organized as Congregational November 2, 1816, by Rev. John Spencer, first church erected in 1832, changed to Presbyterian in December, 1840, new brick church built in 1847; Baptist, organized November 19, 1824, church built in 1834, enlarged in 1871; Methodist Episcopal, built in 1827, new church erected in 1863; St. Aloysius Roman Catholic, parsonage built in 1869, church erected in 1878-79; Lutheran Salem con- gregation, organized and church built in 1896; Universalist, revived and reorganized in 1897 and a church erected; Episcopal, built in 1896; Free Methodist, using an old school house; Free Baptist, organ- ized in 1867, church built in 1869. A public library was founded

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about 1880 and has some 2,000 volumes; this was largely effected through the munificence of the late Gen. John B. Wadsworth. A Y. M. C. A. was organized in 1895.

The village of Springville now contains 4 general stores, 5 groceries, 4 hardware stores, 3 drug stores, 2 furniture establishments, 2 shoe stores, 2 jewelry stores, 1 plumbing establishment, 2 clothing stores, 1 merchant tailor, a book and crockery store, a bakery, a fruit store, a bank, 2 weekly newspapers and printing offices, 2 harness shops, a roller flour mill, 1 cheese factory, a tinsmith, a paint shop, an opera house, 1 saw mill, 2 planing mills, a foundry and machine shop, a shoe factory, 1 tannery, a feed mill, a cheese box factory, 5 hotels, a free library, 9 churches and a union high school.

East Concord is a post-office and station on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad, in the east part of the town. The post-office was established about 1863, and in 1864 Frank Peabody opened a store; he was followed by Charles C. Stanbro, Irving M. Horton, F. W. Horton, B. A. Walters, Frederick Lumley, Samuel D. Vance, Chauncey Gar- field and others. A Free Baptist church was built about 1852. The place now contains three stores, a saw mill, church, and the usual shops, etc.

Morton's Corners, west of Springville near the town line, was set- tled by Alanson, Elijah and Jeremiah Richardson, brothers, in 1814. John Battles built a tavern in 1818 which was afterward kept by Wendall Morton. Otis Morton was an early merchant, and his son, A. P. Mor- ton, was the first postmaster; later postmasters were M. Shroeder and L. M. Goodell. Other merchants are James L. Tarbox and John Sucher. The churches are the Methodist Episcopal, built in 1867; the Freewill Baptist and the Lutheran, erected in 1880. The hamlet con- tains one store, three churches, etc.

Woodward's Hollow (Wyandale post-office) was so named from Isaac Woodward, the first postmaster, about 1850. Philo Woodward built a steam saw mill in 1867. The place lies in the west part of the town.

Concord post-office, locally known as Wheeler Hollow, contains the saw mill of A. T. Wheeler and the store of John C. Colburn, who is also postmaster.

Hakes Bridge, in the southeast part of the town, has a saw, shingle and planing mill owned by Philip Goodemote.

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TOWN OF EAST HAMBURG.

This town is situated in the western-central part of the county, with West Seneca on the north, Aurora on the east, Boston on the south, and Hamburg on the west. It includes all of township 9, range 7 of the Holland Company's survey, excepting the two western tiers of lots; it also includes a tract from the Buffalo Creek Reservation five miles long east and west and averaging about two miles wide. The area of the town is about forty square miles, the surface is a broken upland, the highest point of which is Chestnut Ridge, about 500 above Lake Erie. The soil is loam, gravelly in the north part and clayey in the south. The town is drained by Smokes Creek and its tributaries.

The first settler in the territory of East Hambug was Didymus Kin- ney, who purchased his land in 1803, on the southwest corner lot of the town. Deacon Ezekiel Smith purchased land in the Newton neighbor- hood in the southwest part in 1804; he came in accompanied by his sons, Richard and Daniel, and David Eddy. The latter selected 100 acres including the site of the present village of Orchard Park. In the same year a colony came on from Vermont comprising five more sons of Deacon Smith, Amos Colvin and five sons, David Eddy's brother Aaron, his brother-in law, Nathan Peters and perhaps a few others. In 1805 Jacob Eddy, father of David, became a settler; Asa Sprague joined the colony before mentioned, and William Coltrin, Samuel Knapp and Joseph Sheldon settled not far away. In 1805 Daniel Smith built a large log structure and in it placed some rude gearing and two stones for a mill where he could grind a few bushels a day. A few years later he moved his mill to Eighteen mile Creek near the site of White's Corners. About the same time David Eddy built a saw mill for the Indians near the site of Lower Ebenezer and another on Smokes Creek on the site of Orchard Park. Many of the early settlers were Quakers and in 1801 they built a meeting house, having built a log school house in the previous year. Among the early settlers of that persuasion were Elias Freeman, Samuel and Joseph Webster, James Paxon, Jonas Hambleton, Nathaniel and Jacob Potter and others.

