Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York, Part 48

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1368

USA > New York > Jefferson County > Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York > Part 48

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The geographical and topographical features of this large and splen- did jurisdiction are not remarkable (except, perhaps, in the locality known as pulpit rock), but in geographical formation the town has strong distinguishing characteristics. Antwerp is the extreme eastern town of the county, and is bounded north by St. Lawrence and east by

1 Silvius Hoard was father of Charles B. Hoard, member of congress, 1850-55.

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THE TOWN OF ANTWERP.

Lewis county. In the north and east portions the land surface is broken by low, rocky ridges which are parallel with Indian river. The westerly part is more level. The soil in the valleys is chiefly a clayey loam, and is very fertile, yielding abundantly in all agricultural pro- duets, especially in grass and hay. It is an historical fact that forty and more years ago the town produced more and better butter than any division of the county, and in 1855, with a single exception, had the greatest number of cows of any town in the state. The ridges are com- posed of masses of gneiss, a product which was an early source of busi- ness and profit to the inhabitants, for between the years 1805 and 1828 about one hundred pairs of millstones were manufactured from that roek in the town. Another geological peculiarity is a local deposit of white crystalline limestone, which was found especially valuable for lime, and also was much used as a "flux" for the iron ores produced in the region. A rich sandstone also prevails in certain localities, fur- nishing excellent material for building purposes, and was formerly much used as a lining for the furnaces. However, between the gneiss and sandstone was found several of the richest iron ores in the state, the presence and discovery of which resulted in the most important commercial industry in the history of the town, and one which during the period of its active operation furnished employment to hundreds of men and brought comfort and wealth to many families. Among the iron mines of early days those which appear to possess historie interest were the Sterling mine, about three miles north of Antwerp village; the Keene mine, on the St. Lawrence county border; the Parish mine, in the same vicinity, and still others of more recent discovery and de- velopments, which are further mentioned on later pages of this chapter, but which have been an important element in the progress of the town. Bog ore was found in considerable quantities near Ox Bow, a region which for the richness and abundance of its mineral specimens has sel- dom been equalled. One or two sulphur springs were also discovered in the town but were of minor importance in comparison with the other mineral deposits,

The principal watercourse of Antwerp is the Indian river, a stream of considerable magnitude, which enters the town from Wilna, on the south border; thence flows an exceedingly devions though generally north course to a point about three miles east of Antwerp village; then turns abruptly to the west and south and courses into Philadelphia. The Oswegatchie river enters the town from St. Lawrence county, and

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

flows about three miles in the form of a bow (hence the name Ox Bow), then turns north from the town, crossing the boundary less than one and one half miles west from the point of entrance. Vrooman and Sherman lakes are small bodies of water south of Ox Bow, both of which are tributaries of the Oswegatchie, although between them, and into which both discharge, is a creek, the source of which is Moon lake, chiefly in Theresa.

Settlement in Antwerp was begun in 1803, while the territory formed a part of Brownville. In that year Captain William Lee and Peter Vrooman came and built log houses on the route of travel between the long falls on Black river (Carthage) and St. Lawrence county. Cap- tain Lee located on the line of the state road, on lot No. 654, while Vrooman made his improvement at the Ox Bow, within the limits of the village now so called. Both were squatters, claiming no title, but each opened his house as a tavern to accommodate the settlers journey- ing into localities further north. Each of these worthies was quieted in his possession by the agent of the proprietary, for the public houses opened by them were a great convenience. Lee took title to his tract in 1805, but sold out after a few years, removing further north, and was succeeded as landlord by Mordecai F. Cook.

The old Cook tavern on lot 657 became a somewhat famous resort in later years. It was centrally located, therefore early town meetings were frequently held there. Here also were held general trainings in the old militia days, when the farmer and the mechanic alike would abandon toil and attend the muster to eat Yankee gingerbread and en- joy a day of jollification. During the embargo days, this was a resort for smugglers, for the old Oswegatchie road was a noted thoroughfare for the transportation of goods to the river; and it occasionally hap- pened that both smugglers and custom officers were at the same time sheltered under landlord Cook's hospitable roof. Peter Vrooman, whose tavern was at the Ox Bow, purchased the land in 1806, and thus was his title confirmed.

