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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Genesee Echoes
THE UPPER GORGE AND FALLS AREA FROM THE DAYS OF THE PIONEERS
By Mildred Lee Hills Anderson
Co-Author of "St. Helena - Ghost Town of the Genesee"
ILLUSTRATED
CASTILE, NEW YORK
GENESEE ECHOES Copyright 1956 by Mildred Lee Hills Anderson
All rights in this book are reserved. No part of the book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author. For such permission address the author at Castile, New York.
Printed in the United States of America By F. A. Owen Publishing Company, Dansville, New York
.....
To the Memory of
The early pioneers, who cleared the wilderness, built roads, schools, and churches, and tilled the soil ...
William Pryor Letchworth, who preserved the beauty God had wrought, ... and
Mary Jemison, whose name lends an enchanting air to the Genesee Country,
This Work Is Dedicated
TO THE READER
The Falls area of the upper Genesee has always been home to me, and dear are the memories of my child- hood there.
Years of research have gone into the preparation of this book. All material has been checked with avail- able records and maps of the region. The Davis family records, provided by Mrs. Frank Davis of Castile and Earl Ebner of Nunda, and records of the Jones fami- ly, supplied by Mrs. A. G. Podlesney (Esther Jones) of Portageville and Claude Jones of Caneadea, have been particularly helpful in connection with local history.
Others to whom I am particularly grateful include Mrs. Marjorie Frost, Nunda Historian; Clark Rice of The Little Studio, Perry; Mrs. Katherine Barnes, His- torian of the Town of Castile; and Mrs. Marian Piper Willey of Castile, my associate in writing St. Helena-Ghost Town of the Genesee and my unfail- ing counselor in the present venture.
I wish to express appreciation also to F. A. Owen Publishing Company of Dansville, printers of the book, for numerous helpful suggestions and for con- stant co-operation.
M. L. H. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. EARLY HISTORY OF THE REGION
1
II. INDIAN RESERVATIONS 5
III. THE UPPER FALLS
12
IV. THE MIDDLE FALLS
21
v. COUNCIL HOUSE AND MUSEUM AREA
27
VI CANAL DAYS
31
VII. HORNBY LODGE AND TUNNEL PARK
35
VIII. SCHOOL LIFE
40
IX. THE OLD RAFTING PLACE AND BIG BEND Later Known as Lee's Landing and Great Bend
43
x. ST. HELENA 54
XI. WOLF CREEK 62
XII. THE GARDEAU RESERVATION 68
XIII. FROM SAWMILL TO FEDERAL DAM 75
XIV. THE FALLS AREA IN THE CIVIL WAR 79
XV. Two FAMOUS PIONEERS-MICAH BROOKS AND GEORGE WILLIAMS 87
XVI. A GREAT BENEFACTOR-WILLIAM PRYOR LETCHWORTH 93
INDEX OF PERSONS' NAMES 101
LAKE
ONTARIO
THE SODUS
INTAGARA
JOHNSON'S
HARBOR
PRIDEAUX BAY
AUTOURUNDAQUAT
ASEROTIS
ONTARIO
GREAT
FALLS HEY SCHLOSSER
CANAWAGUS
INDIAN PATH THE LAKE TO
CANADARAGEY
FT
ERIE
CHENUSSION
A.ÇANOSKAÇO
DKANE STID
SENECA LAKE
CAYUGA
2
ERIE
A KARRACHITĄDIRHA
AtistAQUAT X
5
TH TIONIONGARIN
RIVER.W
MOUNTAIN
GANY
ALLEGANY
OKITTANNING
BRANCH
WEST
EXPLANATION
INDIAN VILLAGES CHIEF TOWNS OR LARGE VILLAGES
INDIAN PATHS.
