USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol II > Part 9
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Gilliland was on friendly terms with Whitehall's Skene, the much- maligned and the most hated and feared man in this area during that period. The last word has not yet been written about either Gilliland or Skene, for there is still much that needs explaining. However, since the fog, that up to the present time has enveloped the leading Revolu- tionary figures of the Champlain Valley (such as Arnold, Allen and the rest), is gradually lifting, thanks to scientific historical research, there is hope that some one, some day will do the same service for these two important and interesting civilians. In any case, the later years of Gilliland's life were none too pleasant and he never succeeded in recouping his fortunes after the war, and finally died in at least par- tial insanity, in 1796.
With the return of peace, colonization of the western shore of Lake Champlain was renewed. When Clinton County was incorpor- ated in 1788, two of its four towns were Crown Point and Wills- boro. When Essex County was created in 1799, it included in addi- tion to these two townships, those of Elizabethtown and Jay. All of the other townships were formed afterwards. By 1810, the county had a population of 9,525 inhabitants. The settlers were chiefly engaged in the iron and lumber industries. The first steps were taken toward the manufacture of iron, with the opening of the nineteenth century, and it will not detract from the chapter on minerals to state now that Essex County ore contributed greatly to one of the major industries of the entire valley. Fine trees existed on all sides and con- tributed much to make the Champlain Valley one of the nation's lead- ing lumber reservoirs. Agriculture also flourished in the fertile areas. By 1825 the population had increasd to 15,993. The opening of the Champlain Canal greatly stimulated Essex County's economic growth. 1830-40 was the period of greatest activity in the lumber industry, but a decline after that was inevitable. There has been but little variation in population within the last fifty years, the county having a popula- tion of 33,959 in 1930, as compared with 33,052 in 1890. The most populous of the eighteen towns existing today is North Elba, while the largest incorporated village, wholly within the county, is Ticonderoga. There are no cities.
First among the communities, alphabetically, is the village of Bloomingdale, but its history will be presented with that of the town of St. Armand, of which it is a part.
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Chesterfield is located in the extreme northeastern corner of Essex County, facing Clinton County on the north and Lake Champlain on the east. Until 1802 it was included within the boundaries of Wills- boro. It is a township that contains great natural beauty. In the Ausable River that forms its northern boundary we find that famous chasm which we described in the chapter on Clinton County. The town's most interesting peak is Pokamoonshine, which, although not as large as many other Adirondack summits, has a very rugged and impressive appearance. Schuyler Island is also a part of this township, one of the very few islands found in Lake Champlain that do not belong to Vermont. The soil of this township is hardly at all suited to cultivation, economic development being based rather upon its lum- ber and mineral resources and its mill sites. The first settler (Matthew Adgate) came from Albany, in 1792, to reside on the side of the Ausable. He soon built a sawmill, a gristmill and a rolling-mill. The most interesting of Chesterfield's early settlers, however, was Aaron Ward who, in 1796, brought his bride here from Saratoga County. They came down Lake Champlain in a canoe, and finally found a site that suited them, but were doomed to meet with numerous misfor- tunes. The climax came when Ward caught an Indian stealing from one of his traps. In a fit of resentment he killed the red man. Reason soon returned, however, and he succeeded in fleeing to Schuylerville with his wife before the slain savage's friends learned of the deed. Their five years of hardship had been spent in vain. Other settlers continued to come, however, and by 1810 there were about sixty fam- ilies in the township. Manufacturing developed on the Ausable, par- ticularly at Keeseville, and at a later time at Birmingham Falls, at the entrance to the Chasm, while important shipping points for lumber sprang up at Port Kent, Port Douglass, and Port Kendall on the lake shore. Being located partly in Clinton County, the story of Keese- ville has been told in a previous chapter. Incorporated in 1878, it has a population of 1,794 today, 769 of whom are to be found in Chesterfield. The early development of the ports was based largely on the lumber industry, and when that declined these settlements ceased to grow. At the present time, the township has a population of only 1,599 Its future is quite definitely that of a resort community, with the chief emphasis on Ausable Chasm. Some of Chesterfield's best-known tales are fish stories. Many of them deal with salmon. It
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is said that they habitually ascended the Ausable as far as the Chasm in July, but could not jump the falls. Many of them weighed as much as sixteen pounds and there was no difficulty in those times for the settlers to catch all they could use. It has been recorded that in 1823 at one haul of a seine 1,500 pounds of salmon were taken from the Ausable.
