USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 10
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 10
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And it was further enacted, that all the residue of the tract of land lying between the division lines aforesaid, of great lots numbered three and four, and of great lots numbers one and two, in Macomb's pur- chase, and the north bounds of Totten and Crossfield's purchase, shall, until further legislative provision in the premises, be considered as part of the town of Massena. With these additions to the ten townships, comprises the territory and boundary of the county of St. Lawrence, as hereinafter more fully described.
The county was named from the great river of its boundary. The upper line begins on the shore of Chippewa Bay, and runs north 54° west 44 miles and 40 chains ; thence north 89º 45' east 25 miles and 36 chains; thence north 2º west 60 miles and 10 chains, to the line of the St. Regis or Indian reservation, or about four miles from St. Regis village ; thence westerly along the said line of reservation three and a half miles ; thence northerly, or at right angles to the river St. Lawrence ; thence up along the river about sixty-seven miles to the place of begin- ning, containing according to the State Gazetteer, " 2,880 square miles, or 1 743,200 acres." The county lines embrace the ten original town - ships and some six miles further on each side of them at the river front ; also certain portions of Macomb's purchase as hereinafter described. The county is bounded on the south by Herkimer and Hamilton coun- ties ; on the east by Franklin county ; on the northeast by the river St. Lawrence, and on the southwest by Jefferson county. The land for several miles back from the river is sufficiently rolling for good drain-
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ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.
age, and gradually rises toward the southeast to about 1,080 feet, which becomes more rolling or broken as it enters the Adirondack region.
The principal rivers are the Oswegatchie, Indian, Grass, Racquet and St. Regis. The Indian River rises in the east part of Lewis county, passes in a tortuous course into Jefferson county and across the town of Rossie, through Black Lake, and falls into the Oswegatchie about four miles above Ogdensburg. The Oswegatchie River, East Branch, rises in the northern part of Herkimer county and flowing north ward through Cranberry Lake, thence westerly across the south end of Pierre- pont and the northerly end of Fine. through the center of Edwards and the village, thence across the north end of Fowler into the town of Gouverneur and through the village, thence northerly across Rossie, making a short turn into Jefferson county, turns north and back through Rossie, thence along the north line of Macomb, forming an ox bow, thence through the town of Gouverneur, forming a second or smaller ox bow, thence through De Kalb, and passing across the northwest corner of Canton at Rensselaer Falls to Heuvelton, and bearing west- erly along the northerly line of De Peyster to the forks or mouth of Black Lake, thence to Ogdensburg, and falls into the St. Lawrence River. The West Branch of the Oswegatchie River rises in the north- ern part of Lewis county, and flows across the western end of Pitcairn, thence across the southwest corner of Edwards, making a detour into Fowler by the village of Fullerville, thence back of Edwards, through the village, and uniting with the East Branch at Freemansburg, about twelve miles below the village of Edwards.
Grass River rises in the southeastern part of Hopkinton, having two branches which unite not very far from the western line of Pierrepont, draining Massawepie Lake and several other small ones, passing north- ward, crossing the towns of Colton and Pierrepont, making a turn into Russell and flowing northerly through Canton village, thence across the corner of Potsdam at Norwood, thence through the town of Louisville and Massena village and into the St. Lawrence. A dam for a reservoir was built near its headquarters several years ago, which broke away and has not been replaced.
Racquet River rises in the northern part of Hamilton county, passes into the town of Hopkinton, and is fed by several lakes, passing thence
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
through the southerly corner of Parishville, thence across the northern corner of Colton, also across the northwest corner of Parishville and the northeast corner of Pierrepont, thence across the easterly part of Pots- dam at the village, thence diagonally across Norfolk at the village, through to the easterly part of Massena, running nearly parallel and within about a mile at the point of the Grass River, passing across the west end of the Indian Reservation and falling into the St. Lawrence. This is the longest stream in Northern New York. it being upwards of one hundred miles, and is supposed to drain about 1, 200 square miles.