TO HIS EXCELLCY WM TRYON ESQ CAPTAIN GEN.L AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW YORK &CC THIS MAP IS HUMBLY INSCRIBED BY HIS EXCELLENCY'S MOST BEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT GUY JOHNSON. 1771
Map of Indian villages in Western New York, 1771-showing the Genesee as the "Little Seneca." (Chapter I)
T
LAKE
A
ONONDARKAAL
LITTLE
SENECAS
A CANADASEÇY CRE
E
c.
-
A
ILLUSTRATIONS
Map of Indian villages in Western New York, 1771 (On oppo- site page)
The following are grouped in a separate section after page 56:
PLATE
I Glen Iris today-former home of William P. Letchworth
II Perry Jones home-Prospect Home Farm Dairy herd at Chestnut Lawn Farm Reuben Jones home-Chestnut Lawn Farm
III Monument at Mary Jemison's grave Close-up of Council House Monument and Council House
IV Early sawmill at Upper Falls Wooden railroad bridge, built 1851-2
V Section of the Big Tree Treaty tree Rustic entrance to the first Museum
VI Rustic bridge over Deh-ga-ya-soh Creek Gardeau Flats-home of Mary Jemsion
VII First test train on the iron bridge, 1875 Mills and lattice bridge at Middle Falls, 1857
VIII Harvey Lee home, from Big Bend Road Genesee River at the Old Rafting Place
IX Gorge of the Genesee Lower Falls, in Letchworth Park
x Genesee Valley Canal, rounding Tunnel Point
IX Hornby Lodge, onetime home of Elisha Johnson
vii
V111
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
XII An ingenious stump puller-Frank Davis beside it A stump fence on the Lee farm Charles Bolton-first mail carrier to St. Helena
XIII Federal Flood Control Dam during the flood of 1956 The Dam under normal conditions
XIV Map-Transit Line, East Bounds of Holland Purchase
XV Map-Big Bend and part of river area
XVI Map-St. Helena area and Gardeau Reservation (west)
XVII Map-Gibsonville, Brooks Grove, and Reservation (east)
XVIII Schoolhouse built by Mr. Letchworth Monument to the First New York Dragoons
XIX Old cemetery in Letchworth Park Memorial plaque at Inspiration Point
XX Glen Iris about 1859
XXI Portrait of William Pryor Letchworth
XXII Early rustic gates of Glen Iris Big Bend of the Genesee River
XXIII The William T. Davis home First Museum on the Council House grounds
XXIV Glen Iris pond and fountain in early days Present Museum, Letchworth Park
CHAPTER I
EARLY HISTORY OF THE REGION
THROUGH ITS ROCK-BOUND BATTLEMENTS FLOWS THE GENESEE
High on the side of an old oak tree, this sign for many years called the tourist's attention to one of the most beautiful vistas of William Pryor Letchworth's estate along the Genesee River. But no sign graced the trail of the Indians as they travelled along the trails of the Genesee in the early days of the wilderness. No beautiful lookout points had been cleared for their pleasure, and yet long ago the Indians loved the "Genesee Country" as we love it now.
In those early days the Genesee Country was that part of New York State lying west of a meridian drawn through Seneca Lake, comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Wyoming and parts of Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne and Yates. This was the original Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The name now has a more limited application.
In 1783, when the Revolutionary War was over, all claim to these lands was relinquished by King George III, by a treaty. The wilderness of Western New York was inhabited only by Indians. Under title received by grant to the Duke of York, the state of New York asserted rights to this territory. The claim was resisted by the state of Massachusetts upon ground of prior title under a charter granted by King James I in 1620. The dispute was set- tled by a treaty at Hartford in 1786. Massachusetts relinquished sovereignty to New York but retained pre-emption rights, or the right to purchase from the Indians. The entire Genesee Country was purchased by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham in April of 1788. Part of the Indian title was extinguished by the Treaty of Buffalo. Financial difficulties arose, and Phelps and Gorham
1
2
GENESEE ECHOES
were released from the contract of the lands west of the Genesee River, and a section called the Mill Lot.
