Ij'

HISTORYOF

PLATTSBURGH,N.Y.,FROMITS FIRST

SETTLEMENT TO

JAN.

I,

1

876

='^^=:^$^:^ 5?r^^^^fc=^'

PLATTSBURGH,1877.

N.Y.

HISTORYOF

PLATTSBURGHFROMITS FIRST

SETTLEMENT TOJ6^\].ii

JAN.

I,

1876.

"^e^L^^

ii

PLATTSBURGH,1877.

N.Y.

INTRODUCTORY.\^?^',

In the year 1871 a series of articles were prepared by

Peter S. Palmer and published in the Plattsburgh Republican

under the name of

"

Northern

New York

Historical

Society Papers."

Paper

"

one," of that series, which reis

ferred principally to the village of Plattsburgh,

repro-

duced

in the following pages.

PLATTSBURGH (VILLAGE).One hundred andment issuedland, lying

seven years ago the English governfor

a

mandamus

thirty

thousand acresto

of

on the west side

of

Lake Champlain,

be

surveyed to Count Charles de Fredenburgh.rant bears date January1

The

warhad,

1,

1769.

De Fredenburghthis,

however, several years prior to

selected the tract

covered by the warrant and commenced improvements

upon

it,

by the erection

of a comfortable dwelling-houseits

on

the south bank of the river Saranac, at

mouth, and of

a saw-mill, at the rapids, three miles above, yet" Fredenburgh's Falls."it^

known as

From

papers in the land-office,

appears that on the 19th of August, 1767, Fredenburghassociates petitioned for a grant of 20,000

and nineteen

acres of land, at

Cumberland Bay, on the west

of

Lake

Champlain, for which a warrant of survey was issued January27,

1768 {Vol. XXIV.).

On

the

nth

of January,

1769, a

mandamus was

issued, granting de

Fredenburgh

30,000 acres, which was followed on the 24th of

May by

a warrant of survey, to lay out the 30,000 acres on the west side of the lake, beginningisland of Valcour, including bothat a point

opposite the

banks

of the "

Saranak"

River as far as the high

falls,

the sandy beach and creek,

and

also the

whole point

of

Cumberland Bay, commonly

1 See recital in Patent of Plattshurgli. The dwelling-lioiise occupied by de Fredenburgh, stood near the site of the late United States Hotel.

4

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.(Vol.

called Squinanton, or

Cumberland Head

XXXVII.).

The

value of this tract seems to have been well

known

at that time, as the land papers

show

that on the 5th of

April,

1

769, William Kelley, in behalf of

Lord Viscount

Townsend and

twenty-four

associates, petitioned for a

grant of 25,000 acres, bounded east by Cumberland Bay

and extending west on both sides

of the

Saranac River,

including the land covered by the warrant of survey, of

January

27, 1768,

above mentioned (Vol. XXV.).

De

Fredenburg,

who had beenof repute

a

captainof

in

the

British army,

was a person

and

some pecunitime766, to

ary means.

He was

one

of the

gentlemen composing theCarlton, at the1

retinue of Gov.

Moore and Gen.

they visited Lake Champlain in the autumn ofestablish

the boundary line between the Provinces of

New York

and Canada.is

His dwelling on the banks

of

the Saranac

described as having

been sumptuously

furnished, and the seat of refinement

and

taste.

Here,

surrounded by the families of his workmen, who dweltin

rude cabins near the lake or at the

" Falls,"

he lived

with his wife and children in almost unbroken solitude,

looking forward to the day when his broad acres would

be cleared and his possessions on the

Saranac should

produce baronial wealth.

De

Fredenburgh's

nearest

neighbors at

this

time

were John La Frombois, who lived on the shore of the lake, a short distance south from Sax's Landing, inChazy, and William

Hay and Henry

Cross,

who

resided

on

Friswell's Patent, opposite the island of Valcour.

As

early as 1766 a small cabin

had been erected by William

PLATTSBURGHGilllland,

VILLAGE.at the

5

on lands claimed by him

mouth

of the

Salmon

River, for the purpose of preventing an encroachin that direction.I

ment by De Fredenburghpermanently occupied.'

It

was never

have

no data from

which

to ascertain the duration of

De

Fredenburgh's residence,

or the extent of the improvements

made by him.Revolution, and

Here-

removed

his

family to Montreal a short time before theof the

commencement

war

of the

turned alone to protect his property.

About

this

time

the house and mill were burnt down, and

De

Fredensettle-

burgh mysteriously disappeared.

No

subsequent

ment was made1785.

in this

immediate vicinity

until the year

Inin

1

781, the Legislature of the State of

New

York,

order to encourage the

raising

of

troops

for the

defense of the State, passed certainties of

acts, offering

boun-

unappropriated lands to such

officers

and

soldiers

as should enlist within a time specified.

These bounties

were divided into rightsa provision in theact,

of

500 acres each, and there was

that

whenever any number

of

persons entitled collectively to sixty-one rights, or 30,500acres,

should join in a location, the lands so located

should be laid out in a township of seven miles square,

and that the remaining 860 acres

in

such township

should be reserved for gospel and school purposes.In 1784, Zephaniah Piatt, of Poughkcepsie, in behalfof himself and thirty-two associates,

who

collectively

had

acquired the requisite

number

of " rights," located

them

upon the

tract of land

which had been claimed by40, 133.

De

"

Watson's Champlain Valley," pp.

6

PLATTSBURGHhis

VILLAGE.

Fredenburgh under

warrant, and, on the

12th of

Augustand

of that

year, procured

the requisite certificate

from the Surveyor-General, that the lands were vacantunappropriated.Piatt,

Letters

-

Patent were

issued

to

Zephaniah

on the

26th day of October,

1784.

Aboutin

the

same

time, Mr. Piatt obtained

from the State,

behalf of

himself,

Nathaniel Piatt and

Simon R.to

Reeves, a patent for two thousand acres of land, including

Cumberland Head, and extending north

lands

belonging to Beekman and company.'

These two

tracts

were incorporated into a townof April, 1785.

called Plattsburgh,

on the 4th day

Three

years later the boundaries of the town were extended soas to include the territory

embraced within the

limits of

the present towns of Beekmantown, Dannemora, Saranac,

and Schuyler

Falls, with a part of

Peru and Black Brook,of Franklin.1

and a small portion

of the

county

Ontors

the 29th day of October,

784, three days after

the Patent of Plattsburgh had been issued, the proprie-

met

at the inn of

John Simmons,

in the city of

New

York, to devise plans to secure the immediate settlementof the lands

an objectsix

of

much

importance, as the patent"

contained a condition requiring the patentee tosettler

put one

upon every

hundred acresits

of land in the tract,

within three years after'

date,"

and declaring that "forto the legislature,

De

Fredenburgh's children applied unsuccessfully

at a later period, for recognition of their title to the tract claimedfather.

by theirGilli-

The

title

to

Cumberland Head had been claimed by WilliamLieut.

hnd, under assignment fromthe colony of

Lowe, an

officer

who had served underLowe's claim waspp. Ii8, 193.