Samuel and Seth Abbott, two brothers, settled southeast of the Eddy neighborhood in 1806-07; Seth moved a few years later to Wright's Corners and the settlement there took the name of Abbott's Corners. Among other prominent settlers and residents may be mentioned the following :

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Ezekiel Cook, Obadiah and Reuben Newton (in 1808); William Austin (1810); Par- don Pierce, Joseph Hawkins, Obadiah Baker (about 1811); Richard Putnam. (1816); Benjamin Baker (1817); Joshua Potter (1806, father of Gilbert who was born in the town in 1809); Charles B. Utley (1810); Absalom Chandler (1816); William Hambleton (1809); Ransom Jones (1808); Col. Chauncey Abbott (son of Samuel, was born here in 1816); Oliver Griffin (1809); Elisha Freeman, Amos Chilcott, Robert Hoag, Dar- win S. Littlefield, Robert Meatyard, John H. Miller, Christopher Hambleton, Miles P. Briggs, Reuben Moore, Spencer L. Perkins, Samuel S. Reed, Dr. Elisha Smith, Mortimer F. Smith, Chester Sweet, Frank M. Thorn, Stephen Wheeler, jr., Albert A. White.

In the spring of 1812 Daniel Sumner made the first settlement on Chestnut Ridge. Obadiah Baker built an early grist mill on Smokes Creek at the place which became known as Potter's Corners, from the families of that name who settled there. Near the close of the war of 1812 a mail route was established through the town, from Abbott's Corners southeastward, and then east through the Griffin neighbor- hood. A post-office was opened at John Green's tavern, the noted hos- telry of early days, with the name Hamburg. Just after the war James Reynolds opened a store near the Friends' meeting house and a few years later moved it to Potter's Corners. William Cromwell was in business there in 1819, where the store of Anthony & Stone is situated. In 1820 David Eddy built a tavern on the site of Wasson's hotel, and it was occupied several years by his sons-in-law, Lewis Arnold and Theodore Hawkins.

The post-office before mentioned was discontinued before 1820 and another opened at Potter's Corners with the name East Hamburg. In 1822 this (with two others in the western part of the old town of Ham- burg) was discontinued and a central one opened at Abbott's Corners; before 1830, however, the East Hamburg office was re-established.

About 1825 a building was erected where the store of Smith & Petz now stands, in which William T. Smith traded; Allen Potter was a later merchant there. In recent years the name Orchard Park has been substituted for Potter's Corners for this village.

Dairying was extensively carried on in this town in former years, but the business has somewhat declined. A share, at least, of the honor attaching to the production of the once celebrated Hamburg cheese is due to this community. At the present time there is only one cheese factory in the town. The culture of fruit, berries and grapes receives much attention from the farmers, and garden products are extensively grown for the Buffalo market. The construction in 1882-83 of the

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Buffalo branch of the Rochester and Pittsburg Railroad, which crosses the town diagonally, gave the inhabitants better facilities for reaching markets and generally benefited people. At about this time the vil- lage, which had already borne several titles, was renamed Orchard Park.

Orchard Park .- This is the largest village in the town and a station on the railroad. The early settlements and first business enterprises there have been mentioned. A hotel and store were early opened a mile south of this place and an attempt was made to found a village at that point. A small hamlet gathered there and was given the name of Deuel's Corners. A mile north of Orchard Park another hamlet grew up which took the name of Webster's Corners. Former mer- chants of the village were Ambrose C. Johnson, Levi Potter, John Scott, Horace Stillwell and Christopher Hambleton, now in trade. There was an early tannery a mile east of the village, which was ope- rated up to about twenty years ago. Samuel McCormick established a barrel factory, which, since his death, has been operated by members of the family. The fire department of the village was organized about 1888, and has a chemical engine and a hook and ladder truck. A can- ning factory was established in 1878, in a building which had been a steam saw mill; Job Taylor, James A. Taylor, Frank M. Thorn, Jas- per N. Clark and Eben Scudeer were interested in the business. A stock company was ultimately formed with capital of $100,000. The establishment was burned in 1889 and not rebuilt. The Erie Preserv- ing Company established a second factory at the depot in 1890 which was burned in 1895. In the village at the present time are 2 general stores, 2 groceries, 1 drug store, 1 hardware store, 2 hotels and a barrel factory.