The word "Genesee" is of American Indian derivation and means "Pleasant Valley." The river of that name in Western New York rises in Potter County, Pennsylvania, and flows northward into Lake Ontario about seven miles from the busi- ness center of Rochester.
The territory near the mouth of the Genesee River first be- came known to the whites in the early exploring expeditions of the French. In 1703, a map of the region was prepared by Baron La Houtan and published at London. Views of the Upper and Lower Falls at Rochester had been published as early as 1768 and upon these maps the Genesee was called "Casconchiagon," or Little Seneca River.
Trails were the only means of travel by land at that time. Up and down, on both sides of the river, these trails were worn into the earth, sometimes to a depth of six or eight inches and from twelve to eighteen inches wide. They were the routes followed by those who wished to travel south to the Allegheny and Ohio rivers and descend those streams to the southwest. (In the old maps, the spelling is Allegany, the form used now in the county name.)
The west trail led through Scottsville, Cuylerville, Little Beard's Town, and Squakie Hill, continued up the river, crossed the outlet of Silver Lake to the Gardeau Reservation, and went on up the river to Portage, Caneadea, and on to the south. The land where William Pryor Letchworth settled was on the route of these early trails of the Seneca Indians. (Squakie Hill is often now written Squawkie.)
The east trail followed the river to Mount Morris, where it split, with one trail going up Canaseraga Creek on each side. All trails led south.
At Belvidere, on the upper Genesee, one trail led up the river to Pennsylvania; one branched off to the west at upper Caneadea. This latter followed the ravine just north of Houghton Seminary (now College), taking the line of the present road to Rushford and bearing northwesterly through Centerville and Freedom, and on to Buffalo. That trail was a direct route to the lake fron- tier during the French and Indian Wars and the time of the
3
EARLY HISTORY OF THE REGION
Revolution. The trail known as the "Canisteo Path" led easterly from Caneadea through Allen and Birdsall townships to the Canisteo River near Arkport. Over that trail in 1778 the savages, led by Mohawk, Shongo, and Hudson, passed on their expedition against Wyoming in Pennsylvania. Small paths through the Falls section connected the main trails.
Mary Jemison, child captive of the Senecas and referred to as "The White Woman of the Genesee," was the first white person to reach the Genesee Country-at least, the first whose name can be given with certainty. With her Indian captors, she stopped about 1759 at the upper Caneadea village (Gah-yah-o-de-o of the ancient Senecas), in the present town of Caneadea, on the way to Little Beard's Town. Little Beard's Town (De-o-nun-da- ga-a) was situated on the west side of the Genesee Valley be- tween the river and what is now Cuylerville. On that journey, the party would have passed through the region within Letch- worth Park, whether they travelled the east or the west side of the river.
The headquarters of the six tribes of the Indian nations was at "Genesee Castle," later renamed "Little Beard's Town" for the dreaded Seneca chief, Little Beard. The Indians intended to save their fertile valley from the white people and took to the warpath to strike fear into the hearts of the would-be settlers. After the massacres at Wyoming and Cherry Valley in 1778, the Continental Congress voted $932,743 to destroy the Genesee Castle and put an end to the destruction on the frontier. General Washington offered the responsibility to General Gates, victori- ous general at Saratoga, but he would have none of it, stating he would rather fight Red Coats than Red Skins.
The commission was then offered to General Sullivan and ac- cepted. Of the three generals appointed to proceed from different points toward the Genesee Castle, General Sullivan was the one who reached the Genesee Valley on September 14, 1779. His men were amazed to find thousands of acres of fertile land with- out trees or stumps. Hundreds of peach, plum, and mulberry trees grew along the river, and fields of corn, beans, and melons were plundered by the army. He was ordered to destroy the Genesee Castle, which he did thoroughly. One hundred thirty Indian houses were burned to the ground. Twenty thousand
4
GENESEE ECHOES
bushels of corn were destroyed and numerous fields burned. All the orchards were cut down, vegetables were piled in heaps and burned.
