The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 99

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 99

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After the erection of Jefferson county, a strenuous effort was made by Mr. Brown and others to have the county buildings located here, but a greater influence was brought to bear in favor of Watertown, and that village was selected as the county seat, greatly to the disappointment of the settlers in Brownville.

The navigation of the mouth of Black river up as far as Brownville, was a subject of much importance in the early days. It was thought that by making the river navigable to Brownville it would be made a port of entry for the commerce of the lakes, and a shipping port for the produce of the country. In 1810 the Legislature passed an act to improve the navigation of the mouth of the river up to Brownville. With so good a harbor and port as was afforded by the bay at Sackets Harbor, the project failed. June 5, 1810, the Black River Navi- gation Company was formed. The object of the company was the construction of locks at the rapids in the river at Fish Island (now Dexter). In 1815 wooden locks were built of capacity sufficient to allow the pass- age of Durham boats. About 1828, these wooden locks having decayed, they were re- placed by stone ones.

April 10, 1810, a post route was established from Utica by Whitestown, Rome, Camden, Adams and Sackets Harbor to Brownville; and another from Harrisburg, by Champion, Watertown, and Brownville, to Port Put- nam; April 30, 1816, from Brownville to Cape Vincent ; June 15, 1832, from Water- town, by Brownville and LaFargeville, to Cornelia, at the mouth of the French Creek, thence by Depauville to Brownville. April 12, 1816, an act was passed allowing Mr. Le- Ray to extend the Cape Vincent turnpike road to Brownville village. By an act of April 21, 1831, this road was surrendered to the public. In 1817 a military road was pro- jected to unite the two prominent stations of Plattsburg and Sackets Harbor, which was commenced, but only a portion completed The western extremity from Sackets Har- hor passes through this town to Pamelia Four Corners. After being opened by the govern- ment the road passed into the hands of the town.

VILLAGE INCORPORATION.

THE village of Brownville was incorpor- ated April 5, 1828. The act provided for the election of five trustees, three assessors, one

treasurer, one collector and one constable an- nually, on the first Monday in May The trustees were vested with the usual powers in relation to a fire department, assessments for internal improvements, etc. The follow- ing officers were chosen at the first election: Thomas Loomis, Jr., Hoel Lawrence, George Brown, Peleg Burchard and Tracy S. Knapp, trustees; William S. Ely, Asa Whitney, William Lord, assessors ; Jolin A. Cathcart, treasurer ; James Shields, collector; Levi Torrey, constable.

The village of Brownville, from its vicinity to lake navigation, was early considered an eligible point for the establishment of factor- ies, and the enormous prices to which cotton goods had risen, in consequence of the war, led to the plan of forming a cotton factory at this place. In 1811, a general act had been passed for the encouragement of manufactur- ers, and availing themselves of this, a com- pany was formed, February 9, 1814, of which the following was the instrument of associa- tion:

"This may certify that we, the subscrib- ers, have formed ourselves into a company, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and wool, with a capital of $100,000, consisting of 1,000 shares, under the direction of five truestees, viz : John Paddock, John Brown, Thomas Loomis, Jr., Thomas J. Whiteside and Hoel Lawrence, who shall manage the concerns of said company, for one year, from the date hereof, in the town of Brownville, in the county of Jefferson."

Signed by J. PADDOCK, J. BROWN, T. LOOMIS, JR., T. J. WHITESIDE, H. LAW RENCE, HENRY WILLIAM CHANNING, WIL- LIAM S. ELY, SILAS JAY, F. N. SMITH.

They soon began the erection of a factory, which commenced operations the next year ; but after a few months, finding they were losing money, they stopped, and the factory lay idle several years. It was subsequently bought by parties from Cooperstown, who procured an act incorporating the Brownville Cotton Factory, April 6, 1831. Elizur Fair- man, John A. Cathcart, Charles Smith, and such as might associate with them, were by this constituted a body corporate for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods, with a capital of $100,000, in shares of $50. The affairs were to be managed by three trustees, elected annually, on the second Monday of April, the first being those named in the act, which was to continue 20 years. In 1842, this company was succeeded by a partnership, consisting of Charles Smith and William H. Averil, of Cooperstown, and F. W. Andrews, styled the Ontario Cotton Factory. It had 3,200 spindles and 80 looms, and gave employment to about 90 hands.

