The town of
Hastings, the thirteenth survey-township of Scriba’s patent, was set off
from Constantia on the 20th of April, 1825. It was originally called
“Breda” by the patentee, George Scriba, from a town and fortress in the
province of North Brabant, Netherlands, twenty-six miles southeast of Rotterdam,
his native place. Upon its civil formation it took by common consent the
name of Hastings, from Hastings Curtiss, its most distinguished citizen,
a name which it has ever since borne. Mr. Scriba conveyed the title
of the entire town to Arent P. Schuyler, who transferred it to Philip A.
Schuyler, who in turn conveyed it to Jacob Mark. On April 15, 1800,
Mr. Mark conveyed the title of three-fourths of the tract, or 22,546 acres,
to Solomon Townsend and Samuel Jones as trustees; one-half of this was
subsequently transferred to James I. Roosevelt. About a quarter of
the whole town was finally conveyed to Gov. John Jay and another quarter
to a Mr. Monroe. The subsequent transfers parceled the lands off
in smaller tracts. In the south part of the town are two tracts known
as the First and Second L’Hommedieu’s Locations.
Hastings lies in the southern-central part
of Oswego county and is bounded on the east by West Monroe; on the south
by Clay, Onondaga county, with the Oneida River as the dividing line; on
the west by Schroeppel and Palermo; and on the north by Mexico and Parish.
The surface is level or gently undulating and inclines mainly towards the
south, the northern part being about seventy-five feet above Oneida Lake.
The underlying rock is the Medina sandstone formation, which is frequently
impregnated with strong brine. Several salt springs have been discovered,
the principal one being in the Coit neighborhood. About 1825 a company
was formed for the purpose of boring for salt and in the spring of 1865
a similar enterprise was projected, but both attempts failed to produce
practical results. In the northwest part of the town is a small tamarack
swamp in which is a large spring, commonly called the “Bear’s Wallow,”
extending to an unknown depth.
The soil is clay, sand and gravelly loam, and
is generally well adapted to diversified farming. A heavy growth
of timber originally covered the entire town, and in early days much of
it was converted into ashes, which were manufactured into blacksalts or
potash. The sale of these latter products was for several years the principal
means of procuring money. As the little clearings increased in area
agriculture became the leading industry. Wheat and other grains,
fruit, corn and potatoes were raised in abundance, while considerable attention
was devoted to dairying and stock raising. More recently tobacco
has been quite extensively cultivated, and hops, potatoes, hay and apples
are grown and shipped in considerable quantities. The leading industry,
however, is dairying, which dates its development from about 1860.
There are four cheese factories in the town, one each in Hastings, Central
Square, Mallory and Caughdenoy.
Lumbering for many years constituted an important
industry, giving existence to numerous saw mills and other kindred establishments
and employment to scores of workmen. The manufacture of barrels for
the Syracuse salt market and Oswego flour trade was also extensively prosecuted.
In 1860 there were eighteen saw mills in active operation; at present there
are only five, viz: two at Mallory and one each at Carley, Bardeen’s Corners,
and Crippen’s Pond.
The principal water course of the town is Oneida
River, which forms its southern boundary. Other streams are Crippen
Creek, Rose Creek, Shanty Creek, and South Branch Creek. These afford
excellent drainage and formerly contributed several mill privileges.
On account of the imperfect condition of the
earliest town records it is impossible to ascertain the exact date on which
the first roads in Hastings were laid out. It is known, however,
that many of the surveys were made between 1815 and 1830. On April
12, 1844, the Salina and Central Square Plank Road company was incorporated
with a capital of $50,000, and with William D. Bennett as president and
Richard Adams as secretary. The road was completed from Salina, Onondaga
county, to Central Square in 1846, and was the first plank road in the
United States. In 1848 it was extended through the town under the
name of the Central plank road, with John Becker as president and Peter
Devendorf as secretary. This was originally a State road leading
from the fort at Onondaga to Sackett’s Harbor. In 1848 the Central
Square and Pine Hill Plank Road Company was chartered with a capital of
$25,000; in 1851 the road was extended to Fulton by the Fulton and Central
Square Plank Road Company, of which Sands N. Kenyon was the president and
John J. Wolcott secretary. In 1849-50 the Oswego and Hastings Center
plank road was constructed. These thoroughfares long enjoyed an extensive
patronage, but finally an era of decline forced them into disuse as plank
roads and about 1873 the worn out planks were removed and the toll gates
abandoned. As late as 1860 a daily line of stages was maintained
from Pulaski through Central Square to Syracuse. There are now seventy
road districts in the town.
Prior to 1824 the mode of crossing the Oneida
River at Fort Brewerton was by ferry. On March 16 of that year the
Fort Brewerton Bridge Company was incorporated for the purpose of constructing
a toll bridge “at the spot where the Satate road leading from Salina to
Sackett’s Harbor intersects the outlet of Oneida Lake.” This bridge
was frequently repaired and finally rebuilt. In 1882 the State appropriated
$5,000 for the purpose of aiding the counties of Onondaga and Oswego in
converting a section of the structure into a draw-bridge. A bridge
was built at an early day across the Oneida river opposite Caughdenoy,
and on May 6, 1872, the Legislature authorized its reconstruction at a
cost not to exceed $10,000, two-thirds of which was to be defrayed by the
counties of Oswego and Onondaga and one-sixth each by the towns of Hastings
and Clay. John Youmans and Robert T. Sumner were appointed commissioners
for the purpose.
