USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol II > Part 4
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Dannemora lies in the western tier of towns between Ellenburg and Saranac. Until 1820 it was a part of Plattsburgh Township, and from then until 1854 was included in Beekmantown. Finally, on the latter date, it became a separate political unit. Within its borders are to be found the two largest bodies of water completely in Clin- ton County : Upper Chateaugay and Chazy lakes. Its surface is in general mountainous, the most famous of its elevations being Lyon Mountain. Because of the unbroken wilderness together with the remoteness from Lake Champlain, the first settlement was not made until 1836. The growth of the township depended in large measure upon the iron industry. The ore beds at Lyon Mountain were prob- ably discovered as early as 1823, but although attempts at mining were begun in the 1830's, their real development did not start in earnest until the 1870s. At first natural obstacles were tremendous, the building of plank roads through the mountains being necessary.
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Finally, in 1879, the Chateaugay Railroad was completed between the ore beds and Plattsburgh. Two years later, in 1881, the Cha- teaugay Ore and Iron Company was incorporated and took over control of the industry. The Delaware and Hudson was deeply inter- ested, financially, in the venture and in 1903 took over the operation of the mines. Chateaugay ore was of unusually fine quality, and developed into one of the major mineral industries of the entire Champlain Valley, as will be discussed in detail in a later chapter.
Dannemora is also the home of Clinton Prison, which was first occupied in 1845. Due to the habit of criminals to congregate where
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(Courtesy of the Champlain Valley Council,
U. S. CUSTOMS HOUSE, ROUSES POINT, N. Y.
population is heavy, the urban centers of the State have attracted crooks, as sugar calls flies. New York has habitually sent its most hardened and seasoned underworld characters to its Dannemora penitentiary. Here, removed from the crowds upon which they love to feast, and remote from their criminal friends and associates, they are compelled to serve out their sentences. When one attempts to escape, he is as conspicuous in the rural territory of Dannemora Town- ship as a bear walking down a main street. Needless to say, criminals do not look forward to a long term in Clinton Prison, and it has been nicknamed, by them, the "Siberia of North America." On June I, 1938, the prison had a population of 1,968.
When created in 1854, Dannemora was named in honor of a noted iron locality in Sweden. Next to Altona it is the youngest town
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in the county. In 1855 it had a population of but 723, but the iron industry wrought a great change. In 1930 there were 4,720 inhab- itants, at which time Dannemora was exceeded in population only by the town of Champlain and the city of Plattsburgh. The chief settle- ment in the township is the Village of Dannemora, which was incor- porated in 1881. A small part of it is located in the township of Saranac. A second community is Lyon Mountain, an interesting and picturesque mining settlement around the ore beds.
In the western tier of townships north of Dannemora, and south of Clinton, is the township of Ellenburg. It contains part of the Chazy River and Ellenburg Mountain. Agriculture has been the leading occupation, although there has been considerable lumbering. The inhabitants have also been interested in making starch and tan- ning hides. Until 1804, Ellenburg was a part of the township of Champlain. From then until it became a separate unit in 1830 it was included in the town of Mooers. It was named in. honor of Ellen Murray (whose mother owned most of the soil) by the settlers, who thus sought to express their gratitude for the generosity the Murray family had shown them. The first white man to venture within the confines of the township came in 1796, but no permanent settler arrived until 1803. The first sawmill was erected in 1824. Until 1845, Ellenburg included the present town of Clinton. Its population, which on that date was 902, crossed the 3,000 mark in 1870, and was reduced to 2,243 in 1930.
Mooers is a township located on the Canadian border, bounded on the west by Clinton and Ellenburg, on the south by Altona and Chazy, and on the east by Champlain. On the whole, its surface is quite level. The chief stream is the Great Chazy River, and it is in this township that the main branches join together. In the north we find another stream, the English River. Per- haps the most unusual geographic feature, however, is the deep sandstone chasm on the Canadian line. Until 1804, Mooers was a part of Champlain Township. From then until 1830 it included Ellenburg and Clinton as well as the present town of Mooers, but on that date it was reduced to its present boundaries. As could easily be guessed, it was named in honor of Clinton County's well-known Gen- eral Benjamin Mooers. The first settlement was made in 1796 by Joshua Bosworth. Due to the fine mill sites on the Chazy River,
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industries were bound to develop here. For many years lumbering was the chief industry. An iron forge was erected at Wood's Falls in 1863, using ore brought from Port Henry and Arnold Hill. Mooers' greatest growth came between 1845 and 1850, when its population increased from 2,207 to 3,365. By 1870 it had 4,634 inhabitants, but by 1930 it had decreased to 2,655. The principal village is also named Mooers. It was incorporated in 1899 and in 1930 had a population of 465.
