USA > New York > Onondaga County > Spafford > Spafford, Onondaga County, New York > Part 8
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depth is from twenty-five feet, at the foot and head, to two hundred sixty-five feet throughout the major portion of its course. There are no marshes or swamps along its shores, which are for the most part rocky and precipitous.
The Village of Skaneateles, of two or three thousand inhabitants, comes down to the water's edge at the foot of the lake, and extends for a short distance up the gentle slope of the hills encircling its northern extremity. Passing from the Village of Skaneateles and going southward up the lake five or six miles, the hills on either side come down to the water's edge, in a gentle decline, graced with culti- vated fields, and picturesque farm buildings environed with fruit and other shade trees. At Five Mile Point the lake makes a change in course to a more easterly direction and, passing this Point, there is suddenly presented to the eye of the traveller an extended view of pure limpid water sur- rounded by bold, wild, and rugged highland scenery, such as is seldom seen elsewhere or excelled in beauty and picturesqueness. On the west side of the lake, at the beginning of this highland district, is the hamlet of Man- dana, and, on the east side, the pretty little village of Boro- dino. Proceeding southward Point after Point successively come into view, extending outward from either shore, with their green verdue and graceful sweeping elm trees mirrored in the placid waters of the lake. The view from every steamer landing is most entrancing, and impresses the mind of the beholder. From Five Mile Point upward the shores of the lake become more and more precipitous, and the sur- rounding lands increase in elevation, until reaching the head of the lake at Glen Haven there is an amphitheater of precipitous hills, rising to a height a twelve or thirteen hundred feet above the surface of the water. The follow- ing is an abbreviated and adapted extract, taken from a recent publication concerning this lake, by the well known artist, John Barrow of Skaneateles, who for half a century has studied and delightfully painted the woods, hills and waters of Skaneateles Lake.
" The water of Skaneateles Lake is of the clearest and purest. I believe it has a color and beauty not reached by any other lake in our land. All the other lakes of our region have a clear and beautifully tinted water, each a little different from any other. Ours has a delicate emerald
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tint, less pronounced than that of the great lakes, a tint of its own, I think it the fairest of all.
" We know how gracefully the shores rise from the lake as far as Mandana, and then rise more precipitously, until they pass around the head of the lake in a grand amphi- theater of hills, still partially clothed with forests.
" Trees are standing and increasing around the Village of Skaneateles and its adjacent shores, filling up gaps that once were there. Nature still plants trees along the shore, and already we see a great change in that respect in the last twenty-five or thirty years. In some places the second growth has reached the height of the old trees, and in other places the saplings are covering the ground. There is still a grand wood on the west shore, half way up the lake, that keeps green the memory of the primeval forests.
" The Points that were barren a few years ago, are now owned by men who own summer cottages there, and have taken care to add to such trees as have been spared to them. Ten Mile Point has a new and beautiful grove, freshly planted a few years ago, and also a fine old group, marking the end of the Point as it was since the lake was known. Three Mile Point, owned by Mr. Hooker, has since his occupancy become a charming spot. Fall Brook Point has changed some since I knew it, but not to its detriment, with its fine cottage, pleasant lawn of flowers, and summer houses planted there. I notice with satisfaction the same improve- ment at Nine Mile Point, Sycamore Point, Randall's Point and others.
" There is a ravine and brook at every Point, for the brook makes the Point, and some are very interesting and beautiful. The gorge at Appletree Point is one of the finest on the lake. It has a stream of water more copious than the Inlet at the head of the lake. There are two fine falls in its course, one seventy-five or eighty feet in height, the waters falling over a cavern in the slaty rock beneath, from a ledge of Tully limestone above. Another one lower down the gorge, of forty feet in height, is most picturesque in time of freshet. There are other ravines at Ten Mile Point, Hall's Point, Jenny's Point, Collins' Point, Hooker's Point, and Gregory's Point. All these and many other smaller brooks, with their varied rocky architecture and plant life, are of interest to the lover of Nature.