H. C. Devendorf
The Oneida River at the foot of the lake was
a famous crossing place of the great north and south trail leading from
the mouth of Salmon River to the Onondaga country, and was also a favorite
fishing ground of the Onondaga Indians, who had a fishing village here
called Techiroguen. Le Moyne mentions it in 1654 as being on the
south side of the river, while on a map of Charlevoix, published in 1744,
it is located on the north bank. On the north side east of the old
plank road, in this town, is a mound which must have been the sepulchre
of thousands of human beings. Relics of war and human bones have
been found there in large quantities. In 1759 a fort was built there
by the English and named Fort Brewerton in honor of Captain Brewerton,
an active and meritorious officer of that period. It stood a short
distance northwest of the subsequent Fort Brewerton Hotel. It was
garrisoned and used as a military depot until 1762, and during Pontiac’s
war it was again occupied for the same purpose. A quarter of a mile
east a mole of huge rocks was built some ten rods out into the river, on
the end of which was a sentry box, where a sentinel was placed to watch
for enemies. About thirty rods east of the fort was a magazine, the
two being connected by a tunnel. When the French abandoned
the place to go to the rescue of Quebec they sunk their cannon in a swamp
near by, as the heavy pieces were too cumbersome to admit of being hauled
over the wooded roads. The fort was then left to decay. The
one hundredth anniversary of the place was celebrated with military honors
on September 30, 1859.
The first town meeting was held in the Hastings Curtiss
Hotel in Central Square on March 7, 1826, more than a year after the town
was legally erected. The officers elected on that day were as
follows:
Hastings Curtiss, supervisor; Nicholas I. Roosevelt, town clerk;
William Ford, Russell Ford, and Myron Stevens, assessors; William Ford
and Rollin Blunt, overseers of the poor; Rollin Blunt, Horatio Vickery,
and Russell Ford, highway commissioners; William Ford, Russell Ford, and
Rollin Blunt, commissioners of common schools; Daniel Webster, Rollin Blunt,
and Nicholas I. Roosevelt, inspectors of common schools; William Ford,
collector; George Benedict, Heman Tanner, and Alonzo Rosebreaks, constables.
The supervisors of Hastings have been:
Hastings Curtiss, 1826-28; Gilson Dykeman,
1829-32; Russell Fitch, jr., 1833-34; Peter Devendorf, 1835-43; Thomas
Warner, 1844-45; Peter Devendorf, 1846; James J. Coit, 1847-48; Peter Devendorf,
1849; Gaston G. Curtiss, 1850-52; George Campbell, 1853-54; Peter Devendorf,
1855; Charles Breed, 1856; Henry Emmons, 1857-58; William H. Rice, 1859-60;
George Campbell, 1861; T. Wells Green, 1862-65; William C. Hanchett, 1866;
Robert Elliott, 1867-68; Oscar Beebe, 1869-70; Avery T. Low,
1871-72; Charles E. Coville, 1873-74; Thomas W. Green, 1875; Oscar Beebe,
1876; George W. Woodin, 1877; George P. Elliott, 1878-84; John Hamilton,
1885-86; George P. Elliott, 1887-88; Jared Mallory, 1889-91; Jefferson
F. Hopkins, 1892-95.
The town officers for 1894-5 were as follows:
Jefferson F. Hopkins, supervisor; Louis H. Traub, town clerk; William
Church, Norman L. Wilson, James A. Ure, and E. G. Gale, justices of the
peace; Philip Waterbury, Jason Kenyon, and Philip J. Metzger, assessors;
Freeman Farrar, overseer of the poor; Wallace Coville, collector; James
Penfield, commissioner of highways.
The first settlement in the town of Hastings
was likewise the first in Oswego county, the pioneer being Oliver Stevens,
who came to the abandoned Fort Brewerton in 1789, built a rude log house
, and began trading with the Indians. He also kept a tavern for the
accommodation of the numerous lake and river boatmen. He had many
exciting adventures and some thrilling escapes from wild beasts and savages.
The latter appeared so dangerous that he applied for and obtained authority
from Governor Clinton in 1794 to build a block house at the expense of
the State. The fort at this time was rapidly going to decay.
The block house was erected on the site of the subsequent
Fort Brewerton House and remained standing until a comparatively late day.
It was enclosed with log pickets about twelve feet high and surrounded
by a trench, and on the side facing the river a substantial gateway was
built. It had no connection with the old fort, as many have erroneously
supposed, but was used as a depository for arms and munitions of
war and afterward as a dwelling until 1811. After Mr. Stevens vacated
the structure for a more convenient residence in the vicinity, the government
allowed it to go to decay, and until its final destruction it served as
the temporary home of various early comers. Mr. Stevens was appointed
the first clerk of the great town of Mexico in 1797. The death
of his son Horatio in 1792 was the first death, and the birth of
another son, John L., in 1802, was the first birth in the present limits
of Hastings. John L. Stevens was a side judge and justice of the
peace in Onondaga county for many years and died in 1874.
In 1791 Major Ryal Bingham leased some land
of a Mr. Kaats and settled near the fort, but removed about two years later
to Three River Point. The only other settler of that decade was Brainerd
Emmons, who arrived in 1797 and for a time occupied the old block-house.
Soon afterward Benjamin Emmons, who lived on the south side of the river,
established a ferry and managed it for more than twenty years.
These three men, Stevens, Bingham, and Emmons, with
their families, were the sole occupants of the town prior to the close
of the eighteenth century. Even during the first decade of
this century few settlers arrived, but throughout all this period there
were many transients, principally boatmen and hunters. Timothy Vickery
came at an early day to Fort Brewerton and in 1806 his daughter Betsey
married Silas Bellows, which was the first marriage in Hastings.
Mr. Vickery afterwards became proprietor of the “Block-House Hotel” and
remained in charge until 1820.
