The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 35

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098

USA > New York > Jefferson County > The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894 > Part 35

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Per contra, wben the wind is astern, all hands may be snugly bunched aft, and in "falling away" to fill the sail, when she runs up into the wind, the boatman will lay well back, thus dragging the stern.

These things charm and amaze the amateur, and by dint of close attention he soon masters the details of this peculiar method of sailing. He must, however, know not only how to do the right thing at the right moment, but just also how to do it in the shortest possible way. His action must become automatic, and his eye trained to read every sign the winds write upon the impressible surface of the waters. Most of the professional boatmen who are to be found during the summer at Round Island, Alexandria Bay and the other resorts, ready to pilot excursionists to the best fishing places, are clever mechanics who build boats in the winter time and some of them have acquired wide reputation for the excellence of their handiwork. There is no place upon the list of touring points where the boats are so universally good as here. Such a thing as a snub-nosed, flat-bottomed " tub," or gaily painted but otherwise contemptible row-boat, which, in many places, is thought "good enough for summer tourists," is unknown here.

The St. Lawrence skiff is built of perfect, knot- less pine, or Spanish cedar, a trifle more than one- quarter inch in thickness. It is well ribbed with white oak strips, placed about four inches apart. The "shear" is a perfect curve and every line in sight harmonizes. A deck extends about thirty inches from its pointed ends, made up of pine and walnut stuff laid in strips, with a centre-piece on top to stiffen it. Length twenty-one and one-half feet ; beam, in the centre, outside measure, tliree feet and three inches; depth, thirteen inches. Snug seats are placed fore and aft. These are detachable for sponging out. The stern seat is fitted with an arm chair, cane-seated and backed, without DESCENDING LACHINE RAPIDS. legs. Five feet forward of this is another seat with a similar chair, and upon the thwarts between them are catches to hold trawling rods and rings for the sheet line. The two chairs face, and behind the last named is the fish-box, which is exactly in the centre of the boat. The box serves as a seat for the rower when alone in the boat, in which case he rows stern forward. Ordinarily the rower sits upon a seat placed so that the fish-box serves as a foot-brace. Detachable out-riggers are used. The boat has no keel, but an elliptic bottom piece, perfectly flat, is used. This is about five inches wide at centre. Upon this the boat slides when being hauled up on the wbarf. A center-board occupies the space under the rower's seat. It folds up like a fan into a sheath, which is water-tight, being opened and closed by a lever carefully packed. The sail-brace and socket for base of mast are carefully fitted, and the mast and sail, when not in use, lie along the starboard side of the seats. A false bottom of movable stuff pro- tects the light frame, and this is covered by neatly-fitting canvas. Feathering oars are seldom used, the boatmen claiming that a well-balanced pin oar can be more easily dropped to haul in a fish.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

ments, and made it a comfortable residence, which he occupied each summer until he associated, as joint owners with himself, Mr. and Mrs. John L. Hasbrouck of New York city, and from that time there commenced a series of improvements under their personal supervision, that has resulted in its present condition. The piers and buildings, the lawns, trees, shrubbery and flowers, and general appearance, are complete and beautiful beyond description, and equal those of any other island property. Every year, for a period of three or four months, the pro- prietors and their families and guests come to Manhattan to enjoy its beauties and its restful comforts.

One of them remarked to the writer : "The climate and the natural advantages, and the life we lead here, are most important from a sanitary point of view, preserving the health and vigor of its residents, and give them continuous and unalloyed rest, pleasure and happiness. We come here gladly, and leave with keen regret-anticipating our return another season as a compensation for our temporary separa- tion from our Island Home that we love so much."

Seth Green always claimed that when he selected this island for his summer residence, he had his choice of all the islands in this vicinity, and the present proprietors have never doubted his judgment and taste in choosing this island as the "bonniest of them a'." The writer found every reason to reach the same conclusion, for the islands are faultless, the turf like that of England, the people them- selves refined and hospitable.