The Oswegatchie road, on the line of which these pioneers settled, was first opened for travel in 1801, and was built by public subscrip- tions from the land proprietors. It was the first traveled road north of Black river, and owed its existence to the efforts of Judge Nathan Ford the pioneer of Ogdensburgh. It extended from the east branch of Oswegatchie river to the Ox Bow, a distance of 6 miles; thence to Indian river, 13 miles; thence to the long falls of Black river (Car-

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thage), 13 miles; thence to Shaler's (Turin). The road, however, was only cut through and opened by the proprietors, and, if the journal kept by agent James Constable was correet, it was an exceedingly un- comfortable thoroughfare of travel. Under the lottery act of April 9, 1804, a sum of money was raised for improving the road from the head of long falls to the mills of Judge Ford, at Oswegatchie. It was to be regularly opened six rods wide, and Judge Ford, J. Turner and Joseph Edsell were commissioners to supervise the work. The improved road was substantially completed in 1805.

During the years 1803-06 James Constable made extended tours of observation and exploration in this part of the state, and in the course of his investigations became pretty well acquainted with the Oswe- gatchie road and the settlers along its route. Hle occasionally stopped at both the Lee and Vrooman taverns, and, like the veteran travelers of later years, wrote complainingly of lodgings and fare. However, from his diary of daily experiences it is learned that in 1801 there were not more than three settlers on the lands now forming this town, two of whom were landlords Lee and Vrooman. In 1805 Con- stable again journeyed over the road, and on August 16 once more " put up " at Lee's hostlery. At this time there were no more settlers, but he learned that General Lewis R. Morris, who had purchased the lands in 1801, had been over the road to arrange for immediate settle- ment, but was then in Vermont. In this year Daniel Sterling made a settlement in the town, a mile north of Indian river, on the farm more recently owned by Bradford Sterling. Samuel G. Sterling, son of the pioneer, was the first white child born within the limits of the town. Daniel was also the father of James Sterling, who was so prominently connected with the iron-producing industry of the town. Indeed, from the time of this settlement some member of the Sterling family has ever since been associated with the history and development of Ant- werp.

Proprietor Morris was evidently energetic in his efforts to induce set- tlement, for in 1806 he brought to the town several pioneer families, among them the Fosters ( Edward, Edward, jr., John C., Hopestill), also John Bethel, Peter Raven, and Silas Ward. In the next year came Asa Hunt, Lyman Colburn, William Randall, Henry Adams and Allen Thompson. In 1808 the arrivals included Clark Lewis, Salmon White, Thadeus Park and Amos Kieth. In 1809 Amos and Warren Streeter and Caleb Cheency came and settled in the locality, near the

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

families previously mentioned, all of whom were in that part of the town northeast of where Daniel Sterling made the first improvement. Moses and Reuben Nott, with their widowed mother, came soon after- ward. On the road leading to the long falls (Carthage), Samuel Hub- bard made the first settlement in 1805, followed soon afterward, and before the town was set off from Le Ray, by Dexter and Sherebiah Gibbs, Henry C. Baldwin, Amasa Sartwell, Almon Beecher and William Fletcher.

Among the other early settlers, the first place of residence of whom is uncertain, may be mentioned James Parker, John Jenison, Daniel Heald, John Robinson, Zopher Holden (on Indian river), and Benajah Randall, in 1806; Samuel Griswold, David Coffeen and Zebulon Rockwell, in 1807; David Gill and Alfred Walker, in 1808; Richard McAllaster, Francis MeAllaster, Isaac L. Hitchcock, Jonathan Marble. Jesse Jackson, John Pease, Daniel Heald and Timothy Ruggles, in 1809; Solomon Pepper, Jeduthan Kingsbury and Harrison Moseley, in 1810; Anson Cummings, Levi Wheelock, Benjamin Cook (on lot 690), John White and William McAllaster, in 1811 ; Asher Seymour, Willis Harris, Elkanah Pattridge, Ira Ward, Roswell Wilder, Elliot Lynde, Benj. Goodwin, Silas Brooks, Ezra Church, S. Beckwith and James Briggs, in or about the year 18I2. Other settlers of the same period, and all believed to have been in the town previous to the war, were Silvins Hoard, the land agent and proprietor, Matthew Brooks, Samel llendricks, James Chase, Oliver Stowell and Sylvanus Hall.