In 1808 Jonathan Parkhurst, a Revolutionary
soldier from Vermont, located at the intersection of the military road
from Rome to Oswego and the salt road from Salina to Watertown, where he
engaged in lumbering. In June, 1812, he ran a raft into
Quebec, and the war having broken out it was confiscated by the British,
who gave him and his men three days to leave their territory. Returning
home he enlisted and was first a captain and finally a colonel of militia.
He was one of the first collectors of the original town of Mexico.
His son Gilbert kept tavern several years and in 1832 built the first hotel
in Hastings Center, where he died. William P. Parkhurst, a brother
of Jonathan, is still living in the town.
Solomon Allen located on lot 26, east of Central
Square, in 1809, and died while on his way to Florida in 1875, aged ninety
years. His daughter married Gaston G. Curtiss. Other early
settlers were Myron Stevens on the river bank near Caughdenoy; Chester
Loomis, who came from West Monroe and located at Central Square; and Jacob
Rice.
Between 1810 and 1820 Elijah Goodspeed, William
Ladd, Daniel Chappel, Rial Hoisington, Leonard Fuller, and others became
residents of the town. Mr. Goodspeed located on lot 26 in 1815 and
was the first blacksmith in Hastings. Mr. Ladd was accompanied by
his brother and settled on the “Salt road” on lot 22 in 1817, at which
time there were on that thoroughfare only two houses, both taverns, between
Mexico and Fort Brewerton; one was kept by a Mr. Briggs and the other at
Central Square by Chester Loomis. Messrs. Chappel and Hoisington
came about 1817 and made their homes on lot 22. Mr. Fuller located
at Caughdenoy.
During the decade of 1820-1830 the population
materially increased, prominent among the arrivals being Aaron Snow, Nicholas
I. Roosevelt, Hastings Curtiss, Orris C. Orman, George L. Carley, Henry
Waterbury, John H. Ostrum, Nicholas Keller, James J. Coit, Ambrose Hale,
Thomas West, Shuber Button, Obadiah Cornell, Amos Burrows, 2d, Amos Jackson,
Schooner Russell, Peter Carr, Robert Elliot, Benjamin Prescott, Dr. Chester
Smedley, S. P. Munsel, Benjamin Mallory, John M. Case, and many others.
Aaron Snow was a son-in-law of Major Solomon Waring, of Constantia, and
came here in 1820. He sold his wheat and potatoes at that time for $2.50
per bushel. In 1822 he moved to Caughdenoy and in 1826 to the L’Hommedieu
Location, where his son Leonard succeeded him on the homestead. Nicholas
I. Roosevelt purchased the farm of Chester Loomis on lot 41, upon which
two salt springs were early discovered and experiments made to produce
brine.
Hastings Curtiss became the first supervisor
and was long a leading and influential citizen. He was a member of
assembly in 1824, associate judge of the Common Pleas, and sheriff of the
county from 1828 to 1831. He came to Central Square in 1820 and built
and opened a store on the corner now occupied by the Fancher House.
He erected the first brick building in town, a hotel, kept the first post-office,
and was a member of the company that established the first line of stages
between Watertown and Salina about 1825. He was identified with various
enterprises in the town and county and actively promoted every worthy project.
Orris C. Orman located near the fort in 1820,
and four years later Robert Orman settled near him; the former purchased
a farm of a Mr. Ray on Staat’s location. George L. Carley came from
Otsego county in 1822 and purchased 150 acres of James I. Roosevelt at
$4 per acre, 50 acres of Mr. Monroe at $3, and 200 acres of David Parish
at $1.50, the latter being in the town of Parish but adjoining the other
tracts. In 1823 he moved his family here and built a saw mill on
the south branch of Salmon Creek, which was burned in 1824. He rebuilt
it and added a carding machine, which was managed by George Benedict about
ten years. Afterward he erected two other saw mills there, and from
him the place derived the name of Carley’s Mills. Henry Waterbury
removed with his family from Rensselaer county and settled at the head
of the rapids near Caughdenoy in February, 1823, and the same year Nicholas
Kellar located on lot 44, where he built the first house on the Fulton
road west of Central Square. On this lot T. Paine was also an early
settler. John H. Ostrum located in 1823 on a farm on lot 11, for
which he paid the Roosevelts $3 per acre; his son, S. P. Ostrum, succeeded
to the homestead.
James J. Coit, another very prominent citizen
of early times, came from Connecticut in 1823 and located on lot 26, where
he remained for forty-nine years and reared a family of eleven children.
He was a member of assembly in 1860, and for over thirty years held office
uninterruptedly, serving as supervisor, school commissioner, justice of
the peace and assessor. He taught the first school in Central Square
in the winter of 1824-25, and his wife the first in district No. 7.
Ten of his children and both of his wives were teachers in public schools
or seminaries. He was agent for Gov. John Jay’s estate in this town
from 1827 until the business was closed up some twenty-five years ago.
Ambrose Hale, Thomas West and Shuber Button
located on lot 25, and Obadiah Cornell, Amos Burrows, 2d, Amos Jackson
and Schooner Russell on lot 26, all as early as 1824. Deacon Amos
Burrows died November 15, 1884.
Robert Elliott settled on lot 41 in 1824, moving
into a part of the house occupied by Nicholas I. Roosevelt in Central Square.
He was born in England, February 2, 1802, and came with his father, Joseph
S., to Philadelphia, Pa., in 1822. In 1825 he built a wagon shop
and dwelling combined, which stood on the site of the present residence
of Samuel Sweet, and made wagons, sleds, carts, ox-yokes, etc., doing all
the work himself from cutting down the tree to manufacturing the goods.
He made the first vehicle, called the “old mud wagon,” that carried mail
over the old Salt road, and in his shop was also made the first stage coach
used on the line between Watertown and Syracuse. This old structure
was removed some time ago to Factory street and is now occupied as a tenement.
