Before the First White man the Iroquois ruled the Land for 10,000 Years
History of Oswego, NY
FROM LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
EDITED BY: JOHN C. CHURCHILL
ASSISTED BY H. PERRY SMITH AND W. STANLEY CHILD
PUBLISHED BY D. MASON & CO. PUBLISHERS, SYRACUSE, NY 1895
This town was formed from Hannibal April 20, 1818. A part of Granby was annexed May 20, 1836. It lies upon the shore of Lake Ontario, upon the west side of Oswego River. Its surface is generally rolling ending in a bluff shore upon the lake. The streams are Eight Mile, Rice, Snake and Minetto creeks. A fall in Oswego river within the limits of this town, affords an abundance of water power. The underlying rock is principally red sandstone. the soil is a gravelly loam. Boulders and water worn pebbles are scattered over its surface, making it very stony in places. There are sixteen school districts in the town. The first settlement was made by Asa Rice, from Connecticut in 1797, who came down the Oswego river and along the beach to Lot No. 2, where he landed with his family and erected a log or pole shanty just high enough to stand up in. Two or three families came in with Mr. Rice, but none of them remained during the winter, he, Mr. Rice being the only permanent settler. Upon the completion of his shanty, which his friends assisted in building, he produced a small bottle of wine that had been well cared for, and proposed that the new home in the forest have its name, which was given and christened, “Union Village,” which name it still retains. Mr. Rice found many hardships and privations to endure, it being late in the fall; and winter setting in earlier than he expected they found themselves short of provisions and an infant child of theirs actually starved to death. In 1800 came Reuben Pixley, who purchased of Mr. Rice about fifty acres of land, remained a few years, and finally sold to a Mr. Brace. Mr. Pixleys family suffered greatly for want of provisions, and he was obliged to hire a blacksmith from Oswego to hunt game for him to keep his family from starving, which was easily supplied, there being plenty of deer and some bears in the vicinity. Daniel Burt settled in 1802; Nathan Nelson was an early settler, and a Mr. Beckwith settled in 1804; Elizer Perry in 1805; Jonathan Buell (Lot 29) and Jacobe Thorpe in 1806; and Daniel Robinson in 1809. Nathan Drury, from Massachusetts, settled on Lot 30 about 1810, and it said that Mr. Drury in order to raise a crop of corn, was obliged to keep watch and drive the bears from his fields. Erastus Todd was one of the early settlers, and was the first on lot 13-Oswego Centre, or mor familiarly known as Fitch’s Corners. Chauncy Coats, from Massachusetts,settled on lot 12 in 1814, and first lived in a log house covered with ash bark. Mr. Coats was a very athletic man, being six feet two and three quarters inches in height, and was at that time considered the strongest man in Oswego County, once lifting an iron press, is Oswego Village, weighing one thousand pounds, after all other had failed. Nathan Farnham, from Bennington, Vermont, settled on lot 2 in 1813, on the farm now owned by Mr. McCracken. Mr. Farnham made a purchase on lot No. 3 in 1816, where he now resides, and is eighty four years old, born December 24, 1792. Abram M. Clark, from Connecticut, settled on lot no. 3 in 1816, purchasing from time to time until his farm comprised three hundred and thirty seven acres. Land at that time was worth ten dollars per acre. Mr. Clark now resides on said lot, and is seventy seven years of age. Selden P. Clark also settled on the same lot at the same time, where he now resides and is seventy four years of age. Daniel R. Green is now a resident of the southeast corner of lot 3. Daniel Pease, from Massachusetts, settled on lot 11 in 1813 or 1814. Levi and Alfred, sons of Daniel Pease and grandsons of Asa Rice, now reside on lot 11. Later, on lot 11, came C.G. Park, about 1850, where he now resides. Sylvanus Bishop, from Onondaga county, on lot 4 in 1813. Lot 24 was settled in 1815 or 1816 by Mr. John Griffin, who erected the first log house in this vicinity, which stood just north of where William Stephenson now resides. John