New

York,

in the

French and Indian war.

not recognized by the State.

"

Watson's Champlain Valley,"

PLATTSBURGHnon-compliancein

VILLAGE.

7

making suchto give to

settlement," the lands

granted would revert to the State.proposition was

At

this

meeting a

made

such of the proprietors

as should within two years from that time build a

dam

and

mills

upon the Saranac, the exclusivemill-lot of fifty acres,

title

to the

Fredenburgh Falls

and

to

one hunits

dred acres lying on the north side of the river at

mouth.Piatt, Piatt,

This proposition was accepted by ZephaniahPeter

Piatt

Newcomb, Nathaniel Rogers, Charles Piatt, Thomas Treadwell,Tappen,Zaccheusof the associates

SimonIsrael

R. Reeves, Melancton Smith, Jonathan Lawrence,

Smith and John Addams, twelveat

who metagreed"

the

house of Judge Zephaniah

Piatt

in

Poughkeepsie on the 30th December, 1784, and mutuallyto be jointly

concerned

in the building of a saw-

mill, grist-mill

and a forge on theto

river

Saranac the next

summer, each

advance an equal proportion of money.augeu" (pirogue)of a

TheyPiatt

also agreed to build a " pettysize,

moderate

and

to

purchase twine for a seine.for the

Judge

was appointed agentat $541,

company.

The expense^100;

was estimatedIrons,

as

follows:

Millstones,;

^125;

Nails,

$37.50; Iron, $16cloth,

Transportation,

$15; Saw, $7.50; Bolting

$15

;

Pork, $So; Bread,title

$65

;

Rum

$So}

Onand

the 6th February, 1785, the

to the 100 acres

to the

FredenburghIt

Falls mill-lotof

was vestedthe

in the twelve

by deed.

was the intention

company

to

procure the iron ore for the forge from aState, lyingof

bed owned by the

on the bordersPoint,

of the lake,

about eieht miles north1

Crown

known!

as the

Eighty dollars for rum and only

sixty-five for

bread

but they were

buildinjr a srist-niill.

8"

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.1784, chapter 63, 4,]

Skeene's ore bed;" [Laws of

and, for this purpose, they obtained permission from the

State to take ore from that bed for the term of ten years.

Laws

of 1785, chapter 57, 3.]this section in 1763,

Mr. WilHam GilHland, who visitedsays of the Saranacthis river,:

"

Proceeded about two miles upto be

which proveditsis

much;

larger than the Bouat

quet,

and rapid from

mouth uparift,

about 400 yards

from the lake thereconvenientlywilllifted,fall

where the water may beit

and, by carrying

about 200 yards,feet that

produce araised^

of about 10 feet,

which with twowill

may beaIt

by a small stony dam,

be enough for

mill."

At

the head of these rapids the

dam was

built.

crossed the stream at the bend of therods above the present dam.side of thegrist-millriver,

river, forty

or

fifty

A forge

was erected

on the westsaw-mill,

near the dam, and a smallthirty rods below.

and a

some twenty or

These

mills

were supplied with water through a flume,river.

passing along the margin of theeight feet in height.

The dam was about

The frame22d

of the saw-mill

was raised on Monday, thelast

of June, 1785,

and as the

pin was driven home,

Cornelius Haight, one of the workmen, proclaimed themill " the glory

of the Saranac."

The proprietors also set apart 997 acres, as gift lots, to the first persons who should settle on the patent, and laidout 30lots of

100 acres each, to be sold at a

"

low

rate."

These

lots

included

some

of the best lands in the township.in

The

" gift lots"*

were twelve

number. Number one, whichp. 117.

"Watson's Champlain Valley,"

PLATTSBURGHcontained 6iStreet,acres, lay north

VILLAGE.

9

and adjoining Corneliato the

and extended from the Convent D'YouvilleThislot

lake shore.

was given

to Charles

Piatt,

who

also received lot two, containing 67 acres,

which adjoinedthree,

number one onlot

the north.

Next north was number

containing 100 acres, conveyed to

Thomas

Allen.

This

extended as far west as the Bailey farm.

Jabez Pettit

received

number

four,

which

also

extended from the lake

shore to the line of the Bailey farm, and was bounded onthe north by the Boynton road.

Numbers five, six, seven andB. Hart-

eight contained 81 acres each, and were given, in the order

named,

to

Kinner Newcomb, Mr. Sexton, John

wick, and Derrick

Webb, and includedlot.

all

the territory

lying west of Catherine Street, to an extension south ofthe east bounds of the school

Number nine

contain-

ed 81 acres, and was given to Cyrenus Newcomb.lot

This

was bounded by the school

lot

on the west and by the

old

Beekmantown road on

the east.

Number

ten,

which

contained 50 acres, lay on the opposite side of this road,

and included the Bailey homestead farm and a portionof the

Boynton farm, lying southto

of the

Boynton

road.

This was given

Moses Soper.

Jacob Ferris receivedall

numberterritory

eleven, containing

120 acres, including

the

on the

east side of the river, extending south as far

as the

bend

of the river, near old Fort

Brown. This

lot ex-

tended twenty-five feet into thehalf its water power.

river,

and included one-

given to Charles

Number twelve, which was also Piatt, who received numbers one and

two, contained 94 acres. This lot lay north of the Boyn-

ton road and included the east portion of the farm lately

owned by Mr. Hewitt.

lO

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

The 30a"

lots of

100 acres each, set apart to be sold at

low

rate,"

were also advantageously located, including

all

the territory on the Boynton road as far west as thelot,"

"

Glebe

and that on the Plank Road and Rugar

Street, as far west as Thorn's corners.

Of these23, 1785,

lots

there had been sold, as early as

August

on the

Boynton

road,

lot

one

to

Peter

Roberts, lot

two to

Charles McCreedy, lot three to John Kelly, lot five to

Melancton L. Woolsey, andliam Mitchell.lot ten to

lots

seven and eight to Wil-

On

the west road,lot

now

the plank road,

Daniel Averill,

eleven to Joseph Wait, lotlot

seventeen to Simeon Newcomb,

eighteen to Daniel;

Newcomb, lot fourteen to Mr. Saxton and on road or Rugar Street, lots nine, thirteen andandlot

the southfifteen,

toJr.,

Daniel Averill, Nathan Averill, and Daniel Averill,

twenty to Samuel Beeman.the

On81lots,

23d day of August, the proprietors divided

24,300 acres

among

themselves.