St. Regis River, the western branch, rises in the southern part and the eastern branch in the eastern part of Franklin county, and is formed by the outlet of numerous small lakes and ponds. The easterly branch enters the county and forms the line between the towns of Hop- kinton and Lawrence, crossing the northern end of Hopkinton, thence along the eastern corner of Stockholm to the O. and L. C. Rail- road. The western branch passes diagonally across Hopkinton and across the northern corner of Parishville into the town of Stockholm, bearing easterly and forming a junction with the eastern branch at the railroad before mentioned. The branches united pass along the northeasterly point of Lawrence, thence through Brasher by Helena and crosses the west end of the Indian reservation to the St. Lawrence.
The Deer River rises in the southern part of Franklin county, flows through Lawrence and enters the town of Brasher and unites with the St. Regis River at Helena. All these streams have a rapid descent from the highlands, diminishing somewhat as they near their mouths, and are broken by numerous falls or rapids which furnish abundant water power.
Oswegatchie and Grass Rivers are connected by a natural canal about five miles long at a point some six miles above Heuvelton, which served in early days as a highway for canoes. The Oswegatchie is a trifle the lowest, but the water flows from one river to the other according as either river rises or falls first.
Lakes in the County -The one most important is Black Lake. It commences in Rossie and forms the boundary line between the towns of Hammond, Morristown, and Oswegatchie on its north, and De Peyster and Macomb on its south side. It is about twenty miles long, is
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ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.
quite narrow at its lower end, and about five miles wide at its upper end. It covers an area of about fifteen square miles. Its water is quite dark, caused by drainage of peaty swamps. The water is generally shallow but very deep near the mouth of Indian River. The upper end or broad part of the lake contains numerous islands and is walled in places by perpendicular ledges of sandstone, some of a reddish color, affording in many localities picturesque and beautiful scenery.
Cranberry Lake is next in importance. It lies in the southern part of the township of Colton and originally contained about 5,000 acres. An act was passed April 21, 1865 (chap. 505), for the purpose of check- ing freshets and improving the hydraulic power on the Oswegatchie River ; a dam was erected at the mouth of the lake to raise the water twelve to fifteen feet, which serves as a reservoir. A tax was levied on the water powers below according to the valuation as assessed by the three commissioners who were appointed by the county judge. The money so raised was to pay for the overflowed land, which was 5,000 acres, to build a dam, other expenses and pay a gate-tender. The first tax raised was $1,871. According to a survey made by the commis- sioners in the summer of 1892, there were forty-seven falls or suitable places to erect dams, and the most of these places have been utilized. The lowest of these is six feet and forty-three one-hundredths, and the highest is 164 and twenty-one one hundredths feet. The average of these falls is eighteen and fourteen one-hundredths feet. Tupper's Lake lies partly in the southeastern corner of Hopkinton, and in the county of Hamilton, near the head of Racquet River. A dam was erected on the outlet as a feeder to the water power below.
Massawepie Lake lies a few miles below Tupper's Lake, in the same town ; also there are about half a dozen smaller lakes and ponds within a short distance around this lake, which drains into Grass River.
Jordon Lake lies near the center of Hopkinton and drains into Racquet River.
Trout Lake lies in the same town near the northeast conter, and drains in the east branch of Racquet River. Indian Lake lies in the southeast corner af Parishville, and drains into Racquet River. In the town of Fine there are about twelve small lakes or good sized ponds, most of them draining into the East Branch of the Oswegatchie.
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
In the same town there are some six good sized ponds which drain into the West Branch of the Oswegatchie. There are three lakes in the town of Edwards, Bonner and Clear Lakes, and Cedar Lake which lies partly in the town of Hermon. Hermon has Trout Lake, and a creek flows from it through Gardiner's Pond. Yellow Lake lies mostly in the town of Rossie, and partly in Macomb. It is about ten miles long. Pleasant Lake lies in the west end of Macomb, and a second Yellow Lake lies in the northeast part of the same town, and drains into Fish Creek. Mud Lake is in the southeast part of the town of De Peyster and drains into Fish Creek.
The surface of St. Lawrence county covers so vast an area that it necessarily shows great variety, from the highlands of the Adirondacks in the southeast to the champaign region lying adjacent and parallel to the St. Lawrence.