SKANEATELES LAKE FROM SWEET BRIAR COTTAGE
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"Of the scenery of the lake much can be told. The region in which this beautiful sheet of water lies is very rich in varied landscape; its hills, valleys and woods are very beautiful; and the views from the hills bounding the lakes are very charming. It would take too long to enum- erate the different places where good views can be obtained, but some of the best are from the head of the lake. There are some excellent ones from the hills back of Three Mile Point, and from there down to Mandana. From the hills south of Spafford Corners to the village of Skaneateles are many charming views. Anywhere along the shores of the lake it is very beautiful, but I think the finest views of all are from Captain George K. Collins' cottage on Randall's Point. This cottage commands splendid views up and down the lake, the former being supplemented with the finest view of the valley beyond Glen Haven. On the eastern shore of the lake the summer sunsets can be seen in all their variety and glory.
"There is a view from Ripley Hill, in the town of Spafford, near the head of the lake, that ought to be famous. From there the beholder has spread out before his vision a stretch of county extending from the spurs of the Adirondack Mountains on the east, to the hills of Seneca County on the west, and from the mountains of Pennsylvania on the south, to the waters of Lake Ontario on the north. One may well be impressed with the beauty that is spread before him here of our county and the setting of our lake We only need great artists and poets to make the people understand and appreciate how generous Nature has been, in giving us this beautiful lake and surrounding hills."
STEAMBOATS.
The first steamboat on Skaneateles Lake was the " High- land Chief," brought here from the Hudson River by Cap- tain William Fowler, its owner. It came by canal, and from thence was trucked to the lake by oxen. It was forty feet in length, a side wheeler, and had a very uncomfort- able habit of careening on slight provocation. According to John Barrow it was introduced here about 1824; but we have no record of it on the lake prior to 1831. As a steam- boat it was not a success, and it was eventually remodelled into a sail boat for carrying freight and wood.
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The next boat was built here, was about one hundred feet in length, a side wheeler, and was named " Independence," because launched on Independence Day, July 4, 1831. It was built in part by public subscription, had a cabin partly below decks, and, like its predecessor, was a losing venture. After a brief struggle for business and meeting with indif- ferent success, Captain Wells, its pincipal owner, converted it into a sail boat for carrying wood to the village of Skan- eateles. It is said that D. B. Hillis, afterwards District Attorney of the County of Onondaga, and then a student in the law office of F. G. Jewett, delivered the Fourth of July oration at Skaneateles, the day this boat was first put in the water.
These two disastrous failures in the steamboat business seemed to deter any further ventures in that line for many years; but the opening of the Water Cure Establishment at Glen Haven, at the head of the lake, and a hotel and bowl- ing alley at Fair Haven on the opposite side, each connected by daily stages with the village of Homer, gave fresh encour- agement to men who were anxious to open lake transporta- tion ; so in 1848, about the time of the opening of the Water Cure, the side wheel steamer " Skaneateles " was placed on the lake. This boat was owned or managed by Thomas Hecox, a son of Warren Hecox, one of the promoters of the Water Cure Establishment at Glen Haven.
On July 4, 1848, a rival steamer named " Homer," made its maiden trip up the lake in company with the Skan- eateles, each soliciting and carrying passengers on that occasion. The " Skaneateles " appeared to be a steady and safe boat, but the " Homer" was top heavy and had an uncomfortable way of careening from side to side, alter- nately lifting one after the other of its side paddle wheels out of the water; in windy weather this was particularly noticeable, and people for that reason were afraid to ride on the boat.
Whatever increased trade the Water Cure Establishment may have contributed to lake transportation, it certainly was not sufficient to sustain two boats; so one evening, after returning to Skaneateles from an unsatisfactory voyage to Glen Haven, Captain Hecox, with a full head of steam, ran the Skaneateles on to the western shore of the
CITY OF SYRACUSE, APPROACHING SPAFFORD LANDING
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lake, where he subsequently removed her machinery and boiler, and then converted her hull to other uses.
The Homer was never popular, and after making a valiant fight for three or four years, gave up the struggle and sub- mitted to the inevitable transformation into a sailing craft for hauling wood.