Every island and Island Home in this wilderness of islands, from Sport Island and Summer Land (three miles below Alexandria Bay) to Calumet and Governor's Island and those islands above them (near Clayton, ) have their own natural beauty and artistic improvements, and each one deserves most favorable comment and criticism, but Manhat- tan has a quiet beauty that just fills the artistic eye. It is a A GOOD CATCH. noteworthy fact that among the islanders and cottagers there is neither envy nor discontent, each one apparently entirely happy in his own pos- sessions. Each is supreme in his little kingdom, and they are all satisfied with their portion of the emerald gems of this unique river, and the islanders cordially admire and enjoy the possessions of their neighbors almost equally with their own, and take an interest in every improvement made in their locality.

Those who attended the Centennial at Philadelphia in 1876, as well as those who revelled in the glories of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, when asked to describe what they saw, are utterly unable to do so. So much bursts upon the recollection, that the tongue and mind are paralyzed, and the listener only hears partial descriptions of perhaps trivial things. So it is with the Thousand Islands, you are unable to describe them satisfactorily- you want the listener to. see them, then let him describe them. There is nothing in the world like them, any world-wide traveller will tell you that. The Rhine has its islands, and castle towers,

" And hills that promise corn and wine And scattered cities crowning these Whose far, white walls along them shine,".

the beautiful lakes of Switzerland, the Riveria itself, Como and the Isles of Greece-all these are beautiful, and Venice is queenly-but the St. Lawrence and its emerald islands crowding each other for 30 miles, surpass them all, individually and united. It is a land too beautiful for words, where even the painter's hand trembles at its own weakness to depict all bis eye sees, where God smiles all the while through the summer days, but makes the glorious

THE OLD SETH GREEN HOUSE, AS REBUILT. VIEW TAKEN FROM THE WHARF IN FRONT OF SAME.

VIEW FROM THE OLD SETH GREEN HOUSE. ACROSS THE AMERICAN CHANNEL.

ALEXANDRIA BAY IN THE DISTANCE.

THE HASBROUCK HOUSE AND BOFFIN'S BOWER. WESTERLY SIDE OF MANHATTAN.

-...

JUDGE SPENCER'S RESIDENCE, EASTERLY SIDE OF MANHATTAN. QUIET NOOK, AND TERRACE, AND PAVILION ON THE RIGHT.

PIAZZA OF SPENCER HOUSE, OVERLOOKING THE RIVER.

VIEW FROM JUDGE SPENCER'S TOWER, SHOWING ALEXANDRIA BAY IN THE DISTANCE.

THE COLUMBIAN, THOUSAND ISLAND PARK.

THE JOSEPH BONAPARTE HOUSE, AT NATURAL BRIDGE.

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THE THOUSAND. ISLANDS.

season short, lest man, entranced by perennial rest and enjoyment, would find even nature's beauties at last "palling upon the satiated taste." It is a land of rest, of high ideals, of perfect natural beauty, where water, and sky, and land and wooded shores blend into something unknown elsewhere. An able writer says :

"It is impossible, even for those whose habits and occupations naturally wean them from the pleasure derivable from such scenery, to avoid feelings akin to poetry while winding through the Thousand Islands. You feel, indeed, long after they had been passed, as if you had been awakened out of a blissful dream1. Your memory brings up again and again the pictures of the clusters of the little islands raising out of the clear cold water. You think of the little bays and winding passages, embowered in trees ; and recurring to the din, and dust, and heat, and strife of the city you have left, or the city you are going to, you wish in your heart that you could see more of nature, and less of business.

" These may be but dreams-perhaps they are so-but they are good and they are useful dreams ; for they break in for a moment upon the dull monotony of our all-absorbing selfishness ; they let in a few rays of light upon the poetry and purity of sentiment, which seem likely to die of perpetual confinement in the dark prison-house of modern avarice."

J. A. H.

Thousand Island Park.

T HE Thousand Island Park seems to have been an outgrowth of that wave of religious sentiment which swept over the country about 1874-the result, perhaps, of the reaction in men's minds which usually follows great financial depression. Its contemporary developments are visible at Ashbury Park and Ocean Grove, two grand summer resorts upon the seaboard of New Jersey, and the later manifestation of the same sentiment at Chautauqua, in Western New York. All of these movements towards summer residences bore a distinctly religious character, and were the outgrowth of a sincere desire to glorify God, and yet, in doing so, to make summer homes where families could receive the benefit of change of scene and of air and perhaps in their manner of living.