Next we come to the highly interesting and unusual township of Crown Point, located on the side of Lake Champlain between Ticon- deroga and Moriah. It is here that the watery highway to Canada becomes so narrow that it almost ceases to be a lake. Here, there- fore, we find a place of tremendous military importance in the day when practically all conquest was by water. The ruins of famed St. Frederic and Amherst's costly folly testify to the significance of this place when armed hosts passed this way. Here possibly is the site of the cruel torture of dauntless Father Isaac Jogues in 1642. Here also are the memories of the greatest French settlement in the entire Champlain Valley. And here stopped practically all the famous lead- ers who passed up and down the valley. Crown Point today sleeps peacefully in the presence of the great men that were responsible for imparting to this community its unique historical prestige. Before the construction of the fort at Ticonderoga, it was by far the most impor- tant military post in the entire Champlain area.
Exactly how large a settlement was made here by the French we do not know, yet there is no question but that it was considerable. The number of cellars, the size of the orchards, and the numerous though vague references to their community from the pens of con- temporary writers indicate this fact clearly. When Amherst swept northward, however, the French vanished from here as suddenly as elsewhere. The English settlers were primarily from New England and came rapidly after the expulsion of the enemy. When Clinton County was formed in 1788, Crown Point was one of the four gigan- tic towns that composed it. For several years it continued to be larger than some of our present counties. It originally included not only its area of the present day but many other towns as well. Lumber was of course a valued source of income, particularly after the con- struction of the Champlain Canal, while Crown Point also became famed for its iron industry. The first furnace was built in 1845 and for some time the high grade products manufactured here were in
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great demand. The soil of Crown Point is much more fertile than that of most of the rest of Essex County, so its agriculture also was an important occupation, particularly after the decline of the lumber industry. Today Crown Point is almost wholly devoted to farming. Its population, as indicated in 1930, is 1,468. Much has been written about the fondness of the early settlers for whisky, and while some of these stories are highly entertaining as well as descriptive of early social customs in the Champlain Valley (telling among other things of erecting churches with the assistance of the "elevating" influences of whisky!), these narratives are not at all in keeping with the spirit of present-day Crown Point. Rather should we associate this tranquil community with its great historical past and walk once more on the old military grounds frequented today by picnickers, near the bridge which today connects New York and Vermont. If we fish in nearby Bulwagga Bay, we are inclined to believe that none of the early set- tlers, French or English, ever faced starvation very acutely.
Next we come to that picturesque community named Elizabeth- town in honor of Elizabeth, daughter of Essex County's famed Wil- liam Gilliland. It is located in the northeast-central part, and is bounded on the north by Jay and Lewis, on the west by Keene, on the south by North Hudson and Moriah, and on the east by Westport. Until 1798 much of it was included in the township of Crown Point. Parts of Moriah and Keene were detached in 1808 and some of West- port in 1815, while it received territory from Jay and Lewis in 1844 and more from Lewis in 1854. Since 1807 it has been the seat of gov- ernment of Essex County. Elizabethtown is a mountainous township, and contains some fairly high peaks. Its chief streams are the Boquet and the Black rivers. There is considerable water power available, while the town has constituted an important lumber reservoir and iron center. The earliest settlers came to town in the 1790's to build their frontier homes at New Russia, Simond's Hill and Elizabethtown vil- lage. Most of the township was covered with heavy timber, and these early colonists conducted their lumbering occupations on a large scale, the roads to Lake Champlain being thronged with sleighs during the winter months. It is said that the lumber business reached its height in the 1820's. The first ore bed in town was worked as early as 1800. Much that was mined was at first shipped to Hines- burg, Vermont, to be worked up. Other fine ore beds were soon
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uncovered, and before many years passed forges were erected on several locations throughout the township. It is impossible to state exactly how extensive the iron business was at its height in this town, but there is no question but that it was conducted on the large scale. As time went on, the pleasant little community at Elizabethtown vil- lage became more and more the town's metropolis, doubtless aided by its prestige of being the county seat, and was incorporated in 1875. From 1920 to 1930 its population increased by more than one-fifth. On the latter date it contained 636 inhabitants out of the 1, 113 citi- zens living in the township. By virtue of its beautiful scenery, the future of this town as a part of the Adirondack and Champlain resort area seems secure.
