Description of the settlement of the Genesee country, in the state of New York. : In a series of letters from a gentleman to his friend

Letter I

I with pleasure comply with your request; and will endeavour to furnish you with such information relative to the soil, climate, situation, and present state of the Genesee Country, as may enable you to judge of the propriety of making it the place of your future residence. From the following plain statement of facts, which have fallen within the sphere of my own observation, you may be able to form some idea of the rapid growth of this part of the United States. Any apology for the plainness of the style I consider unnecessary. It is useful information you are in quest of, and such only I shall attempt to impart.

In the year 1790, the Legislature of the State of New-York formed into a county, by the name of Ontario, all that part of the State lying west of a meridian line drawn from the eighty-second mile¬ stone on the Pennsylvania line to Lake Ontario. Within this is included the tract known by the name of the Genesee Country, bounded on the north by Lake Ontario, on the west by Niagara River and Lake Erie, on the south by Pennsylvania, and on the east by the counties of Tioga and Onondago.

The year previous to the formation of this county, Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, Esqrs. of New England, purchased from the State, and from the Seneca Indians, their right to that part of the country which lies between the meridian line above mentioned and the Genesee River; including, on the northernmost part of the country, a tract extending twelve miles west of the river, as will appear by the plan, forming a tract of country forty-five miles from east to west, and eighty-four from North to South, and con¬ taining about two million two hundred thousand acres of land.

Within these limits are contained the country now settling, which is as remarkable for its natural advantages, as for its fertile soil and moderate climate. The northern part of the county of Ontario is watered by the Genesee River, Rundigut Creek, Flint Creek* Mud Creek, Salmon Creek, and many other inferior streams, and also by a number of lakes, some of them from forty to fifty miles in length, the outlets of which afford not only a good navigation to Albany and Lake Ontario, but also valuable mill seats. The south part of the country is watered by different branches of the Susquehannah, viz. the Conhocton, Canisteo, Tuscarora,and Cawanisque; all of which unite at the Painted Post, and are navigable from the middle of March to about the first of July, and from the middle of September till late in November.

The distance from Albany, New-York, Philadelphia or Baltimore, does not exceed in a direct course, one hundred and eighty miles, and, by the roads now in use, not much above two hundred miles; and to the Federal City the distance is about two hundred and sixty five miles: and the improvement of the intermediate country will not only facilitate the travelling, but by opening new and more direct roads, will considerably lessen the distance. At present the journey to any of these cities is generally performed in five or six days.

The settlement of this country was first attempted by Mr. Phelps, in the year 1789; but this attempt was attended with great and almost insurmountable difficulties: there was no access to the country but by Indian paths, and the nearest settlement was above one hundred miles distant: the Alleghany Mountains, then never passed, lay on the south, and Lake Ontario to the north; to the west was one boundless forest. It is not to wondered at, that, under such circumstances, the country made little progress in population and improvement for some years. By the census taken in 1790, it appears that there were only nine hundred and sixty souls, including all travellers and surveyors, with their attendants, who happened at that time to be within the bounds of the country. That you may form some idea of the progress of improvements in this country since that period, I shall give you an account of the journey of a gentleman into the Genesee Country in February, 1792, in his own words. —

WESTERN NEW-Y0RK.

“ On the 15th February, 1792, I left Albany, on my route to “ the Genesee River; but the country was thought so remote, and “ so very little known, that I could not prevail on the owner of “ the sled I had engaged to go further than Whitestown a new u settlement on the head of the Mohawk River, one hundred “ miles west from Albany. The road, as far as Whitestown, had “ been made passable for waggons; but from that to the Genesee “ River, it was little better than an Indian path, just sufficiently “ opened to allow a sled to pass, and the most impassible streams “ bridged. At Whitestown I was obliged to change my sled; the “ Albany driver would proceed no farther, he found that for the “ next one hundred and fifty miles, we were not only obliged to “ take provision for ourselves and our horses, but also blankets as “ a substitute for beds. After leaving Whitestown we found only “ a few straggling huts scattered along the path at the distance of “ from ten to twenty miles, and they affording nothing but the “ convenience of fire and a kind of shelter from the snow. On “ the evening of the third day’s journey from Whitestown we “ were very agreeably surprized to find ourselves on the east side “ of the Seneca Lake, which we found perfectly open and free “ from ice as in the month of June: the evening was pleasant and “ agreeable; and what added to our surprise and admiration, was “ to see a boat and canoe plying on the lake. This, after having “ passed from New York over three hundred and sixty miles of “ country completely frozen, was a sight pleasing and interesting.