Two other attempts were made to keep the cotton mill from going under, but its re- moteness from market was against it, and at last the old mill was changed to a pulp-mill, and is now operated as such.

A company, styled the Jefferson Lead Manufacturing Company, with a capital of

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BROWNVILLE.

$15,000, was formed June 30, 1038, chiefly under the direction of Thomas L. Knapp, and the business of manufacturing white lead and lithic paints continued with varied suc- cess about 12 years. After the death of Mr. Knapp, which occurred from cholera, at Pittsburg, in 1851, the business has been abandoned. It was found to be extremely injurious to the health of the laborers, both the carbonate of lead and the carbonic acid generated from charcoal for its manufacture, being directly poisonous to the system.

A woolen factory, owned by Bradley & Brown, was burned in January, 1846, with a machine shop, flax-mill and other property. The village of Brownville affords a great amount of water power, which is at present not fully improved.

In many respects this village presents su- perior advantages for manufacturing estab- lishments, as it has a direct communication by railroad with the markets. Real estate is cheap, and the surrounding country affords in abundance the means for supporting a large population. At several points between this village and Watertown, fine opportuni- ties for water power exist, which have been partially improved. At one of these, one and a half miles above this village, Mr. James Wood, originally from New Hampshire, about 1830 began the erection of a dam and woolen factory, which had been nearly com- pleted, when it was swept off by the spring flood of 1833, proving a total loss to the owner.

THE BROWNVILLE FEMALE SEMINARY

Was established in 1849. It was chartered by the regents November 28, 1849, and opened May 1, 1850, as a boarding and day- school, under charge of Miss Mary F. Bloom- field, who was succeeded by Miss H. M. Foster, followed by Rev. G. B. Eastman. The building occupied for this purpose was the large brick mansion on one of the main streets, built by Major Samuel Brown in 1816. The school was not a financial success. It was closed after a short career, and the building sold to and since occupied by Alfred Kilborn.

In 1861-62 a building 40 by 50 feet was erected by subscription in Brownville, at a cost of nearly $2,000, the lower story of which was to be used for the purposes of a high school, and the upper for a town-hall. In 1875 this building was purchased by the school district of the village of Brownville for school purposes, and, so far as con- sistent, for the purposes of a hall.

MANUFACTORIES.

The pulp-mills of Brownville and Dexter, except the mill noted below, are fully noticed on p. 193 to 194 in this History.

The Globe Paper and Fibre Company was organized June 11, 1894, and consists of about 20 stockholders. It has a capital of $300,000. The officers are : J. D. Spencer, President; E. A. Flanagan, Vice-President and General Manager; T. T. Waller, Treas-

urer; C. N. Sherman, Secretary. They manufacture sectional and plastic boiler and pipe coverings, which are considered as nearly heat-proof as anything yet discovered. A preparation of asbestos and talc is put through a process similar to manufacturing wood-pulp, being changed from a soft mass to a hard casing for steam pipes or boilers. The tubing is in lengths of about three feet. and joined by iron bands when used. The talc used is obtained from Gouverneur, and the asbestos (which is an entirely mineral substance, wholly impervious to heat), from near Ottawa. In every 100 tons there is a waste of about one ton, which is worthless rock.

THE BUSINESS OF BROWNVILLE.

The following list embraces nearly all the business men and enterprises of Brownville village :

The Outterson Paper Company.

Brownville Iron Works, D. B. Gotham, proprietor.

Brownville Paper Company.

Ontario Paper Company, just outside village limits.

George F. Lutz, flour, feed and coal.

