USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 21
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themselves as our enemies, and that we are theirs. From this considera- tion they never come near the garrison except as spies and then escape as soon as discovered".
By this time the post at LeBoeuf consisted of four block-houses, on two of which a six-pounder was mounted, the others not being calculated for cannon. A swivel-gun was mounted over each gate, while "a hollow way parallel with the rear of the works and within gun-shot had been devised "that would cover any number of Indians". Denny by now re- garded the situation as most excellent, and Ellicott himself writing of it said the garrison was "in excellent order, and if supplied with provisions, safely bid defiance to all the Indians between the Genesee and Mississippi rivers".
On Sept. 10, 1794, a man named Dickson, while working in a field within 150 yards of the Cussewago settlement, just below LeBoeuf, was fired upon by lurking Indians, and received two wounds. This of course intensified the unfriendly feelings towards Indians, for many white folks believed that Governor Mifflin was altogether too timid in his dealings · with the Indians, and that a little of Wayne's spunk and dash would have put the fear of Pennsylvania into their hearts, and enabled settlers to enter this country and begin its development.
Wayne's success in August, 1794, at the Maumee against the western Indians, prepared the way for a settlement of the troubles. With this door towards peace opened, Timothy Pickering, on behalf of the United States, negotiated a treaty with the Six Nations at Canandaigua, N. Y., and on Nov. 11, 1794, concluded it. By this treaty the Six Nations Indians unqualifiedly acknowledged the right and title of the State of Pennsyl- vania to the Erie Triangle, and relinquished all claims to its lands. But there is no doubt that the wholesome fear of Wayne, and what he was prepared to do to them, owing to what they had seen of his achievements on the Maumee, had much, very much indeed, to do with their willingness to execute this final treaty.
As soon as this treaty was accomplished, word was sent to Wash- ington of its happy termination, whereupon the President informed Gov- ernor Mifflin that all obstacles were now removed from the purpose to establish a post at Presque Isle, and that he was at liberty to proceed with the plans of the state for its settlement, and the sale of the lands about the county. But it was now too late in the season to do any work here, and so the militia remained quartered at Fort LeBoeuf during that
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winter. Commissioner Ellicott did not, however, remain through the win- ter, but returned to Philadelphia. But while he was at Fort LeBoeuf dur- ing the summer of 1794, he laid out the town of Waterford, and his plan of it was confirmed and approved by the legislature in the Act of April 18, 1795. This land surveyed and plotted for the future town of Water- ford, is described as follows: "Beginning at east branch of LeBoeuf or French Creek at a sugar tree, thence north eighty-one perches to a hem- lock, west one hundred and thirty-four perches to a white-oak, north one thousand one hundred and thirty perches to an ash, east two hundred and seventy perches to a white pine, south one hundred and sixty perches to a post, east two hundred and seventy perches to a white pine, south one hundred and sixty perches to a post, east two hundred perches to a black ash, south one hundred and five perches to a white thorn, east forty perches to a beech, south seven hundred thirty-two perches to a hickory, thence down French Creek to the beginning, containing three thousand and seventy-three acres and one hundred and fourteen perches."
By spring of 1795, most of the soldiers in the garrison had been disbanded, for one or another reason, so that but a very few were left at the fort. It seems, too, that an entirely new force was then enlisted to take the place of the one under Denny, whose command seems to have been succeeded at LeBoeuf by Captain Buchanan, who was in command in May, 1795. He reports to the Governor on June 19, 1795, that Lieu- tenant MeHaffey with 26 men had left Pittsburg with Commissioners Elli- cott and Irvine, going towards LeBoeuf, and that he, himself, expected to start with the remainder of the force that day.
It is interesting just here, to advert to the report of Denny on the conditions at Presque Isle. He says "A mile and a half in some directions from the old French Fort the land appears to have been under cultivation, or at least cleared, but is now grown up thick with young chestnut and linn. The fort has been a regular pentagon, but the work was very light. The parapet don't exceed five feet, and the ditch not more. The walls of the magazine, of stone, are standing, and may be repaired. The well may also be easily made fit for use". This report also acknowledges receipt of "a complete set of irons for a saw-mill".