“We then crossed the outlet of the lake, and arrived at the “ settlement of Geneva, consisting of a few families, who had “ been drawn thither from the convenience of the situation and “ beauty of the adjoining country. The Seneca Lake, on which “ Geneva is situated, is forty-four miles long by four to six wide; “ and to find it navigable at this season was a sight as pleasing as “ unexpected. It appeared that the inhabitants of this delightful “ country would, by the slight covering of snow then on the “ ground, have all the convenience of a northern winter, and, by “ the waters being free from ice, the advantages of inland naviga- “ tion; a combination of advantages perhaps not to' be experienced “ in any other country in the world.^ From Geneva to Canadarqua u the road is only the Indian path, a little improved the first five “ miles over gentle swellings of land, intersperced with bottoms “ seemingly very rich; the remainder of the road to Canadarqua, “ the county town, sixteen miles, was, the greatest part of the “ distance, through a rich heavy timbered land. AOn this road £< there were only two families settled. Canadarqua, the county u town, consisted of only two small frame houses and a few huts, “ surrounded with thick woods. The few inhabitants received me u with much hospitality. I found there abundance of excellent “ venison. From Canadarqua to the Genesee River, twenty-six u miles, it is almost totally uninhabited, only four families residing 11 on the road. The country is beautifully diversified with hill and “ dale, and, in many places, we found openings of two and three u hundred acres, free from all timber and even bushes, which, on <c our examining, proved to be of a rich, deep soil. It seemed “ that, by only inclosing with one of these openings a propor- “ tionable quantity of timbered land, an inclosure might be made “ similar to the parks in England.

u At the Genesee River I found a small Indian store and u tavern ; the river was not then frozen over, but was low enough <£ to be forded. As yet there are no settlements of any conse- “ quence in the Genesee Country. That established by a society “ of Friends, on the west side of the Seneca Lake, is the most “ considerable : it consists of about forty families. But the number “ of Indians in the adjoining country, when compared with the “ few inhabitants who ventured to winter in the country, is so 11 great, that I found them under serious apprehensions for their “ safety. Even in this state of nature, the county of Ontario “ shows every sign of future respectability. No man has put the “ plough in the ground without being amply repaid : and, through K the mildness of the winter, the cattle brought into the country l( the year before, are thriving well on very slender provision for 11 their subsistance. The clearing of land for spring crops is going “ on with spirit. \ I also found the settlers here abundantly “ supplied with venison.”

Such, it appears, was the situation of the county of Ontario in the year 1792. Its present appearance, contrasted with what it

WESTERN NEW-YORK.

was at that period. I intend for the subject of another letter from,

Yours &c.

Letter II

Messrs. Phelps and Gorham having sold, to Robert Morris, Esq. of Philadelphia, nearly two thirds of their Lands, Mr. Morris resold them in England ; and the purchaser of Mr. Morris having arrived in America, began, early in the summer of 1792, to put in execution the plan he had formed for the improvement of the country. This gentleman having landed in Baltimore, was, at an early period, impressed with the idea that this new country, situ¬ ated immediately north of the centre of Pennsylvania and Maryland, must reap great advantages from opening a communication across the Alleghany Mountains ; and his first attempt at improving the Genesee Country was to examine, in person, the possibility of opening the communication. Not discouraged by the information he had received of the impracticability of the object, with four companions, on the third day of June, 1792, he left the settlement at the mouth of Lycoming Creek, on the west branch of the Susquehannah, and entered the wilderness, taking a northerly course. After ten days laborious exertion they fell on the Cawonisque Creek, and, from the course of the wrnters, they soon found they had entered the county of Ontario. It appeared by the map of the adjacent country that a direct road across the mountains would shorten the distance of the Genesee Country from the settlements in Pennsylvania at least one hundred miles, and the advantages attending the opening of this communication were so obvious, that, difficult as the undertaking was, he determined, without delay to try to effect it. By the month of November, of the same year, thirty miles were made sufficiently good to admit the passage of waggons ; and by the following August the road was completed to Williamsburgh, a distance of one hundred and seventy miles from the mouth of Lycoming Creek, where they had entered the wilderness to explore the route.