A. R. Wilcox & Son, drugs and groceries, boots, shoes, etc.

J. P. Knowlton, stoves and ranges.

H. I. Harris, groceries and provisions. flour, crockery, etc.

Frazier & Schermerhorn, groceries, pro- visions, teas.

William Hart & Son, meats, fish and poultry.

A. E. Lord, general merchandise.

H. W. Edgett, agent R., W. & O. R. R.

LeRoy Buchanan, proprietor Brownville Hotel. Has a livery attached.

Robert J. Begg, book-cases, office desks and furniture.

C. E. Codman, manufacturer of hay presses and mill work.

Miss Lettie Reeves is the post-mistress of the village of Brownville and is supposed to be the youngest lady in that position, being but 23 years of age.

DEXTER.

The village of Dexter is situated at the mouth of Black River, from which it derives a valuable water power, and one and a half miles from the station on the R., W. & O. Railroad at Limerick. A switch of that rail- road extends to Dexter, but for the accommo- dation of freight only. The postoffice was established at the village of Dexter in 1836, and the village was incorporated May 8, 1855, under the general law, and amended by special acts April 15, 1857, and January 28, 1865. It is one of the most enterprising villages in the county, and will doubtless grow in importance. Like Brownville, a portion of the business is on the Houndsfield side.

This village was named in compliment to S. Newton Dexter, of Whitesboro, who had been extensively interested in the business of

462

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

the place, which formerly bore the name of Fish Island. The lands in this vicinity were early purchased by John and Jacob Brown, who, in 1811, commenced a dam that was swept off, but rebuilt, and a saw-mill was got in operation in February, 1813. A large amount of lumber was made here during the war, for use at Sackets Harbor, and in 1815- 16, wooden locks were built of sufficient size to admit hoats 60 feet long and 13 feet wide to pass. About 1825 a grist-mill was built by John E. Brown, and in 1837 the place contained a dozen houses.

A joint-stock company, styled the Dexter Village Company, was formed March 1, 1837, for the purpose of laying out the vil- lage on a tract of 249 acres south, and 800 acres north of the river. The original mem- bers of the company were Edmund Kirby, S. N. Dexter, John Williams, John Bradley and J. Brown. In 1840 the company com- menced making dividends of the property, and January 6, 1846, it was finally dissolved.

On the 7th of November, 1836, the Jeffer- son Woolen Company was formed, with $100,000 capital, in shares of $100. It origin- ally consisted of S. N Dexter, of Whites- boro; John Williams, of Utica; Edmund Kirby and John Bradley, of Brownville; Rodney Burt and O. V. Brainard, of Water- town. The number of stockholders was 59. In 1837 this company built the exten- sive woolen factory, at a cost, including appendages and machinery, of $140,000; capital paid in $96,000. This enormous ex- penditure, with the low prices which fol- lowed, could not be sustained, and in Janu- ary, 1842, the company failed, with liabili- ties exceeding assets of $33,000. The property was sold, and bid off by a new com- pany, styled the Jefferson Manufacturing Company, formed in February, 1842, with a capital of $50,000. The main building was of stone, 50x170 feet, and four stories high, attic and basement, and is now utilized by the Dexter sulphite pulp-mill.

The joint benefits of navigation and hydraulic privileges have made Dexter a place of some importance. Besides the pulp- mills there are three saw-mills, a grist-mill, several establishments for turning, and manufactures of wood, and ahout 150 in- habitants. It has churches of the Episcopal, Universalist and Presbyterian orders. It has been a place of ship-building to some extent; about a dozen schooners, the propellers James Wood and Clifton, and the steamer Telegraph having been built here. Exten- sive appropriations made by the general government, at about the time of the crec- tion of the factory, were expended in the construction of piers at the mouth of the river, for the improvement of the harbor. A cemetery association was formed under the general law, September 21, 1848, with James A. Bagley, Philander J. Welch, Sylvester Reed, Joseph D. Beals, Francis W. Winne, James A. Bell, Henry Bailey and Francis Broadbent, trustees.

BUSINESS PEOPLE OF DEXTER.