There were still other early residents who were factors in local his- tory more than half a century ago, though not perhaps entitled to be mentioned among the pioneers or early settlers, for when they came the foundation of the town's institutions had been laid, the hardships and privations of pioneer life were passed, and the resources of the lo- cality were fairly well developed. In this connection may be recalled the Seaver family; also Oliver Webster and Ira Hinsdale, who were here in 1818; James Whitmore and the Gleason and Gillett families, as early as 1820; the Taylor (at Ox Bow) and Clark families about 1822; the Eggleston's in 1826; the Lamb and Rogers families about 1828, followed soon afterward by Ira Beaman, William Wilson, James Scott and Clark Willard and their families, until settlement was lost in later rapid growth and development.

Indeed, from what has been stated, and from the many names of settlers thus recalled, it must be seen that proprietors Morris, Hoard and Parish were active in the disposition of their lands. In the very early years of the century it had been reported that the lands north of Black river were undesirable as a place of abode, but the rapid manner in which farm tracts were taken and oceupied by permanent and substan-

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tial setters would seem to indicate that the proprietors had effectually refuted these damaging reports, for in no part of Jefferson county were the lands more quickly taken and worked with better results than in remote Antwerp. It is true that now in the eastern part of the town is a considerable area of undeveloped territory, but notwithstanding that, and all the other disadvantages of locality and adverse reports concerning the character of the land, more than half a century ago Antwerp ranked first among the agricultural towns of the county, and to-day the inhabitants contend that it still maintains that elevated and desirable position.

It has been estimated that in 1810 there were 75 settlers in the town, nearly all of whom were heads of families, and at the same time the total number of inhabitants was about 250. This was the result of five years of development, and it was not surprising that a people so active in all personal concerns in life should seek the creation of a separate town in that portion of the large county in which they lived.

Organisation .- The act of creating the town from Le Ray was passed by the legislature April 5, 1810, and the territory then set off was of the same extent in area as at the present time. In 1813 the boundaries were accurately defined, and will be found in a general chapter of this work. The first town meeting in Antwerp was held at the house of Francis MeAllaster (then occupied by William Fletcher, an inn-keeper) on March 5, 1811, when officers were elected as follows :

Daniet lleald, supervisor; Samuel Randall, town clerk; John Jenison, Zopher lloklen and Silas Ward, assessors; Francis McAllaster, Oliver Stowelt and Elkanal l'attridge, commissioners of highways; William Fletcher and John C. Foster, over- seers of the poor; Daniel Sterling, Jeduthan Kingsbury, Salmon White, Matthew Brooks and Samuel Hendricks, overseers of highways; Elkanat Pattridge, constable and collector.

Thus was the town organization " made complete, and thus was created and began to make separate history one of the most interesting civil divisions of Jefferson county. At that time the entire population was devoted to the peaceful arts of lumbering, potash making and gen- eral agriculture, the established pursuits of the whole county, for even the county seat was then a hamlet. But it so happened at the time

1 The following is an extract from the records " Resolved, that there be five dollars raised for the purpose of destroying the ammal avo//, by a majority of said meeting, and fayed, for each full grown woolf caught and killed in said town the ensuing year " (18'1). In 1-16 a bounty of $1 was offered for foxes, and 25 cents tor hen hawks. In 1-35 a bounty of one shilling was offered for crows. In Ise? & wolf bounties were $10; in 1439, $12, and in IS11 11, $20. 58

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

that our country was on the verge of a second war with Great Britain, and in carrying out the necessary provisions of law by the general gov- ernment, it became necessary to enact and put in operation the some- what injurious restrictions of the embargo laws, which during the period seemed to have a peculiarly distressing effect on the inhabitants of this part of the county. It was not that the smuggling operations were carried on here to a greater extent than elsewhere in the region, but the old Oswegatchie road was about the only recognized thoroughfare of travel and traffic connecting the upper Black river country with the frontier, and being thus remote from the established military centers, it afforded a ready and for a time safe means of communication with the St. Lawrence and Canada. To stop this traffic the government sent Captain Timothy Tamblin with a company of militia to occupy the town. This was in 1808. The force was stationed at the forks of the two principal roads leading through the north part of the town into St. Lawrence county, their camp being a mile north of Antwerp village. Of course the presence of this armed force was opposed by the inhabit- ants, and various minor incidents of the period are preserved showing the feeling and resentment occasioned thereby. War was soon after- ward declared, the troops were withdrawn to the border, and the peo- ple united in the common defense of their liberties and property.

