Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 59

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 59
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 59

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

636

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Stowell & Burrows. Other former merchants were L Gory, Joseph Hall and S. C. P. Thorndyke. In earlier years the settlers went to Cornwall, Canada. for their merchandise, and a custom house was opened at Helena. The present merchants are C. C. Lantry, John R. Crowley, and C. T. Fletcher. The first hotel was opened about 1840 by Ezra Ballard and continued many years. The present landlord is Hugh Geehan. The post-office here was the first one opened in the town, February 13, 1827, with David McMurphy as postmaster. The present official is William A. Hamlin.

Brasher Falls .- This pleasant village is situated on both sides of the St. Regis River, about a mile below the union of its branches, from which point on the stream is a succession of rapids culminating at the village in the falls, which give the place its name. This excellent water power, with a dam, and its proximity to Winthrop and the railroad, give the place considerable importance. John Crapser made the first improvements here in the fall of 1826, by building a dam and saw mill. He also induced a number of Hollanders to locate here, aided them in building, and supplied them with tools; but the environment discouraged them and nearly all left within a year. Mr. Crapser, how- ever, persevered, ran the mill, introduced other industries, and the settlement finally began to grow. Among those who settled in the vicinity early were William and Joseph Stevens, Orin Patridge, Joseph Estes, David Blowers, Asa Winters, Ethan Johnson, Jehiel Stevens, Justin Bell, Samuel Blodgett, Amariah Harrington, David Richardson, and others. In 1839 Calvin T. Hulburd purchased 600 acres, embrac - ing the village site and the water-power, and began improvements. He came from Stockholm with his brother, E. S. Hulburd, and soon took a prominent position as energetic and progressive citizens. They built a stone grist mill on the site of the Crapser mill, which is now operated by B. A Babcock. On the site of the old saw mill Elmore Church built a saw and shingle mill, which are now operated by him. A woolen factory was established below the mill in 1845 by Joseph Merrill, which is now operated by J. P. Stafford. Davis & Company, a firm from Maine, started a manufactory of agricultural implements farther down the stream in 1852, which became very prosperous. A part of the buildings were burned in 1873. P. E. Kinney operates the establish -

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THE TOWN OF BRASHER.

ment at present. The starch factory established in 1857 by H. M. Hulburd & Company is now operated by S. W. Hulburd. In 1867 L. C. Hall erected a pump factory and did a large business, and near by J. G. Taylor built, in 1877, a large factory for the manufacture of vari- ous novelties. The latter now manufactures pumps, churns, etc. The tannery started many years ago is now operated by William Thomp- son. A fork and hoe factory was established in 1846 by F. and T. R. Taylor, and a very large industry was developed and carried on to 1857, when it was discontinued. The buildings were burned in 1862.

The first merchant here was John Cooper, who had a small store in 1828. Joseph Merrill began trade in 1834, and C. T. Hulburd sold goods on the west side. J. H. Morse opened a store and continued many years, and Nathaniel Buck also. H M. Hulburd, who is still in trade, began in 1852. Other merchants are J. H. McCarthy (who is town clerk), G. & J. Kingston, W. S. Blanchard, Donovan & Stevens, and W. H. Cox, on the west side, and D. J. Murray, W. E. Garvey and L. C. Hall on the east side. G. W. Ryan has a harness shop and W. J. Waugh a tin shop.

John L. Stevens erected a hotel in 1840, where he continued for thirty-five years. At present the Central House is kept by John Dris- coll; the American by Edward Wheeler, and on the east side the Riverside by John Desmond. The post-office was opened July 22, 1840, with C. J. Hulburd postmaster. W. H. Wells is now postmas- ter, and the position has been filled by his father and himself since 1865.

Brasher Center .- This little hamlet is situated three miles below the falls on the St Regis. The first improvement here of consequence was the building of a saw mill in 1832, by John Cooper. Others who lo- cated here were Jonas Crapser and his son, E. S, Stephen Curtis and his sons, William, Otis and Lafayette, the Johnson families and others. E. S. Crapser later operated a saw mill and starch factory here, and John Crapser built a forge in 1850, which he operated about five years. All these industries are abandoned. A feed mill is in operation by William Vallance, and there is a butter tub factory. Joseph Hall sold goods here as early as 1837, and other former merchants were Jonas and Michael Crapser (1858) and William Curtis. John F. Skinner is

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

now the only merchant. A post office was opened here in July, 1893, with Nancy Clark in charge.

