USA > Pennsylvania > Potter County > Genesee > Genesee echoes : the upper gorge and falls area from the early days of the pioneers > Part 3
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There is thought to have been an old log house, built on the flats near the pond and occupied by a man named Merwin.
Some exciting incidents took place at the Falls. In 1822, Cap- tain Stephen Rolph and Alvah Palmer pursued an antlered buck, laming it with a shot from their guns while it was swimming across the river between the Middle and Upper Falls. The animal was carried over the Falls by the current, into the driftwood and logs in the curve of the left bank. The bank being a sheer drop of 120 feet, the hunters faced a difficult problem in getting their game. Reluctant to lose it, they decided to make a windlass of ropes and fasten it to saplings a few feet from the precipice. Mr. Palmer volunteered to have himself let down. Bedcords from old-fashioned bedsteads were procured and tied together.
A small tree, from which the bark had been removed, was
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THE MIDDLE FALLS
placed on the bank to keep the rope from being cut by the rock edge. The rope was passed over it and Mr. Palmer was let down. It was discovered, to the dismay of all concerned, that the dis- tance had been misjudged and the rope was about twenty feet too short. Mr. Palmer had to be pulled up again. Another cord was secured from a neighbor a mile away, and the second descent was successful. The deer was caught in the driftwood and showed some sign of putting up a fight but Mr. Palmer soon overcame him. The rope was attached and the deer drawn up the bank, then it was lowered for Mr. Palmer, who was much relieved to be again on solid ground.
Once Mr. Palmer's eldest son was swept over the dam in a boat and nearly lost his life. A lad named Joel Burgess had the same experience, being swept to the brink of the Falls. He clung to the boat until he felt his foot catch in a crevice in the rock, then let the boat go, and stood waiting for help. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Burgess waded out by the dam to a point where they could throw him a rope. Fastening this around his waist, he worked his way to shore.
A Mrs. Price was carried over the dam in a boat, but was res- cued by a rope thrown to her while she clung to a seam in the rock.
Merab Palmer, wife of Truman Palmer, died August 9, 1837, and was buried in a plot south of the present Inn. As the early settlement was near the Middle Falls, there was probably a burial site there. It is thought by some of the older residents of the area that Mr. Letchworth had the bodies removed to a site near the old school. This would explain the mystery surrounding that site, where there are many unmarked graves. Late in 1954 the following names on marked graves were listed:
BOTSFORD James M. Botsford, son Rial M. & Ruth H., died New York city, April 10, 1869, 21y 1m 3d.
BUSH Eli Bush, born Conn., Dec. 17, 1770; died Portage, Alle- gany Co., N.Y., Nov. 15, 1832.
CORSER Hannah, wife Bliss Corser, d. Feb. 4, 1853, 58y. (The fami- ly name may have been Gorser.)
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GENESEE ECHOES
DAVIS
Anthony Davis, d. Jan. 30, 1891, 77y. Lydia Fancher, wife Anthony, d. Jan. 5, 1887, 71y. George, son Anthony & Lydia H., d. Sept. 6, 1871 (?), 16y 11m 12d.
William T. Davis, d. June 16, 1883, 79y. Harriet, dau. W. T. & M. F. Davis, d. Dec. 2, 1817. Nancy, dau. W. T. & M. F. Davis, d. Aug. 20, 18 -. Maria A. Davis, dau. W. T. Davis, Nov. 25, 1836-March 15, 1915.
FANCHER
Urania Fancher, d. May 21, 1874, 89y 5m. Asel Fancher, d. Jan. 31, 1863, 77y 8m.
HALL
Olive U., dau. Abner & Betsey Hall, d. Jan. 16, 1878, 7y. George, infant son Abner & Betsey, d. Jan. 8, 1867.
JENKINS
Amaziah Jenkins, Nov. 5, 1807-Nov. 8, 1876.