Essex Township is located in the eastern section of the county, bordering on Lake Champlain, with Willsboro on the north, Lewis on the west and Westport on the south. The Boquet River flows in a northerly direction through its center. It is off the town of Essex that we find the deepest waters of the entire Champlain area, a total depth of three hundred and ninety-nine feet. The most characteristic geo- graphical feature of this township, however, is picturesque Split Rock, known to the French as "Rocher Fendu." It projects one hundred and fifty feet into Lake Champlain, and is elevated about thirty feet above the level of the water. It covers approximately half an acre and is separated from the main rock on the shore by a channel fifteen feet wide. In 1776, Arnold's battered fleet was overtaken by the British between Split Rock and the mouth of the Boquet farther north, and it was near Split Rock that his galley, the "Lee," was blown up to prevent its capture. On one occasion during the Revolu- tion the patriots spilled considerable rum into the bay to the south to prevent its recapture by the English and as a result the place has been called Grog Bay ever since. North of Split Rock is beautiful Whallon's Bay.
Until 1805, Essex Township was a part of Willsboro. A block- house, erected here as a protection against Indians after the Revolu- tion, became converted into a courthouse when Essex County was formed in 1799, and sessions were held here until new buildings were erected in Elizabethtown in 1807. First and foremost among the settlers was Daniel Ross, who married William Gilliland's daughter, Elizabeth. He arrived here about 1785 and soon became prominent.
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He was sheriff of huge Clinton County before it was cut down; he was the first judge of Essex County after its formation, holding the post for thirty years; and he built the first iron works in Willsboro in 1800. Another interesting settler was Judge Heirn, who, with his dusky West Indian wife, came here in 1786 to settle on a thousand acre tract of land which he converted into a manor, and over which he attempted to rule with feudal dignity. Among the interesting settle- ments in Essex Township in its early development was Boquet vil- lage, on the Boquet River southwest of Essex village. It was a flour- ishing manufacturing community, rolling and slitting mills and also a nail factory being erected here about 1810. As late as 1840 it was still an active settlement. Whallonsburg had a late start, its economic genesis being based on the lumber industry. The leading village, however, is Essex, originally called Elizabeth. Although it attained importance in the day when lumber was king and later became a cen- ter for the iron industry, its chief claim to fame rests upon commerce and shipbuilding. Here we find the New York terminus of McNeil's famous ferry, established in 1790, which at first was operated by means of an endless cable with six horses furnishing the motive power. Essex also became noted for its shipbuilding at an early time, the first sloop on Lake Champlain being built here in 1810. This marked the beginning of an era and between 1825 and 1836 there were prob- ably about one hundred and twenty-five sloops on the lake. Essex continued to be an important shipbuilding center until after 1840, and was one of the chief ports on the entire lake. Various other industries were started here, including the making of horseshoe nails. In 1850 the township had a total of 2,351 residents, but by 1880 it had declined to 1,462, and by 1930 to 1, 1 16.
Jay Township borders on Clinton County on the north, and is situated between Wilmington on the west and Chesterfield and Lewis on the east. Until 1798 it was a part of Willsboro, and included, at first, parts of Keene, Wilmington, and Elizabethtown. It was named in honor of New York's great John Jay, distinguished diplomat and political leader. Its territory is very mountainous, and the chief drainage is in the Ausable system. At first it was called Mallory's Bush in honor of the first settler who arrived in 1796. Transporta- tion difficulties held back early development, but the first forge was erected in 1798, preparing the way for the iron industry destined to
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be centered around Ausable Forks at a later date. Lumbering, of course, was another important industry. A specialty seems to have been made of cutting spars which were shipped to the Quebec market about the time of the War of 1812. Some of the soil of Jay was productive, and more of its settlers engaged in agriculture than was true of some of its neighbors. There are three villages in the town- ship: Jay, Upper Jay and Ausable Forks. Jay is the oldest but Ausable Forks is the largest. The latter is partly in Clinton County and has been discussed previously, but it may be well to recall that its early development was based on lumber and iron. Today the town- ship's chief attribute is its scenery, of which it has a decidedly attrac- tive variety. In 1930 its population was 2,153.