Dunsmore, from Massachesetts, made a purchase of one hundred and thirty acres on the same lot in 1825, lot first owned by the Bleekers, of London (land speculators). Mr. Dunsmore was seven days coming from Ostego to this place, a distance of one hundred miles, making the journey with ox teams and sold one yoke upon his arrival for fifty five dollars. Seymour Coe, Sr. from Massachusetts, later from Onondaga County settled in Palermo in 1818, and removed to Oswego town in 1831 or 1832 on lot 12. Since the above facts were collected Mr. Coe has passed away, in the ninetieth year of his age. Schuyler Worden, from Cayuga county, was a pioneer on lot 29 (Minetto) about 1819. Mr. Worden states that it was all a wilderness at that time, there being no roads laid out except the fifth street and river road. Mr. Worden is yet living on said lot, and is seventy years old. Wm J. Forbes was the first settler on lot 22, in 1818. Joseph Rice was a pioneer on lot 36 (State’s hundred). No farm in this locality was settled earlier. He and Arvin Rice cut the road through from Fulton, coming with a yoke of cattle, on the farm now owned by Edwin W. Huntington. Lot 36 was first owned by Francis Lent. Stephen Tilden, from Vermont, settled on lot 9, in 1821, on lands now owned by Vincent Sabin and son and B.P.Dutcher. A Mr. Foster was a pioneer on lot 26, on lands now owned by John. S. Furniss. Samuel Furniss made a purchase on said lot in 1832. John Ostrander settled in Oswego village, in 1828, near the first dam. At that time there were only a few families in what now comprised the populous city of Oswego, though many emigrants came in at this time. Ruloff Dutcher, from Dover, Skaneateles county, was millwright and assisted in the building of the first mills at Oswego. Lot 31 was drawn from Joshua Foreman for services rendered in the Revolutionary War (as were nearly all the lots westward from the Osego river by other soldiers), and subsequently purchased by a Mr. Collins, who owned it for many years, and finally gave it to his son, Lee Collins. Abel Wilder, from Madison county, purchased four hundred and fifty seven acres on lots 31 and 32, of Ansel Frost, in 1838. Mr. Eli Wilder a son of Abel, now owns one hundred acres of the original purchase. On this lot, on Eight Mile creek, was erected, in the very early day, a saw mil by William Lewis, which was rebuilt in 1838 by Eli Wilder, and subsequently by other parties; but, with decreasing interest in the milling business, it failed to be cared for, and has long since gone down. David Gray from Saratoga county, settled on lot 21 in 1812. Wm. Moore and Paul Whittemore, from Onondaga valley, came at the same time. The first clearings and improvements in this locality were made by them. There were no roads nor even marked trees to the village of Oswego. Silas Green, a Revolutionary soldier, and a native of Coventry, Rhode Island, settled on lot 38- the northwest lot of the township- in 1824. It was later owned by Norman Green (son), who remained on said farm about forty four years, and is now owned by Garrett Louis. On lot 84, among the early settlers, as early as 1817, were Cephas Weed, Jonathan and Justine Eastman. Lot 78, on lands now owned by W.H. Johnson, was settled by Job Perkins, Mr. Chambers, Ebenezer Perkins, Samuel Sanders, Anson Taylor, James Gillis, Jason Peck, and Heman Rice. On Lot 76 were Mr. Godfrey, Godby and Oswell as early as 1817. Elihu W. Gifford, from Washington county, New York, settled on lot 92 in 1812, and subsequently on lot 91, where he died in 1848, on lands now owned by his heirs. Mr. Elihu Gifford ran and kept the mill built by Silas Crandall from 1813 to the time of his death. John Parkinson, from England, settled in Oswego town, on present farm of W.R. Worden, in 1833, clearing said farm. David D. Gray cleared a portion of lot 21, where Mr. Parkinson now resides. Lot 17 was undoubtedly settled by Rudolph Dutcher and a Mr. Tilden, in about 1817 or 18. Mr. Nathan Lewis states that these gentlemen were here when he came, which was in 1822, and had been for years. There was but little land cleared at that time. James Stevenson was owner of one hundred and eight acres on the northwest corner of said