With the beginning of hostilities the Oswegatchie road again drew attention. Ogdensburgh was a poorly defended American post, and an Indian invasion from that quarter was greatly feared. On July 2, 1812, a special town meeting was assembled, and it was resolved to build a fort 20 x 36 feet in size on the ground, the second story being 20 x 40 feet. It was also resolved to build the fort north of the " Indian river 30 rods, in front of Sylvius Hoard's house." John Howe, Silas Ward and Oliver Hoard were appointed a building committee to superintend the construction, and were authorized to allow fifty cents per day for work, "to be paid by tax." On July 17 following, another meeting was called to devise " a proper method for our defense through a trag- edy of war which is now beginning action between the United States and Great Britain," but at the meeting nothing was done except to re- quire the persons working on the fort at fifty cents per day to " board themselves." However, the period passed without invasion of the ter- ritory, and without more serious results than temporary delay in local growth and the loss of a few of the timid settlers.

A majority of the early settlers in Antwerp were Vermonters, sturdy

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and determined Yankees, who were drawn to the region by the repre- sentations of General Morris, who came from Springfield, in that state, a locality noted for the grandeur of its hills and mountains. In 1806 he employed Silas Ward to build a saw mill at Antwerp village, then and for many years afterward known as Indian River. General Morris had disposed of his lands to settlers by giving deeds and taking mort- gages for the unpaid portions of the purchase price, while David Parish (who had become a proprietor in 1808 by purchasing from Morris nearly 30,000 acres of land in the town) soll to settlers on contracts and gave deeds when payments were completed. This was of course fair enough, but through malice or wantonness some person circulated among the purchasers from Parish a report that they were in the hands of a tyrant, who would exact from them the last penny of his due, without merey or leniency. This had an embarrassing effect, but the settlers were soon reassured by the personal pledges of Mr. Parish himself. The custom of reserving minerals to the proprietor also operated to retard settie- ment in certain localities, though there was no attempt to develop the mining resources of the town until later years.

In spite of all the embarrassments of early years the lands were set- tled rapidly, and in 1814, four years after the town was created, the inhabitants numbered 303; and the succeeding five years witnessed a four-fold increase. However, as best indicating the growth in popula- tion, reference is had to the census reports, from which it is learned that in 1820 the inhabitants numbered 1,319; 1825, 2,557; 1830, 2,112; 1835, 2,615; 1840, 3,109; 1845, 3,380; 1850, 3,665; 1855, 3,563; 1860, 3,313; 1865, 3,162; 1870, 3,310; 1825, 3,355; 1880, 3,114; 1890, 3,095; 1892, 2,908.

From this is seen that the present population of Antwerp is less than at any time since about 1840. It is not within the province of this work to account for this decrease, yet various causes have contributed to that result, chief among which has been the practical abandonment of iron mining as an established industry in the town.

The early proprietors were acquainted with the fact that in certain localities of Antwerp there existed valuable mineral deposits, but their full extent was not known until a later generation of enterprising resi- dents began to develop this most valuable of its resources, David Parish was shrewd enough to sce future possibilities in this direction, and therefore inserted a clause in his contracts with settlers reserving all mineral rights on the lands contracted to be sold by him. Yet it is

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not thought this worthy proprietor ever profited by this reservation. So far as now known, the first attempt to develop this special industry was made in 1816, when Mr. Parish caused a forge and furnace to be built on Indian river, about a mile above Antwerp village. It was operated a few years, but with no material profit to its founder. The ores were also used at the furnace and forge at Carthage, but not until 1836 did the business begin in earnest in the town In that year a su- perior quality of red hematite ore was discovered in a swamp on the farm of Hopestill Foster, but the mineral rights hore had been reserved to Parish. He attached no importance to the discovery and soon sold his interest in the bed to James Sterling (after whom the mine was named) for the most nominal consideration of $200. In the fall of that year ore from the mine was made into iron at the furnace at Sterling- ville, in Philadelphia. The mine was worked to a considerable depth and produced a superior quality of magnetic ore. After passing through various ownerships the mines became the property of the Jefferson iron company, which was incorporated Feb. 12, 1869 (capital $100.000), by Kellogg H. Loomis, Hiram W. Moore and Edward B. Bulkley. The company was in active existence for a period of about twenty years, and was one of the important institutions of the town. Its controlling spirit was Mr. Bulkley, one of the prominent figures in Antwerp history until a quite recent date.