The Indians, fearing the "thunder trees" of Sullivan's men, had sought refuge with the British at Fort Niagara. The expedi- tion broke the power of the Senecas, and Western New York became a part of the U.S.A. Some of Sullivan's soldiers wished land in the valley instead of pay for their services. The first to settle there was Horatio Jones, at Cuylerville near Jones's bridge.
It was from the Sullivan expedition that Mary Jemison fled- with her children, and women and children of the tribes-west as far as Varysburg, to hide until the soldiers had left the coun- try and it was safe for her to return. Having decided to look out for herself and her children, she sought a new refuge. This she found at Gardeau Flats where two runaway slaves had been living in hiding. They offered her shelter with her family of three children, and it later became her home. At that time there were no settlers along the river except a few squatters and the Indians.
The beautiful valley of the Genesee was even then noted for its beauty and natural wonders. Perhaps the first description of the river ever printed was that of Father Charlevoix, who passed along the south shore of Lake Ontario in 1721. When he reached Fort Niagara he wrote about a "little river, which he would have visited if he had known of it sooner." It had been described to him by a French officer, Joncaire, as narrow and shallow where it reached the lake but very deep and wide enough for large ves- sels a few hundred yards upstream. He spoke of three waterfalls near the lake (the Rochester falls), and then, many leagues south, another set of falls (the falls at Portage) .
Joncaire, who had been adopted by the Indians, lived for some time at Lewiston, on the Niagara River. He had travelled up the Genesee River to Belvidere, over the divide to Oil Creek, and so on, down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers.
CHAPTER II
INDIAN RESERVATIONS
AT THE time of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in 1788, a group of land sharks known as the Genesee Land Company also wanted the land. The Indians could not sell the land but some of the Iroquois chiefs and sachems gave the company a 999-year lease of most of the territory for $20,000 and an annual rent of $2,000. However, the legislatures of New York and Massachu- setts declared this agreement null and void, holding it was equiv- alent to a purchase.
Before Phelps and Gorham had paid half the purchase price for the entire pre-emption right, they induced the state to re- sume its right to the portion of its original New York claim which they had not yet bought of the Indians. This released them from their contract as to that part, leaving on their hands the tract since known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The agreement was made on March 10, 1791. Two days later Robert Morris, financier, whose services were of great importance to the nation during the Revolution, contracted with Massachusetts for the pre-emption rights to all of New York west of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. About that time he also bought 1,264,000 acres from Phelps and Gorham, paying 30,000 pounds in New York currency. This tract he soon sold to three English gentle- men, Sir William Pulteney, John Hornby, and Patrick Colqu- houn, for 35,000 pounds sterling. It was only after much diffi- culty and delay that Mr. Morris completed his title to the tract of which he had purchased the pre-emption right from Massa- chusetts. It was necessary to buy out the interest of the Indians, and that was accomplished by a council which was held at Geneseo in 1797.
The conveyance from Massachusetts to Mr. Morris was made May 11, 1791, by five deeds. The first covered the land between Phelps and Gorham's Purchase and a line beginning twelve miles
5
6
GENESEE ECHOES
west of theirs on the Pennsylvania border and running due north to Lake Ontario. The next three embraced three sixteen-mile strips crossing the state north and south, and the fifth comprised what remained to the westward. The tract covered by the first- mentioned deed has been called "Morris's Reserve," from the fact that he retained the disposition of that section in his own hands when he subsequently sold all lands west of it. It included, in Wyoming County, the eastern tier of towns-Covington, Perry, Castile, and part of Genesee Falls.