lot as early as 1822. The first house built at Southwest Oswego was a log one in 1820. The first blacksmith was Stephen Cobb, about 1833 or 1834. the first store was kept by Asa Watson, in 1844 or 1845. The first frame house in Oswego town was built by Asa Rice, on lot 2, about 1810, and a portion of this house, known as the Carson house, is still standing. Mr. R. also built the first frame barn. The first brick house erected was by Daniel Robinson, about 1830 or 1835, on lot 9. Mr. R. hadonhis farm a clay bed, and manufactured bricks for sale. Oswego town contains a number of clay beds of considerable size, some of which are turned to practical account in the manufacture of bricks, there being some five or six yards in different parts of the town, all doing a good business; for instance, the Fitch yard, at Oswego Center, which manufactures five hundred thousand to one million bricks annually. Mr. Asa Rice sowed first wheat, cleared first ground, planted first crops and set out first orchard, on lot 2 getting some trees in the vicinity of the fort, and bringing some down river from Onondaga county. The first road in town was the river road from Oswego through to Minetto and Fulton, and surveyed in 1810 or 1811. Wm. Moore was the first surveyor, and laid out the Fifth street road in 1813. Mr. Jesse Gray informs us that it was a terrrible road, and though the distance was only three miles, the time he attempted to go to Oswego he got lost and was obliged to stay in the woods overnight. Mr. G. settled on lot 1 in 1826, the pioneer of the lot being a Mr. Brown, about 1822. Mr. G is now seventy four years old. The Hannibal road was very heavily timered, and when it was surveyed the trees were felled either way from the centre of the road, and the settlers had to travel around the stumps to get along. The bridges were made of logs. The first birth was Thomas Jefferson Rice, in 1801.The first marriage was Augustus Ford and Miss Rice, in 1800. The first death was an infant child of Asa Rice in 1798. A later marriage was that of Montgomery Perry and Mehetabel Rice about 1812. A later death was that of David Gray, June 6, 1813. |
THE TOWN OF OSWEGO {The First Settlers}
The town of Oswego, situated in the northwest corner of the county and lying wholly within the old Military Tract, was erected from Hannibal the 20th of April, r8r8. May 20, 1836, a triangular tract bordering the river at Minetto was annexed from Granby. March 24, 1848, that part of Oswego city lying west of the river was taken from the town, thus leaving the town its present area of 20,536 acres. It is bounded on the east by Oswego city and Scriba, on the south by Granby and Hannibal, on the west by Sterling, Cayuga county and Lake Ontario, and on the north by the lake and Oswego city.The surface is gently rolling and in some places quite broken, the whole having a northerly or northeasterly inclination. Abrupt bluffs border the lake and river and afford considerable picturesque scenery. The soil is a productive gravelly loam under-laid with a red sandstone of the Medina formation, which frequently appears in boulders and water-worm pebbles. The principal streams are Eight-Mile, Nine-Mile, Snake, Rice, and Minetto Creeks, which afford excellent drainage and some valuable mill privileges. At Minetto the river furnishes an immense water-power.The town of Oswego was originally covered with a dense growth of heavy timber, which long furnished employment to numerous saw mills and to scores of lumbermen, for whose product a ready market was found at the mouth of the river. But the primitive forests have long since disappeared, and in their place are seen fertile fields and comfortable homes.Soon after the pioneers threaded the wilderness, roads were cut through the forests to what is now Oswego city, but several years elapsed before passable thoroughfares were surveyed and opened. The first highway in town was the road leading from Oswego up the river through Minetto to Oswego Falls, which was surveyed and opened in 1810 or 1811. The Fifth street road, now a popular thoroughfare, was laid out by William Moore, the first surveyor, in 1813. The early bridges were made of. logs.April 17, 1816, Jacob