Keene possesses the highest and most majestic mountain peaks in our entire eleven counties, having four out of the highest five. Num- ber one, of course, is famed Mount Marcy, which towers 5,344 feet into the sky. It was named in honor of Governor Marcy, of New York, who was the Empire State executive from 1833 to 1839; and although the title of Tahawus was soon after manufactured for it, the original name is the correct one, individual preference to the contrary notwithstanding. Let us permit this monarch of the mountains to speak for himself in the words of Alfred L. Donaldson :
I am tallest of the mountains where the many mountains rise- I am Cleaver of the Cloudland and the Splitter of the Skies- I am keeper of the caverns where the God of Thunder sleeps- I am older than the waters that once hid me in their deeps.
The third, fourth and fifth highest mountains (Skylight, 4,920 feet; Haystack, 4,918 feet; and Gray Peak, 4,902 feet), are also in Keene. Skylight and Haystack were given their unusual names because these described their appearance, while the last one was named for Harvard's great botanist, Asa Gray. Upon Haystack has been bestowed by many mountain climbers the distinction of possessing the best views of all Adirondack peaks. Basin Mountain (4,825 feet), is the ninth highest peak in the Adirondacks. It received this descriptive name from the depression, like a cup or basin, located between the high peak on the south and the peak on the west. It is one of the finest mountains in the entire Adirondacks. Next we come to the triple- crested mountain featuring arched peaks, huge slides and bare rock -the picturesque Gothics, so named because suggestive of Gothic
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architecture. Rising to 4,738 feet, the tallest peak is tenth highest in the Adirondacks. The eleventh highest peak is Mount Colden, 4,713 feet, named in honor of a relatively unimportant visitor to this area. At one time it was called Mount McMartin in honor of Judge McMartin, an early ironworks proprietor, with more reason; but Colden remains the correct title. The twelfth highest peak in the Adirondacks is the crest of the Giant of the Valley, 4,622 feet. In the valley stretching southward from Elizabethtown, this mountain appears from the east to be of enormous size, hence its name. The fourteenth highest peak is Nippletop, 4,620 feet. At one time it was known to some as Dial Mountain, but the other title is so descriptive of the projection on its summit that it could not be discarded. Com- pared with other Adirondack peaks it is very difficult to climb. The fifteenth highest peak in Mount Redfield, 4,606 feet, named in honor of William C. Redfield, one of the earliest explorers of this region. It is truly astonishing that in this one township of Keene we should find not only four of the five highest peaks in the entire Adirondacks, but also ten of the highest fifteen. Giant of the Valley is located in the extreme eastern section of the town next to the Elizabethtown border, while Nippletop is in the extreme south, near North Hudson. The other eight are to be found in a fairly compact group in the southwestern part of Keene, with the Gothics guarding the east and Colden and Redfield the west, and Marcy near the center. One would search in vain on government topographical maps for Gray Peak, but it is the first peak southwest of Marcy. Keene has many interesting mountains, other than its ten greatest giants, and there is a temptation to continue at length with this survey, but for that I have not space. For further details concerning these and other mountains I refer the reader to Russell M. L. Carson: "Peaks and People of the Adirondacks." In any case there can be no question but that the picturesque mountain scenery which is so intimately associated with the name of this township assures Keene of being a mecca in our vacationland of the future.
Until !808, Keene was a part of the townships of Elizabethtown and Jay, while from then until the middle of the century it included all of the present territory of North Elba. It is bounded on the north by Jay and Wilmington, on the east by Jay and Elizabethtown, on the south by North Hudson, and on the west by Newcomb and North
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Elba. The first settled community was Keene Center, although the exact date is not known. Lumber and iron were, of course, the town's first main industries. The resort business seems to have developed here earlier than in many communities, particularly in the Keene Valley section. Today this is the chief economic foundation of the township and both Keene and Keene Valley are widely known to vacationists. By 1810 there was a population of 642, which increased
(Courtesy of copyright owner, W. F. Kollecker, Saranac Lake) AIRPLANE VIEW OF SARANAC LAKE
to 809 in 1845. In 1930 there were 1,001 citizens. Owl's Head, in the northern part of Keene, has the reputation of being the coldest place in the Adirondacks.