The Town of Erie Begun.
It will have been seen, that from the time of the dispersal of the British forces who, in all probability, were at Erie during Pontiac's War,
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for they seem to have been here during the so-called French and Indian War and to have been very reluctant to leave the place for some time afterwards, up to the early spring of 1795, all of the country north of Fort LeBoeuf was wholly abandoned by white folks. Even the cleared spaces about Fort Presque Isle had by then grown up to second-growth chestnut and linn trees, and the military works had become sadly dilapidated.
No white people had the temerity during all of this period to enter this part of the country, much less to come here and attempt a settlement or labor of clearing a plot for crop purposes. The whole county lay waste and without civilized inhabitant. Even Denny's report of the appearance of the fort at Presque Isle was received as a sort of curiosity. The Penn- sylvania Population Company had appointed Thomas Rees as their agent to come out and lay out their holdings in the Triangle, but although ap- pointed in 1792, he dared not come, and in 1793, attempting to reach here, he got as far as Buffalo Creek, where the Indians halted him, and he turned back. But in 1794 he did come out here, running a considerable risk, and succeeded in running his lines of survey; but he states that he did it alone, and that in all the wide spaces of this county, he saw no white man, and that he made all haste to complete his work, as he was in con- stant fear that he would be set upon by the savages at any moment. On completion of his task he reached Fort LeBoeuf which he found in com- mand of Major Denny.
Deposition of Thomas Rees, Esq.
"Thomas Rees, of Harborcreek Township, in Erie County, farmer, be- ing sworn according to law, doth depose and say, as follows:
"I was appointed deputy surveyor of District No. 1, north and west of the Rivers Ohio, Allegheny, and Connewango Creek, now Erie County, in May, 1792, and opened an office in Northumberland County, which was the adjoining. The reason for this was, all accounts from the country north and west of the Rivers Ohio, Allegheny, and Connewango Creek, represented it as dangerous to go into that country. In the latter part of said year I received 390 warrants the property of the Penn. Population Company, for land situated in the Triangle, and entered them the same year in my book of entries. In 1793 I made an attempt to go; went to the mouth of Buffalo Creek to inquire of the Indians there whether they would permit me to go into my district to make surveys. They refused, and added that if I went into the country I would be killed. At the same
·
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time I received information from different quarters which prevented me from going that year. In 1794 I went into District No. 1, now Erie County, and made surveys on the 390 warrants mentioned above, in the Triangle, except one or two for which no lands could be found. Among the surveys made on the warrants above mentioned, was that on the warrant in the name of John McCullough. Before I had completed I was frequently alarmed by hearing of the Indians killing persons on the Allegheny River, in consequence of which as soon as the surveys were completed, I removed from the country and went to Franklin, where I was informed that there were a number of Indians belonging to the Six Nations going to Le Boeuf, to order the troops off that ground. I immediately returned to Le Boeuf. The Indians had left that place one day before I arrived there. I was told by Major Denny, then commanding at that place, that the Indians had brought Gen. Chapin, the Indian agent, with them to Le Boeuf; that they were very much displeased, and told him not to build a garrison at Presqu' Isle.
"There were no improvements made, nor any persons living on any tract of land within my district during the year 1794. In the year 1795, I went into the country and took a number of men with me. We kept in a body, as there appeared to be great danger, and continued so for that season. There was no work done of any consequence, nor was any person, to my knowledge, residing upon any tract within my district. In the course of the summer the commissioners came on to lay out the town of Erie, with a company of men to guard them. There were two persons killed within one mile of Presqu'isle, and others in different parts of the country ; such were the fears that though some did occasionally venture out to view the lands, many would not. We all laid under the protection of the troops.
"I sold, as agent for the Pennsylvania Population Company, during that season, 79,900 acres of land, of which 7,150 acres were a gratuity. The above quantity of land was applied for and sold to two hundred per- sons. That fall we left the country. In the spring of 1796 a considerable number of people came out into the country, and numbers went to the farms that they had purchased from the Population Company. The set- tlements during this year were very small.