JONES
Perry Jones, d. June 11, 1860, 68y. Sally, wife Perry Jones, d. Aug. 24, 1874, 78y. Reuben Jones, d. Sept. 22, 1862. Sarah Tylor, wife Reuben Jones, d. Dec. 1886.
KNOWLTON Ursula, dau. Capt. Benjamin & Lucy Knowlton, d. Nov. 29, 1827, 23y.
WAITE
Ruth H. Waite, mother James N. Botsford, 1823-1900.
Isaac Brewster came from Saratoga County in 1841 and oc- cupied a frame house on the west bank of the river, a short dis- tance above the Middle Falls. At that time a log house stood be- tween his house and the Middle Falls. Mr. Brewster married Adelia Jones, daughter of Perry Jones, and lived in this area for a long time. In later years, he was in the employ of Mr. Letch- worth. Their grandsons, Perry and Earle DePuy, now live in Nunda. Mr. Brewster related that Mr. Palmer was not successful in his sawmill and other enterprises; that he became involved in debt and was very poor.
Mrs. Brewster told her grandson that a Joseph Lovell used to come along the towpath from Nunda with a cart and peddle cookies and other baked goods to the settlers at the Falls. He crossed the river on the lattice bridge at the Middle Falls. At that time there were three stores near the present Inn, two inside the
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THE MIDDLE FALLS
gates and one outside. Near by was a public house which afford- ed entertainment for people who desired to prolong their stay in this delightful place.
Outside the gates near Deh-ga-ya-soh Creek stood a house called the "Stair House." At the side of the brook near the rustic bridge, a stairway led down to the river bottom. There were 290 steps supported by the rocky bank, with a rough balustrade to protect persons from falling into the chasm below. The foot of the stairs was near the entrance to the "Devil's Oven."
Across the rustic bridge at the foot of the hill was another public house, run by Alvarius Willard.
As the years passed and the timber was cut off from the hill- sides, the sawmills were idle and fell into a state of decay. It was at that time that William Pryor Letchworth had his first glimpse of the valley from the heights of the old wooden bridge. Even though the mill ruins marred the beauty of the scene, he could see the grandeur nature had presented in rocky banks and water- falls. He decided to secure a site there for a summer home. The Glen was his first purchase, with land acquired in 1859 from William Beach, Perry Jones, Thomas W. Olcott, Anthony Davis, Andrew W. Cole, George Wheeler, John J. Olcott, Michael Smith, Wallace Wood, and in 1860 from Edmund Palmer and David Morrison. He purchased land also from Thomas Hazell (1861), John A. Jenkins (1866), Josiah Letchworth (1867), George Williams (1868), Aaron W. Beach (1869), Merritt Davis and Joseph Bubendorff (1870), Sally Jones (1871), Mary E. Jones (1872), Genesee Falls School District No. 2, school site (1873), Alma Williams and George Williams (1875), Edwin R. Davis (1876), George Williams (1886), Polly Jenkins' heirs and John Greig by trustee (1889).
It was the wish of Mr. Letchworth to buy up all the land on both sides of the river to preserve the beauty of the three Falls. The woodman's axe had taken great toll of the vast supply of timber throughout the area, but when the lumber industry be- came slower the farmers set themselves the task of clearing the land for farming. The stump puller came into action and many miles of stump fence were built from the stumps of the giant pine trees. Years later those same fences were torn down and used for stove kindling.
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THE LEGEND OF MONA-SHA-SHA
The Indian legend of Mona-sha-sha lends an air of tragedy to the beautiful Glen by the waterfall. The hunter, Joninedah, brought his wife and child to a temporary home when the hunt- ing was good, but days of hunting brought no success. Mona- sha-sha tried to cheer him and fished and gathered berries while he was away. After a long hard day, he came home in despair that the evil eye was upon him. He failed to respond to the smiles of Mona-sha-sha. Feeling that he no longer loved her, she waited until he fell asleep, then strapping her babe upon her back stole out into the night. Far above the Fall she found her bark canoe, and slipping silently down the stream, was dashed over the waterfall.