Thomas Morris, son of Robert Morris, was given the task of procuring the consent of the Indians to a treaty. He travelled from one chief's wigwam to another and finally they agreed to a conference. Big Tree, now Geneseo, was designated as the place where the council should be held. The interested parties met there in August, 1797, and negotiations began. The first meeting ended in disagreement, with Red Jacket covering the council fire. Corn Planter, Little Billy, Farmer's Brother, Little Beard, and Red Jacket all took part in the meetings. The next day Farmer's Brother called on Mr. Morris to express his regret at what had happened. After some discussion, Mr. Morris complained to Farmer's Brother that Red Jacket had assumed the right to cover the council fire, that according to Indian law only he who had kindled the fire was entitled to cover it. Since Mr. Morris had kindled the fire, Farmer's Brother agreed that it should be re- garded as still burning.
Another meeting was held, with the suggestion that the wom- en of the tribe be present. According to Iroquois rule, if the women and warriors were not satisfied with transactions per- taining to land, they had the right to overrule the chiefs. On September 7 an agreement was reached between Mr. Morris and the Senecas. Red Jacket was again the main speaker, Corn Planter appearing in behalf of the warriors and women. They held out for larger reserves than the white men wished. Finally about 200,000 acres, out of more than 4,000,000, were set aside for the Senecas, and a purchase price of $100,000 in stock in the Bank of the United States was accepted.
Boundaries had to be established for the reservations, which was no small task. The reservations listed on the next page were made by the Senecas at the Big Tree Treaty in 1797.
7
INDIAN RESERVATIONS
1-Canawaugus Reservation, two miles square, on the Genesee west of Avon.
2-Big Tree Reservation, two miles square, on the Genesee, op- posite Geneseo, in the present town of Leicester.
3-Little Beard's Reservation, two miles square, on the Genesee, in the town of Leicester.
4-Squakie Hill Reservation, two miles square, on the Genesee, in Leicester, near Mount Morris.
5-Gardeau Reservation, 28 square miles, on both sides of the Genesee, in Castile and Mount Morris.
6-Canadea (Caneadea) Reservation, 16 square miles, on both sides of the Genesee, in Allegany County.
7-Oil Spring Reservation, one square mile, on the line between Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
8-Allegany Reservation, 42 square miles, on both sides of the Allegheny River, and extending north from the Pennsyl- vania line.
9-Cattaraugus Reservation, 42 square miles, at the mouth of and on both sides of Cattaraugus Creek.
10-Buffalo Reservation, 130 square miles, on both sides of Buf- falo Creek.
11-Tonawanda Reservation, 70 square miles, on both sides of Tonawanda Creek, and mostly in Genesee County.
12-Tuscarora Reservation, one square mile, three miles east of Lewiston in Niagara County.
(Ref .: Smith's History of Livingston County.)
The Gardeau Reservation was set aside for Mary Jemison as a reward for great service and as evidence of the high regard in which she was held by the Indians. Sometimes called the "White Woman's Tract," it contained 17,927 acres of land.
The Indian title extinguished, surveying started almost imme- diately, so that the tract could be put on the market. Operations were directed by Theophilus Cazenove from Philadelphia. He appointed Joseph Ellicott chief surveyor. In the fall of 1797, Mr. Ellicott and Augustus Porter, surveyor, made a tour of lake- and river-front lands. The next year Mr. Ellicott ran the East Transit Line, which was the eastern boundary of the Holland Purchase. That line ran directly north and south a short distance
8
GENESEE ECHOES
west of the present Castile-Portageville Road. Eleven other sur- veyors with a crew of workmen were also at work running the lines of the reservations, ranges, and townships. The wild animals were driven from their natural homes and the Indians looked on sullenly at the rapid division of their lands.
The land was laid out in six-mile strips from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario. These were called ranges and were numbered from east to west, divided by lines east and west into townships, which were numbered from south to north. Each township was to be subdivided into sixteen 11/2-mile squares called sections. Each section was divided into twelve lots, three fourths of a mile by one fourth, containing 120 acres. Some were found to be too small and some were sold in quantities to suit the purchasers.