At Webster's Corners there is now one store; a former merchant there was Emmett J. Ayers. At Deuel's Corners is the saw mill form- erly operated by Thomas Gill. At Ellicott, a hamlet in the southwest part of the town, is a store and a few shops, with three of the churches of the town. What was formerly Abbott's Corners, on the Hamburg line, now bears the name of Armor, as far as the post-office is con- cerned; the place is noticed in the record for Hamburg. Windom is a post-office and station on the railroad and on the town line between this town and Hamburg, in the northwest part; there is little business done there.

The building of the meeting house of the Friends in 1807 has been

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mentioned. Soon after the war of 1812 a school house was built near where Ezekiel Cook settled, which was used for Baptist religious meet- ings for several years. The First Presbyterian church at Orchard Park was organized in January, 1817, by Rev. Miles P. Squier and Rev. John Spencer. A reorganization took place May 11, 1853, and the society is still in prosperous existence.

In 1855 the religiously inclined residents in the Chestnut Ridge region united in building a Union church. The building was dedicated, how- ever, by Methodists, and differences soon led to the discontinuance of services. The building is still standing. A Methodist society was foi med at Griffin's Corners about 1850, just over the Aurora line. The Immanuel Reformed church at Ellicott was organized in August, 1877, and is still active; the edifice was erected in that year. A Wesleyan Methodist society has been in existence there for some years and an old Methodist organization also; the Wesleyans built a church in 1894.

The town of East Hamburg was formed October 15, 1850, from Hamburg, and was given the name Ellicott, in honor of Joseph Elli- cott. Some minor changes in boundaries made in 1851 gave the town its present area. The name was changed February 20, 1852, by an act of the Legislature. The first town meeting was held March 4, 1851, and the following officers were elected:

Amos Chilcott, supervisor; Chauncey Abbott, town clerk; Hiram Bullis, Thomas Ostrander and Lansing B. Littlefield, justices of the peace; William Hambleton, as- sessor ; Henry A. Griffin and Harmon Wheelock, commissioners of highways; Sam- uel S. Reed and Oliver Hampton, inspectors of election; C. C. Briggs, collector; William Paxson, poormaster; Milton H. Bull, Horace H. Hinman, Amos Colvin and John W. Ostrander, constables.

Following is a list of the supervisors of East Hamburg and their years of service:

Amos Chilcott, 1851; Isaac Baker, 1852; Jacob Potter, 1853; Lansing B. Little- field. 1854; John T. Fish, 1855-56; Lewis M. Bullis, 1857-58; Ivory C. Hawkins, 1859: James H. Deuel, 1860-61; Ambrose C. Johnson, 1862; Levi Potter, 1863-64; Benjamin Baker, 1865-66; Christopher Hambleton, 1867: Allen Potter, 1868; Nor- man B. Sprague, 1869; Allen Potter, 1870; Frank M. Thorn, 1871-74; Amos Free- man, 1875; Frank M. Thorn, 1876-80; Cephas L. Potter, 1881; Norman B. Sprague, 1882; Charles H. Sweet, 1883-86; Amos C. Hambleton, 1887-88: George W. Briggs, 1889; Carleton G. Briggs, 1890; George W. Briggs, 1891-97.

TOWN OF EDEN.

Eden is an interior town of Erie county, lying southwest of the cen- ter of the county, with Hamburg on the north, Boston on the east,

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North Collins on the south, and Evans on the west. The town was formed March 20, 1812, from Willink and then included the present towns of Boston (set off in 1817) and Evans (set off in 1821). It com- prises township 8, range 8 of the Holland Company's survey, with the western tier of lots in township 8, range 7, and contains about forty square miles of territory, or 25,265 acres. The surface is generally a level upland, which is traversed by the deep and narrow valley of the west branch of Eighteen-mile Creek, which flows from the southeast corner of the town to its junction with the west branch, a little west of the center of the northern boundary. The soil is a gravelly loam, in- termixed with clay. The principal products are garden truck for Buf- falo markets, dairying, and small fruits, especially grapes. There are two limburger cheese factories in the town.