Joninedah awoke to find her gone and hurried outside. Fol- lowing her trail to the water's edge, he saw that the canoe was gone. A white doe and fawn darted by, and the grief-stricken brave said the spirit had spoken of the dead. Plunging his knife into his breast, he joined his wife and child in death.
CHAPTER V
COUNCIL HOUSE AND MUSEUM AREA
THE COUNCIL HOUSE which stands now in Letchworth Park was built, according to records of good authority, about the year 1780. Erected at Caneadea, possibly with the help of soldiers from Fort Niagara, it was the "Western Door" of the "Long House" of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. The Senecas who were "Keepers of the Western Door" at Ga-o-ya-deo (Caneadea), were required to live there. Many believed the plans for the attack on Wyoming, Pa., were made there.
At the Council House in 1782, Major Moses Van Campen was forced to run the gauntlet, after being captured by the Indians. He reached his goal safely after upsetting two squaws, who were armed with whips, much to the merriment of the other Indians. In 1797, the Senecas sold the land they occupied with the excep- tion of some reservations. In 1826, the Caneadea Indians sold their reservation to a group of land speculators and in 1827 it was laid out in lots for sale.
Soon after 1830 the lot on which the Indian village was lo- cated was purchased by Joel Seaton. Some distance back from the road stood the old Council House. Mr. Seaton took the house down and rebuilt it by the roadside, adding some logs to the walls to make it higher. The doorways had previously been quite low. The family lived in it for some time and finally used it for a barn. John S. Minard, a close friend of Mr. Letchworth, called his attention to the condition of the building, knowing of his interest in all Indian lore and relics. Investigation led to purchase of the building and its removal to the Letchworth estate where it was repaired under the supervision of John Shanks, an aged In- dian, and restored as nearly as possible to its original appearance and condition. It was placed on a small plateau on the hill now known as the Council House grounds.
On October 1, 1872, the Council House was rededicated with
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GENESEE ECHOES
impressive ceremonies, attended by descendants of Red Jacket, Corn Planter, Brant, and other noted Indians, and of Mary Jemi- son, the "White Woman." Mr. Letchworth had a definite pur- pose in arranging this gathering-at which former President Millard Fillmore was present. The Senecas and Mohawks had been estranged since the War of 1812, when they fought on different sides, and the gathering was to be a reconciliation. The Mohawks sent a grandson of Joseph Brant, Colonel Simcoe Kerr, accompanied by his sister. Of the Seneca nation, there were sev- eral representatives, and the council closed with Colonel Kerr shaking hands with Solomon O'Bail, grandson of Chief Corn Planter, bringing friendship once more to the descendants of noted men.
After the council was over, at the earnest request of the In- dians Mr. Letchworth was formally adopted into the Seneca nation and initiated as "Hai-wa-ye-is-tah," meaning "The man who always does right."
Soon afterward, the log cabin that Mary Jemison had built for her daughter Nancy, while she lived on Gardeau Flats about 1800, was placed near the Council House. Next, on March 7, 1874, the body of Mary Jemison was removed from the Indian Mission burial ground in Buffalo and buried near the Council House and the log cabin. On the monument at the grave, Mr. Letchworth in 1910 placed a bronze figure of Mary Jemison in Indian garb, with an infant on her back. Some records say that Mr. Letchworth did not attend the unveiling and others say that it was his last public appearance before his death. The ceremonies were held September 19, 1910.