The manifestation of this impulse at Thousand Island Park is due to the efforts of Rev. J. F. Dayan, a well known Methodist minister, now on the retired list. He conceived the idea that the Methodist denomination would gladly support such a resort, and he selected the southwesterly end of Wells Island as the most eligible spot. The selection was judicious, and his efforts were soon appreciated. The needed lands were mainly purchased (1,000 acres) from Captain Throop, whose title was only the third remove from the State itself. Success crowned the Association's efforts, $22,000 worth of lots having been sold in one day. Men struggled to secure the most desirable sites. It was unfortunate for the young town, however, that the extreme religions element so far prevailed that illy-considered restrictions were imposed as to entrance fee, etc., but in time these peculiar views have given way to more liberal ideas. To this day, however, no steamer is allowed to land at their dock on the Sabbath, the present management adhering to the original plan that the Sabbath should be not only a day of rest but of religious observance. The Thousand Island Park is now, as it was at the beginning, a place where a man can leave his wife and children and feel sure that they will not be exposed to any harmful influences of any nature-a place where "the assassins of society" would have no inducement whatever to come.

The situation of the Park is superior. Back from the river-front plateau rises a rocky mound, nearly 200 feet in height, which afforded a permanent and accessible locality for a water reservoir with pressure enough to flood the highest buildings. The soil is produc- tive, resting upon the moraine of this region, the result of glacial action. The second- growth of timber is mainly oak and elm, remarkably straight and vigorous, and the lot- owners are only called upon to decide what trees should be felled, and not what they should plant. It is difficult to conceive of a finer location. With man's intelligent supervision the place may be made the most delightful in America. Other resorts have the ocean, with its drifting sands, its fogs, its storms-this Park has the great St. Lawrence, whose waters come sweeping down from the far Northwest, pure as the melting snows can make them, fresh as

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

the breath of spring, placid as Nature itself. To live in such a spot is a benediction for man ; there he forgets his cares, and grows into a life of content and thankfulness.

At the Thousand Islands there is a perceptible odor of ozone in the atmosphere. By some it is called a " sulphurous," by others a fishy smell. But there is a difference. Ozone is of itself an energetic chemical agent. It is a preservative, not a putrifying influence. In this it differs widely from oxygen, the principle in the air which promotes decay. There seems to be a reason for the belief that the beneficial effects produced upon many invalids from a residence among the Thousand Islands or upon the sea-shore, is due largely to the ozone discernible in those localities.

An indication of the progressive spirit of the Park is the Thousand Island Herald, a weekly newspaper published there, ably conducted, of which E. F. Otis is editor, and Rev. William Searle, manager.

The original capital of the Association was fixed at $15,000, of which $7,100 was paid in cash. On January 11th, 1876, the indebtedness of the Association was $24,647.81, and the assets $57,300.94. The capital was afterwards increased to $50.000.

The original trustees were : Chancellor E. D. Haven, D. D., President ; Williard Ives, Vice-President ; Col. Albert D. Shaw, John F. Moffett, J. F. Dayan, E. C. Curtis, E. Rem- ington, Hon. Jas. Johnson, M. D. Kinney.

Mr. Dayan continued a member of the board and as secretary and general manager until 1881. Chancellor Haven resigned in 1881, having been made one of the Bishops of the church at the preceding general conference. He was succeeded by Rev. I. S. Bing- ham, D. D., who in 1883, gave place to Rev. M. D. Kinney, A. M., who had been a member of the board of trustees from the first. Under his energetic management many improve- ments were perfected, and there came a period of decided growth. He continued as Presi- dent for seven years, and the Park owes much to his management, and to the fact that he has been of financial aid at many times.

The present trustees are : George P. Folts, President ; George C. Sawyer, Vice Presi- dent ; Dr. A. W. Goodale, Treasurer ; Walter Brown, Assistant Treasurer ; W. R. Fitch, Secretary. Trustees : George P. Folts, F. G. Weeks, Geo. C. Sawyer, W. R. Fitch, Walter Brown, Dr. A. W. Goodale, James P. Lewis, M. R. LeFevre, A. Gurnee. Rev. Wmn. Searles, D. D., is the Director of the Tabernacle services.