L. Lazalere, James Geddes, and John McFadden were authorized by the Legislature to lay out a State road four rods wide, “beginning at the ferry on the west side of the river in the village of Oswego, and thence by the most eligible route through the towns of Hannibal, Sterling, and Galen (now Clyde), to the bridge over the Canandaigua outlet at the block—house in the town of Galen.” This was the old Hannibal road. On the same day the Legislature authorized Seth Cushman, of Lysander, and Edmund Hawks and William Moore, of Hannibal, to lay out a road four rods wide from “Snow’s bridge in Syracuse and thence through the towns of Lysander and Hannibal to Oswego.” The Oswego and Sodas Branch Turnpike Company was incorporated March 28, 1817, with a capital stock of $2,500, for the purpose of constructing a road from a point on the Owasco Creek in Mentz through Cato, Sterling, and Hannibal to Oswego. All these thoroughfares passed through the town of Oswego and materially aided its settlement. Over them stage lines were maintained, making them scenes of considerable activity. About 1846—7 plank roads came into existence. In 1850 one was completed from Oswego to Sterling Center, but with the decline of these highways it was abandoned. Other roads were surveyed and opened to accommodate the increasing settlements, and at the present time the town has sixty—four road districts.Excepting in the village of Minetto the inhabitants of the town are principally engaged in agricultural pursuits. In former years large quantities of wheat were raised, but that was long ago superseded by diversified farming. Fruit, comprising many varieties, is profitably grown, as are also the grains, hay, corn, potatoes arid vegetables. Perhaps no town in the county has devoted more systematic efforts toward the development of agriculture than Oswego. March 13, 1869, the Union Village Farmers’ Club was organized, with Thomas G Thompson as president, and in 1870 it was chartered as the Oswego Town Agricultural and Horticultural Society. A fine hail was erected on the farm of Mr. Thompson, at a cost of $2,000, and dedicated June 23, 1870. Exhibitions were held for several years. Brick has been extensively manufactured, there being at one time five or six yards in active operation in different parts of the town.The first town meeting was held at the school house in Oswego village Tuesday, May 5, 1818, and the following officers were chosen:Eleazer Perry, supervisor; William Dalloway, town clerk; Henry Eagle, Henry Everts, Eleazer Perry, jr. assessors; Matthew McNair, William Fay, jr., Erastus Todd, commissioners of highways; Matthew McNair and Eleazer Perry, Jr., overseers of the poor; Asa Dudley, collector; Asa Dudley and John S. Newton, constables; Alvin Bronson, Samuel B. Beach, John Moore, Jr., commissioners of common schools; Walter Colton, George Fisher, and William Moore, school inspectors; Alvin Bronscn and Samuel B. Beach, commissioners of gospel lots.The supervisors have been:
The town officers for 1895 were:
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The population of the town at the periods indicated has been as follows In 1830, 2,703; 1835, 4,902; 1840, 4,673; 1845, 6,048; 1850, 2,445; 1855, 2,760; 1860, 3,181; 1865, 2,913; 1870, 3,043; 1875, 2,977; 1880, 3,022; 1890, 2,772.The figures given prior to 1850 include the inhabitants in ( Oswego village on the west side of the river; those for 1850 and afterward indicate the population of the town outside the corporate limits of the city. |
From the fall of Sumter in 1861 to the end of the Rebellion in 1865, the town of Oswego responded promptly to the calls for troops, sending in all nearly 275 of her citizens. A number fell in battle ; a few died in Southern prisons; some succumbed to wounds and the ravages of disease; and the remainder returned home to receive the welcome and applause of a grateful people. Among those who attained merited promotion were Capt. E. F. Barstow, Lieut. Smith McCoy. Lieut. Charles A. Phillips, Capt. Volney T. Pierce, Capt. James V. Pierce, Col. William C. Raulston (81st Regt., prisoner, killed), Col. John Raulston, Capt. George F. Raulston, Capt. John Stevenson and Sergt. Richard A. Shoemaker.