The

division

embraced

one-third containing 200 acres, one-third 300 acres,

and the remaining one-third 400 acres each.tion

The

appor-

ment was made by']'],

ballot.

Simon R. Reeves drew

lots 6, 31, 58, 10, 33,

19,46,72

2,700

acres.15, 40,

Simon74

R. Reeves and John Addams, numbersacres.

900Isreal

Zacheus Newcomb,21,

16, 30,59,

900acres.

acres.

and Samuel Smith,

51, 73I,

900

Zephaniahacres.

Piatt, 20,47, 68, 22, 29, 65,

52,

63,3,42,663,600acres.

John Addams,and Son,38,6914, 35,

5,

39,

55,

900acres.

Burnett Miller23,12,

62

900

Melancton Smith,

900 acres. 48,60 900 56, 9007'

Charles Piatt and Piatt Rogers,

acres.

Thomas Storm and LewisPiatt Rogers,17, 43,

Barton,

32,

acres.

67

900

1

PLATTSBURGHacres.

VILLAGE.

1

Peter Taylor, Benjamin Smith and Albert An2,

drance,Berrien,

28,

57

900

acres.

Benjamin Walker, John25,37,

and AndrewPiatt,

Billings,

78

900

acres.

Nathaniel3,600.

11,50,76,79,36,64,8,27,54,4,41,81

Nathaniel Tom, Jonathan Lawrence, and Eben-

ezer Mott, 13, 44, 75

90053

acres.

Benjamin Calkins, Ben26, 80,

jamin Titus, and Jacobus and Samuel Swartout,

70

900

acres.

William Floyd, Ezra L'Homedieu, and

John Smith,24, 45, 71iel

18, 49,

900

acres.

Thomas Tread well,

9009,

acres,

and Philip Schuyler and Nathanacres.

North rup,

34,61

900

Prior to this division, the town had been organized

and town

officers

duly elected.

The

first

town meet-

ing was held at the dwelling-house of Charles Piatt, onthe thirdpervisor,

Tuesday

of June,

1

785.

Mr. Piatt was elected SuPiatt,

and Zaccheus Newcomb, NathanielCommissionersof

and

Piatt Rogers,

Highways.

On

the istto the

day

of October, the

Commissioners made return

town clerk

of the public

highwaysstill

laid out in the town.

Many

of these roads are

in existence,

and form the

principal highways of the town.

A

number, however,

which appearnever opened.

to have

been

laid

out at this time, were

The

earliest

complete record of town

officers

I

have

found are those for the year 1786.

The town meetingCharles Piatt

was held on Tuesday, the 3d day

of April.

was elected Supervisor; Kinner Newcomb, John Ransom, and Jacob Ferris, Assessors; John Ransom,Clerk;

TownFerris,

Darick Webb, Jonas Allen, and Jacob;

Overseers of the Poor

Samuel Beeman, Cyrenus New-

I

2

PLATTSBURGIIB.

VILLAGE.

comb, and John

Hartwick, Commissioners of High-

ways

;

Darick

Webb

and Cyrenus Newcomb, Appraisers;

of Insolvent Estates

Thomas

Allen, Allen Smith, and

Abraham Montee, Constables; Thomas Allen, Collector; Col. Edward Antill, Capt. Benjamin Mooers, and MajorGolvin, Commissioners oftrict;

Roads

in the

Northern Dis-

Kinner Newcomb and Lewis Reynolds, Fence;

Viewers

and Jacob

Ferris,

Kinner Newcomb, Samuel

Beeman, Jonas Allen, Titus Andrus, Joseph Thurber,Capt. Montee, and Mr. Harden, Pathmasters.

Jacob Ferris,

who owned

the water-power on the east-

side of the river, built a saw-mill at the east

endit.

of the

dam, and a

grist-mill a short distance

below

(See

Record

of Deeds, Liber K., p. 199.)

A

fulling-mill, dye-

house, and mill-house were subsequently erected, on the

sameto

side of the river.

In November, 1787, Ferris conof his

veyed an undivided half

water privilege and millshalf to

Benjamin Mooers, and the otherin

Theodorus

Piatt,1

October,

1792.

On

the

8th of

November,

796, Mr.

Mooers conveyedPiatt.

his interest in the property

to

Zephaniah

Thealsoto

mill property

on the oppositeIn

side of the riverber,

had

changed owners.one hundred

Novem-

1797, the

title

the

acres, except

twelve building

lots, laidtitle

out by Piatt Rogers, as surveyor,

in

1

79 1, and the

of so

much

of the Ferris lot as

hadin

been

set apart for mill purposes,Piatt,

had become vested

Zephaniah

Theodorus;

Piatt,

and Melancton Smith,

as tenants in

common

Zephaniah Piatt owning an undifourth.

vided

half,

and the others each a

In this year, 1797, the old

dam

at the

bend

of the

3

PLATTSBURGHriver

VILLAGE.site of

1

was torn down, and a new one, about fourteenon or near the

feet

high, ^\as erected

the present dam,

and new198.)

mills built there. (See 17 Johnson's N. Y. Reports,

A

race or canal

was

also

dug across

to " Clark's

Landing," and a forge and fulling-mill were built on the

low land nearthis time, stood

its

mouth.

The

grist-mill, erected

aboutfifty

near the west end of the dam, aboutstreet.

feet

back from the

This mill was destroyed by a

freshet a few years afterwards,mill

when

the location of the

was changed

to the site of the present stone mill

on

the east side of the river.several persons were

Atin

the time of this freshet

engaged

removing the machinery;

from the

when the building fell all escaped except Daniel Robinson, who was carried down the stream as farmill,

as Mr. Sailly's ashery, one hundred rods below, where he

was rescued by persons standing on thethe water subsided, the

shore.

WhenThe

millstone was found at the placeof the river.

where Robinson had been drawn out

"Governor" declaredand floated uponprobable,still

that

when he foundto

the mill was

tumbling to pieces, he clungit

the millstone for safety,

to that point.

The

story seems im-

the fact that the stone was found at theis

place where he landed,freshet

evidence of

its

truth.

This

was

for

many

years afterwards referred to as thethe river on a mill-

one

"

when Gov. Robinson rode downmill property

stone."

While thePiatt,

was owned by Zephaniahis

Theodorus

Piatt

and Mclancton Smith, whatThis

now knownwaslaid out

as the

" eight-and-one-half

acres mill-lot,"

and appropriated to

mill purposes.

4

1

PLATTSBURGHall

VILLAGE.upon bothtitle to

inclLidcdriver.

the mill privileges

sides of the

In December, 1817, thein

the whole propertyis

became vestednerin

Levi Piatt.

ThePiatt

followinghis title:

the

manand

which Judge Piatt acquired

In 1797, asone-half,

has been stated, Zephaniah

owned

TheodorusZephaniah

Piatt

and Melancton Smith each one-fourth.died in 1808, devised one-fourth toto Levi in

Piatt, wdio

his son James,

who conveyed

November, 1809.