Next, alphabetically, we come to two incorporated villages, Keeseville and Lake Placid. The former, however, has already been adequately discussed under Clinton County and the town of Chester- field, while the latter's development will be traced in the paragraphs on North Elba Township, of which it is historically a part.
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Lewis Township is bounded on the north by Jay and Chester- field, on the west by Jay and Elizabethtown, on the south by Eliza- bethtown and Westport, and on the east by Willsboro and Essex. Until 1805 it constituted a part of Willsboro, but on that date it was made a separate political unit and named in honor of Morgan Lewis, Governor of New York at that time. Until 1854 it contained a part of Elizabethtown. The main stream is the Boquet River. The early colonizers came to its banks around 1796 and in time became busily engaged in the lumbering and iron industries. In 1810, Lewis had a population of 537, but by 1850 this had increased to 2,058. A decline then set in until not much remained of either the lumber or the iron industry. By 1930, the population had receded until there were only 667 residents in Lewis Township, at which time only four Essex County towns were less populous. Today its beauty is its main source of wealth. Its sole village has been also called Lewis, the center of the town's iron interests where the first forge was built by Thomas Hinckley, the earliest settler. The most interesting individual in the history of Lewis was probably Joseph Call, a man of tremendous strength and a wrestler who engaged in matches in many parts of the world. He is said to have dragged a timber fifty feet long and ten inches square with one end on his shoulder for a distance of twenty rods, then up an inclined staging to the top of a wall, where he placed it in position for carpenters who were building a stone store in Essex. It is also reported that an English wrestler once crossed the Atlantic to challenge him, and ultimately found him at work plowing. The stranger did not recognize Call, and inquired his way to his would-be competitor's home. Call, thereupon, nonchalantly raised his plow out of the ground with one hand and pointed it at the house, a short distance away. The Englishman was evidently very much impressed with this feat of strength and changed his mind about delivering his challenge.
Minerva Township is located in the extreme southwestern corner of Essex County, facing Hamilton County in the southwest and War- ren County on the south. Until 1804 it was included within the huge town of Crown Point, while from then until 1817 it was a part of Schroon Township. Its chief river is the Hudson, which unites with the Indian and the Boreas before it enters Warren County. The first settlement took place around 1804, but Minerva's development
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was slow. Its chief industry was lumbering and even that did not begin extensively until 1840 or 1845. Although ore was mined on a small scale, the iron industry was never of much importance here. When lumbering declined here as elsewhere, the residents turned pri- marily to agriculture. A large tannery which was built in 1840 was destroyed by fire in 1867. The only settlements in the township are those of Olmstedville and the village of Minerva. From 1910 to 1930 the town declined in population from 848 to 567. On the latter date it was exactly tied with Wilmington for the doubtful honor of being the third smallest town of Essex County in population. Today, for its economic salvation, it is dependent upon sportsmen, the vaca- tionists, and those that seek health.
Next we come to the second largest town of Essex County in point of population. This is Moriah, within whose limits we find the incor- porated village of Port Henry. Until 1798 this town was all a part of Crown Point, while from then until 1808 it was partly in Crown Point and partly in Elizabethtown. Its present boundaries were finally determined in 1849. It is bounded on the north by Westport and Elizabethtown, on the west by North Hudson, on the south by Crown Point and on the east by Lake Champlain. Although there is some level land near the lake, most of the township is either hilly or mountainous. In spite of the fact that it borders directly upon the Champlain Valley, some of the streams, in the western part of Moriah, enter the Schroon River and then the Hudson. A mill was built at Port Henry in the 1760's (probably 1764), but no permanent settlement took place until after the close of the Revolution. When William McKenzie came to town in 1784, there were no other white inhabitants beyond his immediate family, a situation which continued until 1788. There were, however, plenty of Indians who came here to hunt each year, but they were friendly and did not molest the set- tlers. In 1785, Mckenzie established a ferry from Moriah to Ver- mont. Money was very scarce in those early days, ashes being the chief medium of exchange at from twelve to seventeen cents per bushel. Moriah did not develop very fast at first and in 1810 had only 584 residents; but with the spectacular growth of the lumber industry it increased rapidly in population and wealth. It is said that in 1833 there were thirty-six sawmills in operation in this town at one time. When the decline of this industry threatened to eclipse Moriah's
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