Mr. Elliott also built a saw mill, which was burned after two years ‘ use,
and on the site he erected a tannery, which he conducted for a quarter
of a century, and which was torn down recently to make room for the barns
of his son George P. He held several public offices, supervisor,
justice of the peace, assemblyman in 1859, and associate judge of the Common
Pleas. He was land agent for the Roosevelt estate in Hastings until
1875, when he purchased the unsold territory. He was long a deacon
of the Baptist Church, and married three times and had nine children, of
whom the only survivor is George P. He died here May 6, 1894.
Peter Carr settled on lot 5 in 1825 and raised
a family of nine children. Benjamin Prescott located on lot 1 and
Dr. Chester Smedley on the L’Hommedieu Location in 1826. The farm of Mr.
Prescott was noticeable for having upon it a miniature prairie of about
four acres. Dr. Smedley came from Connecticut and was accompanied
by his son Ephraim. He practiced as a physician for over thirty years
and died in 1862 aged eighty-one. S. P. Munsel and Benjamin Mallory
arrived in 1817; the former located on lot 43 and the latter on lot 27.
Mr. Munsel’s farm was on the Fulton road in what was then called the eight-mile
woods, and it is related of him that he once chopped an acre of heavy timber
for a bushel of corn, a log chain, and his board while doing the work.
Mr. Mallory, soon after his settlement, married a young wife and brought
her to his pioneer home, where he lived for forty years, when he moved
to Central Square and died there in 1877. John M. Case located on
lot 27 in 1829.
Among other pioneers of the town were two men
named Hall and Patterson on the river bank near Caughdenoy; Bishop Hoyt,
Alvin Briggs, and Messrs. Tiffany and Daggett on lot 23; John Young and
John Klock on lot 43; John Jackson, who died August 11, 1877; Charles Coon,
who died in 1844; Deacon Joseph Perrine, who came in 1826 and died June
30, 1861; and Richard E. Sill, a merchant, who settled here in 1828 and
died April 7, 1889.
From 1830 to 1840 Hon. Peter Devendorf, Henry
Myers, William Caldwell, Lyman anderson, Dr. D. L. Drake, Dr. H. D. Drake,
B. G. Lewis, Jared Mallory, John Youmans, and others became residents of
the town. Hon. Peter Devendorf arrived in 1831 and settled on lot
10. He was one of the leading and influential men and served as justice
of the peace about twenty years, was supervisor many terms and frequently
chairman of the board, and was member of assembly in 1841 and 1842.
He died in July, 1867. His son, Rudolph H., died at Central Square
in January, 1894, aged sixty-three. Another son, H. C. , is a prominent
citizen and long time merchant of that village, and was a major of the
110th New York Volunteers Regiment in the Rebellion. Henry Myers
came to Hastings about 1832; his son Jacob was a captain in the war of
1812 and died in Mexico in 1860. William Caldwell settled on
the old Curtis farm, now the Gunther place, two miles west of Central Square,
in 1836, and died there in 1863. He had three sons: James, who died
in Fulton in 1892; A. B., a prominent lawyer in Syracuse; and
William, jr., who owns two stock farms in town, is prominently identified
with the New York State Agricultural and various Holstein-Friesian Stock
societies, and resides in Syracuse. Lyman Anderson, after living
on his homestead for fifty-seven years, died October 6, 1894, at the age
of eighty-one.
The following brief description appears in
a volume entitled, “Historical Collections of the State of New York,”
published in 1846:
Hastings, taken from Constantia in 1825; from Albany 150, centrally
distant from Pulaski S. seventeen miles. Pop. 1,989.
Opposite to Brewerton village, at the head of Oneida River, are the remains
of Fort Brewerton. Central Square and Hastings are post-offices.
Prominent among other residents may be mentioned
the names of Huntington Fitch, Mars Nearing, and Lewis F. Devendorf, who
served as associate judges of Common Pleas or as justices of Sessions;
William H. Carter, who was a member of assembly in 1861; William H. Rice,
who held the same office in 1867, and Thomas W. Green, an assemblyman in
1872 and 1876; Henry S. Conde, who was county clerk from 1855 to 1858 and
subsequently an extensive manufacturer in Oswego; William S. Pierce, father
of George M. and Lewis A. , who settled in town in 1850 and died July 13,
1894; John Beebe and Dr. N. W. Bates, who are still living here; Daniel
Rowe, Aaron Benson, W. P. Parkhurst, George W. Woodin, and Porter Warn;
Avery T. Low, the present postmaster of Central Square; Gabriel Traub,
one of the oldest undertakers in the county; Jacob Beebe, John Curtis,
Gaston G. Curtiss (son of Hastings Curtiss), the Eggleston family, John
Harrington, Peter Woodin (the father of George W.), Thaddeus Waterbury,
Lott Fuller, John Crippen, William Briggs (for many years a deputy sheriff
and now living on the Gunther farm), and many others subsequently noticed.
John Crippen, from whom the name of Crippen Creek is derived, built what
are known as Crippen’s Mills about four and one-half miles northwest of
Central Square. They are now owned by Eugene Smith. On the
same stream Luther Gilson at an early day had a four-story grist mill and
a carding, saw, and stave mill combined, all of which have long since disappeared.
As instances of human longevity it is worth
while to add the names of Mrs. Catharine Priest, who was born at German
Flats, Herkimer county, October 8, 1776, came to Caughdenoy in 1862, and
died in September, 1878; Francis Pero, who died in July, 1882, aged 100
years; and Mrs. Keeler (colored), and Mrs. Snow, who are living in town
(January 1, 1895), aged 106 and 104 respectively.