Brasher Iron Works .- The beginning of this settlement, two and a half miles above Helena, was made in 1835 by Stillman Fuller, formerly from the Fullerville Iron Works. He was indued to come here by Mr. Pitcairn, to develop and work the bog ore in the town. A contract was entered into by which Mr. Fuller was given the exclusive right to the ore by paying 25 cents a ton for all used, the contract to run ten years. A furnace was erected on the left bank of Deer River, to be operated by the cold blast, and was started in October, 1836. At the end of the second blast, in the latter part of 1837, the property was sold to Isaac W. Skinner of Buffalo, and R. W. Bush of Ogdensburg (Skinner & Bush), who continued the work about three years, when William H. Alexander of Syracuse took the place of Mr. Bush in the in the firm. The business was continued to 1855, when Mr. Skinner assumed entire control and continued until his death in 1874. The iron was at first sold in the pig, but later a foundry was established, where stoves and other castings were made. In 1843 a machine shop was added to the plant. The furnace was four times wholly or partly burned. The shops were idle from 1874 to 1877, when John F. Skin- ner started the shops only. He is now the merchant at the center. The post-office was established in July, 1849. The present postmaster is John Keenan, who is also the merchant. Samuel Fletcher opened a hotel in 1846. A later house was built in 1857.

Religious Societies .- The Methodist Episcopal church at Brasher . Falls was organized by Rev. Elijah Wheeler, at the house of William Stevens, in January, 1827, with David Richardson, class leader. A society was formed April 10, 1848, with David Richardson, Heman Holmes, Joseph Estes, Ethan Johnson and John S. Hall, trustees. The building of a church was soon afterward commenced and it was dedicated in 1851; it was extensively repaired and improved in .1875 at a cost of $1,500. The present pastor is Rev. Reuben Sherman.

The first Methodist Episcopal church of Maple Ridge was incor- porated February 29, 1848, with D. Wait, William E. Wait. Luther S. Carter, Benjamin Bell and V. G. Carter, trustees. A chapel was built soon afterward.

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THE TOWN OF BRASHER.

A Congregational church was formed at Helena, electing Benjamin Nevin, Linus Kibble and Grant Johnson. trustees, on June 1, 1837, with several other members, by the assistance of Rev. Rufus R. Dem- ming of Massena. The society built that year and the following, a small frame church at a cost of $1,500 Rev. Mr. Howe and Rev. Charles Jones supplied the church for a few years. It was known as the Congregational Presbyterian church, but the organization was not sustained very long.

The First Presbyterian church of Brasher Falls was organized on the 8th of July, 1844. There had been preaching in the school house a year before by the Rev. Mr. Birge of Stockholm ; the number of mem- bers at first was twenty-four. Deacon Alvin T. Hulburd was elected ruling elder. The church was received into the St. Lawrence Presby- tesy August 20, 1844. A society was formed February 24, 1845, con- sisting of fourteen persons, and Hiram Holcomb, Justin Bell, E. S. Hulburd, Sidney Kelsey, Jehiel Stevens, Martin Wood and Elijah Wood were chosen trustees. A subscription paper was at once circulated to provide funds for building a church, and $1,995 was subscribed. Re- ceipts from the sale of seats were afterwards added to this fund. E. S. Hulburd presented the site and the building was finished and dedicated June 9, 1848. In 1871 about $5,000 were expended for repairs. Rev. Samuel Storrs Howe was the first pastor. The present pastor is Rev. H. Hadley Hall.

The Methodist Episcopal church of North Brasher was organized in 1848, with Downer Wait, G. Carter, Benjamin Bell, Luther Carter and Thomas Andre, trustees. Rev. E. Arnold was the first pastor. A small church was erected west of the Center, but services have been aban- doned. A class is maintained at the Center, where Rev. Reuben Sher- man from Brasher Falls preaches.

The First Methodist Episcopal church of Brasher Iron Works was incorporated May 7, 1859, with I. W. Skinner, J. F. Skinner, R. W. Thickens, W. H. Hamilton and M. B. Dreene, trustees. Through I. W. Skinner's generosity a neat frame church was built at a cost of $1,600, in the year of the incorporation, and Rev. E. Briggs was secured as pastor. For some years past the services have been irregular and the membership is small.

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Besides these there was a Free- Will Baptist church organized in July, 1848, which continued a number of years and was discontinued. A Baptist society was also in existence some years at the Iron Works.

St Patrick's Roman Catholic church at Brasher Falls was organized in 1850 by Father James Keveny, with about sixty members. In the same year the church was erected at a cost of $3,000 Father John McDermott first had spiritual guidance of the church. The present pastor is Father W. B. Nyhan, and the society is very prosperous.