It is only from this period, which opened to the Genesee a communication with the settlements in Pennsylvania, that we can trace the beginning of that singularly rapid progress in population and improvements, which has so eminently distinguished that country. The opening of this road from Pennsylvania over a chain of mountains before reckoned impassable, excited the curiosity of the inhabitants in the adjacent country, and many were tempted to explore the Genesee lands, that, previous to this, had scarcely ever given them a thought. The idea of the immense distance was at once destroyed. At this early period, however, it was only men of observation that were pleased. Many returned disgusted with the extreme inconvenience of travelling through a country almost destitute of inhabitants, for the distance of one hundred and seventy miles, and particularly when they found the only settlement in that part of the country depending on the Indians for subsistence.

In the spring of the year 1793, the scarcity of provisions that was felt so severely at the end of the preceding season, was considerably increased by the number of families that emigrated at this time into the county of Ontario. To keep the settlements together, an additional stock of provisions, consisting of flour and pork, was procured from Philadelphia and Northumberland, in Pennsylvania. By the assistance of this timely supply, several settlements were begun in the south part of the county, the principal of which was on the Conhocton Creek, on the road from Pennsylvania to Williamsburgh. In this place, then the centre of a wilderness of nine hundred thousand acres, the town of Bath was laid out; and before the end of the season not less than fifteen families were resident in the village. Early in the season, a saw-mill had been finished ; and previous to the setting in of the winter, a grist-mill with a saw-mill nearer the town, were in great forwardness. In the year 1794, those who had moved into the country the preceding years, finding a ready money maket for their produce, had made great exertions, and a considerable surplus was furnished by them to the new comers. Of the new settlements, begun this year, the principal were those of Sodus, Honeoy Lake, Braddock’s Bay, Canascraga, Tuscarora, and Pleasant Valley.*

♦Situated on the sonthern extremity of the Crooked Lake ; the other settlements are designa¬ ted by the original names of the parts of the country in which they were situated.

WESTERN NEW-YORK.

At the same time the population of the older settlements was increasing with rapidity : on the most convenient mill-seats mills were building and roads making to unite the different settlements : indeed the whole country seemed one scene of exertion.

Every situation which nature had pointed out to possess superior advantages, was the scene of action, under the direction of some enterprising characters. This year several settlements where begun on the Indian line, and one was commenced under the direction of a Mr. Bartles, from the Jerseys, on the outlet of Mud Lake, one of the branches of the Conhocton. Towards the end of summer a set of merchant mills were in considerable forwardness, and lots laid out for a village, called Frederick’s Town, after the name of the founder, Frederick Bartles; before winter the saw¬ mill had got into complete operation,* and several excellent mechanics were settled in the town. The number of emigrants that had, by this time, moved into the new establishments in every part of the country, and the respectability of many individuals now resident, induced the Legislature of the State to agree to a division of the county of Ontario ; the north part retained the name of Ontario and the part struck off was called Steuben, after the Baron of that name : the town of Bath, only two years before the centre of a wilderness; was fixed on as the seat of justice.

Roads were cut this year in many directions, to connect the different establishments, and many grist and saw-mills were building on the streams adjoining the settlements.