Many other prominent and respected residents
of Hastings are mentioned more fully in Part III of this volume.
The population of the town at various periods has been as follows: In
1830, 1,494; 1835, 1,828; 1840, 1,989; 1845, 2,113; 1850, 2,920; 1855,
3,069; 1860, 3,345; 1865, 3,008; 1870, 3,058; 1875, 2,929; 1880, 2,866;
1890, 2,364.
The New York, Ontario and Western (Midland)
Railroad was completed through the town east and west in the fall of 1869,
and gave a new impetus to the whole territory under consideration.
Prior to this the only means of communication was by stage, or by water
on the Oneida River and Lake. This road has stations at Central Square
and Caughdenoy. In the fall of 1871 the Syracuse Northern, now the
R. W. & O. Railroad, was opened north and south through Hastings, crossing
the Midland at Central Square, and affording stations at that village and
at Mallory and Hastings. These railways have had a marked influence
upon the growth of the town and especially upon the development of the
villages through which they pass. To aid in the construction of these
roads the town was bonded for a large amount, of which about $56,000 remains
unpaid. H. C. Devendorf, William B. Parkhurst, and Alexander Grant
are railroad commissioners.
During the war of the Rebellion nearly 260
patriotic citizens of Hastings enlisted in the Union army and navy and
served with fidelity. Of this number several were meritoriously promoted,
prominent among them being Avery T. Low, H. C. Devendorf, Curtis A. Fargo,
George W. Woodin, Charles E. Coville, Barber Kenyon and Dr. Nelson W. Bates.
The first school in the town of which there
is any accurate knowledge was taught at Caughdenoy by Patrick Vickery in
1820. In 1824 districts 4 (Central Square), 5 and 6 were organized.
In No. 5, Philo W. Carpenter was the first teacher and G. W. Smith served
as trustee for twenty five years. Miss Lois Pierce was the first
teacher in No. 6. At Central Square Hastings Curtiss, Aaron Snow,
and Rollin Blunt were the first trustees and James J. Coit the first teacher,
the latter receiving $12 per month. A school house was erected there
in 1824.
In the spring of 1825 district No. 7 was formed
and a log school house built, largely through the efforts of Mr. Coit.
The first teacher was Miss Augusta S. Porter, afterward Mrs. J. J. Coit.
The present brick school house at Central Square was erected in 1873
at a cost of $6,000. On February 16, 1887, the district was reorganized
as the Central Square Union Free School and Academy with the following
Board of Education: Thomas Smith (president), Avery T. Low, Myron Coville,
John Hamilton, and D. D. Drake. The same year Mr. Drake moved away
and George W. Woodin was elected to the vacancy. Frederick A. Walker,
who had been connected with the school about thirteen years, was appointed
the first principal, and was succeeded in the fall of 1887 by A. G. Bugbee,
who remained until June, 1894, when he was followed by C. D. Du Bois, the
present incumbent, who is assisted by three teachers. The Board of
Education for 1894-5 consists of Thomas Smith, president; G. W. Woodin,
A. T. Low, Myron Coville, and John Hamilton.
The town now has sixteen school districts with
a school house in each, in which schools were taught in 1892-3 by nineteen
teachers and attended by 580 scholars. The school buildings and sites
are valued at $15,425; assessed valuation of districts, $850,750;
public money received from the State, $2,446.63; raised by local tax, $2,737.45.
The districts bear the following local designations: No. 1 Caughdenoy;
2, River; 3, Snow; 4, Central Square; 5, Bardeen’s; 6, Carley’s Mills;
7, Coit; 8, Allen; 9, Hastings Center; 10, Hastings; 11, Mallory; 12 Little
France; 13, Crippen; 14, Brewerton; 15, Burdick; 16, Connell.
Supervisors’ statistics of 1894: Assessed valuation
of real estate, $713,925; equalized, $829,538; personal property, $52,325;
town tax, $7, 401.86; county tax, $4,938.43; total tax levy, $14,179.92;
ratio of tax on $100, $1.85; dog tax, $106; value of railroads, 16.84 miles,
$155,060. The town has three election districts, in which 528 votes
were cast in November, 1894.
Central Square village is situated at the intersection
of the roads between Fulton and Constantia and between Watertown and Syracuse
and at the junction of the R. W. & O with the Midland Railroad, in
the southeast part of the town. The place had its inception
in the tavern which Chester Loomis built about 1815. It was destroyed
by fire and rebuilt by him in 1818, and in 1820 passed into the hands of
Nicholas I. Roosevelt and was occupied by him as a dwelling. It stood
on the site now owned by Samuel Sweet. In 1820 Hastings Curtiss erected
and opened a small store and in 1823 he built a brick hotel, which became
a favorite stage station, town meeting place, etc. This was burned
in 1839, was rebuilt by Robert Elliott and John Beebe, and is now the hospitable
Johnson House. Among its landlords from first to last were George
Ives, John Harding, George Campbell, W. G. Robinson, a Mr. Hart, William
Champlin, William Wilson, William C. Hanchett, Gehiel Noble, Sylvester
All, H. R. Vrooman, W. H. Slocum, Emery Pierce, and Willard H. Johnson
since November, 1885. About 1824 Rollin Blunt, a surveyor, built
a saw mill here, and afterward Mr. Curtiss erected a brick dwelling, in
which he died. Robert Elliott was the first wagonmaker and had a
saw mill and subsequently a tannery, as previously noted. Among the
blacksmiths were Joseph Bishop, a Mr. Ainsworth, John Beebe, jr., Judson
Skillings (died in 1893), and Frank De Lorm. Masonic lodge, No. 479
was chartered here June 10, 1826, with Hastings Curtiss as W. M.; it was
revived in 1867 as No. 622, with G. H. Strong as W. M.