Having brought together various historic buildings, Mr. Letchworth began to collect relics and objects of interest to the Genesee Country. In 1898 he erected a museum which had walls covered with corrugated iron and a slate roof. The building was to be filled in a few years with many interesting things. Included were the remains of a mastodon found in 1876 by men who were ditching farm land near Pike. There were mementoes of Major Van Campen; stone implements; old weapons; iron, copper, and brass articles; articles of dress; and many things which had been given for safekeeping. A Swiss-type cottage had been moved from the Middle Falls area and the caretaker of the grounds lived
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COUNCIL HOUSE AND MUSEUM AREA
there. Entrance to the grounds was by a rustic stairway into a bark-covered structure forming a vestibule to the log cabin of Mary Jemison's daughter.
When the state came into control of Letchworth Park there were, on the council grounds, the chalet-type house, the museum, the bark entrance, the Council House, and a section of the Big Tree (Treaty Tree) in a rustic summerhouse at the extreme end of the little plateau. The section of tree was given Mr. Letch- worth by the heirs of General James S. Wadsworth of Geneseo. It stood on Wadsworth land until a spring freshet undermined it, causing it to fall. It was removed many years ago. Also on the grounds was the "King George Cannon," a British cannon bear- ing the monogram of George III, which was once mounted at the fortress of Quebec. It was fired in salute on the morning of the "Last Council." There were two brass fieldpieces captured from the Confederate Army during the Civil War. They were cast at Macon, Ga., from church bells given for the purpose.
Later the grounds were altered by moving the log cabin to the rear of the grounds, tearing down the chalet and bark entrance, removing the board fence, and grading the land. The new mu- seum was built on the Glen Iris grounds in 1913 and the collec- tion was moved to the new building. Since then many items of interest from Western New York have been added.
THE SILVERHEELS EPISODE
The peaceful Genesee Country, and this area in particular, was shocked one November in the early 1900's by the news of a mur- der which had been committed more than a month earlier, on October 3. A letter to Postmaster Cole of Castile, from Tommy Silverheels, of Irving near Salamanca, stated that his brother Al- fred Silverheels, who had been living in the vicinity of Castile, had not been heard from in some time and he had reason to be- lieve there had been foul play. Mr. Cole notified Sheriff Richard- son and an investigation was begun.
Alfred Silverheels was an Indian doctor who had come to stay with James Jamieson's family. They had first lived in a camp on the banks of the Genesee near Glen Iris, but as winter ap- proached had moved into a small house near the "dry bridge."
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GENESEE ECHOES
This was located where the old dirt road crossed the Erie Railroad tracks beyond the Council House.
The Jamiesons made baskets to sell in Castile, Portageville, and near-by places. Silverheels had assisted them in their work and everything seemed peaceful, so no one noticed not seeing him around. The Jamieson family had been sworn to secrecy, but when a son of Mr. Jamieson came to visit, the daughter told him what had happened. When he went back to the Cattaraugus Reservation where he lived, he told the Indian commissioner about it, but it was not until the letter reached Castile that an investigation was started. Before this, the whole family had re- turned to the reservation.
The sheriff went to Salamanca and brought the family down to tell what they knew about the place where Alfred Silverheels had been buried. Some time before his death, it was revealed, Sil- verheels had been warned by Mr. Jamieson to cease his attentions to the Jamiesons' daughter unless he wished to marry her. While the two men were hunting together, Mr. Jamieson became sus- picious of his companion's actions and they returned home. Sil- verheels went upstairs to his room and was returning when Mr. Jamieson shot him at close range on the stairs, the shot perforat- ing his heart. Mr. Jamieson placed the body in a berry patch for a few days and then dragged it to a field where he buried it. He hitched his horse on a stoneboat and drove back and forth over the field to cover any traces of his digging.
The accused man was apprehended and placed in the county jail pending trial. Charles Gifford of Castile, who was present during the trail, states that a sentence of three to five years was imposed but immediately a petition was circulated and the judge was the first to sign it. W. P. Letchworth was a signer as were many others who had been friends of the Jamieson family. The Jamiesons went back to the reservation to live after that.
I believe that Dr. L. C. Broughton was the doctor called in as coroner.