W. H. Winn, photographer.

M. Dunlap, blacksmith.

Mrs. E. S. Lawton, milliner.

L. D. Babcock, barber.

W. A. Houghton, general store, and good livery in connection.

Charles Gleason, harness store.

George W. Wood, postmaster, and one of the firm of

O. M. & G. W. Wood, general store.

Miss Bertha Wood, assistant postmaster. E. VanAllen, milliner.

Great Northwestern Telegraph Company ; G. S. Casler, operator.

L. E. Foster, dealer in oysters, fruit, canned goods, etc.

Dexter Sulphite Pulp and Paper Com- pany.

J. J. Nutting, wool-carding and weaving.

A. Osborn & Co., proprietors of the Dexter Mills.

W. H. Underwood, insurance.

William Ross, manufacturer of carriages and sleighs.

Binninger & Strainge, manufacturers of doors and blinds, contractors and builders.

St. Lawrence Mills, manufacturers of news, manilla and colored papers.

W. M. Trousdale, baker and confectioner. Underwood House, H. D. Reed, proprietor. Dr. Gilbert A. Foote, physician and sur- geon.

Fred Baldwin, blacksmith.

C. A. Bloom, dealer in general merchandise. R. Syse, jeweler, watchmaker and practi- cal engraver.

Clark Brothers, general store.

Frontenac Paper Company. [See p. 194.] Leonard, Gilmour & Co., contractors and builders; manufacturers of doors, sash, biinds and wood pulp.

Albert L. Morgan, physician and surgeon. G. S. Casler, dealer in stoves and tinware. Marrigold House, Julius Marrigold, pro- prietor.

W. H. Younge, proprietor Globe Mills.

The official board of the village of Dexter, is composed of: Willis Reed, president; Charles Moyer, collector; Edwin S. Clark, treasurer; W. H. Winn, clerk; James Gil- more, Fremont W. Spicer, George Savage, G. S. Casler, Frank Pierce, trustees.

SCHOOLS.

The people of District No. 1, of Brown- ville, have recently erected, on a new site at the northern end of the village, a fine new school building, which is an unique and sub- stantial structure, a credit to the town. It is built of brick, and worth $10,000. About 140 pupils are registered, and the school is divided into nine grades. W. F. Phillips is principal, and is assisted by four teachers. The school board consists of the following : J. N. Holliday, president; F. E. Ingalls, secretary ; Mark Wilson, clerk; Dr. R. F. Gates, trustee.

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BROWNVILLE.

The school at Glen Park is in the same dis- trict, and under the direction of the same board of trustees. The attractive building, at that place, is valued at $2,000.

The church at Glen Park is understood to have been largely constructed from funds supplied by some one or more of the numer- ous Remington family, though it is not supposed that the elder member of that family contributed very largely for this ob- ject.

THE CHURCHES.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, at Brown- ville, was organized October 13, 1826. The church ediffice is said to be the oldest in the county. The first rector was William Linn Reese. The first wardens were Thomas Y. Howe and Thomas Loomis; and Asa Wbit- ney, Tracy S. Knapp, Sylvester Reed, S. Brown, William S. Ely, Peleg Burchard, Edmund Kirby and Hoel Lawrence, were the first vestrymen.

The present rector is Rev. George Max- well, of No. 9 Hancock street, Watertown, who supplies the pulpit at Brownville on Sunday mornings, at Glen Park in the after- noon, and at North Watertown in the even- ing.

The First Presbyterian Church, at Brown- ville, was organized March 18, 1818, with eight members. Rev. Noah M. Wells was the first pastor. They have no regular pas- tor at present, being supplied from time to time.

The Universalist Church, at Brownville, was organized in 1847 by Luther Rice, its first pastor. The church building was erected in 1847, costing about $2,000. They have had no services for nearly two years.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, at Brownville, was organized August 3, 1829. Joshua Heminway, Henry W. Chapman, Samuel Knapp, Daniel Case and William Lord were the first trustees. The building committee consisted of J. Heminway, M. Fowler and E. C. Church. In 1829 was erccted a church edifice on the site of the present one, which has been remodeled. The Rev. B. Phillips was the first pastor. The first Sunday school superintendent was Samuel Knapp. The present pastor is the Rev. George Ernst. The society is in a prosperous condition, having a membership of 72, and out of debt. A parsonage was purchased near the church in 1866.