HewhoL.,

devised his remaining one-fourth to his son David,

died before his father.

This portion went to ZephJames, Charles

aniah Piatt's eleven surviving children.

and Jonas, conveyed

their interest to Levi in 1809-10,

and Levi took one forty-fourth

as heir.

The

title to

the

remaining seven parts was acquired by Levi by commissioner's deed on a sale in partition.

Theodorus

Piatt

conveyedout,

his one-fourth, in July, 1803, toto

Barnadus Swart-

who conveyed

Melancton Smith, Sidney Smith,Bleeker was a party

and John Bleeker,to the partition suit.

in June, 1804.

Melancton and Sidney Smith conto

veyed their interest

Levi

Piatt, in

December, 181

7.

The

elder

Melancton Smith died

in

possession of his

one-fourth,

which was subsequently sold on execution\Mckoff, in No-

against his heirs and devisees, and conveyed by sheriff's

deed

to

John Suydam and Henry1

S.

vember,

8 10.

partition suit.ber, 1817.

Suydam and Wickoff were parties to the They also joined in the deed of DecemBankof

In May, 1827, thetoall

Plattsburgh acquired

title

the water-power in

the eight-and-one-half

acre

mill-lot,

and

also to land lying north of Bridge Street,

on

5

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

1

the east side of the river,"which was not tlien considered

a portion of the mill property.

The Trustees

of the

Bank subdivided

that portion

of the eight-and-one-half

acre lot adjacent to the river, and the lots on the northside of Bridge Street into eight mill-lots,

and

after reserv-

ing for the grist-mill a supply of water

suflficient for

eight

run of stones, allotted the residue of the water to thesemill-lots, in the

proportion of one-third to the west sideto the east side of the river.

and two-thirds

tion thus allotted to each sidelots

The proporwas subdivided among the

lying on the respective sides.one, adjoining the

On

the east side

number

dam, and number two, lyingenti-

between number one and Bridge Street, were eachtled to two-elevenths.

Numbers

three and four, lying on

the north side of Bridge Street, to the

same

quantity,last,

and number

five,

which

lay north

and below the two

to three-elevenths.

On

the west side,

number

six,

adjoinallot-

ing the dam, was entitled to one-fifth of the waterted to that side of the river,

and number seven, adjoining

but below the dam, and number eight, which fronted on

Bridge Street, to two-fifths each.All of this mill property was sold at public auction,

by themill-lots

trustees,

in

July, 1829.

The

grist-mill,

and the

numbers

one, six

and seven, were purchased by

Richard Yates, as trustee for certain State Banks, andthe remaining lots by John Palmer.sale,

At the time

of this

a small portion only of this water-power was in use.six,

On

the west side of the dam, on lot

a brick building

stood, used as a wool-carding

and cloth-dressing estab-

lishment.

An

old saw-mill stood in the stream, just be-

6

1

PLATTSBURGHlot

VILLAGE.oil-mill.^

low the dam, oneight,

seven, and an old building on lot

which had been used as anthe saw-mill over

Access was

had

to

a causeway of slabs, leadingriver

from Bridge Street between the

and the

oil-mill.

These threewere

buildings, with an old rickety saw-mill at

the east end of the dam, on lot one, and the grist-mill,all

the works then connected with the water-power

at this

dam.

An

old red building stood on the south

side of the street near the east

end

of the

bridge,

and

a smallstreet.

wooden building on the opposite

side of the

A

dwelling, which the miller generally occupied,

stood on the west side of Green Street in rear of the oldIsrael

Green Hotel, and there were three small dwellingsof a

on the south side

passage-way running along the

bank

of the river opposite the

Upperafter

Island.his purchase, con-

Judge Palmer, immediately

structed a flume, for the supply of lots two, three, four,

and

five.

He

also, in

1830, built a

dam about

half a

mile further up the river, at the Covered Bridge, on which

Mr. Cyrus Waterhouse, the next year, erected a smallsaw-mill.In 1835,

Ashley Clark erected works

for saw-

ing marble at this dam.

In the spring of 1833, Judgeside of Bridge Street

Palmer soldat the lower

lot " four,"

on the north

dam,

to- Clark,

Reynolds

&

McGregor, whosimilar building

erected works for sawing marble.

A

was subsequently erected by

Hill,

Stephenson

&

Board-

man on

lot

" five."

At

these mills, and at the marble

mills of Mr. Clark, at the

upper dam, large quantities ofquarries were sawed.in 1821.

marble from the1

Isle

La Motte

The

oil-mill

was started by John Mallory,

7

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

1

In 1833, Douglass L. Fouquet purchased the easthalf of lot"

three,"

on which he erected a large wooden

building.

Here

C. S. Bliss

&J.

Co. carried on the cardingfor a short time,

and cloth-dressing businesswere succeeded by Hiram

when theytrans-

Bentley,

ferred his interest to Mr. Fouquet.

who in 1835 At this time

(1835)

Noyes

P.

Gregory carried on the carding and cloth-dress-

ing business at the west end of the bridge.

HoraceClark,

Boardman haderected on

a

small

foundry in a stone buildingthe marble mill ofoperation,

number "five;"

McGregorwoollenfactory.

&

Co. was in

full

and the small

building at the east end of the bridge, near Fouquet'smill,

was occupied by E. H. BarnumS.

as a

comb

William Palmer and Charles

Mooers occu-

pied the stone building which had been erected in 1833,

on the

site of

the old oil-mill, as a cotton factory.

Cor-

nelius Halsey

&

Co. had another cotton factory in the

brick building at the west end of the dam.

Owing

to

the great difficulty and expense of reaching a southern

market during eight months

of the year,

and the small

capacity of these establishments, the manufacture of cot-

ton cloth was soon abandoned.also closed after a

few years.

The marble At or aboutThe

millsthis

weretime,

Peleg T. Stafford and James Smith had a small machine

shop

in rear of the

Fouquet building.

old saw-mill

continued in a dilapidated condition, and was used for

custom work only.J.

It

continued so until

1

846,

when

F.

&

S.

W.

Barnard, of Albany, erected a large saw-mill

at that place.

After C. Halsey

&

Co. had discontinued

the manufacture of cotton cloth, the brick building was

8

1

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

used principally as a wheelwright and cabinetmaker'sshop, until about the year 1859,

when

it

was torn down

and a saw-mill erected by Mr. Tefft

in its })lace.

Havingof the

"

glanced

"

at the early history of that portion

one hundred

acres,

which

is

directly connectedlet

with the mill privileges at this place, time

us return to the

whenlots

the twelve building lots were laid out, in 1791.