CHAPTER XL.

THE TOWN OF DEPEYSTER-ORGANIZED IN 1825.

T `HIS was the twentieth town erected by an act of Legislature which passed on the 24th of March, 1825, and was organized on the 3d of May following. About three-fourths of the territory was taken from Oswegatchie and the balance from the town of De Kalb. The north- western part of the town bordering upon Black Lake is an extensive marsh of about 2,000 acres ; on the southeast, bordering upon Beaver Creek, it is also marshy ; and on the southerly line is broken by parallel ridges of primitive rock. Its peculiar location, being separated from the greater part of the settlements of Oswegatchie by Black Lake and the Oswegatchie River, and from the settlements of De Kalb by a broken and intervening wilderness, was considered a sufficient reason for a sep- arate town organization.

The surface of the soil is comparatively level, though sufficiently roll- ing to insure good drainage. The borders of the town along Black Lake, Macomb and De Kalb are more or less broken with rocky ledges. The soil of the greater part of the central portion is a clayish loam, though a narrow drift from Mud Lake to the Oswegatchie is somewhat sandy. There were several large swamps in the town which were con- sidered of little value, but recently have been reclaimed by draining and now produce large crops of grass. On the whole the soil produces excellent crops and compares favorably with any lands in the county.

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THE TOWN OF DEPEYSTER.

The table lands or clayish marshy slopes were formerly covered with a good quality of large white oaks, the ridges with rock maples, beech and birch, the ledges with beautiful rock elms, and the swamps with pine and cedar. The ledges along the line of De Kalb and part of Macomb are principally of white lime rock, from which a good quality of lime is manufactured for building purposes, this being the only valuable min- eral as yet discovered in the town. The principal streams are on the borders of the town, the Oswegatchie River on the north, Black Lake on the west, and Beaver Creek on the east. Fish Creek and a few brooks are the only streams that traverse the town, but do not have suf- ficient water or fall to afford power for manufacturing purposes. The town as a whole is not well watered for stock purposes. A few springs flow from the foot of ledges on the borders of the town, but for the cen- tral portion surface water and wells only are to be depended upon.

In selecting a name for this town the citizens were desirous to call it "Stilwell," as a man by that name was one of the prominent residents .; but he declined on the ground that some one of the land proprietors might be willing to make the town a liberal present for the privilege of giving it their name. A correspondence was opened with Frederic Depeyster, of New York, who owned a part of the tract taken from De Kalb, which resulted in the selection of his name for the town. The expected present did not come until about fifteen years later, when his son presented the town with a fine bell of about 800 pounds weight. The bell had the donor's name, with a suitable inscription cast on its surface. The bell was hung on the tower of the Bethel Union church, where it remained about thirty years. After the old church fell into decay and was abandoned, the bell, by consent of the town, was trans- ferred to the M. E. church, where it now remains.

The first town meeting was held in pursuance of statute at the house of Timothy Morris, May 3, 1825, Jonathan Curtis acting as chairman. Smith Stilwell was elected supervisor ; Timothy Morris, town clerk ; John Willson, Moses King, Horace Plympton, assessors ; Jonathan Mor- ris, and Bela Bell, overseers of the poor.

The first settlement in the town commenced as follows : The State road, leading through the central portion of this tract of land, by which settlers coming in by the way of Albany had to pass, Mr. Ford, in order

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

to assist them to reach this part of the county, established stopping places at various points on the route. Samuel Bristol, who with a large family had recently moved from Sandgate, Vt., and settled on the St. Lawrence about four miles above Ogdensburg, was engaged by Mr. Ford to move out on this road and keep a public house. In Novem- ber, 1802, he located on lot No. 12 on the southern border of the town- ship Oswegatchie, which was about half a mile north of Depeyster Four Corners. The following spring he erected a commodious log tavern, and during the summer cleared about thirty acres and got three of them sowed with fall wheat. During the winter of 1803-4 Thomas Willson, from Hebron, N. Y., Joseph Rounds, Mr. Barnard, Mr. Green, Icha- bod Arnold and Robert Hill, from Rhode Island, Frederick Plimpton, from Massachusetts, Capt. Rufus Washburn, and David Day, all, except the latter, having families, moved into what was then called the Bristol settlement, putting up at Bristol's tavern until they could build shanties to live in.