"The latter part of this year, the opposition commenced against the Population Company on the waters of Elk and Conneaut Creeks, by an association under the title of which impeded considerably the
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progress of the settlements under the Population Company. In the latter part of the month of May or the beginning of June, 1797, a second associa- tion made its appearance in opposition to the title of the Population Com- pany on the waters of French Creek, near the New York State line, under the title of ; and another on the northeast corner of the Triangle; and were active in their opposition to the claims of the Population Com- pany, and to the exertions of its agents for the improvement and settle- ment of the country. . .
. They took great pains to impress upon the minds of the persons who came into the country with the intention of settling in it, that the Population Company had no title to the lands which they claimed, and induced all over whom they could gain any influence to settle and claim in opposition to the Population Company."
The next information we have as to the conditions at Erie, is con- tained in the deposition of Deacon Hinds Chamberlain, of LeRoy, N. Y., who, with Reuben Heath and Jesse Beach, traveled to Presque Isle in the early part of 1795. He says:
"We saw one white man, named Poudery, at Tonawanda Village. At · the mouth of Buffalo Creek there was but one white man, named Winne, an Indian trader. His building stood just as you descend from the high ground (near where the Mansion House now stands, corner of Main and Exchange Streets). He had rum, whiskey, Indian knives, trinkets, etc. His house was full of Indians, and they looked at us with a good deal of curiosity. We had but a poor night's rest-the Indians were in and out all night getting liquor. The next day we went up the beach of the lake to the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek, where we encamped, a wolf came down near our camp, and deer were quite abundant. In the morning went up to the Indian village; found "Black Joe's" house, but he was absent. He had, however, seen our tracks upon the beach of the lake, and hurried home to see what white people were traversing the wilderness. The In- dians stared at us; Joe gave us a room where we should not be annoyed by Indian curiosity, and we stayed with him over night. All he had to spare us in the way of food was some dried venison; he had liquor, Indian goods, and bought furs. Joe treated us with so much civility that we stayed until near noon. There were at least one hundred Indians and squaws gathered to see us. Among the rest there were sitting in Joe's house, an old squaw and a young, delicate looking white girl dressed like a squaw. I endeavored to find out something about her history, but could not. She seemed inclined not to be noticed, and had apparently lost the
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use of our language. With an Indian guide provided by Joe we started upon the Indian trail for Presqu'isle.
"Wayne was then fighting the Indians, and our guide often pointed to the west, saying, 'bad Indians there'. Between Cattaraugus and Erie I shot a black snake, a racer, with a white ring around his neck. He was in a tree twelve feet from the ground, his body wound round it, and measured seven feet and three inches.
"At Presqu'isle (Erie) we found neither whites nor Indians-all was solitary. There were some old French brick buildings, wells, block-houses, etc., going to decay, and eight or ten acres of cleared land. On the penin- sula there was an old brick house forty or fifty feet square. The peninsula was covered with cranberries.
"After staying there one night we went over to Le Boeuf, about six- teen miles distant, pursuing an old French road. Trees had grown up in it, but the track was distinct. Near Le Boeuf we came upon a company of men who were cutting out the road to Presqu'isle-a part of them were soldiers and a part Pennsylvanians. At Le Boeuf there was a garrison of soldiers-about one hundred. There were several white families there, and a store of goods. Myself and companions were in pursuit of land. By a law of Pennsylvania, such as built a log house and cleared a few acres acquired a presumptive right-the right to purchase at five dollars per hundred acres. We each of us made a location near Presqu'isle. On our return to Presqu'isle from Le Boeuf, we found there Col. Seth Reed and his family. They had just arrived. We stopped and helped him build some huts; set up crotches, laid poles across, and covered them with the bark of the cucumber tree. At first the Colonel had no floors; afterward he indulged in the luxury of floors by laying down strips of bark. James Baggs and Giles Sisson came on with Col. Reed. I remained for a con- siderable time in his employ. It was not long until eight or ten other families came in.
"On our return we again stayed at Buffalo over night with Winne. There was at the time a great gathering of hunting parties of Indians there. Winne took from them all their knives and tomahawks, and then selling them liquor, they had a great carousal."