The surface in the more even portion is broken more or less by paral - lel ridges of primitive and secondary formation ; and the western por- tions, particularly in the town of Rossie and Macomb, are somewhat hilly.
A very peculiar feature of the topography of the county is the curi- ous course which its principal inland streams pursue. They all rise in the highlands, flow for about one-half or more of their course directly towards the St. Lawrence, when they make sudden and sometimes, as is the case with the Oswegatchie, very acute angles, and flow thence to their union with the great river in courses almost parallel to that stream. The Oswegatchie is an exception, though in former times it connected by a sort of natural canal with Grass River, as before mentioned, and very possibly at one period poured its waters through that channel to the northeast. The reason of this peculiarity is undoubtedly found in the ridge like formations before spoken of, which tend generally in a northeast and southwest direction. Chippewa Creek rises in the south- west part of Oswegatchie and flows through Morristown and Hammond into Chippewa Bay, and, curiously enough, in a direction exactly con- trary to that followed by the St. Lawrence. The middle and western portions of the county are somewhat broken by protruding masses of the Potsdam sandstone. The northern and northeastern portions are generally level or slightly undulating.
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ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.
Geology and Mineralogy .- It has been conceded by mineralogists that St. Lawrence county is unrivaled for the variety and beauty of its min- eral treasures. The southern part is underlaid by what is termed primary rock, which is designated by geologists as the oldest of the rocky masses. It is made up of a mixture of simple materials which often shows in the structure and mode of arrangement that they were at some remote period subjected to the action of heat. The constitu- ents of these primitive rocks are generally quartz, hornblende and feld- spar, arranged on irregular and often very tortuous strata or layers, which are usually steeply inclined. This peculiar mixture and arrange- ment of simple minerals is denominated gneiss rock. A great variety of minerals occurs in gneiss rock in certain localities, and it is a valuable repository of lead and iron ores. The gneiss rock enters the county from Jefferson, near the line of the military road in Hammond, and its - northern margin runs nearly in a direct line to Black Lake, and forms all the islands in that water, although the north shore is sandstone. It diverges from the lake in De Peyster, and runs across De Kalb, Can- ton, Potsdam, Parishville, and thence onward to Franklin county. Nearly the whole of St. Lawrence county south of this line is underlaid by primary rock. At the village of Potsdam the same rock comes to the surface, sometimes resembling an island of gneiss in the midst of sandstone, and the same thing is observed at other places. However irregular the strata of gneiss may be, it will generally be found to dip, or slope, down towards the north, and is sufficiently covered with earth to be suited for agricultural purposes, but in the southern portion of the county it occurs in abrupt and broken ledges. In De Peyster, De Kalb, Macomb, and Gouverneur, white limestone occurs in abundance. This stone is sawed into shape and is largely used for building and monu- mental purposes. For the manufacture of lime also there is probably no material in the county that surpasses this. It is generally in lime- stone, or along the line of its junction with the gneiss, that the more valuable varieties of minerals occur, which are so eagerly sought by col- lectors.
Lying directly upon the gneiss, or in some instances upon the lime- stone, is a rock which presents a great variety of structure, called by . geologists Potsdam sandstone. This rock crops out in the town of Pots-
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
dam, St. Lawrence county, above the village. (This same kind of stone is found in Potsdam, Germany, hence the name " Potsdam " was given to the town). The quarry is extensively worked, the stone being used principally for trimmings. The sharpness of outline which it preserves in situations where it has been exposed to the weather for centuries, in- dicates its durability, and being composed of nearly pure silex, occasion- ally tinged with iron, it harbors none of the parasitic mosses. Walls made of this stone never present the mouldy, decaying appearance, common to walls of limestone in damp situations. (See history of town of Potsdam). This sandstone contains but few evidences of organic life, these being limited to obscure fucoids and one or two bivalve shells. The Potsdam sandstone is bordered along the St. Lawrence, and ex- tending back a few miles, by the calciferous sandstone, which presents at many places near Ogdensburg definite fossil remains, which are, how- ever, limited to a few species.1 Among these are many obscure masses with a texture that indicates that they had been sponges, or the lower order of zoophytes. From an economical point of view this rock (or blue limestone in the second ward of Ogdensburg) is of great impor- tance, both as a building stone and as material for lime, for which, how- ever, it is inferior for certain kinds of work to the white limestone of the primary region, but as it partakes somewhat of the nature of water lime, it is far superior for stone work, especially in damp places. This blue limestone taken from the quarries along the bank of the St. Law- rence above the Oswegatchie River is extensively used for building ma- terial, both in the city of Ogdensburg and in the asylum which is now being erected below the city.