The Baptist Church, of Perch River, is not located at the village, but about three miles away, on the road to Watertown. The church at Perch River is known as the Union Church, because two denominations or more joined in its erection. It cost $1,800. Mr. Charles Avery took the contract for its erec- tion, and Colonel Erastus Wright, of Depau- ville, had the work under his direction. It was dedicated in 1852. From that time until the present, the church has been sup- plied with the pastor of the M. E. Church, at Depauville, and much of the time by the Lutheran Church at Orleans Four Corners,

these two denominations alternating. Rev. W. A. Haven is the present pastor of the M. E. Church at Depauville, but the Luther- ans have now no stationed minister. The first trustees were: Silas F. Spicer, Archi- bald Sterling, John Cole, Lewis Webb and Charles Avery. The first Methodist minis- ter was Rev. J. Zimmerman, who began his services in 1852.

A Baptist Church organization was formed on Pillar Point in 1838, and had 30 members in 1839. S. Howard, G. C. Persons, Hiram A. Reed, Solomon Ingalls, Elisha Harris and Samuel R. Campbell were the trustees.

ALL SAINTS' EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT DEXTER Was organized July 14, 1839, with John Bradley and Gilman Wood as wardens; and Edmund Kirby, Jesse Babcock, Ora Has- kell, Solon Stone, James A. Bell, Andrew Wood, Israel Griffin and Robert Anderson, vestrymen. They have a commodious church edifice, and services are conducted every Sunday by the Rev. B. Weeden, of Sackets Harbor. The parish bas about 16 members.

The Methodist Church at Dexter is sup- plied by the pastor, Rev. George Ernst, of Brownville.

THE FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF DEXTER Was formed September 5, 1841, with the following trustees : Thomas Broadbent, John Maynard, David Baker, Eleazer Parker, Solon Stone and F. W. Winn. The church was built in 1842, and dedicated in Decem- ber of that year by Rev. Pitt Morse. It was extensively repaired about two years since. The present pastor (1894) is Rev. B. B. Fair- child, and the present trustees are E. S. Clark, John Lehr, A. Foster, W. H. Winn; clerk, George W. Winn. The membership is about 70, and 65 members in the Sunday school. The young people bave a Young Peoples' Christian Union.

The Presbyterian Church of Dexter was organized July 2, 1839, with 18 original members, by Rev. Marcus Smith. The first pastor was the Rev. Dexter Clary. The Presbyterian societies of Dexter and Brown- ville have usually been supplied by the same pastor, he preaching alternately on Sunday at either one or the other of these churches. A brick church was built in 1843-46, which was extensively repaired in 1893. Hon. James A. Bell gave the society a parsonage in 1887. The present membership is about 85. The present trustees are : H. Binninger, George Leonard; treasurer, M. E. Casley ; clerk, Howard Leonard. The society is in a prosperous condition, under the resident pastor, Rev. A. R. McNaughton. The Sun- day School has about 120 members. The church has a Young Peoples' Society of Christian Endeavor of about 40 members, a Junior Christian Endeavor Society and a Mis- sionary Society. The Christian Endeavor Societies have become an appendage to nearly all the churches in this part of the State doubtless to influence the young people.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

MAJOR GENERAL JACOB BROWN.

PROBABLY the most distinguished citizen of the town of Brownville, past or recent, was Major General Jacob Brown, a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1775. He was the fourth in descent from George Brown, an English emigrant, who had settled in the Province two years before the arrival of Penn. General Brown's mother was a daughter of Joseph Wright, a cele- brated Quaker preacher. She possessed a degree of intelligence and strength of mind seldom equaled-qualities that were de- veloped in her son at an early period. Samuel Brown, his father, possessed a con- siderable estate, and gave his family the benefit of such instruction as the vicinity afforded, and for one or two seasons Jacob Brown attended an academy at Trenton, but his main education was at the winter's fire- side, where he kept a small school for the instruction of the younger members of the family.

