John Wilcox was the first settler on Haskins' hill, a little east of Indian orchard, Lot 13, the site of the village of Tueyahdassoo. The orchard was then about twenty acres, well laid out and productive. The fruit was in demand and the sales profitable. The site commands a fine view. In 1792 Comfort Rounds settled two miles north of the center, and William Haskins came and gave name to Haskins' hill. In 1793 James Sherman came to the east hollow, named from him and Solomon Owen, settled in the same place. Sherman soon after built the first sawmill in town, on Butternut creek. In 1794 Isaac and Elias Conklin came and soon built a sawmill and grist mill on Conklin's creek. The latter was the first of its kind in Pompey, and was built in 1798. Three beautiful falls are below these, the stream descending five hundred feet within a mile.
In 1794 came John Houghtaling, Amaziah Branch, Benjamin June, James Pearce, Samuel Hyatt, Amasa Wright and Reuben Bryan. Two Hessian soldiers settled here, Hendrick Upperhousen and John Hill.
Ozias Northway, an early settler, kept a tavern in the west part of the town. Colonel Jeremiah Gould and Isaac Keeler were near Jamesville. Near La Fayette square were the Bakers, Joseph Smith, Jeremiah Fuller and Dr. Silas Park. Dr. Park's ride was from Liverpool to Cortland, and from Skaneateles to Cazenovia. Colonel Gould built the first frame house in 1800, and Isaac Hall built the next in 1801. Messrs. Rice and Hill are said to have been the first merchants at La Fayette square, about 1802-03. Mr. Cheney had the first tavern there, a little before that of Orange King. The first town meeting was held in that village March, 1826. Charles Jackson was elected supervisor and Johnson Hall town clerk. In 1801 a state road from Cazenovia to Skaneateles was laid out through the town.
A number of sulphur springs have been described, and also a salt spring, to which deer used to resort. It is said that another Indian orchard was in Sherman Hollow, Lots 76 and 91, when Shermans came there, but there is no record of an Indian settlement, nor does Clark mention it.
The first white child born here was Amy, daughter of John Wilcox, in 1791. In 1793 was the first marriage, that of Solomon Owen to Lois, daughter of Comfort Rounds. The latter lived to one hundred and five years. Asa Drake was another prominent settler of 1792. Ebenezer Hill came to the north part of the town in 1795, and was a powerful man and a noted hunter. General Isaac Hall settled a mile south of La Fayette village and was a wealthy man and large landholder.
Clark Bailey and his family came in 1802, with some means. He and his son Richard settled on Lot 88, and his other son Lot 8, Tully, adjoining this on the south. The father donated a cemetery, Stephen opened a famous tavern, John conducted an ashery and general store. Richard built the Tully Valley mills, and led parties to kill rattlesnakes on Bear mountain, where they abounded. The last one was killed in 1854 by Solomon White.
With the building of the Skaneateles and Cazenovia road the village of La Fayette was more carefully laid out. A central square was donated, and around this the village grew up. Amaziah Branch, who came in 1794, had studied for the ministry, but had not been licensed to preach. He soon began holding services in private houses, and the Columbian Congregational Society was organized October 14, 1805. In October, 1809, the Congregational church (now Presbyterian) was formed by the Rev. Benjamin Bell, at Stoughton Morse's tavern, where the Temperance House afterward stood. In 1819-20 a church was built, and a session house was added in 1846. The latter was replaced by another in 1861, each becoming a town hall. In August, 1884, the First Presbyterian succeeded to the title of Congregational.
Early in the last century the Methodists had a church a mile east of Onativia station. In 1853 it was removed near that place. In 1825 they formed the Ebenezer church of Cardiff, building a chapel there, which was burned in 1857 and at once rebuilt.
The Roman Catholics for several years held services in a hall in La Fayette village, but in 1888 St. Joseph's church was built under the pastorate of Rev. Michael O'Reilley.
About 1838 Cardiff had shown some life, having better roads. In 1839 John F. Card built a large grist mill, which became Edward Voigt's in 1862. He added a sawmill and steam power. In April,, 1878, it was burned, but another grist mill has since been built. Mr. Card had a store and distillery, and was a favorite. So the people want to use his name in that of the village. Cardbury and Cardville did not suit, but Cardiff took their fancy. So we have a Welsh name among our Onondaga hills, and no one frets. It might have been worse.
West of Cardiff and the creek is the grave of the Cardiff giant, the great hoax of 1869, of which a brief account will be given.
Onativia was once La Fayette station. Its meaning is unknown, if it has one, but it commands a magnificent view. East of the reservoir was the Onondaga town of 1696, where the gallant French army spent some days that summer, cutting green corn. They might have done that at home.
Considering that this town has a Bear mountain, bear stories might be expected, but they are few. Probably the Indians took charge of the game. Amos Palmeter had settled a mile south of La Fayette village in 1803, and had a pig pen well stocked. It as covered with logs to keep out bears and wolves, but one log got askew, and in the night there was a lusty squealing. Amos thought discretion the better part of valor, and stuck to the house. His wife thought of the pork barrel, of lard, hams and sausage, seized an axe and went to the rescue. Bruin poked his head out, received a blow and fell back. She replaced the log, took a firebrand and ran nearly a mile to a neighbor's through the woods, for aid. The bear, however, died from her first stroke, and Amos saved his bacon but not his reputation.