Those above enumerated are the principal of our rock formations, but over them all is more or less extensively and very unequally spread masses of soil, sand, clay, and bowlders, much of which bears evidence of having been drifted by agencies that have long since ceased from
1 The writer in 1888 had an opportunity to examine a beautiful specimen of the outlines of a fos- sil turtle some fifteen inches long, which is shown in the blue limestone rock upon the shore of Black River, near Dexter, Jefferson county, N. Y. The upper portion of the body or shell seems to have been worn away, leaving a series of parallel curves, touches, and traverse lines formed of white or yellowish colors, flinty substances, embedded in the rock. The limestone doubtless was formed around the turtle after which the cavity, made by the decay of the ligaments which con- nected the particles of flesh, was filled by infiltration or some other process, thus showing the minute formation of the flesh and entrails of the turtle.
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ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.
more northern localities and deposited in their present form. This has received the name of " drift," and its study forms one of the most in- structive departments of practical geology. Evidences of its northern origin may be found in our ability to often trace loose masses of rock to the parent source, and the polished and scratched surface of the rocks when exposed bears testimony to the fact that they have been ground and furrowed by moving masses, which the direction of the scratches certify was from a northerly region. In the lower part of the county continuous ridges, crossing the river obliquely, may be traced for a con- siderable distance. In some cases the surface is thickly studded with bowlders, which have been noticed in continuous trains for half a mile or more, and groups of these, usually of similar material, are of constant occurrence.
There is above the drift still another formation, consisting of sands and clays, and containing shells unchanged in texture, and of the species now living in the Arctic Seas, which skirt the northern border of the counties eastward from Ogdensburg. From the extensive occur- rence of this formation in the valley of the St. Lawrence, the term " Laurentian Deposit " has been applied to it. It exists in Canada over a great extent of country, and also in the valley of Lake Cham- plain. In the deep railroad cut through the clay bank east of Ogdens- burg were found multitudes of fossil shells ; also shells of the same kind are found in the clay banks in the Second Ward, where excava- tions are made for cellars and wells. The clay beds at Raymondville, which have a peculiar columnar structure, very much like starch and no signs stratification whatever, contain shells of the same species, prov- ing that they belong to a marine formation of a comparatively recent period. Of a still more recent period are the bog ores still fo ming in swamps; the deposits of lime from a few springs and detritus brought down by rivers and left at their mouths, which form bars, such, for ex- ample, as the " rush-bed " at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, and which is still going on with each succeeding freshet.
Minerals .- Among the remarkable features of primary or gneiss rock are trap dykes and metallic veins, of which many interesting in- stances occur in Rossie, especially near Wegatchie. Of metallic veins, those of iron, lead, copper and zinc are the principal, and of the first
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
that at Rossie is pre-eminent. Indefinite reports of lead, silver, etc., based upon Indian traditions, were common among the early pro- prietors, and much effort was made to discover the localities where they existed. Among these a lead mine was said to exist up the Os- wegatchie, near the Eel Weir. It was said that Indians would go up the river in bark canoes and return in very short time with the lead. Isaac C. Page, an uncle of the Page brothers of this city, claimed to know the locality of this lead mine, but he was put under an obligation by the Indians to not reveal it, which vow he faithfully kept to the day of his death. At the mines on Black Lake at Mineral Point zinc blende occurs in considerable quantities ; as it also does to some extent with the galena in Macomb Mine. Copper ore was found in the southerly part of Canton in the white limestone, and contained occasional crystals of brown tourmaline. It was the yellow sulphuret of copper, and it formed a regular vein one foot in width in some places, and was asso- ciated with iron pyrites and occasional stains of green and blue carbon- ates of copper. The calcite of this place was at times found in crystals of huge proportions coated with minute crystals of pearl spar. The iron ore is more abundant than that of other metals. There are three distinct varieties, differing essentially in geological age, chemical char- acter, mineral associates, and the quantities of iron which they pro- duce. These are the primitive, or magnetic, the specular and the bog ores. The former, although of greater abundance, mostly occurs in sections yet unsettled and difficult of access. It is this variety of ore that is largely wrought in Clinton and Essex counties, and it forms the wealth of Sweden. So far as known, it is interstratified with gneiss. Its mineral associates are few, being quartz, pyrites and pyroxene from its being magnetic. The specular ores are so called from the splendid luster of the crystals which occur in two varieties. The least impor- tant of these is the crystalline variety occuring in gneiss and white lime- stone, often beautifully crystallized in plates and of variable and uncer- tain quantities. It has not hitherto been wrought with profit. Quartz apparently in twelve-sided crystals is usually found with this ore. Between the gneiss and sandstone, and not elsewhere, occurs a red compact ore, chemically like the last named, but so unlike it to the eye as not to be classed with it; and this has hitherto been the ore most
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ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.