CHAPTER VI
CANAL DAYS
THE GENESEE VALLEY CANAL was authorized by act of the Legislature, May 6, 1836, and was begun the same year. (N.Y. State Gazetteer.) In 1827, Governor Clinton had recom- mended that a route be surveyed for a canal to unite the Erie Canal at Rochester with the Allegheny River. People began to hope for improved methods of transporting their farm and for- est products to a seaboard market. The survey was made in 1828, from Rochester to Olean. By 1833 the demand was growing for a canal. Only a few bridges spanned the Genesee River at that time. Rafts, skiffs, and canoes were used extensively, while dur- ing low water, many shallow places were used for fording.
Work was active on the canal by 1838-39, providing oppor- tunities for many to work with teams and otherwise, thus earn- ing money to tide them over hard times. An influx of new workers, mostly Irish, flooded the area that year. By 1840, saw- mills were being erected and large quantities of lumber were made ready for market. Better buildings were going up and people were more content. The year 1841 was one of prosperity. Canal work was advancing and extra workers provided a good home market for farm products.
In 1842 work on the canal was suspended, owing to a change in state administration. The people were downhearted over the turn in events. However, construction was resumed in 1848, and in 1851 the canal was opened for navigation to Oramel. So great was the stimulation of all business, especially lumbering, that the woods rang with the sound of the woodman's axe and the cry of the teamsters as they hauled logs to mill. Many mills were driven by steam power. The forests disappeared, succeeded by cleared fields and better homes. More cattle were raised and sheep made their appearance.
The stretch from Rochester to the junction of the Dansville
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GENESEE ECHOES
side-cut, 52 miles, was finished in 1840. Oramel (including the Genesee feeder at that place), 36 miles distant, was reached in 1851; Belfast, two more miles, in 1853; Rockville, three miles, in 1854; Olean, 24 miles, in 1856. Still to be built in 1860 was a section of one mile with two lift locks and two bridges.
The repairs were put under five-year contract in 1855. Heavy freshets and unexpected damage caused the contractor for sec- tion one to abandon his contract in June, 1857.
An act was passed in 1857, authorizing the extension of the canal from Olean eastward across Olean Creek and the bottom lands along the north bank of the Allegheny to the canal's en- trance into Mill Grove Pond, a distance of 6.52 miles.
On the Dansville Branch, the places along the way were Shaker Settlement (now Sonyea), Fitzhugh's Basin, Kysorville, Rock Spring, Sherwood's Landing, Steam Saw Mill, McNair's Landing, Woodville, Commonsville, and Dansville.
The main line from Rochester had these stops: Rapids (Lock No. 1), Tone's Basin, Scottsville, Canawaugus (Avon Road), Sackett's Basin, Fowlerville Road, Barclay's Mill, Piffardinia, Spencer's Basin, Tracy's Basin, Cuylerville, Leicester (Moscow Landing), Genesee River Dam, Mount Morris, Shaker Settle- ment, Brushville, Nunda, Messenger's Hollow, Genesee Falls (Tunnel Section), Portageville, Lock No. 61, Mixville Landing (Wiscoy Feeder) , Fillmore, Burrville, Caneadea Center, Oramel, Belfast, Rockville, Caseville, Black Creek Corners, Cuba, Ischua Feeder, Hinsdale, and Olean.
In 1869, John H. Jones was appointed canal superintendent of section one, Horace Hunt of section two, and William A. Kirkpatrick of section three. Between 1840 and 1868, the Gene- see Valley Canal carried 587,647 tons of forest products, 393,780 tons of agricultural products, 100,367 tons of manufactures, 112,021 tons of merchandise, and 223,231 tons of other articles, making a total of 1,417,046 tons shipped during those years. The number of feet above tide varied from 507 at Rochester to 1,399 at Olean. (Gaz.)
