Plessis
COMMUNITIES IN THE TOWN OF ALEXANDRIA
EARLY PLESSIS
after A History of Jefferson County, by Franklin B. Hough, 1854
Plessis, a small village, midway on the Alexandria and Theresa plank road,
and 3 miles from Redwood, derived its name from a place in France. It is
often known as Flat Rock, from the prevalence of the Potsdam sandstone
formation in the vicinity, which presents a considerable surface of naked
rock. In 1817 Mr. Le Ray erected a grist mill on Plessis Creek, at this
place, which, having been purchased by W. Shurtliff, and Jason Clark, was
in 1830 rebuilt. A store had been opened by Lull and Walton in 1820, but
the place increased very slowly, and ten years after contained but four
families. It now contains an inn, 3 stores, 1 grist mill, 3 saw mills, 2
wagon shops, 2 blacksmiths, 1 cabinet shop and 130 inhabitants. John
Powell was tried for the murder of Wm. Merrill at this place, in 1826, and
sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
A LATER VERSION OF PLESSIS HISTORY
After Geographical Gazetteer of Jefferson County, N. Y. by Hamilton Child, 1890
Plessis, which has a post office, is situated midway on the old Alexandria and Theresa plank-road, three miles from Redwood. It derived its name from a place in France. It is familiarly known as "Flat Rock," from the prevalence of the Potsdam sandstone formation in the vicinity, which presents a considerable portion of naked rock. In 1817 Mr. LeRay erected a gristmill here on French Creek, which was purchased by Jason Clark and William Shurtleff and rebuilt in 1830. The first store was opened by Lull and Walton, in 1820. The first log house was erected by William Merrill in 1818, and was afterwards converted by him into an inn. Here, in 1826, he was murdered by one John Powell, who was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for the crime. The first frame house was erected by William Tanner, and was used by him as a dwelling and a store. The first church edifice was the Union building erected in 1833. A tannery was erected near the village on Plessis Creek in 1821 by James Carter. A school house was built in 1826, after the formation of the districts. The chief manufactories in the vicinity of Plessis are the grist, saw, and shingle mills of John H. Cline, and the saw-mill of Horace F. Hoyt.
PLESSIS PRINTED PAPER IN 1843
from The Thousand Islands Sun, Courtesy of Jeanne Snow, editor
The village of Plessis once boasted of a newspaper, published almost a century ago, according to an old scrap book which quotes from this paper and mentions some of the leading people of that period in the thriving village, named by LeRay as Plessis. The paper, bearing the name of "The Flat Rock Expositor," had a date line of 1843. The publishers state that the paper is published "to enlighten rising generations of the community."
Jason Clark was the leading man in the community and the scrap book tells that Mr. Clark gave the address at the opening of the Gouverneur Fair in the fall of 1859. In fact, the address was published in booklet form and states that it was delivered by Mr. Clark of Plessis before the Gouverneur Agricultural and Mechanical Society September 1859. This is recorded as being the first meeting of the society and that Henry H. Haile was president and George Parker secretary. In his address, Mr. Clark urges farmers to practice the plan of underdrainage.
In the year 1830 Jason Clark purchased, with William Shurtleff, the grist mill of the village and under their operation the mill was very successful and brought to the village added life, so that it was one of the leading pioneer villages of northern Jefferson County.
Among the names mentioned in the paper were those of Messrs. Clark, Dunton, Tanner, Sweet, Corlis, Bartholomew and Parker.
(From the scrapbook of the late Lulu Williams.)
If you have additional information, comments, or suggestions, please contact:
Nan Dixon
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