These

extended west asacres,

far as the

west

line of the

one hundred

which was about ten rods east fromall

the present line of Catharine Street, and includedterritory

the

now bounded

north by Cornelia Street, south by

the

brow

of the hill in rear of

Broad

Street,

and east by

Margaret

Street, as laid out

between Cornelia and Brinkcontinued to theriver.

erhoff Street,

and thatall

line

They

contained inof

about forty-three acres of land, and were

uniform depth, east and west, but varied in width from

seven to eleven rods.

Although these1791,1797,I

lots

were surveyed

and apportioned

in

do not find that any portion

was occupied

until

when Doctor Chauncey Fitchof the present

bought number two, north

Court House,of

and the same year erected a dwelling on the east endthelot.

In February of that year,

numberthe

five

was conSeptem-

veyed

to Mrs.

Phebe Ketchum, who,lot in

as appears from the

record of deeds, lived on the

monthin

of

ber following.

The

next year, William and James Baileythe southeastsite

purchased about one-fourth of an acrecorner of numberjewelrystore,five,

near the present

of

Reed's

upon

which they erected aby Baileyefifice,

store, sub-

sequently occupiedPiatt

&

Piatt.

Theodorus

had a small

near a deep ravine south o

9

PLATTSBURGHthisstore.

VILLAGE.

1

These buildings fronted upon

the unoc-

cupied lands of the mill owners.

At

that time there

were no other buildings

in this section of the settlement

until 3^ou reached the vicinity of the block-house,"

on the

south road."

Near

this block house, Peter

Roberts had

built a blacksmith shop.

Beyond werelots.

several dwellings

erected on one of the giftPiatt

Prior to 1795, Nathaniel

had become the ownerBroad

of all the land"

on the south" of

side of

Street, west of the

building lots

the

mill proprietors.lots,

These he hadwhich

laid

out into 17 building

called the city lots, of

12 lay to the west of the

block-house, and 5 to the east.

A

building stood on the north bank of the river, aof the present railroad crossing, then

few rods west

or

soon afterwards occupied by Piatt

&

Mooers, as a

store..

Next1

east,

was the residence

of

Peter Sailly, erected in

795-6, with a store-house and ashery upon the bank of

the river opposite his dwelling.

Next

east of

Mr

Sailly 's,

stood a dwelling-house, built by Charles Piatt, and then

occupied by Benjamin Graves, and beyond were three orfour dwellings, and on the bank of the lake a block-house,

which was then used

as a

Court-House and

Jail.

On

the

east side of the river,

John Clark had

built a

house upon

the site of the old Fredenburgh house, which was occu-

pied byern.river," "

him and subsequently byof this building, at

Israel

Green, as a tav-

A

small store-house stood on the margin of thethe place then calledalso

back

Clark's Landinsf."

There were

two

buildinurs

onInlot

the point," which had been built by Jacob Ferris.1

September,

793,

John Lewis Fouquet purchased the2

20

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.wliicli

now owned by Mr.dwelling,

Lansing, upon

he erected aPiattbuilt

and soon afterwards

Zephaniahas

the

"homestead,"

now known

the

"government

house."

These

buildings, with the mills1

and the mill-houses

attached, constituted, about

798, nearly the entire settle-

ment within the presenttime,

limits of the village.

Up;

to this

no

streets

had been projected or openedbeing the

the only

thoroughfares

common"

highways, leadingproprietors' mills,"in

from the surrounding country to theas theyber.

were

called.

These highways were fouras

numroaid,"

One knownanother

the

"

Cumberland HeadSouth

passing along the north bank of the river to the foot ofthe bay;

known

as

"

Street,"

which lead

past Roberts's blacksmith shop, to the settlements in the

western and south-western parts of the township

;

anotherinter-

knownknown

as " the road to

Beekman's Patent," which

sected South Street near the Roberts shop, and a fourthas the " Perueast

Road," which crossed the bridge

and ran along thethe lake, to the

bank

of the river

and the shore of

mouth

of the

Salmon River and beyond.South Street, betweenshop,

There wasTheodorusmargin

also a short

road from Clark's tavern to thepoint.

two Ferris buildings on thePiatt'sofifice

and Roberts's

was a

crooked way, passing through the pine bushes along theof a ravine.its

Although

population at this time could not havefifty,

exceeded two hundred andtheless

the village had never-

become a place

of

considerable

importance.

^

Plattsburgh was the shiretown of a large tract of country,

1

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

2

extending to Lake George on the south and to the banksof

the

St.

Lawrence on the

west.

Courts were held

here, at

which the principal

citizens of the

county

as-

sembled, as ofHcers, jurors, witnesses or suitors, or toconfer together in relation to the political and local questions of the day.Its

merchants controlled the business

of a large section of country, collecting pot and pearl

ashes and furs for export, and sending, yearly, long raftsof timber to the of the ten

Quebec market.

WhenSt.

the inhabitants

townships upon the river

Lawrence

peti-

tioned the legislature of 1802 for the organization of the

county

of

St."

Lawrence, they based their applicationdifficulty,

upon thejurors

extreme

troubles

and expenses,attending atPlatts-

and witnesses must be subject

to, in

such a distance, together with the attendance at

burgh

for arranging

and returning the townhad resulted

business."

A

similar complaint, three years before, by the inhabi-

tants of

Crown

Point,

in the organization of

Essex County.

These changes did not

affect the busiit

ness or prosperity of the village, whileinhabitants of

relieved

the

Crown

Point and of ten townships from a

most serious inconvenience. In Winterbothani's America,

vol.

ii.

p.

324,

the

author refers to the early prosperity of thethe intelligenceof the:

village,

and

first

settlers,

in

the

following

quaint language

"

They haveglass

artisans of almost every

kind

among

them, and furnishbuilding,

among

themselvesPolite

all

the

materials

for

excepted.

circles

may

here be found, and the genteel traveller be enter-

tained with the luxuries of a sea-port, a tune on the

22

PLATTSBURGII

VILLAGE.

harpsicord, aiid a philosophical conversation."

This was

Plattsburgh in 1792.

*'

known that New York was originally a Slave State." The " institution," however, never flourIt is

well

ished in this or in any of the Northern Statesif

a

result,

we may judge from

the efforts of Massachusetts to

continue the slave-trade, attributable more to the influence of climate, than to the principles of the people.

Gerrit Smith encountered and was repulsed by the

same

obstacles of climate, when, a few years ago, he attemptedto settle the blacks

among the hills and snows of his Franklin County lands. The influence of a northern1

climate led to the enactment of a law, in

798, for the

gradual emancipation of slaves.184,1

This was followed, inslaves,

7,

by an act declaring that;

all

born after Julyor, if

1799, should be free

if

male, at the age of 28,

female, at the age of 25.

In 1790, the whole21,324, of

number

of slaves in the Statein

wasInfifty-

which seventeen resided

this county.