In 1821 and 1822 the township of Mooers was the center of a wolf ring, composed of a group of men who sought to make large sums of money out of fraudulent wolf-bounty certificates. At that time the combined state, county and town bounties amounted to fifty dollars. To collect these tempting bounties, the ring resorted to various methods. In many cases they found a dishonest applicant to swear to a killing and an equally dishonest magistrate to grant the required certificate without bothering about evidence. They sent agents to Vermont and Canada to buy up wolf-heads at small prices, and even bought dogs from Indians to serve for wolves. If a head was purchased for as much as twenty dollars, there was thirty dol- lars profit. In the two years of 1821 and 1822, two hundred and seventy-four bounties were paid in Clinton County, although it is probable that less than fifty wolves were actually killed in the county. The town bounty of Mooers was twenty dollars, with the result that claims totaling $2,040 were presented against this one township in 1821. This caused an increase in town taxes of eighteen mills, and finally the State Legislature had to provide relief.
Peru is bordered on the north by Saranac, Schuyler Falls and Plattsburgh, on the west by Black Brook, on the south by Black Brook, Ausable and Essex County, and on the east by Lake Champlain. Part of it is mountainous, and because of this fact it was named for Peru, South America. Across the northwest corner flows the Salmon River, while in the southeast, the Ausable enters Lake Champlain. Included also within the limits of Peru is most of historical Valcour Island. The original township was formed in 1792 from Plattsburgh and Willsboro. Seven years later a section was annexed to Willsboro, but it included Ausable and Black Brook until 1839. In the next census its population was 3,134 as compared with 1,347 in 1800 and 1,989 in 1930. Peru's first settler, William Hay, arrived in
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1772. Although he moved to Canada, he returned at the close of the Revolution. As a rule, the early settlers came from Dutchess County, New York, and many were Quakers. The village of Peru was founded in 1795, but for many years the only community of importance was Union. Although agriculture was the main occupa- tion in the township, the industrial life was apparently varied for in 1813 there were three or four corn mills, eighteen sawmills, one fulling mill, one carding machine, two bloomeries for making bar iron, one ropewalk, four tanneries and one distillery.
Peru is the home of an interesting Indian legend. In 1757 the beautiful Indian maiden, Wyantha, was strolling along the shores of Lake Champlain, enjoying the glory of a bright midsummer day. She was the daughter of the great Iroquois chief Tahawus. Her name in English meant "dew of roses," and she was the pride of her race. As she walked among the trees she suddenly came upon a ghastly scene. There, in front of her, were the dead and gory bodies of two Huron Indians, embracing each other. To a tree nearby was bound an English soldier. Him she freed and fed and nursed. Enamoured of the beautiful Wyantha, he remained with her tribe and eventually became a sachem. They were married in the best Indian fashion, and lived happily ever after in the beautiful Champlain Valley, appropri- ately called by the Indians Iroscocia, meaning "Mirror of the Moun- tains," in memory of Wyantha's mother, who possessed that name.
It is said that Valcour Island was originally named "Valeur," in memory of the French ship that carried the news of the battle at Ticonderoga to France. We are now in an area made sacred to his- torians by Arnold's thrilling battle with the English in 1776. Both the island and the mainland resounded to the thunder of the guns of war as the fierce conflict raged. In 1875 there was another war fought here, but this time no guns were fired and no blood was shed. It was a social conflict, centering around the establishment on the island of the so-called "Dawn Valcour Community," a society inter- ested in the propagation and practice of "free love." Naturally the good people on the adjoining mainland objected vigorously to any such cults, and the very air seemed contaminated and impure. It soon became evident, even to the islanders, that Clinton County was not openly in sympathy with their Utopia. The movement mani- fested little strength and lasted but a few months. At the end of
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that time the community passed from "dawn" to misty twilight. We can well imagine the relief of the neighbors on the mainland when the cult sought a more receptive field for the continuance of the quest for "absolute social freedom." Once more the residents of Platts- burgh and Peru could return to their discussions of economic condi- tions and the weather.