About 1827 Rufus Tiffany erected what is still
known as the “Yellow store”. The village has had a number
of merchants of whom the following is believed to be a complete list.
Henry S. Conde carried on trade here seventeen years, but upon being elected
county clerk removed to Oswego in 1853, where he died in 1878. He
purchased the store built and opened by Gaston G. Curtiss and subsequently
occupied by A. T. Low & Co.; it stood on the Devendorf corner and was
finally destroyed by fire. Mr. Conde was succeeded by Emery Pierce,
who sold to Wood & Campbell, who were followed by Colton & Hoisington,
who in turn gave place to Wood & Woodin. Mrs. Holmes then took
the business and conducted it under the name of W. P. P. Woodin.
She sold to Anderson & Allen, who were succeeded by Martin Anderson,
who was followed in 1867 by H. C. Devendorf. Mr. Devendorf had started
business here in 1856, taking a store previously occupied by Jonathan Parkhurst.
About 1860 his brother-in-law, Charles Breed, purchased an interest under
the firm name of Devendorf & Breed. Mr. Devendorf enlisted in
the army in 1862, and in 1866 he sold out to Henry Ramsey, the firm becoming
Breed & Ramsey. In 1867 it again became Devendorf & Breed
and in the spring of 1869 the store burned. In 1867 Mr. Devendorf
became a member of the firm of A. T. Low & Co., and in May, 1882, succeeded
them as sole proprietor. In the spring of 1880 their old store building
was burned and soon afterward the present brick block was erected on the
site. About 1848 a “company” or “community” store was started in
a building, since burned, which stood just north of the present establishment
of George Gorsline; it continued until about 1855 and failed. In the old
yellow store C. E. Coville began trade about 1865 and was succeeded by
the present proprietors, Coville Brothers, Myron and George. John
Beebe and J. C. Powell early had a tinware shop, which was converted into
a hardware store by James H. Wood, who subsequently took in D. L. Wood
as Wood Brothers. P. L. Lane purchased the latter’s interest and
the firm became Wood & Lane. Afterward J. H. Wood sold out to
E. L. Wood and the firm was changed to Lane & Wood. The
latter sold to George P. Elliott and the business is now conducted under
the name of Elliott & Lane. Amos Richardson at one time had a
store where C. A. Bates and Charles D. Smith now are. Dr. N.
W. Bates, Dr. H. L. Drake, and Dr. D. D. Drake were formerly druggists
here, the latter where G. T. Boyington now is. Other merchants and tradesmen
were A. T. Low, E. T. Conterman, J. P. Dix, Samuel Henry, L. B. Campbell,
D. C. Wood, P. L. Woodin, T. B. Parker, E. O. Lewis, and Charles Nann,
B. G. Lewis, Thomas Warner, Cole Brothers, Russell Fitch, Adams Brothers,
John Carp, E. W. Sprague, William Ford, and Tucker Brothers, some of whom
are still in business. Gabriel Traub has been a cabinetmaker and
undertaker here for many years.
The business portion of the village is situated
about three-fourths of a mile north of the station at the junction of the
two railroads. The completion of these railways caused some minor
business interests to spring up around the depot. A Mr. Rhines erected
a frame hotel there, which he sold to Hamilton & Cushing, who were
succeeded by John Hamilton. In the village proper a second hotel
was opened many years ago and kept for a time by Sylvester All. George
Campbell used it for a dwelling, and some eight years since it was purchased
by Lewis Fancher and again conducted as a hotel under the name of the Fancher
House.
The post-office was established in 1822 at
Loomis Corners, but in December of that year the name was changed to Central
Square. Hastings Curtiss was the first postmaster, and among his
successors were
Henry S. Conde, Daniel Owen, Barber Kenyon, George Coville, Avery T.
Low, and James H. Wood. The present incumbent is Avery T. Low.
The cemetery was deeded to the public by James
I. Roosevelt, and the first burial in it was that of Mrs. Anna Goodspeed
in April, 1822. Through the efforts of Mrs. H. C. Devendorf it was
incorporated during the Rebellion under the name of the Hillside Cemetery
Association, and by subsequent purchase the plot comprises about five acres.
In 1893 a receiving vault was constructed.
The first journalistic enterprise in Central
Square was the New Era, which was started by Webb & Wilson who were
succeeded by Frank Webb. It was sold to B. G. Lewis and conducted
by his sons Frederick and E. L., and in January, 1877, passed into the
hands of Willis G. Bohannan, who changed it to the Central Square News.
He was followed by Bates & Connelly, who changed it from a folio to
eight pages. E. D. Bates became proprietor and gave place to John
H. Gridley, who was succeeded by William Sainsbury, who changed it back
to a folio. He discontinued the publication May 29, 1890, and removed
the outfit to Black River. At the same time Blankman & Hicks
started the Central Square Review, which had a brief existence. On
October 1, 1892, William H. Vrooman, the present editor, revived the Central
Square News, which he has twice enlarged. It is now an eight-page
sheet and independent in politics. Mr. Vrooman was born in Pulaski
on January 23, 1861, and is the son of George W. Vrooman, a native of Hastings,
and a grandson of Tunis Vrooman, an early settler of the town.
The village of Central Square was incorporated
January 13, 1890, the first officers being David L. Wood, president; John
Hamilton, George Coville, and Dr. Nelson W. Bates, trustees; Gabriel Traub,
treasurer; Jacob Farrington, collector; and J. H. Gridley, clerk.
Mr. Wood was president in 1891 and 1892 and Dr. Bates in 1893 and 1894.
The officers for 1894 were:
Dr. N. W. Bates, president; George T. Boyington, William Church, and
John O’Reilly, trustees; Gabriel Traub, treasurer; William A. White, collector;
John Burdick, street commissioner; H. D. Coville, clerk. The population
is about 500.