Settlement began in Eden territory with the arrival in 1808 of Deacon Samuel Tubbs, his two sons, and James Welch, a nephew, on the site of Eden Valley, which was long known as Tubbs's Hollow. Elisha and John M. Welch, brothers of James, came on in 1810. John M. was father of Hon. Nelson Welch, who still resides in the town. Dr. John March and Silas Estee located near the Tubbs family in 1810. Elisha Welch built the first saw mill in 1811 and the first grist mill in the next year. John Hill settled at the site of Eden Center in 1811. Other settlers of 1811 were Levi Bunting, Joseph Thorn, Calvin Thompson, James Paxson and Josiah Gail. In 1813 Daniel, Samuel, William and Edward Webster settled near Tubbs's Hollow, coming from what is now the town of Boston. In the spring of 1814 Dr. Will- iam Hill settled near his son, John Hill; he was a Revolutionary army surgeon, but being too old for much active practice he opened a tavern at Eden Center on the site of the later Caskey house. The first school was opened in 1814.

After the close of the war settlers came into the town rapidly. Sim- eon Clark built or set up a lathe near East Eden and made spinning wheels, etc. Other settlers soon after the war were John Dayton, Joseph H. Beardsley, John Kerr, Hiram Hinman, Nathan Grover and Joseph Blye. The first merchant was a Mr. Harris, who brought in his goods in 1813; about 1816, when his trade had increased, he built a small store on the site of J. H. Caskey's store at Eden Center. In 1816 Col. Asa Warren moved in from Willink and settled two miles east of Eden Center, where he built saw and grist mills. Other pio- neers of that period were Obed Warren, Orrin Babcock, Elias Babcock,

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and David Wood. Many of the early settlers were members of the so- ciety of Friends.

About 1818 a Mr. Ensign built a small grist mill near East Eden. on a stream then called Hampton Brook. Before 1821 there was a post-office called Eden, but it was in that part of the town finally set off to form Evans. In 1822 a post-office was established at Eden Valler, with J. T. Welch postmaster, and named Evans. The names of these two offices were subsequently transposed, so that their names conformed with the names of the two towns.

Other early settlers and prominent residents of the town were:

Benjamin Tolls, who came in early. Samuel Beardsley, Hazard Beardsley, David S. Beardsley. Elias D. Babcock, son of Elias and born in the town: Porter Belknap and his son John: Linus Dole and his son Franklin: James Green, settled in 1916. father of James W. ; Abraham Paxson, came in 1811: John Hill and his sons John and Roswell; Nelson Welch, son of John; Charles S. Rathbun (1826; Davis Webster (born in the town in 1829, son of Daniel); Daniel B. Thompson and his son Amos F .: David Ide and his son Charles H .; Simon Smith, jr .: Martin Arlen, sr. ; Jacob Blev, George Brindley, Milo Canfield, jr., Henry B. Case, Joshua Norton, Christian Gillman.

Eden Center .- This is a pleasant village centrally situated in the town and a station on the Buffalo and Southwestern division of the Erie Rail- road. It was called Hill's Corners down to 1822, in which year Col. Asa Warren built a large frame tavern. In about 1825 Fillmore & Johnson opened a store. Lyman Pratt subsequently began mercantile business and continued more than forty years; he was followed by his son-in-law, Harrison Parker, still in trade. William Paxson and Joseph D. Caskey opened general stores and A. S. Pytz a grocery. Eric Blom- quist engaged in furniture business and others contributed to the early activity of the place. Godfrey Metz was the first German resident of the village and built the Eden hotel; he sold to William Pemberton and he to George P. Roeller. A cooperage that was established in 1840 passed through possession of various persons to Frank S. Webster. The Eden Center Preserving Company was formed in 1882 with capital of $18,000; C. F. Rathbun, president, and Harrison Parker, secretary and treasurer. In 1891 it was purchased by the Hamburg Canning Company, and is very successful. A steam shingle mill, established long ago by Abram Lang, was converted into a steam cider mill. A planing mill was built and is operated by George M. Dubois. Solon J. Ryther was a former blacksmith. Among other merchants in the vil- lage were John S. Peek, William D. and Albert C. Anthony, Caskey

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Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 61

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

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