The Ben. H. Porter, built soon after the close of the Civil War, was a propeller modelled after an ocean steamer, and altogether too slow and clumsy to meet the requirements of lake travel. This, after a few years, went the way of the others, and about twenty-five or thirty years ago was supplanted by the small but very serviceable steam propeller " Glen Haven," still in use. The latter boat is now owned by the Skaneateles Railroad Company, which in 1901 put upon the lake the "City of Syracuse," modelled after its sister boat but much larger in size.
No steamboat has ever paid running expenses here until after the erection of summer cottages on the lake, since which time traffic has steadily increased, so that now, during the summer months, one or both of these boats are con- stantly required to meet the demands of travel.
A number of years ago a small steam yacht was placed on the lake by private parties, and named "Ossahinta," but by reason of commutation tickets and cut rates on rail- roads connecting with the regular boat, this opposition line was put out of business; what the effect of trolley lines of railroad running into Skaneateles may be on lake transpor- tation, is yet to be seen.
Sailing yachts for pleasure have for years been a special feature of the lake, and during recent times numerous steam and gasoline launches have been introduced to its waters.
GLEN HAVEN SANITARIUM.
In the winter of 1847-8, a Water Cure Establishment was opened by Dr. Jackson at Glen Haven, on the west side, near the head of the lake. The first building used was a large white house, with a chimney at each end, built in 1846. by Deacon Hall of Skaneateles. The soft water for the Water Cure was taken in pipes, from a large spring issuing from the steep and almost inaccessible mountain side, in rear and several hundred feet above the house. At
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the beginning of its career the rules and regulations of the Water Cure were stringent and exacting, and many who were ill, or thought they were, flocked to the new Sanitar- ium. Among other regulations the patients were required to wear skull-caps, kept constantly moist by dipping in water, to partake of a rigid coarse diet, drink copiously of the cool soft water of the establishment, take baths once or twice a day, exercise frequently in the open mountain air, and all women patients were to wear bloomers.
The skull-caps, bloomers, and coarse diet of the old regime eventually passed away, and this old time Water Cure under the liberal management of Dr. Thomas and John Mourin, who have been in charge for the last twenty-five or thirty years, has at last become well known throughout the United States as a popular Sanitarium and Summer Resort, for the latter purpose its reputation has long been established.
The first house was destroyed by fire about 1850, and a new and more commodious building erected in its place. The new building was soon outgrown, and numerous cot- tages from time to time were added to supplement the main establishment. After the lake became popular, by reason of private parties erecting summer cottages at different places along its shores, a large and commodious hotel build- ing was added to the other structures of the Water Cure property, to meet the demands of summer trade.
No spirituous liquors have ever been sold on the Sani- tarium grounds, a fact which no doubt has contributed to its popularity as a place of resort for women and children. This institution, during its long career, has at times been subject to adversity, and probably justly open to criticism for unsatisfactory management, yet on the whole there is much to be said in its favor. Its future seems established, and its many pleasant surroundings ought to make it bright. and prosperous.
COTTAGES.
In the Spring of 1881 the writer erected on Randall's Point, now known as Spafford Landing, the first summer cottage on Skaneateles Lake; this at the time produced a. mild sensation among the people residing in the vicinity, and scores of people visited the place to look upon the new
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innovation. No one before had even suggested Skaneateles Lake as a place for private summer homes, and certainly no one had ever ventured an outlay of money in that direc- tion. The general comment of those who visited this un- pretentious first effort, in the direction of a summer cottage, was that it was a foolhardy thing to do, and summer cottages on the lake would never amount to anything. This first building is now in use, as it was designed at the begin- ning, as a dining room and kitchen ; the family of the writer were then sleeping in tents.
The writer had one guest that first summer, however, who came, stayed over night, said he never enjoyed himself better in his life, in the morning bought a piece of land on the lake shore, and soon after commenced the erection of a cottage of his own; that was E. M. Ford of Syracuse. That property and cottage is now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Weed, of Brooklyn, N. Y.
Soon after Mr. Ford's purchase, in 1881, he sold a part to Mr. James H. Blair of Syracuse, who erected the third cottage on the lake; this property is now owned and occupied by Mr. Cronell, of Skaneateles.
In a year or two after his first venture, the writer supple- mented his belonging on the lake by erecting his main cottage, on the bluff or elevation just north of his first building.
