Page 37. MARYLAND. Area 29,873 Acres. Population 1,998. This township was formed from Worcester in 1808. The principal stream is the Schenevus creek, which flows south-west through the town and empties into the Susquehanna. The surface consists chiefly of a hilly upland, broken by ravines. The settlement of the town dates back to 1790, at which time Elisha Chamberlain and the three brothers, Israel, Elephas, and Phineas Spencer, located near the present Maryland station on the railroad. The first settlers where Chaseville is now located were Jotham Houghton and his two sons Jerehamel and Daniel. Daniel was a captain in the war of 1812. Wilder, Ezekiel and John Rice settled near Schenevus, Caleb Boynton in the eastern part of the town, and Joseph Howe in Elk Creek. Early settlers and large land owners were Josiah Chase and John Bigelow, who came in 1791 and purchased 1,000 acres of land. In 1794 arrived many pioneers, prominent among whom were John Thompson and his sons John and James from Columbia county. They located near the foot of Crumhorn Mountain and their descendants have been leading citizens. Other settlers in the vicinity of Elk Creek were Earl Wright, Philemon Perry, Eleazer Grove, John Kelly, and the Chase brothers, Asa, Dean, Seth and john, with their families. One of the first necessities of the early time was a grist mill near at hand. For a long time all grain had been sent to Cherry Valley. There was, therefore, great rejoicing when in 1794, those enterprising pioneers, Israel and Elisha Spencer, erected a mill near the present Maryland railroad station. At about the same time Jonathan Houghton built a saw mill near Chaseville, but afterwards removed it to a place near Spencer's Mills. These mills were built by Phineas Spencer, the pioneercarpenter. He was a mechanical genius. He made furniture, plows and coffins. For years he made all the burial cases free of charge. They were doubtless made, as was the custom in those days, of pine boards, colored black by a solution of water with the ashes of straw. The first death in the town was that of the wife of Josiah Chase. The remains were borne a distance of seven miles to the Maryland cemetery, the bearers being on foot as was the custom, for this was regarded as more respectful to the dead. VILLAGES: There are four villages in this township, viz.: Schenevus (population 613), Maryland (population 227), Chaseville (population 123), and Elk Creek (population 52). The Schenevus Valley Fair is held annually on the spacious grounds near Schenevus village. SCHOOLS: Number of districts 15; teachers 23; children of school age 481. The Schenevus High School is under the board of Regents, and is well equipped for efficient work. It is supplied with apparatus for the teaching of the natural sciences, with maps, globes, charts, reference books, and a circulating library of 1,000 volumes. A Regents' diploma corresponding to an Academic course of four years is conferred upon its graduates. CHURCHES: At Schenevus, Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, and Methodist. At Maryland, Christian and Lutheran. At Chaseville, Baptist. At Elk Creek, Methodist. NEWSPAPERS: At Schenevus, the Schenevus Monitor, a weekly paper, established in 1863. Transcribed by Karen Flanders Eddy. [email protected] |