From the very first the design of the Association has been to secure the best native talent for religious services, and also bringing from abroad men of established reputation and ability. In this way the noble Tabernacle has had under its roof some of the most cele- brated preachers in the United States and Canada, and the reputation of the Park in this respect has been admirably sustained. Rev. Dr. J. E. C. Sawyer, editor of the Northern Christian Advocate, delivered two sermons there on July 22, 1894, that were the most finished and stirring the writer has ever listened to. The influences that have gone out from that Tabernacle have been peculiarly inspiring and noble, and its services have done much to popularize the Park. The auditorium has a natural slope, the acoustics are admirable, and the sight most unique and interesting when the vast place is filled with the sea of upturned faces confronting the speaker. Situated in a fine growth of oak, with great curtains at the sides, which can be raised or lowered as desired, the people are brought face to face with nature, whence they are inspired to look up to nature's God.

It should not be forgotten that the Park as well as the Islands partake of an interna- tional character to a great extent, and the Union Jack floats in close proximity to our own beloved stars and stripes, and that prayers ascend for the noble Queen from the same desk as the petition for our honored President.

The population of Thousand Island Park is somewhat of a floating one, as regards its permanence, but there can be no doubt as to its pre-eminent respectability. It numbers 800 to 6,000 souls. Indeed the only occasion for fear in these established popular resorts is that they may become exclusively the summer abodes of the rich alone. At this place, however, there are ample accommodations for people of every class in point of material wealth, the hotel charges being $3.00 per day for the best, one dollar per day for a cheaper but really comfortable place, and board in private cottages at even less rates. It is pre-

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THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

eminently a democratic place, and friendliness is cultivated as not an altogether obsolete senti- ment. The trustees and officers are capable men, composed of persons who have made their way from small beginnings and have always been in sympathy with plain and home-like methods. The cottages are numerous, all of them attractive, some beautiful. We give views of the new hotel which replaces the one burned in 1891, and some of the more elegant struc- tures. A traveller upon any of the steamers which tread their way among the islands will observe that more people get on and off at Thousand Island Park than all the other resorts put together. The plotted ground for cottages occupies about 100 acres. The Associa- tion has sold off 200 acres for farming ; and about 700 acres are left, devoted to dairying.

The pumping engines of the Association, their system of sewerage, water supply and electric lights are superior and unexcelled. Their dynamo plant and the beautiful machinery there of the Watertown Steam Engine Company are models of mechanical skill. J. A. H.

Some Biographical Sketches.

DR. ADDISON WIGHT GOODALE, Financial Agent of the Thousand Island Park Association,

Was the son of Ruggles and Betsey Wight Goodale, who settled at an early day in Fowler, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., where the subject of our sketch was born, August 17, 1831.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

His early education was in the common schools of that primitive period, until 1851. He afterwards attended the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary for two years. In 1855 he began to study medicine with Dr. Abell, at Antwerp, afterwards graduating at the Albany Medical College as an M. D. This was in 1858, and in that year he married Miss Helen Jane Fowler, daughter of Lester and Dollie Fowler, of Antwerp. In 1858, he began the practice of medicine in the town of Rutland, following those older men, Drs. Munson, Smith and Spencer. He was in practice there when the rebellion showed its horrid front, and when the 10th Heavy Artillery was recruited, he joined it as assistant surgeon. He served with that fine body of troops until their final muster-out in July, 1865, proving himself an able, industrious, and conscientious officer. [For muster-out rolls of the officers of this large and gallant regiment, see p. 75.]

His protracted absence in the army had largely depleted his practice, and when he was mustered out he removed his family to Watertown, where he remained until 1867, and then accepted a position in the medical department of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co., at Hartford, Conn. The Doctor became a trusted aud important officer in that department, particularly in settling claims. This relation with that leading company continued until 1885, when he returned to Watertown. He has since been engaged in banking in South Dakota, now being president of a bank there. He is a large land owner in the West and in Jefferson county. Though educated as a physician, he may appropriately be classed as a farmer. But the only thing the writer has ever heard him allude to in any spirit of pride or emulation, was in connection with his service as a school teacher, he having taught eight seasons, and there are hundreds of men and women now in active life who can look back to Dr. Goodale's advice and instruction for the starting point in their endeavors to live reputable and useful lives.

In 1885, Dr. Goodale was elected one of the directors of the Thousand Island Park Association, and is now the treasurer and chief financial officer of that important organization, which is spoken of elsewhere in this History. [See p. 168c.] The exacting duties of this position, together with his own private business, now take up all his time, leaving him no leisure for the practice of his profession.