1800, theeight.

number

in this

county had increased to

From

this time the

number gradually

decreased.

In

1

810, as

shown by the census, there were but twentyrecords"

nine slaves in the county.

The town

show

that

on the i6th day of

August, 1794, the

negro

manhis

Hick, and Jane, his wife,"In

were manumitted by Judge Treadwell.following.

September

Hick bought

daughter Cynthia of the

Judge

for seventeen

pounds

(^42.50).

Judge Treadwell,

about this time, also manumitted his

man York ;

Brist

was manumitted by John Addams,

in April, 1803,

and

PLATTSBURGHWill, in

VILLAGE.

23

November, 1804."

OnGin

the ist of January, 1806,his"

Benjamin Mooers manumitted

"

negro

girl,

Ann,^'

and Robert1806.

Piatt

gave

her freedom, in

May,

On

the 6th of January,Piatt

1808, the executors of

Zephaniah

manumitted

Cato,

and

in

May

of the

same

year, Peter Sailly,

manumitted Dean and her threeWilliam Bailey,Pete.also,

Abel and Caty. on that day, manumitted his manchildren, Francis,

The town booksservice.

also contain the records of the birth

of sixteen children, born of slave

mothers and held to

Some

of these are

still

livingof

and reside

in this

county.

One, born on the 28th

December, 18 14, was

named Sir George Provost a compliment of which the commander of the British forces at the siege of Plattsburghwas probably never informed, and couldfully appreciate.I

not, therefore,

have referred to two block-houses, as standing here

in 1798.

Oneof

stood on the bank of the lake, on the farm

of Elric L. Nichols; the other

was within the presentJ.

bounds

Broad

Street, near the residence of the late

D. Woodward.

This

latter

was erected

for the protec-

tion of the inhabitants at the timetry

when

the whole coun-

apprehended a general Indian war.

For several years

the settlers in that locality were accustomed to pass the

night withinfor

its

walls.

This block-house was never usedof refuge

any other purpose than as a house

from fan-

cied danger.

The one onfirst

the lake shore was built injail.

1789, and was at

intended for a

[See act

passed Marchof Clinton

3,

1789, which recites that the inhabitantsto build a block-house at

County are disposed

24

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

Plattsburgh, to be used as a

jail,

&c.]

It

was afterwards

enlarged and used as a court-house and school-house,

and as a place

of public1

worship.

The court-room was

not completed untilin 1806,it

796.

At

the annual town meeting

was voted to repair the old block-house, with ait,

brick chimney, and glaze

and that

it

be used as a Poor-

House.

Onmet

the 9th June, 1788, the leading

men

of the

county

in this village to take their official oaths of office

and

organize our county government.

Melancton L. Wool-

sey administered the oath of office to Judge Charles Piatt,

who,

in turn, "

swore

in "

Mr. Woolsey as County Clerk.table,

Then

the

other county officers approached theroll

signed the

and severally swore that they would support;

the Constitution of the United States

that they

renounced

and abjured allegiance

to "

all

and every foreign King,all

Prince, Potentate and State, intical as well as civil,"

the matters, ecclesiasfaithfully per-

and that they would

form the dutiespointed.

of

the office to which they had been apSheriff,

Benjamin Mooers took the oath as

and

Abraham Beman, Stephenas

Taylor, and Zacheus Peaslee,

deputies;

;

John

FontfreydePiatt,

and John Stewart, as;

coroners

Theodorus

as surrogate

Peter Sailly,

William McAuley, Pliny Moore, and Robert Cochran, asAssociate Justices; Charles Piatt, Theodorus Piatt, William McAuley, Pliny Moore,

Murdoch McPherson, Wil-

liam

Beaumont, George Tremble, Robert Cochran and

Charles Hay, as Justices of the Peace; and Kinner

New-

comb, as deputy

clerk.

The

first

Court

of Sessions

for the

county

of Clinton

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.Judge Chas.

2$Piatt presided,

was held

in

October,

1

788.Piatt,

assisted by

Theodorus

Pliny Moore, Peter Sailly,

William McAuley, and Robert Cochran, as AssociateJustices.

Benjamin Mooers was

Sheriff,

and Melancton

L. Woolsey, Clerk.

The

coroner, four constables and

seventeen grand jurors were in attendance.

Of the

latter

sixteen were sworn in and one was set aside " for refusingto take the oath of allegiance."

This jury, the

first

grand

inquest which assembled in Northernits

New

York, closed

labors by indicting two of

its

membersterm

for official mis-

conduct.

They were

tried at the next

of the court,

whenfined.

one was acquitted and the other convicted and

The

courts were very strict to enforce prompt attendanceof jurors

on the partgrand andoverlooked.

and

officers.

The

records are

filled

with orders imposing fines upon dilatory constables andpetit

jurymen.

The Bench was notfirst

always

In 1825, two of the Associate Judges were

indicted for "

not attending at court the1827, for the

day,"this

andday

two others,

in

same

offense.

At

(1876) a venerable old gentleman resides in the village

who remembers

that,

in

1828, he

was indicted

for the

heinous crime of ''holding stakes at a

/lorse-race,''

and

wonders why, now-a-days, people canat horsesocieties.

pul^licly sell pools

trots

under the auspices

of

our agricultural

The minutes

of the

Oyer and Terminer

for 1828 in" for

form us that one Andrew Clark was indictedling a misdemeanor."of the people

inveig-

What

offense against the peaceat-

and their dignity the seductive Andrew

26

PLATTSBURGHto

VILLAGE.is

tempted

wheedle with

soft words,

not stated.

It

was evidently

of a local character, for the Circuit

JudgeSu-

ordered the case to the General Sessions.In August, 1796,

Judge Egbert Benson,at thefirst

of

the

preme Court, presidedheld in the county.

Oyer and TerminerCourt were subseJr.,

Terms

of this

quently held here by John

Lansing,

James Kent,

Morgan Lewis, Smith Thompson, Ambrose Spencer,

Wm.

N.

Van

Ness, Joseph C. Yates, Jonas Piatt, and

John Woodworth.

Reuben H. Walworth held1823.

his first

Circuit in this county, in June,

These Courts

were held

at the oldjail

Block-House

until 1803,

when a Courtwas burnt by

House andinglots.

were completed on one

of the twelve build.

This new building cost $2,75 1

It

order of Generalinfire1

Macomb, during the

siege of Plattsburgh,

8 14,

was rebuilt in 181 5- 16, and again destroyed by

in 1836.

At

this last fire, the outer walls reniained

uninjured, and

form the walls of the present Court-

House.'

The

first trial for

felony before the

Oyer and Termito imprison-

ner was in 1797, Judge

Lansing presiding, when one

David Smith was convicted and sentenced

ment

for ten years at hard labor.