From this time forward, the following cottages were erected in quick succession upon the lake: Mr. Allen built " Rockland" Cottage, on the high rocks just south of Mr. Blair; a Mr. Ford built on Barber's Point the cottage now owned and much improved by Col. James Manning of Syracuse; Dr. Pease erected the cottage now known as Jenny's, on Havens' Point, and Mr. Hall and Mr. Bench, both of Skaneateles, built cottages farther down the lake. All that have been now mentioned were in the town of Spafford.
On the opposite side of the lake, in the County of Cayuga, about this time were erected four cottages on Pray's Point (Glen Cove), by three Gregory Brothers of Skaneateles, and by Prof. R. Bruce White (a brother-in-law) of Syracuse. Mr. Carpenter and Mrs. Casper erected two elegant summer and winter homes on Appletree or Sawmill Point. The last two were soon supplemented by ten or twelve other tasty
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summer cottages on the gentle declivity of the shore south of Carpenter; these are known as the New Hope Colony.
From this time forward the popularity of the lake as a summer resort was established, and year after year elegant summer cottages were added, until there are now about a hundred in all, distributed along the shores and points of the highland portion of the lake. Among the most note- worthy of these, in addition to those already mentioned, are the following: Two owned by Mr. Pennock and Mr. Cooper in Pine Grove, one by Mr. E. C. Stearns on Wheat Point, four owned by Mr. Salem Hyde, Mr. Maslin, Mr. James Eager, and Dr. Marlow on the shore between Wheat and Ten Mile Point, three owned by Dr. Wright, Mr. Stone and Mr. Willett on the shore between Ten Mile and Hall's Point, one owned by A. C. Chase on Barber's Point, one owned by Rev. Samuel Calthrop on Stag Horn Point, one owned by Dr. A. C. Mercer on the shore further south. In addition to these there are five or six others belonging to a Homer Colony perched on the high rocks south of Rockland Cottage. All of these are in the town of Spafford.
On the western side of the lake the following have been added to those already mentioned : One by Mr. Allen, near the grounds of the Glen Haven Water Cure, and one by each of the following named persons on the shore and points on the west side of the lake: Mr. Olmstead, Dr. Guilford, Dr. Darby, Mrs. Fields, Mr. Paul, Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Van Esseltyne, Hooker Brothers, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Posthill, Mr. Weeks Mr. Holden, and several others whose names are not known to the writer.
Skaneateles Lake has been recently appropriated as a water supply for the City of Syracuse; what the effect may be upon this beautiful sheet of water as a place of resort and for summer homes is yet to be determined. The matter of cottage building has been one of great importance to the town of Spafford and has added very much to its material wealth and prosperity. Its revenue from that source has been a constant and increasing one, from the time the first building was erected within its limits, and barring the effect of this appropriation of the lake as a water supply, its future revenue from that source looks better than ever before. The facilities for reaching and enjoying Skaneateles Lake were never in the past what they
COTTAGE WILLIAM S. TEALL, SKANEATELES LAKE
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are to-day, and certainly, in salubrity and attractiveness, this beautiful sheet of water has no equal in Central New York.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Within the last fifty or sixty years there have been great material changes in the welfare of the world, and especially in the United States. The most noticeable of these have occurred in our great cities and along our routes of com- merce; and yet even an isolated country section, like the town of Spafford, has been affected by this current of passing events, which has marked the progress of nations. The discovery and application of steam and electricity as motive powers, and the invention of the telegraph and telephone, have had the effect, to a greater or less extent, of annihilat- ing time and space; while the invention of a multitude of modern labor saving devices has revolutionized the ordinary methods of man, and the manner of obtaining his daily bread; even his tastes and habits have changed. It would seem as if the country farmer would be the last to be affected by these modern innovations, and yet a careful study of the situation shows, that even he has succumbed to the force of modern ideas. These changes are unregretable, because they are the logical sequence of current events, so it is not our purpose to speak of them farther than to note the fact, without expressions of regret; but of other changes we desire to speak:
MAPLE SUGAR MAKING.