Next we come to Plattsburgh. Here we find a progressive, grow- ing, forward-looking city with a population (1930) of 13,349. Here also we find Plattsburgh Township, one of the huge original divisions of this area, with its long and illustrious history. Out of the town- ship sprang the city, and their stories can best be told together. When Clinton County was formed, Plattsburgh Township included not only its present territory but part of Peru (including Ausable and Black Brook) until 1792; Beekmantown (including Dannemora ) until 1820; Saranac until 1824; and Schuyler Falls until 1848. Today it is bounded on the north by Beekmantown, on the west by Sara- nac, on the south and west by Schuyler Falls, on the south by Peru, and on the east by Lake Champlain. Across it in the south runs the Salmon River, but its main stream is the Saranac, which forms much of its boundary with Schuyler Falls. It includes the northern end, of Valcour Island, and also Crab Island, where a military hospital was located in 1814 and where many British soldiers were buried. The first settlement was made by Count Charles de Fredenburgh by 1769. He erected a sawmill on the rapids of the Saranac and began the manufacture of lumber. During the Revolu- tion his buildings were burned and he mysteriously disappeared. The most important settler, however, was Zephaniah Platt, and it was for him that Plattsburgh was named. He was prominent enough in Dutchess County to be a delegate to the First Provincial Congress, a member of the Committee of Safety, and active in forming the State Constitution. He moved, in 1801, from Poughkeepsie to Plattsburgh, where he remained until his death in 1807. It was a con- dition attached to his land grant that there should be one settler to every six hundred acres within a period of three years. After the Revolution he was active in buying up military land warrants at low prices. Another leading settler was Melancton Smith, and he also came from Dutchess County. He represented his county in the Pro- vincial Congress, was its first sheriff, and was a leading figure at the State convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States.
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Plattsburgh developed rapidly. The township increased from 458 in 1790 to more than 3,000 in 1810. Although Plattsburgh village had only 250 inhabitants in 1798 it was not only the political center of the county, but also the most important community in northern New York. Grist and lumber mills had been erected as early as 1785, while the first forge was constructed in 1798. It is interesting to note that Vermont ore was used. Cumberland Head was an impor- tant settlement at first. Here all freight for Plattsburgh and vicinity was landed, because for many years the lake boats did not enter the bay. Clinton County reported fifty-eight slaves in 1800, and of these Plattsburgh had its full share. 181I saw the establishment of the "Plattsburgh Republican" newspaper, and also Plattsburgh Academy. The village was incorporated in 1815, and by 1835 had a population of 2,500, including fourteen lawyers, three doctors and four clergy- men. In spite of the fact that the community grew, however, it encoun- tered serious difficulties. In 1830 a flood washed away the bridge across the Saranac and also a forge, coalhouse, ashery, woolen mill, sawmills, trip-hammer shop and other buildings. Two years later an even greater menace appeared, consisting of a dreadful cholera out- break, causing Plattsburgh residents to perish like flies. There were also severe fires in 1849 and 1867. A military post was established here as early as 1815, but it did not become a full regimental post until 1890. The Plattsburgh Barracks are located just outside the city, and this place is the home of the famous "Plattsburgh Idea" of civilian military training. The 26th Regiment, United States Infan- try, is at present stationed here, while each summer Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Citizens' Military Training Corps camps are held. Plattsburgh is also the home of a State normal school, which was opened in 1890. Its important place in the educational devel- opment of the Champlain Valley will be dealt with in our spec- ial chapter. Although completely destroyed by fire in 1929, its work was not interrupted, and the new buildings, completed in 1933, constitute one of the show places of Plattsburgh. Nearby, at Cliff Haven, is the Catholic Summer School of America; and at Bluff Point we find Hotel Champlain, the first large summer hotel on the lake, built in 1899. Other points of interest are Champlain's statue and Macdonough's monument. Plattsburgh's historical traditions have been adequately dealt with elsewhere. Possessing a fine harbor
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on Cumberland Bay and located on the Delaware and Hudson and the Chateaugay railroads, Plattsburgh has progressed far economically. It controls great lumber interests, has mills producing lumber, wood- pulp, flour, wool and wall-paper, as well as foundries, machine shops and sewing machine factories. The scenery around Plattsburgh is pic- turesque and lends an air of enchantment to the old battlegrounds. One is distinctly impressed with the vigor and the progressiveness of Plattsburgh's citizens. When, in addition, we note that there was a population increase of 22.4% between 1920 and 1930, we feel we have found a city with a bright future. On the 1930 census Platts- burgh reported 13,349 residents. On the same date the population of Plattsburgh Township was 2, 132.