He was

to be confined

in the jail of

Albany Countycounterfeiters.

until the State Prison

ready for the reception of prisoners.

was showed The court

At the June term, 1808, Smith Thompson presiding, Thomas Munsel, David Judgeto

no mercy

Ransom, and William Barns, were convicted>

of this offense

The June term

in

1797 and in 179S was held "at the Block-House in

Willsborough."

PLATTSBURGII

VILLAGE.life in

27the State

and each sentenced

to be

imprisoned for

Prison, in the city of

New

York, and David Langly was"

sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment foring" to

attempt-

pass counterfeit money.fifteen

Between the years 1825

and 1837,

persons were convicted as counterfeiters

and seventeenin

for

breaking

jail.

Of the

last, six

escapedJail

the

fall

of

1828.

The

last

was a "General

Delivery," through a hole cut into the court-room above

the prison.In oldentimes, the

administration of the laws was

attended with more ceremony and parade than at thepresent day.his

Thethe

Presiding Judge was escorted from

rooms;

to

Court-House, by the sheriff and his

officers

the attending deputies and constables bearing

long white w^ands, or white staves tipped with black.the judge, with measured step, picked his

As

way throughsurrounding

the dust or

mud

of the

unpaved

streets, the

crowd would wonder, as did theburn,"

citizens of "

Sweet Au-

when they looked upon the well-filled head of the village master. Although many of the forms and ceremonies of those early days were not in harmonywith the republican character of the people, there was

muchbar.I

to

admire

in

the refined and educated dignity of

the bench, and the courteous tone and

manner

of

the

cannot here omit a remarkable instance

of the care

manifested by the local judges for the comfort of impris-

oned debtors.

The

records of the

Commonof the

Pleas

show

that immediately

upon the completion"a

new Court-

House, an order was made that

passage from Caleb

:

28

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

Nichols's tavern to thejail

yard and

liberties."

new Court-House be added to the The debtors, however, had rea-

son to complain of one clause of the order.

The passageand was toin force until to a

was confinedbe in a

to a

space three feet

in width,

strait line.

This order Pemainedlimits of the jail

May, 1805, when theline"

were extended

one half

of a mile

from the Court-House,like their

in all

directions,"

and from that time debtors,

more

prosperous neighbors, could use both sides of the streets

when

returning from the tavern.^of the

Another instance

sympathy

of

our local judgesof

for the distressed, occurred in 1805, in the case

The

People against Charles Langley.

The defendant had been

indicted for horse-stealing and let to bail. Subsequently he

had removed from the State on proceedings being institutedagainst

him by

the town authorities, on a complaint of his

being the putative father of an illegitimate child.cation

On

appli-

made by

the bail to be released, the following order

was entered"MayThe

in the

minutes

of the court

7,1805. The defendant having been committed (?;/ suxpicion of stealing a horse, was, on appearances of favorable circumstances, admitted1

jail limits,

as established in 1804, indicate the buildings in the vicin:

ity of the

" From the Court-House south to the at that time house of Abram Travis, and from there to the houses occupied by Caleb Nichols, Marinus F. Durand, John Nichols, George Marsh, Theodorus Piatt, Jesse Kilburn, Benjamin Wood, and the new house owned by said Kilburn (corner Broad and Margaret streets), and the brew-house (opposite the present Post Office) also, north from the Court-House, to include the house lately occupied by Chauncey Fitch and now by Kilney Grey, and thence eastwardly, to the houses occupied by David Broadwell, Abraham

Court-House

;

Beeman, Peter

Sailly,

east they included

James Savage, and Charles Parsons, Jr." On the " the forge, mills and buildings belonging to the works

on the north side of the forge ditch, also, the fulling-mill and shop, and Israel Green's house and lot, and the saw-mill on the river, near the bridge, and the grist-mill and dam."

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.;

29

to bail, and found sureties in $50 for his appearance at this Court but being: afterwards threatened, in consequence of an amour, he was forced to fly. The Court thereupon discharge the sureties from their recognizance, but order it continued against the principal. Court then rose till 2 o'clock in the after-

noon."

Could a Court be more tender

of the feeliiiijs o;

of a

prisoner or of the pockets of his sureties

and can we

wonder that

after

such an exhibition of!

its

sympathy, the

Court adjourned for refreshments

Prior to the year 1800, there were but three resident

attorneys in this village: Adrial Peabody,ted to the bar inMiller

who was

admit-

1795, and Caleb Nichols andin 1796-7.

Eleazer

who were admitted

Before this time

the principal business of the Courts

had been transacted

by attorneys residingcuit with the judges.

at a distance,

who

travelled the cir-

In May, 1802, Silas Hubbell andto

Jonathan Griffen were admittedbar;Giliad

the Clinton

Countyand

John WarfordSperryin

in

1805;

Julius C. Hubbell

1808;

Reuben H. Walworth, Johnin 1812.2,

Palmer, and Asa Hascall in 1810; William Swetland andMiles Purdy in 1811,

and John Lynde

TheJohnjamin

resident physicians, prior to 181

were Doctors

Miller,J.

Chauncey

Fitch, Oliver Davidson,first

and Ben-

Mooers.

Thein

three named, with the other

physicians of the county, organized the Clinton

Countyof

Medical Society,ber, 1807.

this village,

on the 6th day

Octo-

Doctor Mooers commenced the studyin

of

medi-

cine with Doctor Miller,

the

summer

of

1806, andin

was examined and licenseduary,1

to practice

medicine

Jan-

81

2.

He

had, however, practised extensively for

nearly two years prior to his admission as an assistantto

Doctor

Miller.

30

TLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

During those earlybay abo'jnded withflavor.

days, the waters of our river

and

fish of

great size and most dehcious

In the

months

of June, July,in large

August and Septemwas thenof the

ber,

salmon were caught

numbers, with seine andof the river

spear. ^

The water

at the

mouth

of sufificient

depth to

float the largest lake craft

day.

Vessels loaded and discharged their cargos in front

of Mr. Sailly's ashery,

on the north side

of the river,

and

at Clark's Landing, near the present stone mill,

on the

south side.

About

the year

1810,

Nathaniel Z. Piatt

built a store-house

on

"

the point," east of Fouquet's.

The

building was burned at the time of Col. Murray's

raid, in 181 3,

and was soon afterwardswharf on the point,

rebuilt.

Carlisleof the

D. Tyleeriver,1

built a

at the

mouth

near the

site of

the present railroad machine shop, inof that year

8 16, and in

August

commenced charging1

for

goods landed

there.

In the winter of

8 1 7-1

8, Mr.

Piatt

applied for a grant of land under water,of erecting aof vessels."

" for

the purpose

permanent wharf

for the

accommodation

A

store-house and dock were built the next

summer.