As early as the year 1796, the various settlements had begun to assume an appearance of respectability never before instanced in so new a country. On an enumeration being taken of the inhabitants in the town of Bath, and the district eight miles round it, by the assessors, there were found above eight hundred souls ; also, within the same distance, two schools, one grist-mill, and five saw-mills. / ’Nearly all the settlements had increased in a similar f\ proportion ; the number of emigrants each year was supposed to be not less than three thousand souls; these were either engrafted on

* It is not unworthy of notice, that in the month of May, 1798, Mr. Bartles proceeded from his mills, in the centre of Steuben county, with 100,000 feet of boards, for Baltimore, where he arrived, safe and met with so good a market, that he engaged to deliver the same quantity the next spring.

the old settlements, or, under some enterprising man, formed distinct settlements of their own.\

Of those begun in 1796, there were two worthy of notice : that of the Rev. Mr. Gray in Township No. 4, seventh range, who moved from Pennsylvania with a respectable part of his former parishioners, and a Jersey settlement on the head of the Canascraga Creek ; both of these exhibit instances of industry and enterprize, rare as uncommon. The ensuing season, on the organization of the militia of the county of Steuben, this Jersey settlement turned out a company of grenadiers, all in handsome uniform, and completely equipped, composed solely of the young men belonging to it, and the same season, a troop of horse and a company of light infantry were formed at Bath, and attached to the battalion of Steuben county.

Much pains were taken to induce the different settlers to erect mills at an early period of their settlement, and every encourage¬ ment was given to put it in their power to carry them into effect ; indeed, in no new country were the settlers so well accommodated with mills. The consequence was evident, both in the appearance of their houses and farms : a greater number of framed houses and barns were to be found in these settlements than in many that were twenty years old. This had not only a good effect in beautifying and enriching the country, but by the erection of comfortable houses, much was done towards the preservation of the health of the inhabitants.

This year a printing-office was established in the town of Bath, and a newspaper printed, entitled, u The Bath Gazette.” The county of Ontario having several years the start in settlement, and the advantage of many Indian clearings of great extent, had already the comfortable appearance of an old settled country : the old Indian orchards had been dressed up, and the fruit secured from depredation. Fruit was in such abundance, that one farmer, near Geneva, made, this year, one hundred barrels of cyder.

The town of Canadarqua, from consisting of a few straggling huts, as described in 1792, had now assumed the appearance of a very handsome village : a court-house and goal were already built ; and an academy founded on a subscription of thirty thou¬ sand dollars was now building. The whole adjacent country was

WESTERN NEW- YORK.

rapidly settling with a most respectable yeomanry, but particularly that part lying between Canadarqua and the Genesee River. This tract of country, about six miles from north to south, and twenty seven from east to west, for well cultivated farms, a thick popula¬ tion, and respectable inhabitants, may already vie with any part of the United States.*

In this year (1796) the town of Geneva received a great addition by the laying out a street on the summit of a rising ground, along the west bank of the lake. At the south termina¬ tion of the street a handsome country house was begun, and finished the year following ; and in the corner of the square, a large and convenient house, for a tavern and hotel besides many other large and well finished houses. About this time a sloop of forty tons, burden, was put on the stocks, intended, when finished, to run as a packet between Geneva and Catherine’s Town, a small village at the head of the lake, about forty-four miles distant from Geneva. Towards the close of the season almost all the new buildings were finished, and the sloop was launched. This circumstance of the sloop, however trifling in itself, was of sufficient importance to assemble several thousand people, and no circumstance having occurred to draw together the different settle¬ ments, the people composing them were not a little surprised to find themselves in a country containing so many inhabitants, and these so respectable. Natives of every state in the union, and of every nation of Europe, were to be found in the assemblage, all ambitious of the same object, the aggrandisement of the Genesee Country.

This season a printing office was established at Geneva, and a weekly gazette published, supported by eight hundred subscribers, who, before six months, increased to one thousand. Of the settlements begun this season, one was sixteen miles south from Geneva, on the outlet of the Crooked Lake, which here empties into the Seneca ; a village, called Hopetown, was laid out on a rising ground adjacent to the creek, and within half a mile of the

» This tract of country has continued to increase with great rapidity; one hundred and fifty families moved into it in the space of a few weeks last winter, 1797.