The Doctor is a large man, nearly six feet tall, of pleasant face and agreeable speech-a companionable man, and a friendly one-inviting confidence by his open countenance and pleasant ways. Springing from "the plain people," he is pre-emineatly democratic, easily approached, an honored citizen, because an honorable one. He is yet in the prime of life, although he is one of those who passed through our great war after he had came fully to man's estate. His excellent wife shares his prosperity, and it is a pleasure to see them together.

I N connection with the pictorial presentation of the Thousand Islands and our remarks upon their general beauty, history, and local importance, it is very proper to name some of the men who have greatly improved their possessions, and who have become benefac- tors by the extent and character of the emblishments they have made in supplementing nature. Mr. George H. Pullman was one of the very first to show what wealth, judiciously expended, could do to make the Islands attractive. We show two pictures of "Castle Rest," the summer villa Mr. Pullman built for his aged mother. Hither he came during the great Chicago strike and riot of 1894. Another individual of this character is

HON. WILLIAM G. ROSE, Ex-Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

His delightful villa is on the east shore of the river, a mile and a half above Alex- andria Bay, and about three-fourths of a mile above Castle Rest. His improvements are upon a liberal scale, and, like those at Manhattan, below the Bay, evince care and artistic taste in all that has been done. Mr. Rose has retired from active business, having passed an

SUMMER RESIDENCE OF HON. WM. G. ROSE, Ex-MAYOR OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

Dannes 6 Spencer

Alentin Publishing & Engraving Lo N.Y.

168g

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS.

eventful life, beginning as a poor boy in Mercer county, Pa., where he was born in 1829, one of eleven children, all of whom have reared families, and shown the quality of the Scotch-Irish blood which they were fortunate in inheriting. At 17 he was teaching school. At 23 he entered the law office of Hon. William Stewart, at Mercer, Pa., and was admitted to practice in 1855. Like many other able young men, he leaned toward journalism, and in the Independent Democrat he gave voice to his hatred of slavery. Although his antece- dents were Democratic, he joined the Republican party at its inception, and has steadfastly adhered to its principles from that day to this. He was elected a member of the Pennsyl- vania Legislature in 1857, and reelected in 1858-serving for two terms. In 1860 he was chosen a delegate to the National Convention at Chicago which nominated Abraham Lincoln as the candidate for President, but was unable to attend because of illness. He was twice presented by the Republican party of his county as a candidate for Congress, the last time in 1864, the choice being made unanimously. In 1865 he removed to Cleveland, where he gave his attention to the purchase and sale of real estate, in which business he met with financial success. In 1877 he was elected Mayor of Cleveland, and his services to the city during his term of office were so satisfactory that in 1891-fourteen years thereafter-he was reelected Mayor under the new charter, known as the "Federal plan." Under this charter there are but six city departments, each of which has a single head, who is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the council, after the manner of the President and his cabinet. So successfully was this plan of municipal government organized and administered by Mayor Rose that it has come to stay. In 1883 he was nominated by the Ohio Republi- can State Convention for Lieutentant Governor, and led his ticket all over the State, and in his own county by over three thousand votes.

HON. JAMES C. SPENCER,

Ex-Judge New York City Superior Court,

Is another of the men who have done much to embelish nature. An extended account of his lovely property, " Manhattan," may he found on page 168. He is a native of Fort Covington, Franklin county, N. Y. His father, the late Judge James B. Spencer, was one of the early settlers of Franklin county, and was a prominent and respected citizen and recognized political leader in the northern part of the State, having held many important positions, including that of Judge and Representative in the State and National Legisla- tures. He also distinguished himself in the war of 1812, participating actively in the im- portant engagements of that contest, including the battle of Plattsburgh. In politics he was a Democrat of the Jefferson, Madison, and Jackson school. He was the personal friend and colleague of Silas Wright, and was recognized and appreciated by that great man and other prominent Democrats of the State of New York, as an intelligent and reliable political coadjutor, in the struggles of more than a quarter of a century to secure and perpetuate Democratic ascendency in the State. He also enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all his fellow-citizens who knew him, without regard to political differences. He died in the year 1848, at the age of 68.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 35

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823- Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company Number of Pages: 1098

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098