One naturally asks where and what was the large brick house on the peninsula which these men saw, and why did the French stop to make bricks in this wilderness, when so much timber was available? And also,
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where did they make such brick for the peninsula, where no clay could be had?
However, Miss Laura G. Sanford's Mss. relate that
"East of this early settlement in New France, excavations show that brick made there was of French measure. The old inhabitants of this region speak of a 'French stone chimney', as it was called, opposite Big Bend on the peninsula-that it was made of brick and used as a watch house. Fishermen have made a thorough distribution of these bricks long ago. The 'Sixteen Chimneys', one of the forts was said to have, also refers to their manufacture of brick."
There must also have been at Presque Isle on his return to it from Le Boeuf, the militia who arrived shortly before Colonel Reed come in, under the command of Captain John Grubb. The company of men who were found on his way over to Le Boeuf cutting out the roadway, must have been the advance party from the garrison at Fort Le Boeuf, making ready to come over and re-establish Fort Presque Isle.
Early in the spring of 1795, a detachment of troops from Wayne's army came to Presque Isle, commanded by Captain Russell Bissell, and put up their quarters out of materials cut from the nearby woods. Two block-houses were erected on the bluff overlooking the entrance to the harbor, and just east of the creek, apparently upon the present "Block- house Grounds". Some land was cleared for corn to be raised for the use of the garrison.
On June __ , 1795, Generals Irvine and Ellicott arrived, as Commis- sioners of the state, charged with the duty of laying out the town at Presque Isle, bringing with them a corps of surveyors and helpers, and accompanied with a body of state troops commanded by Captain John Grubb, who had been detailed to protect the commissioners and surveyors while employed in their duties.
About this time a saw mill was built at the mouth of the creek, prob- ably using the "complete set of irons for a saw mill" mentioned by Major Denny in his report from Le Boeuf the summer before. This mill pro- vided a far more convenient means of preparing proper material for fur- ther building operations at Erie, and seems to have been industriously used to that end.
Captain Bissell seems to have commanded this post from early in 1795 until 1799, being succeeded in the command by Captains Hamtramck,
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Lyman, and McCall, and then by Commissioner Irvine's son, General Cal- lender Irvine.
Just before the arrival of the surveyors in June of 1795, occurred a most distressing event at or very near to where the present Central Mar- ket House now stands, being just south of the present State Street bridge of the New York Central Railroad in Erie. This was the attack upon Ralph Rutledge and his son, with two other men, on May 22, 1795, result- ing in the killing of Ralph Rutledge, and the mortal wounding of his son. The fate of the other two was not learned. The younger Rutledge was found and carried to Fort Le Boeuf, where he was tenderly cared for; but his wounds, and the scalping which he had suffered, shortly terminated in his death. His father was buried near where he was found. This spot was for many years supposed to be haunted, and many a person walked a wide detour around the place, especially after dark, rather than venture to withstand the mental terrors accompanying a trip past it. It was cur- rently reported at the time that the deed was caused by Indians, and caused considerable correspondence between the commandant here, the Governor, and the Secretary of War. The death of Ralph Rutledge is the first known death of an Englishman, or American, in this county, after those who suffered in the destruction of the forts.
It is proper at this point to relate the contents of a letter from Cap- tain Martin Strong to William Nicholson, Esq., dated from Waterford, Jan. 8, 1855, wherein he says
"I came to Presqu'isle the last of July, 1795. A few days previous to this, a company of United States troops had commenced felling the timber on Garrison Hill (Soldiers' Home Grounds) for the purpose of erecting a stockade garrison ; also a corps of engineers had arrived, headed by Gen. Ellicott, escorted by a company of Pennsylvania militia commanded by Capt. John Grubb, to lay out the town of Erie.