VOL II.

lake ; at the same time a set of merchant mills were begun on the outlet, about half a mile from the village. No situation in the world can be better adapted for an establishment of this kind, having not only an excellent mill-seat on a powerful and never failing stream of water, but it is in the centre of a rich and flourishing settlement, and possesses the advantage of a good navi¬ gation from any part of the Seneca Lake to the mills, and from thence to Albany ; and also, with a trifling land carrriage, to the Crooked Lake. These mills are intended as a depository for all grain taken in this part of the country, in payment for lands sold, where it can either be manufactured into flour, or distilled, as may answer best for sale to the new-comers , or for exports to Canada or Albany. One floor of the mills will be solely appropriated for the use of the merchants residing in the adjacent country, who may sell their merchandize for wheat delivered at the mills, and pay storage for the advantage they derive. Mills of this kind, in. countries where such vast crops of grain may be raised, are highly useful to the farmer, the merchant, and the great land-holder. On the north side of Geneva, about the same distance as Hopetown, a set of mills, on a similar plan, were built this season. These last are situated on a very important navigation, the outlet of the Canadarqua Lake, near its junction with Mud Creek, both of which are very considerable streams, and run through a great extent of rich country already well settled. In the settlement of Mud Creek alone, there were for sale, last fall, not less than ten thousand bushels of wheat, of an excellent quality. From the junction of the two rivers, Mud Creek affords good navigation for boats of four or five tons at least, twenty miles ; and the navi¬ gation downwards for boats of ten tons, is good to Schenectady sixteen miles only from Albany. The settlements in this part of the country derive great advantage from the Western canals, which the State has patronized at much expense. On the bank of Mud Creek, near the junction of the two streams, is laid out the village of Lyons, so called from the similarity of its situation to the city of that name in France. The vicinity of this place to the mills and to the salt works, and the command of the navigation, both to the interior country and to Albany, contribute to make it a

WESTERN NEW- YORK.

place of importance : such has been the success of this settlement, that though only begun two years ago it is now almost one con¬ tinued village from Geneva to Lyons, sixteen miles. From Lyons to Sodus there is a direct road, but only a few families are, as yet, settled on it. '/The town of Sodus is however, making considerable improvements ; a set of mills are finished, and other considerable improvements are carrying on. This place is situated on a bay of the same name, which is well known as the best harbour on the south side of Lake Ontario. Few or none, even on the sea coast, exceed it for spaciousness and beauty. The extent of the bay, from north to south, is about six or seven miles, and from east to west, from two to four miles. The grounds around the bay rise considerably high, and the entrance is not above half a mile over. So completely is it protected from the wind, that when the lake is agitated with a storm, the bay may be passed safely in a canoe. Vessels, may anchor near the town in twenty-five fathom water, on a sandy bottom, and in many places a vessel of fifty tons might lay afloat near enough the shore to land on a plank.

In this bay there are several islands/ covered with timber, which, with the head lands stretching into the bay afford picturesque views from the town, scarcely to be equalled. /" The town stands , . on a rising ground, on the west point of the bay, having the lake on the north, to appearance boundless as the ocean, and the bay to the east, romantically intersected with islands, and parts of the main land stretching into it. The first view of this place, after passing through a timbered country twenty-eight miles, strikes the eye of the beholder as one of the most magnificent landscapes human fancy can picture, and the beauty of the scene is not unfrequently heightened by the appearance of large vessels navigating the lake. At the sight of these immense bodies of water, the mind of a reflecting man must be struck with admiration. With only the interception of the portage of nine miles at Niagara Falls they may be navigated to the westward at least two thousand miles ; and at one place the portage between Lake Michigan and the navigable waters of the Illinois, does not exceed half a mile.

I was at Sodus some time ago, when a boat, with a number of

♦Some of these islands contain fifty acres, ail of very fine soil : they produce vegetables in great abundance, particularly onions.

families on board, put into the bay, they appeared to be French. Being questioned as to their business, they said they were bound for the Spanish settlements on the Illinois River, some of them had been there the year before, and stated, that, excepting the Falls of Niagara, they had only a carrying-place of half a mile from Lake Michigan to a branch of the Illinois River. They said they had still one thousand five hundred miles to sail. What an extensive navigation!