An unfortunate speculation had deprived his father of the means of affording him a finished education. At the age of 16 he be- gan to look out for himself, and conceived the idea of retrieving the fortune of his family. This he began assiduously to do. From 18 to 21 he was a school teacher in Crosswicks, N. J., and having qualified him- self for the duties of a land-surveyor, he spent one year in Miami county, Ohio, to which section his father had thought of re- moving. But in 1798 Jacob returned, and again took charge of a Quaker school, this time in New York city. That being a' time of great political excitement, he frequently took part in these discussions, and in one of them he formed the acquaintance of Gouver- neur Morris, which subsequently ripened into a warm friendship, and may have had an important influence in shaping General Brown's future. About the same time he became acquainted with Rudolph Tillier, the agent of the Chassanis Company, who came to the senior Brown's house and con- cluded with him for the purchase of a large tract of land at $2 per acre. In February, 1799, having given up his school, he started for his future home in the Black River country, the exact location of which had not been definitely fixed. He came to the French Settlement, or Castorland, near the High Falls on Black river, between which place and Utica he made several journeys during the winter, and brought in a quan- tity of provisions preparatory to his final re- moval to a location he had decided upon, which was at the head of navigation of Black river. In March, 1799, as soon as the river was clear of ice, he launched a boat upon its angry waters, and floated down to the Long Falls (Carthage).

Thence, in company with Chambers, Thomas Ward and a few hired men, he took the route of the French Road, then newly

opened, and when he supposed they had gone far enough, struck off towards the river, which he happened to reach at the present village of Brownville. He was here so impressed with the unexpected advantages offered by the fall at the mouth of the Philo- mel creek, then swollen by spring floods, that he resolved to make his stand here, where the water-power appeared sufficient for every purpose required, and the river, with some improvements below, could be navigated by boats. On May 27, 1799, he was joined by his father's family, who came by the tedious navigation of the Mohawk, Oneida Lake, Oswego, and Lake Ontario. He commenced at once clearing lands, and the next year erecting mills. In September and October, 1799, he, with his brother Samuel, surveyed the townships of Hague and Cambray, in St. Lawrence county, and, until the opening of a land office at LeRays- ville, in 1807, he acted as the agent of Mr. LeRay, in the settlement of his lands in Brownville and adjacent towns. As the opening of roads is one of the first and most direct methods of promoting new settlements, the subject early engaged his attention, and he was mainly instrumental in procuring the construction of the State roads, one in 1801, from Redfield, by way of Adams, and one from Utica by way of the Black River Valley. Of both of these he was appointed a commissioner for locating and opening, and he succeeded in getting them both to terminate at Brownville, where himself, his father and brothers had opened a store, built mills, commenced the manufacture of pot- ash, which found a ready market in Kingston and Montreal, and made extensive clearings for raising grain. In 1804, the question of forming one or more new counties from Oneida, became the absorbing theme, and a convention was held at Denmark, November 20, 1804, to decide upon the application, at which most of the delegates are said to have gone prepared to vote for one county, but from the influence of Mr. Brown, and Gen. Martin, of Martinsburgh, were induced to apply for the erection of two new counties. In locating the county seat, the most active efforts were made in each county, Martins- burgh and Lowville being the rivals in Lewis, and Watertown and Brownville in Jefferson. Mr. Brown was the principal advocate of the latter, but the mass of settle- ment was then in the southern towns, and the portion north of Black river was thought to be low, level and much of it swampy. The settlements that had been begun at that early day, at Perch River, Chaumont, and on the St. Lawrence, were visited by severe sickness, and the idea was entertained, or at least held forth to the commissioners who located the site, that it could never be in- habited. Mr. Brown next endeavored to procure the location on the north bank of the

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 99

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