Caughdenoy is a station on the N. Y.
O. & W. Railroad west of Central Square and dates its settlement from
1797, when Myron Stevens built the first house in the place. Other
early settlers there were Alanson Seymour, a Mr. Heacock, and Timothy Vickery.
The first named erected a saw mill about 1825, and for many years following
1837 Robert M. Pelton carried on a large lumber business. Mr. Heacock
had an early grist mill and carding machine, which were finally burned.
In 1827 William Lee and Samuel Britton built a saw mill at the intersection
of the railroad and creek which they sold to A. D. Gibson soon afterward.
The latter came here in 1837 and was also engaged in the boot and shoe
business. John Youmans was an early blacksmith and wagonmaker and
subsequently a submarine diver. Ralph Warner was also a blacksmith
and Charles Smith, his son-in-law, a wagonmaker. James Dutcher started
a brick yard there about 1857. The village has long been noted for
its lumber and eel trade and boating interests on the Oneida River.
The eel business formerly constituted an important occupation, as many
as 1,000 eels being taken daily for four months every year. The present
merchants are O. E. West and Jefferson F. Hopkins, the latter being also
supervisor. The grist mill is conducted by Addison Hard. The
first hotel was erected by Orson Emmons and Peter Neal, who were succeeded
by P. B. Oakley; a subsequent proprietor was Charles C. Burghart.
The postmaster is Richard P. Burghart, who succeeded Orrin E. West.
The place contains about 200 inhabitants.
Mallory is a station and post office on the
R. W. & O. Railroad, north of Central Square, near the line of West
Monroe. As early as 1810 Edward Smith built a saw mill on the east
branch of Big Bay Creek. It finally passed to George W. Smith and
thence to his son Jerome. From them the place was long known as Smith’s
Mills. In 1826 Peter and Cornelins Van Alstyne erected a grist mill
which afterward passed into the possession of Isaac W. Brewster and D.
C. Smith, who built another saw mill. The establishment was burned
in 1855 and the site came into the hands of Daniel Bowe, who erected a
saw mill and conducted it for fifteen years, selling it to Mr. Wilcox.
It was afterwards purchased by Joseph A. Courbat, the present owner, who
has rebuilt the whole plant and now has a large stave, saw, and planing
mill. For a time the place was known as “Brewsterville.” Another
saw mill was built by William Hobart and after many changes passed into
the hands of Jared Mallory in 1857. The next year it was burned,
but was soon rebuilt, since then Mr. Mallory has prosecuted a thriving
business. The first store was kept by Russell Winchester, and among
the blacksmiths were Amariah Ricker, Newton S. Bowne, and Andrew J. De
Bow.
George Piguet and John Wyant are general merchants.
The place also has a cheese factory owned by Jared Mallory, a grist mill,
hotel, the usual shops and artisans, and about 150 inhabitants. It
was named in honor of Jared Mallory, one of the prominent men of the town,
through whose efforts a post-office was established there in 1858, the
first postmaster being Bishop Hoyt. He died in 1866 and since then
Jared Mallory has held the position.
Hastings Center, situated three miles north
of Central Square, was originally a lumber locality and had its beginning
in a saw mill erected by Rollin Blunt in 1822. In 1838 Pierce &
Cornell built another, and about 1849 a post-office was established with
Jonathan Parkhurst as postmaster, who succeeded Harvey Devendorf as a merchant
there. Among the later postmasters have been Martha Holmes, Ernest
C. Tourot, and James Penfield, the present incumbent. M. M. Salisbury
was for many years a blacksmith in the place. A little west of the
village is a burial ground comprising an acre of land which the heirs of
Gov. John Jay deeded to Gilson Dikeman, as supervisor of the town, on November
12, 1869.
Hastings is a postal hamlet in the north part
of the town six miles from Central Square. In 1821 it comprised a
log house occupied by a Mr. Widger and a frame dwelling on the site of
the cheese factory in which William Ford resided. The former was
converted into a grocery store as early as 1830. The first tavern
was built by Willard Hunt, who was also the first postmaster and a merchant.
At one time this place had two hotels, one of which was kept many years
by “Uncle Den” Wightman, who was succeeded by Charles Ingersoll, under
whom it burned. The other was conducted at various times by Davis
Barrett, John Carney, Willard H. Johnson, Lewis Fancher, and Joseph Hewitt.
The first blacksmith was George Stores, who had a shop a little south of
the village in 1822. In 1854 a Mr. Corning built a steam saw mill
in the same neighborhood which in 1863 passed into the possession of Aaron
Benson, who with his brother invented the famous Benson waterwheel.
John H. Storer had a store and ashery there about 1835. Among other
merchants of the place were Rudolph Devendorf, Lewis F. Devendorf, H. C.
Devendorf, William Carney (now the oldest tradesman in Parish), Richard
E. Sill, Strickland & Sill, H. P. Bort (about 1864), Bort & Warn,
George Baker, Charles Avery, Charles Matthews, John Gorman, and Louis Tourot.
N. A. Clute, R. E. Sill, Louis Tourot, and Frank Avery, the present incumbent,
have been postmasters.
Dr. R. J. Dimon is the present physician.
Little France is a post-office in the northeast
corner of the town and derives its name from the colony of French Canadians
who have settled in the vicinity. It contains a hotel kept by Levi
Pattat and two stores kept by Augustus Pattat and A. A. Besanson.
John Brickheimer is postmaster, succeeding Charles Beasanson in that position.
Carley’s Mills, so called, contains a saw mill
and wool carding establishment.