Before the building of the Genesee Valley Canal, the river was used as a means of transporting freight to Rochester. In 1818 the Genesee River was declared by legislation a public highway from its confluence with Canaseraga Creek to the Pennsylvania line,
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CANAL DAYS
except between the Upper and Lower Falls at Portage. Tree tops or other impediments were not to be thrown into it, canoe navi- gation being essential to settlement. Sanford Hunt, who came to Portage-Nunda in 1819 and settled at Hunt's Hollow, was the first man from Nunda to use the river in carrying his products to market. Early in 1824 he had a canalboat, the "Hazard," built at the Lower Falls. In May he travelled down the river at flood time on his way to Albany via Rochester and the Erie Canal, taking a load of pine lumber and potash and pearlash. It was the first of famous shipments made after the Erie Canal was in op- eration, some sixteen years before any shipments by canal from Mount Morris and twenty-eight years before shipments from Nunda. Steam navigation on the river also was started in 1824 as far as Mount Morris.
When the canal was built, some sections of it involved a great struggle. At the Deep Cut (near the present Oakland), a mile or more of hill had to be made into a valley for the canal, part of the well-known Nine Mile Level. It was a great task, as steam shovels did not exist. A large share of the work was done by hand. The most rugged section was the "tunnel section" along the gorge below the Middle Falls near Portage.
In 1838 Elisha Johnson was given the contract to tunnel through the mountain. The trunk of the tunnel was to be 27 feet wide, 20 feet high and 1,200 feet in length, but not more than 400 feet was ever excavated. After the work had begun, the rock was found to consist of loose masses and blocks requir- ing temporary arches of wood for support, with plans for solid masonry in the finished tunnel. The workmen had to carry the fragments of rock in their aprons and dump them over the cliff until the opening was large enough to admit teams and wagons. Many rock slides hampered the workers, then quicksand made it impossible to tunnel through. Another attempt was made six years later when the Whigs again came to power, but tunneling was definitely abandoned after a rock slide killed many men. Mr. Johnson suggested a plan of building the canal around the bank and this plan was accepted. The rock was blasted away with black powder, but falling fragments so damaged the home of Mr. Johnson, known as Hornby Lodge (see Chapter VII), that the building was razed in 1849.
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GENESEE ECHOES
Nature started to heal the huge wound in the side of the mountain and rumblings were heard as the healing went on. In the dark recesses of the cave bats took possession until today the cave is known as the "home-colony" for the bat population of the United States and Canada. A recent survey by experts has shown that six known species of North America have been found to inhabit the century-old cave.
Man's effort to conquer the rocky mass had been thwarted, but by blasting away portions of its edges, the Genesee Valley Canal was literally pinned on the side of the gorge until it passed beyond the site of the railroad bridge, which was built in 1852.
Life along the canal was sometimes enlivened by the competi- tion of rival boat crews and the sheer love of a fight. Often the crews would indulge in a fight just to make their opponents say "enough," then move on as though nothing had happened. Other captains would be quite temperate and require their crews to be likewise.
An amusing incident is told of a new landlord at the Moun- tain House being loudly lectured by a man named Abner, who had been drinking a little too much. Abner told the landlord he was allowing the men to become too boisterous and, as a friend, he felt he should tell him of his mistake. The landlord thought it was too good a joke to enjoy alone, so told a few of the men what had been said. One was Milan Jones, who decided to do something about it.
When Abner left, he went down the stairs under the wooden railroad bridge, but Milan went down by a short cut where the canal was carried over the slide, and so came to the bridge at the Middle Falls first. He confronted Abner on the bridge and threatened to throw him over the side into the river for calling him a "rowdy" to the landlord. Abner promised to never again speak ill of Milan or his family, and the pledge was never broken.
William T. Davis owned a cow which he was pasturing on the green around the Middle Falls area. Roaming too close to the edge of the bank, she fell over, landing in the deep water. She was driven back and forth across the river and finally was taken out safely at the Lower Falls, a mile and a half below.
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