The Onondaga village at Indian Orchard was probably abandoned before the Revolution, and when John Wilcox came there as the first settler he pruned the old trees. In each he found a bunch of small branches, enough to fill a bushel basket. The Indians told him this "was the work of bears, who ascended the trees in autumn gathering in the slender branches loaded with apples, with their paws, leisurely devouring the fruit, at the same time depositing the branches under them."
Soon after gathering some earlier crops in stacks they were burned, and he suspected the Indians. Their chief did not deny it but said: "You dig up no more dead Indian, no more will your stacks be burned." The reply was sufficient, and digging and burning both ceased.
Clark said: "This town was remarkable for the abundance of its game. Bears, wolves, foxes and wild cats were everywhere numerous; and instances are still related of their having been frequently destroyed. They often did mischief among the flocks of the early settlers. Deer were very numerous, and were often seen in herds of 20 or 30." Some add panthers, which is probably but not certain.
"Stories of adventure are still extant, notably one in which Dr. Silas Park figured as a hero, when one of the party was so thoroughly frightened at sight of a huge bear that he actually tumbled down hill and fired his gun in the tree tops. Paul King and Erastus Baker killed a large wolf in Christian Hollow near the Tully line, while George King slew another in the vicinity of Suydenham Baker's, near the present village of La Fayette."
Parties of a dozen would formerly go to Bear mountain on a warm day in may to kill rattlesnakes, which lay there under or on large flat stones. On one hunt fifteen were killed, but half a century ago saw their end.
In the war of 1812, Captain Richard Bailey, a leader in these hunts was twice called out with his company; once to Oswego and once to Sackett's Harbor, but saw no fighting. His sword now belongs to his granddaughter in Minnesota.
Collingwood is a recent hamlet through the grist and saw mills there were established by Calvin Cole about 1838. It has a postoffice, store, carriage shop and school.
In 1888 there was a project for building a dam across the narrows at Indian hill, north of Cardiff, to furnish a water supply for Syracuse. Borings were made and the hill was found to be of drift material, with solid shale on the east side. Eight feet below the surface the valley undisturbed flat rocks are found.
General Hall has been mentioned as an early settler, and of him it was reported that he brought half a bushel of silver dollars with him, a favorite story of early men. He let cattle to his neighbors to double, often a profitable deal, and grew rich. When he died in 1830 his property was valued at seventy thousand dollars, a great sum for those days.
The south half of the Indian reservation was included in La Fayette by the act of 1825, but the town levies no taxes there, and exercises no legal jurisdiction. The law simply forecasted what might be if the Indian title were extinguished.
The Cardiff Giant was "found" October 16, 1869, on William C. ("Stub") Newell's farm, and the scheme was devised by George Hull of Binghamton. He secured a suitable block of gypsum near Fort Dodge, Iowa, which was taken to Chicago and took on a human form. Many were the ingenious devices to give it the necessary appearance, but on its completion it was shipped to Union, Broome county, and thence taken by a four horse team to the Newell farm, buried, and in due time discovered. Up to this time it had cost about two thousand six hundred dollars, but at once began to pay. It was a very impressive sight in its long grave, under the friendly tent which welcome all who had the fee. Nor was it easy at first to prove the use of tools, these being only clearly apparent on the face. It was fearfully out of proportion,--a child's head on a man's body, and limbs in impossible positions--but all the same it was impressive, and many were the surmises on the time when "there were giants in those days." What had he thought? What had he done?
Thousands visited the spot in the two weeks the statue remained there, and then it went to Syracuse for exhibition, where its success was great, but where there were opportunities for closer examination, and doubts began to arise. It is curious now to see how men of taste and knowledge overlooked its palpable lack of proportion, considered as a statue or as a really petrified man, but they did. Eventually some doubted, as a few had done from the first, and doubts began to strengthen. Things were put together, and at length the whole story came out, but not till the giant had been exhibited in Boston and Albany before the scientists of those places, bringing in a golden harvest and some very odd opinions.
So many duplicates were made of this by Professor Otto that it is uncertain what became of the original figure, which once brought forty thousand dollars. It is said it was destroyed by fire in Huron, Dakota, in 1885, but this may not be the original, which takes rank among the greatest humbugs of central New York, which are not few.
Stoughton Morse is said to have kept the first store in the town, and Amaziah Branch was the first teacher.
La Fayette village in 1835 had a Presbyterian church, two stores, a tavern, and twelve or fifteen dwellings. In 1886 it had two dealers in agricultural implements, two blacksmiths, one furniture maker, two shoemakers, two hotels, three stores, wagon shop, three sawmills, a grist mill, two churches, a physician, milliner and butcher.
Cardiff was still called Christian Hollow in 1835, but had a post office, Methodist church, tavern, two stores and ten or twelve dwellings. The first merchant was George Clark, and the first carriage maker was William B. Kirk, who removed to Syracuse and became a man of note. He was succeeded by V. A. Houghten, who carried on business for a long time. John Spencer was a tanner and currier and made shoes. B. D. Sniffin, Dyer Northway and D. P. Westcott were blacksmiths; Abiel Davison carried on wool carding and cloth dressing; Archibald Garfield, William B. Kirk, and Asa Farrington were early hotel keepers.
In 1886 the village had two stores, two blacksmith shops, a hotel, wagon shop, sawmill, grist and cider mill, two physicians, two dressmakers and a Methodist church.