The Sterling mine was on lot No. 689, and next south of it was the White ore bed, on lot No. 688, which was opened in 1848 by Mr. Parish. The ores produced here had not the superior quality of those in the Sterling mine, hence were not as extensively worked. The Ward mine was opened in 1852 on the farm of Nathan W. Ward, and afterward yielded a large quantity of good quality of ore. This bed was on the line between lots Nos. 686 and GSt, and like the Sterling and other mines of the town was perhaps most extensively worked by the Jeffer- son iron company, although other proprietors had a part in its opera- tion. Between the Ward and White mines was the Dickson, which was also opened under lease from Parish, by A. P. Sterling and Edgar Peckham, in 18:0. At that time these producers also built a forge on Indian river, above Sterlingburgh. This mineral right with that of the Ward mine, was soon sold to George F. Paddock & Co., of Watertown, and the latter interest was sold at forced sale in 1876 to A. F. Barker. Both mines soon afterward passed into the control of the Jefferson iron company. Under the Paddock & Co., and the Northern New York

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THE TOWN OF ANTWERP.

iron mining company operation, a branch railroad was built from Ant- werp village to the White and Ward ore beds, a distance of about a mile and one-half, but was afterward extended by the Jefferson iron company to the old Sterling beds. The Colburn mine was opened still later but was not so extensive as the older beds. Soon after 1820 all the unsold reserved mineral rights owned by the Parish estate were sold in bulk to one Ario Pardee, of Hazelton, Penn., by whom another bed was also opened above the Sterling. The enterprise was not suc- cessful, hence was discontinued after a short time.

When this general transfer was made, the opinion became current that the Antwerp ore beds were about to be developed to their fullest extent, and that a period of great prosperity was in store for all the people. But disappointment followed, and even then mining in the town had passed its height. Previous to the construction of the rail- road (1855) it was no uncommon event to count daily two hundred wagon loaded with ores on the way from the mines to the furnaces at Philadelphia, Carthage, and also at Rossie in St. Lawrence county, and to still other points in Lewis county. Even the north part of the town enjoyed a prominence in ore producing, for the old and noted Keene beds lay only a few rods from the county line. The bed was discovered by Col. Hiram B Keene while plowing land for winter wheat. His right was sold to Caleb Essington, of Sterlingville, and Mr. Munson, of Utica, and was by them opened in 1838. The Fuller bed was opened soon afterward in the same vicinity. A branch rail- road was built from Keene station to the beds, which were most exten- sively worked by the Rossie iron mining company, a St. Lawrence county corporation which operated in this county and vicinity. Other mines of less note have also been opened and worked in Antwerp, and other operators and companies have also been in the field during the fifty years of this special industry. The business began in fact in 1836 and ended about 1890. It was at its height between 1845 and 1865, and the subsequent decline was not due to the exhaustion of the ore, but rather to the competition of new and more easily worked fields in other states, and the cheaper rates of transportation granted them, both in the shipment of raw material and its products. Since 1889 and 1890 there has been little attempt at ore producing in this town.

At one time stone quarrying was an established industry in Antwerp. The pioneers in this work were David Coffeen and James Parker, who about 1806 opened the Parker ledge on the state road, between Lee's

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tavern and Ox Bow. It was from this quarry that a hundred pair of millstones, previously mentioned in this chapter, were manufactured, but in addition the old Church mill at Antwerp village was also built with the product of the Parker ledge. The stone of the town is of the Potsdam sandstone quality, especially valuable for building pur- poses. Among the principal quarries of the past (for the industry has not been kept up), were the Parker, the Render Bros., two miles north of the village, and another on the Jasper Robinson farm.

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Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York, Part 48

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 1368

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1368