Fifty years ago the ordinary sweet used in a farmer's family, for domestic purposes, was made from the sap of a maple tree, and a farm without a " sugar-bush " was in- complete. Maple groves were preserved and protected, with all the care and attention of an apple or fruit orchard. Early in Spring the sap buckets were taken from their storing place, repaired, hoops tightened, and the buckets carefully washed, soaked and put in readiness to catch the first sap run of the season. The boiling was generally done in long copper pans, set in brick arches covered by rough wooden sheds, to protect them from the inclement weather of Spring. The sugar season, always a short one, some- times required a day and night service of the attendant.
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Sugar making was always a happy service for young people, who generally attended the "sugar off," and delighted to make the hot sugar into wax, by dropping it on a panful of clean snow or a cake of ice. In olden times it was not an unusual thing, to behold in an early Spring evening, the fire light from half a dozen sugar bushes from the village of Spafford Corners. The early farmers, in this town, not only made sugar for themselves, but had a surplus to sell to people in their localities. Muscovado, or a crude sugar made from Southern sugar cane, never was a very desir- able sweet, and the clarified and granulated article is a matter of comparatively recent origin. The making of maple sugar, in this locality, is growing less and less every year, and will soon be a lost art; there are even now very few maple groves worth the tapping. A cake of maple sugar will soon be a curiosity, and maple syrup on pan- cakes a luxury that the wealthy only can indulge in.
MAPLE GROVES.
Another noticeable and very regretable matter, which has occurred within the last fifty years, and which naturally affects the physical aspect of this town, is the destruction of nearly all the fine groves of trees, which once existed in close proximity to the villages and residences of the people. From appearances, the people who have possessed the land had an antipathy against both trees and shrubs, and have wielded the axe with an unsparing hand. With the trees have gone the Spring flowers and native birds, and all that feasted the eye and stirred the soul of man to higher aims and brighter thoughts. There is some satisfaction, however, in knowing there are some places in town so steep and rugged as to stay the course of the woodman's axe, and where there is still a retreat for trees, birds and flowers. There are a few shade trees along the waysides, particularly in the two villages, but even these are a memory of fifty years ago. Very few, if any, fruit trees have been planted in a half century. We are very glad, however, to note that along the lake shore, where the summer residents have a foothold, there is a reaction from this general tendency to destruction and decay; here Nature, aided by sympathetic hands, is fast restoring the land to its primitive charms. We trust that the coming generation will catch some in-
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spiration from the Lakers, that will result in restoring the lands in this picturesque town from the vandalism of the last fifty years.
HUNTING, PIGEONS, BIRDS, ETC.
In the forepart of the nineteenth century every man and boy was a marksman, and possessed a rifle or a firing iron of some description. Fox hunting, hunting for black and gray squirrels, partridges, pigeons, rabbits, and other small animals and birds, afforded abundant sport for those who were so minded. Others found pleasure and profit in trap- ping fur bearing animals and in hunting for bee trees. All these pastimes are now practically a memory of the past; and perhaps it is well it is so, for certainly it has always been a question whether the companionship of these birds and small anmals has not always been of more value to the people, than the temporary pleasure of the few who prac- ticed the art of killing them.
There are a few who will remember when flocks of wild pigeons darkened the air with their Spring and Fall migra- tions; now, not a bird is left to tell the story; a few bobo- links still frequent our meadows in Summer time, and enliven our labors with their sweet warbling song; but, like the pigeons, their days will soon be numbered and their song cease in the land.
With the rapid flow of current events have also passed the old time quilting bees, paring bees, husking bees, and the old fashioned singing school; possibly there has something succeeded to take their place, but in innocent fun and generous sociability, we doubt if there will ever be a sub- stitute for these old time gatherings.
JUDGE ELLIOTT ANTHONY.
(From The Syracuse Herald of February 26, 1898.)
" Elliott Anthony, one of the most illustrious sons of Onon- daga County, died on Thursday night, February 20, 1898, at Evanston, Illinois. For twelve years he was Judge of the Superior Court of Illinois, and one of the leading author- ities on law in the Middle West. He was born in Spafford on June 10th, 1827, of Quaker ancestors. His father, Isaac Anthony, married Pamelia Phelps of Vermont, and to them were born sons and daughters. The sons were educated in
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