You will find the Genesee Country abounding with situations both valuable to the farmer and amusing to the gentleman and man of leisure: but amongst the variety it affords, they must all yield to Sodus; for fishing, fowling, sailing or hunting, this latter place stands unrivalled; and perhaps no place in America can equal it. Fish of various kinds, many of them from the ocean, can be had at pleasure; and a species of soft-shelled green turtle* may be procured in plenty, little inferior to the green turtle brought from the West Indies. In the spring and fall, all sorts of waterfowl are innumerable in the bay. In the adjacent woods are abundance of deer; they may be easily drove by dogs into the bay, and thechace is continued by water greatly to the amusement of those who are fond of such sports. Strangers going to Sodus, will now find good accommodation, in a house built for the purpose; and they will find handsome sail-boats, and every apparatus necessary to accommodate the sportsman in pursuit of his amusement.

The lands about Sodus are a black sandy loam, very deep: a soil not very common in this country, but of an excellent quality for every species of cultivation: it affords the finest gardens. f

In one of the creeks running into the bay there was, some time ago, discovered a fine body of chocolate marble, which has been found to bear a good polish, and the blocks sufficiently large for any sort of building ornament. On this Creek, now called Marble Creek, there are some excellent mill-seats, accessible to boats from the lake, which, as the settlement increases, will come into use. The present mills are on a creek, west of the town, called

•This species of turtle weighs above 20 lb.

fit is very common to see onions in gardens at Sodus from fourteen to fifteen inches in circumference, and from the seed not sowen above four months.

WESTERN NEW- YORK.

Salmon Creek, and consist of one grist-mill and two saw mills.

The only part of the Genesee country, that seemed,' until now to have escaped the general improvement, was that contiguous to the Genesee River, below’ Hartford or Canawagas: a set of very good mills, however, had been built at the falls, and some settlers were to be found in that neighbourhood, on the fertile plains by the side of the river: but the idea of exposure to Indian depre¬ dations on a frontier is always sufficient to prevent the man of industry and property from settling. The luxuriance of the soil will not always tempt him. The moment, however, the western posts were given up to the United States, and this part of the country rendered safe, the industrious settlers turned their attention to the lands west of the river; and they now bid fair to prove one of the best settlements in the western country.

I am &c.

Letter III

The emigration that took place in the year 1797, into this Western Country, not only exceeded former years, as to numbers, but also as to the respectability of the emigrants ; a very great proportion of the settlers were the most substantial farmers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, the Jerseys, and New England. The country had already been so far improved, that the inhabitants lived in comfort, and even luxury ; regular weekly markets had been established in Geneva, Canadarqua, and Bath ; and were well supplied with meat of all kinds. The flour from our mills was inferior to none on the continent, and the merchants’ stores were regularly supplied. The United States had established a weekly post for the carriage of letters: in fact, we found no inconvenience but that the access to the country, for near one hundred miles on each side, was through settlements, in point of improvement, far behind those in the Genesee Country. To improve our commu¬ nication with the coast seemed to be all that was necessary to render this country equal to any part of America, for comfort and convenience: in many things, particularly the climate, we had much the advantage. To remedy this inconvenience as to roads, the Legislature of the State had, by an act passed in the session of 1797, taken the road from Fort Schuyler to Geneva under their patronage. A lottery had been granted for the opening and improving of certain great roads ; among these, this road was included. The inhabitants of the country through which the road passed, made a voluntary offer of their services, to aid the State Commissioner, and subscribed four thousand days work, which they performed with fidelity and cheerfulness. By this generous and uncommon exertion, and by some other contributions, the State Commissioner was enabled to complete this road of near one hundred miles, opening it sixty-four feet wide, and paving with logs and gravel, the moist parts of the low country through which it was carried. Hence the road from Fort Schuyler, on the Mohawk River, to Genesee, from being, in the month of June, 1797, little better than an Indian path, was so far improved, that a stage started from Fort Schuyler on the 30th of September, and arrived at the hotel in Geneva, in the afternoon of the third day, with four passengers. This line of road having been established by law, not less than fifty families settled on it in the space of four months after it was opened. It now bids fair to be, in a few years, one continued settlement from Fort Schuyler to the Genesee River. All last winter two stages, one of them a mail stage, ran from Geneva and Canadarqua to Albany weekly.