Among records of the births of slave children, we find Sir George Prevost, under date of December 28, 1814. Unfortunately the Brit- ish general of that name had retreated to Canada three months before this event, and it is extremely doubtful whether he ever learned of the compliment thus bestowed on him by Melancton Smith's female slave. In all the history of Plattsburgh, this little black boy was the only baby to be blessed from birth with a "Sir."
From a stone in the old Plattsburgh Cemetery we read a curious verse :
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Reader, behold, as you pass by ! As you are now so once was I; As I am now so you must be, Prepare for death and follow me.
Next, alphabetically, is the township of Saranac, bordered on the north by Dannemora, on the west by Franklin County, on the south by Black Brook and Peru, and on the east by Schuyler Falls and Plattsburgh. Its main stream is the Saranac River, and its surface, to a large extent, is mountainous upland. Until 1824 it was included in Plattsburgh Township, but on that date it assumed its present bound- aries. As late as 1830 it had a population of only 316, but a rapid development soon began with the result that Saranac passed the 4,000 mark in 1875. Today it has 2,367 inhabitants. The first settle- ment was made as early at 1802 and possibly earlier. The real devel- opment of the township was based on the iron industry. Saranac's first forge was built in 1826 at Saranac Hollow, which was then in a vast wilderness. Four years later it was swept away by floods, and until 1845 further development was slow because of the generally bad
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condition of the iron industry. Extensive improvements were made in the 1870's. Russia's first forge was begun in 1844, while the first at Irondale dates from 1864. Mines were opened at Clayburg in 1841, and the forge here was built in 1844, while the ore-beds at Williamsburg were worked from 1854 on. At one time Saranac's leading enterprise was the production of crown-glass, but the indus- try was abandoned in 1851. Starch factories were also important.
Hurd tells a story of a deacon who lived in Saranac in the early days. It seems that one Sunday morning this worthy individual "was shaving near a window by a glass, when his attention was attracted by a large buck entering his garden, but the worthy deacon kept on shav- ing; when his wife, entering the room and seeing the deer, asked her husband if he was not going to bring him down, as he was sent of the Lord at an opportune moment for them. The deacon (on this temp- tation) took down his musket and fired, but the buck threw up his flag and bid them good-by. 'There,' exclaimed the worthy deacon, 'I knew that it was only the temptation of the devil.'" Saranac was a long way from the Garden of Eden; but in the former place, as well as the latter, it was the female of the species who evidently sug- gested sin. The deacon, like Adam, succumbed to the idea.
Last alphabetically among the townships of Clinton County is that of Schuyler Falls. Until 1848 it was a part of Plattsburgh. It is bounded on the west by Saranac, on the south by Peru, and on the east and north by Plattsburgh Township. Its entire northern border follows the valley of the Saranac, while in the southern portion we find the Salmon River. The surface is rolling in the east and hilly in the west. The first settler was Ezra Turner, moving here from Plattsburgh in 1794. It is interesting to note that his sixteen-year-old wife was the daughter of Nathan Beman, famed for his association with the capture of Ticonderoga in 1775 by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. Turner built a sawmill in 1801, and after supplying the needs of that vicinity he began to produce lumber for the Quebec market, making annual trips to that city. The first census (1850) after Schuyler Falls became a separate political unit indicated a total population of 2,110. Instead of increasing after 1850, however, as we might expect, there was a gradual decrease. In 1930 there were 1,350 inhabitants.