largely used in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties for the manufacture of iron. The ore occurs in the hills of moderate elevation and lies di- rectly upon the gneiss rock. These red ores impart their color to whatever comes in contact with them and make a durable paint for outside work when finely ground. Paint from this ore is successfully manufactured at the present time in Ogdensburg. These ores are never crystallized, but occur in every variety of lamellar, slaty, botry- oidal, and pulverulent forms, and in some cases cavities are found lined with beautiful and peculiar crystallization of carbonate of lime, spathic iron, heavy spar, aragonite, quartz, iron pyrites, and more rarely cacox- ene of chalcodite and millerite, the latter being the rarest and most beautiful of its associates. It occurs in one of the localities in brilliant needle shaped crystals, radiating from a center like the fibers of a thistle down and having the color and brilliancy of gold. No profitable local- ity of red ore occurs east of the town of Gouverneur. Bog ores are rare in the primary district, but more common in swamps in Madrid and Norfolk and some other places. In favorable localities the superficial deposits are renewed after being dug over, and thus successive crops are obtained once in a dozen or twenty years. This ore makes very soft, tenacious iron, but is generally lean, not yielding more than twenty to twenty-five per cent. A mixture of the primitive red and bog ores in equal parts was thought to make the best specimen of iron ever produce in Northern New York.
There are between fifty and sixty kinds of minerals, valuable in the arts or as cabinet specimens, that may be gathered in this locality, and one need not travel beyond the precincts of St. Lawrence county to collect a cabinet possessing excellence and value unsurpassed by any other locality on this continent. The specimens occurring in St. Law- rence county may be enumerated as follows :
Agate of coarse variety occurs with chalcedony near Silver Lake in Fowler.
Albite, or white feldspar, is a common constituent of gneiss found in Gouverneur, Rossie and Fowler.
Amethyst (bluish violet or purple quartz) found in Gouverneur and Rossie.
Amphibole (basaltic hornblende) occurs frequently in bowlders but not in rock formations; found in Rossie.
Anglesite (sulphate of lead) occurs sparingly in the lead mine of Rossie.
Ankerite (a variety of dolomite containing iron) occurs in the iron mines of Rossie; discovered by chemical test.
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
Apatite (phosphate of lime) crystallized in six-sided prisms, occurs in the white lime- stone formation; its color is a delicate green shade and is chemically the same as cal- cined bones, a strong fertilizer.
Asbestos, of a brown color, with fibres interlocking each other in a very intricate manner, occurs in the town of Fowler, associated with rensselaerite, talc and tremolite.
Aragonite (necdle-spar) is found in the iron mines near Somerville in beautiful white globular masses, in cavities of iron ore. This mineral, is sometimes called flos-ferri (flowers of iron).
Automolite, said to occur in Rossie, supposed to be a variety of spinelle and identical with dysluite.
Babingtonite, coating crystals of feldspar, said to occur in Gouverneur.
Blende (sulphuret of zinc) associated with galena at the lead mines in Rossie and other lead mines in the county.
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