The price at first was $2.75 an acre, with one tenth paid down but, as it was difficult to collect the down payment, sometimes this was waived in favor of securing settlers for the new land. The price was even dropped to $2.00 an acre to speed up sales. Many of the settlers were poor young men who had saved barely enough to defray expenses of the trip west and make a payment on the lands. Some had only the help of their brave young wives. The heavy timber on their lands was their first source of income and supply. Their houses were of logs, and the furniture likewise was rustic.
Previous to the Revolutionary War, emigration to the west from the New England states had begun but it was arrested during the war. As the soldiers returned after the fighting was over, they again started westward. However, little progress was made before the War of 1812. Many then had to leave their lands at their country's call, and some never returned.
At the end of the war in 1815, the tide of immigration in- creased into the Genesee Country. A peacetime surplus of labor, plus the removal of duties on imported goods, resulted in indus- tries becoming stagnant. This brought hard times to the new homes in Western New York.
The wives of settlers made the cloth from which their fami- lies were clothed. The spinning wheel and loom were a part of the home furnishings. Pioneer courage was responsible for the settling of our present Genesee Country, including the area which is now a favorite recreation spot, Letchworth Park. Some
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INDIAN RESERVATIONS
of the land was given soldiers in payment of service in the War of 1812. Reuben Jones was one such veteran.
Reuben and Perry Jones came to Genesee Falls together. Some of their descendants say their first home was a short distance north of the present location of the monument of the First New York Dragoons near the top of Glen Iris hill. In the early 1900's there were still signs of a foundation at that spot.
The brothers came to the section in 1816 or '17 when it was all wilderness, blazing the trees to mark their way. They cleared some land at what became Chestnut Lawn and Prospect Home farms and each built a log cabin. During the winter of 1817-18 they both went to Cayuga County, were married, and returned by oxcart, bringing their brides with them. The wives faced a lonely life, with no neighbors within four miles. Now and then a few Indians passed by on their way from one reservation to another.
The two families worked hard, living in one-room cabins, cooking at open fireplaces, and saving their scant funds. Soon they built brick ovens near their cabins for baking. Then they cleared more land and divided equally for two farms, Reuben at Chestnut Lawn and Perry at Prospect Home. Not long after- ward they both built frame houses.
To Perry Jones and his wife, who was Sally Ann Moseman, six children were born-Cassandra, Adelia, Milan, Zilphia, Eben, and Dyer. Cassandra died when two years old. Eben and Dyer both served in the Civil War. Eben was killed on the day he was to return home.
When Reuben Jones was married to Sarah Tylor at Sempro- nius in Cayuga County (March 27, 1817), the ceremony was performed by Nathaniel Fillmore, a justice of the peace. He was the father of Millard Fillmore, who became President of the United States. Reuben and Sarah Jones had five children: Senath, who married Clinton Smith; Harriet, who married William P. Allen of Mount Morris; Sarah, who married Dan Gardner; Jeanette, who married John Slaight; Evero, who married Frances Madison, daughter of John and Nancy Watts Madison of Boston.
Children of Senath Smith were Fred, who lived in California, and Sarah, who married M. Rolph. Harriet had Oscar and Ar- thur. Sarah's children were Ida (Rice) and Burdette. Jeanette
10
GENESEE ECHOES
had a son, Bergen. Evero had three children-Meldon Evero, who married Annie L. Warden; Grace, who married Homer Brown; and Bert, who died in infancy. Meldon's children were Frances (Mrs. Robert Ritchie) ; Hazel, deceased; Warden, who married Irene Wood, and second, Genevieve Emory; Meldon Burton, who married Sylvia Holloway; Grace (Mrs. George Crawford) ; Laurie Louise, unmarried; Esther (Mrs. A. G. Pod- lesney) ; and Paul Evero, who married Lillian Haas.
The ancestors of the Jones brothers came from Wales in the 1700's, four brothers settling near Utica and west of there in New York, and three going down into Pennsylvania. It is be- lieved that not only Reuben and Perry but Milan and Minor also lived in the Falls section. Much of the land was given to Reuben in payment of service during the War of 1812, but the other brothers all owned land, too.
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