Silas Kellogg, in 1806, came to the settlement and built a log tavern on the hill about a mile south of the Four Corners. Some of the sol- diers and citizens of Ogdensburg, when it was taken by the British in February, 1813, fled to this place and made Kellogg's tavern their head- quarters for a few days. In the summer of 1809 James Averell, 2d, a young man about nineteen years of age, came in with his wife and goods on pack horses from Cooperstown by the way of Plattsburg, and settled near Kellogg's tavern on a tract of 3,000 acres of timber land that was purchased from Mr. Cooper, the father of the novelist.

Mr. Averill opened a store in a log building, where he conducted a small business for about two years, when he moved to Ogdensburg. In 1809 Smith Stilwell came in from Albany and purchased a large tract of land lying on both sides of the State road, the northerly line resting on the east road, and the one leading to the western part of the town, which was opened about that time. He made a small clearing, built a log house, and moved his family to the place the year following, and with them he brought " Black Bet," the first negro slave, and the only one that was ever owned in the town.

From 1810 to 1815 the following persons came to the settlement : Joseph Shaw, Mansfield and Levi Bristol, Lemuel Day, Josiah Thorn-

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THE TOWN OF DEPEYSTER.

ton, John Parker, and C. Hurlbut. Previous to 1811 the people at the Bristol settlement were supplied with a monthly mail from Ogdens- burg. At that time, however, an arrangement was made with Joseph Shaw, by which, during the two years following, the mail was carried every week, most of the time on foot. For several years after the close of the War of 1812-15 immigration was light. During the cold season of 1816, it is said, there was not a month during which this section was not visited by severe frosts, and little was raised in con- sequence, and a portion of that little was destroyed by the birds and squirrels, which were unusually numerous that year. During the fol- lowing year the scarcity of provisions was such that many families were reduced to the verge of starvation, and only for the abundance of wild game the suffering would have been much greater. In some cases the potatoes recently planted were dug up to satisfy their hunger. The early grain was anxiously watched, and before the kernel was fairly ripe it was cut, dried, and sent to the mill. The nearest mill was located at Cooper's Falls at De Kalb, and as there was no road to the place the people were obliged to carry the grain through the woods upon their backs. The price of wheat went up to two and three dollars per bushel, oats one dollar, and potatoes a dollar and a half. For a few years after these cold seasons several families moved into the place, and most of them settled in the western part of this territory, as new roads had been bushed out through some choice lands in that section. Among those who came were Jonathan Curtis, Reuben Hast- ings, William B. Wheelock, Bela Bell, Moses, Amasa and Zenas King, Lewis Dimick, Eli White, Nathan, James and Luke Dean. Moses King settled on the corner lot where the road from Heuvelton to Fish Creek crossed the Lake road, about a mile and a half west of the State road, which place has since been known as King's Corners. White settled on a lot near King's Corners, and built the first frame house in that sec- tion, which is still standing. He kept tavern for several years, where his boy Drue, a bright, smart and well-behaved lad, under the influence of the bar-room, became dissipated, and for years was known to the people of the town, Heuvelton and vicinity, as the leader of one of the vilest gangs of vagabonds in the country.

644

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

In the summer of 1825, John Finch, Benjamin F. Partridge, Adam Fishbeck and others commenced a settlement in what has since been known as the " Fish Creek " settlement. Messrs. Finch and Partridge built the first bridge across the creek, for which Mr. Ogden allowed them $100 on their land contract.

In 1826 the wheat crop was so abundant, that during the winter and spring following it was almost impossible to dispose of it. Seventy- five bushels an acre was an average crop, which was sold or exchanged at home for three York shillings per bushel. Mr. Stillwell drew two hundred bushels of beautiful wheat to Ogdensburg, and with some diffi- culty prevailed upon Mr. Parish to take it in payment of land at five shillings per bushel. Within a few weeks after this occurrence, the en- tire wheat crop of the State was struck with rust, destroying both grain and straw, when the price of wheat arose to two dollars per bushel. These few years of low prices and crop failure so discouraged the set- tlers in raising money, that many of them thought seriously of aban- doning their lands, when Mr. Ogden consented to receive cattle as payment on their contracts.

After this several families came to town and settled in the eastern and western parts: Samuel Perry, David Lawyer, Harvey Hardy, Adam Fishbeck, Jacob and Nelson Coffin, Christopher Nelson and brother, N. F. Swain, Mr. Forbs, Mr. Hydorn, John Shepard and brother, Richard Purmot, E. R. Turner, Alexander Chilton, Abner Armstrong, David Scarlet, Abner Murphy, Jesse McCurdy, John Smithers, Hiram English, Ezra Smith, Reuben Smith, John Hedge, Alanson Tuttle, Jackson and Samuel Laughlin, John and William Fleethan, the Newcomb family, Benjamin Eastman, Loren and John Willson, the Thornton family, the Walker family and many others, most of whom had families. Within a few years all the arable lands were taken up and improved. Many of the descendants of the early settlers are now living in the town or vicin- ity, and not a few have risen to fill important places of trust in the State and nation.