CHAPTER VII
Saratoga County
Saratoga is the only one of the eleven counties included in this research that is not associated with Lake Champlain or Lake George either by direct contact or by drainage. Historically and economi- cally, however, it has been and still is inseparable from the other ten. Whenever those watery avenues of conquest farther north served warring forces, whether white or red, Saratoga was destined by geog- raphy to be deeply involved in the plans of contending commanders, and doomed to be a frequent battleground. As every American knows, it was here that was ended the most important military cam- paign of the Revolution, a campaign which irrevocably and eternally ties Saratoga County to the other ten. In this present day as this entire section continues to develop as a huge summer resort, Sara- toga's economic interests are becoming more and more fused with the counties to the north and east. In years gone by there was a tendency for tourists to spend their week, month or season in one community, but times have changed. As Americans have become increasingly infected with wanderlust, or more and more incapable of rest and relaxation as the case may be, we have gradually been approaching the time when our guests feel the need for elbow room, and the neces- sity for a larger area over which they may roam. The day of the open road is here, indeed, and also the day of the overnight guest. The Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains on the east and the Adirondacks on the west; Lake George with its contrasting attrac- tions; the sinuous valleys of refreshing rivers, all combine with the famous mineral waters and horse racing so closely associated with Saratoga County to form one of those large super-resort areas, so essential to the modern automobile owner.
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Saratoga is contiguous to eight other counties. On the west, mov- ing from north to south, are Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery. Across the southwest corner is Schenectady County, with Albany County completing the area adjacent to the southern boundary. On the east, moving north, we find Rensselaer and Washington, while across the entire northern border and northeastern corner lies the territory of Warren. The Mohawk River flows along part of the southern boundary, while the Hudson washes the entire eastern and northeastern lines. A third stream of importance is the Sacandaga, which crossed the northern section of the county from Fulton to enter the Hudson at Luzerne. The largest body of water is the Sacandaga Reservoir, although it is only partly within the boundaries of Saratoga County, and was created by man by bottling up the waters of the Sacandaga River. Saratoga Lake is the largest body of water entirely contained within the county. The scenery is diversified. In the north are some of the rocky peaks of the Adirondacks; in the south are low, rounded hills; in the southeast is an area of high hills ; along the Hudson is a broad intervale; while from the northeastern corner in the town of Moreau, a great plain of sand stretches entirely across the county from north to south to the town of Clifton Park on the Mohawk.
When New York was first divided into counties in 1683, Saratoga was included in the gigantic territory known as Albany County (as were the other ten). In 1772, when this vast political unit was divided, most of the area included in this research became a part of Charlotte County as we have seen, but Saratoga continued as a portion of Albany County. In fact, Saratoga is the only one of the eleven counties to have been completely within Albany County after 1772, and it continued to be a part of it until 1791, when it was created with the boundaries possessed today. The word "Saratoga" is of Indian origin and was a name given by the Mohawks to one of their most famous hunting grounds which was located here.
Not only was Saratoga County important to the Iroquois as a source of food supply, but through it ran their great war trails to the north. It would be impossible to estimate the number of war parties that set out over it in the direction of Canada in search of scalps and plunder. Coming back to their homes on the Mohawk, they carried to torture or to slavery a multitude of captives, including that famous
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Jesuit missionary, Father Jogues. The mineral waters were appre ciated by the red men, and certainly must have been a great mystery to them. Although Saratoga County did not contain the famous villages of the Iroquois, the Indians certainly made settlements here. The evidence in this case is direct as well as indirect, one of the best known settlements having been in Wilton Township.
The part that Saratoga County played in the French and Indian War, and particularly in the Revolution, has been discussed in detail elsewhere and nothing can be gained from repetition here. Few coun- ties anywhere can claim such a glorious historical heritage. And it would be in vain that we searched, if we looked for another county that constituted the battleground of a decisive conflict in world history.
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