"We all were under some degree of military law, the two Rutledges having been shot a few days before (as was reported by the Indians) near the site of the present Lake Shore railroad depot (now New York Cen- tral). Thomas Rees, Esq., and Col. Seth Reed and family (the only family in the Triangle) were living in tents and booths of bark, with plenty of good refreshment for all itinerants that chose to call, many of whom were drawn here from motives of curiosity and speculation. Most of the land along the lake was sold this summer at one dollar per acre, subject to actual settlement. We were then in Allegheny County. Le Boeuf
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had a small stockade garrison of forty men, located on the site of the old French fort; a few remains of the old intrenchment were then visible. In 1795 there were but four families residing in what is now Erie County. These were of the names of Reed, Talmage, Miles, and Baird. The first mill built in the Triangle was at the mouth of Walnut Creek; there were two others built about the same time in what is now Erie County: one by William Miles, on the north branch of French Creek, now Union; the other by William Culbertson, at the inlet of Conneauttee Lake, near Edinboro.
"Half a century ago the winters were more regular, and snows deeper than in late years, and I think are become more favorable for vegetation."
It was in this same year of 1795, that Erie entertained royalty, in the person of Louis Phillippe, of France; who, with his younger brother and an attendant, spent a day or two with Col. Seth Reed, in his marquee on the shores of Erie Bay, at about the foot of the present Parade Street. They were traveling about America, and were delighted with the lake scenery, and especially with the prospects at Presque Isle. When they left on their journey, Mr. Thomas Rees provided them with an Indian guide to Canandaiqua. It was observed that the brother of Louis was in delicate health. It was then supposed that he was the Dauphin, but they later learned otherwise.
Judah Colt and Augustus Porter visited Presque Isle in 1795, and the Mss. of Judah Colt relate
"In August, 1795, Augustus Porter and myself set out from Canan- daigua for Presqu'isle, for the purpose of purchasing lands-went on horseback to Niagara, where we left our horses and took passage with Capt. Wm. Lee in a small shallop to Presqu'isle. On our arrival there we found a number of men encamped in that quarter. The United States troops were erecting a fort. Gen. William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott, State Commissioners, were laying out the town of Erie, and had in their service about one hundred militia troops. We purchased and took certifi- cates for four hundred acres of land each-made a short stay, and re- turned the way we came. The season was extremely dry and warm. We suffered much from heat, drought and mosquitoes. Shortly after my return I was taken with bilious fever, which reduced me very low."
The following March the Pennsylvania Population Company, in Phila- delphia, refused Mr. Colt's offer of one dollar an acre for 30,000 acres of land in the Triangle, but contracted with him to come out and act as their
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agent at a salary of $1,500 per year, and all expenses paid. Consequently he shortly afterwards, in April, laid in his necessary supplies and started for his agency. His goods were largely purchased in New York, shipped to Albany, thence over the portage by wagons, then by batteaux up the Mohawk River, and from there by Lake Ontario, Niagara Portage and Lake Erie to Presque Isle. Mr. Colt arrived at Erie June 22, 1796, and his boats of supplies came in on July 1st. His first office was his tent, or "Marquee", which he erected near the old French Fort, and near by the Marquee and cabins of Col. Seth Reed. This may be termed the second real estate office opened within Erie County, and Mr. Colt the second real estate agent or "Realtor" to transact business in the county. In his MSS. he says "During the season met with considerable opposition from ad- verse settlers. After arranging the affairs of the company for the win- ter, and leaving the agency in the care of Elisha and Enoch Marvin, we set out again for Philadelphia (by way of Canandaigua) on the 4th of Novem- ber, and after about two weeks of hard labor, and running much danger of losing ourselves, we arrived with our boat at the mouth of Genesee River."
It was then reported that all of the white people west of the Genesee River were the garrison at Niagara Falls; two families at Lewiston; a British Indian interpreter, two Indian traders, and one family at Buffalo; a few settlers and a garrison at Presqu'isle; a party of New England sur- veyors with two families at Conneaut, Ohio; one family at Cleveland; a French trader at Sandusky, and beyond, the old settlement at Detroit.
The Acts of Assembly concerning the laying out of the tracts and the reservations at Erie, have been detailed at length in the chapter on The Triangle, and need not be repeated here. Eventually most of the troubles arising from conflicting legislation and deferred possession because of In- dian troubles, having been cleared away, the land companies became active through their agencies established at Erie and elsewhere, and a brisk busi- ness was done in the sale of tracts and lots in Erie, and throughout the county.
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