Wild animals at an early day, especially deer, were very plentiful, and continued so for a number of years later, owing to large tracts of marshy timber lands on the borders of the settlements connecting with woods leading to large bodies in the back towns. Also the patches of woods

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THE TOWN OF DEPEYSTER.

left by the settlers joining each other were such that animals could traverse the town without crossing clearings. The deer did no damage further than to browse or tread up the fall wheat, but the wolf would kill or worry the sheep, and the panther or bear would occasionally kill a calf or a yearling. About 1818 Mr. Stilwell having purchased a flock of forty sheep yarded them near his house. He had a large dog, and thought that the wolves would not dare venture near the premises while they were guarded by so fierce an animal. During the following night the family were awakened by the barking of the dog and his jumping against the door of the house to attract the attention of the inmates. Mr. Stilwell remarked during the uproar that there was no danger of wolves while the dog was outside barking. Upon visiting his sheep- yard the next morning he was surprised to find that fifteen of his flock had been killed, showing plainly that a large number of wolves had been present.

In the early fall of 1820 several calves had been killed in the vicinity of Mud Lake. Shortly after Mr. Parker, father of ex-Senator Parker, of Potsdam, with others, were hunting deer in that vicinity, when they discovered two young panthers about the size of a cat in a cavity formed by an overturned tree. The mother not being in the immediate vicin- ity, they carried the cubs to Depeyster Corners. A general hunt was at once organized, and after they had scoured the woods where the cubs were taken they discovered the panther a short distance from the place in the top of a large tree. Mansfield Bristol, one of the party, an ex- pert marksmen, was selected to shoot the animal. It required a second shot to bring the panther down, which proved to be one of the largest of the species, measuring nine feet and six inches from nose to tip of tail.

Late in the fall of that year William Washburn, the son of Rufus Washburn, one of the pioneers that had settled in the Bristol neighbor- hood, then about seventeen years of age, started out in the vicinity of Mud Lake with his dog and gun to hunt deer. He soon discovered strange tracks in the light snow, which then covered the ground, and his curiosity led hini to follow them. He traced them a long distance, into what is now the town of Macomb, to a place where they entered a cave in a ledge of rocks west of the State road. The day was nearly

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

spent, yet he determined not to be hindered from the attainment of his object, and finding the opening of convenient size he endeavored at first to send his dog into the cave. His dog refused to go, so he crept in some distance with his gun in a fixed position to fire, and his dog fol- lowed close behind him. Having reached a part of the cave where it was quite dark he discovered at a short distance from him two large eyes of fire-like brilliancy, which seemed to watch his movements, their owner appearantly ready to spring upon him. Here he paused and bringing his gun to bear upon the object deliberately fired. His dog rushed passed him to attack the animal ; the young man now retired and was soon followed by his dog. Hearing no noise or sign of life within he after a short delay again ventured into the den and listened for some time, but all was quiet, and he at length ventured nearer, and groping in the dark laid his hand upon the paw of an animal, evidently dead, which he with much difficulty dragged out. It proved to be a male panther of large size. The ball had entered a vital part of the brain and killed him instantly. This panther was supposed to be the mate of the one killed during the early part of the fall.

The deer is considered harmless, yet a wounded buck if hard pressed will turn upon his pursuers. A man by the name of Dake, while hunt- ing in the western part of the town near the " deer lick," in the vicinity of the Warren farm, in the fall of 1828, shot and wounded a very large buck, having a pair of long antlers with several spikes on each. Before he had time to reload his rifle (the guns of that day were muzzle load- ers and flint locks), the buck turned upon him with great fury. Mr. Dake clubbed him with his gun and broke the stock in pieces, then used the barrel, striking him over the head until it was bent nearly double. His gun being used up, and he not being able or strong enough to grap- ple the buck by the horns, he ran around a tree and the deer after him. This circus was kept up until both the man and the deer were nearly exhausted, when a neighbor, hearing Mr. Dake's cry for help, came to his assistance and dispatched the deer. Mr. Dake's clothes were torn in shreds, and his body badly lacerated by the deer's horns. The writer can vouch for this, as he afterwards saw the man's wounds and the bent gun barrel.

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 59

Author: Curtis, Gates Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328