Churches. – The Baptist church in Hastings was first organized
at the house of Nathan Raymond on August 25, 1826, and was duly recognized
by Council at a school house in West Monroe on September 20 of the same
year, the original members being Charles Smedley, Nathan and Maria Raymond,
Stephen Richmond, Ferrin B. Wheelan, Abigail Russell, Cordelia Fuller,
and Rachel Merchant. Elder G. B. Davis gave the hand of fellowship.
Meetings were held in various places, principally at Central Square and
Caughdenoy, until 1842, when a church edifice was built at the last named
village and dedicated by Rev. Peter Woodin. On June 30, 1849, the
church formally disbanded.
The Baptist church of Central Square was organized
by Rev. Peter Woodin on June 14, 1845, and duly recognized by Council on
the 25th of the same month. There were twenty-two constituent members
with Philip Carter as deacon and T. H. Waterbury as clerk. A frame
edifice was built in 1846 and dedicated December 18 of that year.
The institution of this church was mainly due to the persistent labors
of Rev. Peter Woodin, the first pastor, who remained until 1850, when he
went to California and organized a Baptist church there. He returned
to Central Square in May, 1852, and served as pastor of this church until
April 1, 1872, when he resigned, being succeeded by Rev. D. D. Owen.
He was a man greatly respected and possessed rare executive ability.
The society has about 115 members and property valued at $3,000.
Mrs. J. P. Dix is superintendent of the Sunday school.
A Methodist class was formed at Hastings Center
about 1825, and consisted of William Ford and wife, Richard Ford, Truman
and Daniel Wooster, and others. About 1833 another class was organized
at Mallory, to which forty or fifty members were added during a revival
in 1842. In 1851 a church was erected and dedicated there, the first
trustees being Titus Bowe, David Baird, and Titus Bowe, jr. A Sunday
school was organized about 1841, of which Milton Flowers was long the superintendent.
About 1850 the Methodists of Caughdenoy purchased
the old Baptist church, which they used until 1881, when they moved it
back. It is now occupied as a store. On the old site a new
edifice was erected in 1881-2, under the pastorate of Rev. G. G. Dains,
at a cost of $2,000. The class has about fifty members and is under
the leadership of Harvey A. Youmans.
A Methodist class was formed at Central Square
about 1830, and in 1846 a house of worship was built at a cost of $1,000.
This society has about sixty members and is connected with the Caughdenoy
charge, Rev. C. W. Brooks being the pastor. A class was organized
in School district No. 5 at an early date and reorganized in 1874
with fifteen members. The Methodist pastors have been as follows:
Revs. Anson Fuller, assisted by Joseph Cross; Lewis Bell, assisted by
John Thompson; Truman Van Tassel, assisted by Isaac Covert; Isaac Hall,
C. C. Mason, Augustine C. Munson, Alonzo Chapin, Joseph Smedley, William
Peck, Daniel Barnard, William Morse, Thomas D. Mitchell, Isaac Turney,
Francis A. C. Farrell, Dennison D. Parker, Reuben Reynolds, Horatio Arthur,
Silas Bell, Nathaniel Salisbury, David Stone, Hiram Nichols, William B.
Joice, Henry S. Holmes, E. Arnold, R. O. Beebe, R. Webster, W. F. Brown,
Charles E. Beebe, W. S. Titus, G. G. Dains, A. E. Corse, D. E. Marvin,
jr., H. M. Church, A. M. Child, S. M. Crofoot, R. F. Whipple, and C. W.
Brooks.
A Wesleyan Methodist church flourished at Central
Square for several years, built a house of worship, and disbanded during
the war. The old edifice is now private property and is used for
town meetings and other like purposes.
A Freewill Baptist church was organized at
Carley’s Mills in 1832 with the following members:
David Linsley, Mr. Cotton, Peter Carr, Mary Carr, Mrs. Delaney Ostrum,
William Nutting, and Joseph Maford. Joseph Maford was elected the
first deacon; he afterwards became a preacher, when Mr. Burrows and Mr.
Perine were chosen deacons. Meetings were held in the school house.
The First Presbyterian church of Central Square
was organized May 20, 1828, by Revs. Oliver Ayer, Oliver Leavitt, and others,
with
twelve members, viz.:
Daniel Webster, Julia Ann Webster, Jotham Goodspeed and Rebecca his
wife, David Lockwood, Rollin Blunt, Lucy Allen, Christopher Hyde and wife,
Flora Durfee, and Nabby Porter. Messrs. Webster and Goodspeed were
selected as ruling elders, and Mr. Goodspeed as deacon.
On October 10, 1835, William Jay deeded to
Daniel Wadsworth, Caleb Case, and J. J. Coit, as trustees of the First
Presbyterian Church and Society of Hastings, fifty-seven acres of subdivision
7, lot 5, for the promoting of gospel worship. The membership of
the church decreased and on June 14, 1856, their last regular meeting was
held. J. J. Coit, as the sole remaining trustee, cared for the property
and divided the revenue among the various denominations represented in
town until 1874, when he sold it and invested the proceeds in U. S. bonds,
which he transferred to the trustees of the Presbytery of Syracuse, by
whom they are now held.
A Methodist Protestant Church was organized
with twenty members at Bardeen’s Corners in 1868. The first pastor was
Rev. Charles Beardsley and the first class leader was Horace Ladd.
No edifice has ever been erected.
A Presbyterian church was organized at Hastings
a few years ago and the corner stone of a house of worship was laid on
September 30, 1888. The structure was completed and dedicated January
31, 1889, Aaron Benson and Dr. R. J. Dimon are the ruling elders, Dr. Dimon
being also church clerk.
A French Catholic church was instituted at
Little France a few years since, and a church edifice erected, to accommodate
the French Catholics of that community.