Until this time, pork, beef, &c., were unloaded

by casting the barrels into the lake and towing themashore.

Referring to Col. Murray's raid recalls two anecdotes

connected with that event.River Street with Col.

The Colonel was walking up Durandand Mr. William Gilliland,near-

who were

interceding for the protection of the private prop-

erty of the citizens.

The day was very warm, and whenStave

ly opposite the present livery stable of1

&

Ransom,

price

Salmon were caught here in large numbers had increased to one shilling per pound.

as late as 1825, but the

1

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

3

Murray took off

his.

hat and, with his handkerchief, wiped

the perspiration from his forehead. a paper dropped from his hat.his

While thus engaged,droppedit

Gilliland adroitly

own handkerchief over

the paper and picked

up

unobserved.

This paper, on a subsequent examination,

was found

to contain information as to the best

mode

of

attack on Plattsburgh, together with a

map ofIt

the

encampin the

ment and

military works at Burlington.

was

handwriting of one Joseph Ackley, who, about a yearprevious, had

moved

into the village

from Canada, and

then resided in the small white house on Oak, near the(now) corner of Couch Street.

His two daughters were

attending school at the Academy.

A

few days after

Murray's departure, Ackley was arrested, and, on anexamination before the Justices of the Peace, having admitted that he was the author of the letter, was sent to Albany,

but no one appearing against him, he was set atand, with his family, returned to Canada.

liberty,

He was no

doubt a British emissary, more deserving of punishmentthan William Baker, a sergeant of the 103d regimentBritish Infantry,of

who was executed

as a spy on the 26th

March, 18 14.

With the militia called out at the time of this raid, came Capt. Sherry's company of N. Y. StateInfantry.

When

the Captain reached the bank of the

Saranac, and saw the British vessels rapidly nearing theshore,

he addressed his

men

with

a

few soul-inspir-

ing words, and, pointing to the approaching boats, ordered

them

to "'fight or

run as occasion might rcguirc"

It

was

an order timely given and promptly obeyed.

The men

32

PLATTSBURGHif

VILLAGE.

did run, and

report

is

true, did

not stop until

they

reached the south bank of the Salmon River, near thepresent village of Schuyler Falls.ray had 1400

Considering that Mur-

men underit.

his

command, the "occasion"during thelate

seemedlion"

to require

AnI

officer

rebel-

improved upon Capt. Sherry's order by addingasI

and

am

a

little

lame,

will start

now."

It is

a fact worthy of note, that for

many

years boatsre-

passing through the lake did not enter our bay, but

ceived and discharged the freight shipped to or from thevillage at

Cumberland Head.

The

"

Head

"

occupied aStores

prominent place

in the early history of the town. inIt

were established thereFontfreyde, and others.ofofIt

1786-7 by Peter

Sailly,

John

was

for

many

years the Portall

Entry for the District

of

Champlain, where

entries

merchandise subject to duty were required to be made.

had also a direct communication with Grand

Isle

by

ferry.

ManyF.

of the

most prominent

citizens of the town,

including Benjamin Mooers,Theodorus Piatt, Peter Sailly,

Marinus

Durand, John Ransom, John Addams, MelancIn

ton L. Woolsey, and William Coe, had resided there.

August,

1

8 15,

John Nichols became the proprietor

of the

tavern at the old

Ransom landing, and gave"

notice through

the columns of the

Republican',' that he

would run athe partic-

stage between his house and the village,ular

" for

accommodation

of passengers in

the steamboats."

Until 18 1 7, Mr. Nichols's wharf was the only landing inthis vicinity for the steamboats.

Notwithstanding the natural advantages of

its

location,

and the

intelligence, enterprise

and industry

of its inhab-

PLATTSBURGHitants, thefirst

VILLAGE.was very gradual1,

33for the

growth

of the village

twenty-five years.

In 181

the village contained 78

dwelling-houses, 4 hotels,offices.

13 stores and 11 shops and

Among

the merchants wereCo.,

Fouquet

&

Green,

Samuel MooreWhite, John

&

McCreedy

&

McDowell, Lewis

Ransom, Carlyle D. Tylee, Benjamin G. Wood, ElijahI.

and Roswell Wait, and

Piatt

&

Smith,

Several of the stores were then on Broad Street.

Trowon

bridge

Si

Seymour,

hatters,

occupiedis

a

building

Margaret Street, opposite what

now

Brinkerhoff Street.

The manufacturingBroadmill.

establishments, exclusive of carpenterforge, a tannery

and wheelwright shops, were a smallStreet,

on

two small saw-mills, a

grist-mill

and a

fulling-

The

only public building was the Court-House.

In October of this year, the mill

company

lands not

appropriated to mill purposes, were subdivided into building lots by Pliny Moore, William Bailey, and William

Keese,

who had been appointed by

theis

Supreme Court

as commissioners in partition.

Whatit

now known

as

the

"

Park," had been laid out as a public highway, eight

rods wide, as early as 1803, but

had remained enclosedvil-

with the adjoining lands until their subdivision intola2:e lots

bv the commissioners1,

at this time.

In the Spring of 181

a public meeting was held inSailly,

the village,

at

which

PeterMiller,

William

Bailey,

Melancton Smith, JohnGriffin,

Samuel Moore, Jonathancontributions, for

and Levi

Piatt,

were appointed a committee, with

authority to raise

money by voluntary

the purpose of purchasing a suitable lot and erecting an

Academy building.

The committee

selected a lot on

Oak

34Street, tostreet

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE."

be bounded on the south by

a contemplated

to be laidlot

out between the land ofseven," then

Melancton

Smith and

number

owned by AbrahamYork.

Brinckerhoff,

Jr.,

of the city of

New

The

lot

was

four rods in front onrods.

Oak

Street,

and extended back ten

On

the 14th of May, Mr. Brinckerhoff, in consid-

eration of $100, conveyed the lot to the committee, intrust, " for

the purpose of erecting said

academy thereon."

The

building was immediately commenced, and was com-

pleted the

same

year.

The

building committee were,

Samwasfront-

uel Moore, Jonathan Griffin,sixty feet long,

and Louis Ransom.feet in width,

It

and twenty-seven

and

ed on

Oak

Street.

A

wide

hall ran

through the centre,

dividing the lower story into two large school-rooms.large

A

room occupied nearly the wholehall

of the

upper story,

and was reached from the lowerin the

by a broad stairway

northwest part of the building.

At

the time of

its

erection the

Academy was

the largest

and most imposing

public edifice in Northern

New

York.

In the winter of 181 3 and 14, the premises were leasedto the

United States government and used for barracks.the artillery, and the old

The Academy was occupied by

Presbyterian Church by the infantry, the parade-ground

being between the two buildings.

The Academy wasof

refitted in the spring or

summer

1814 and used for school purposes with Spencer Wall

as principal teacher.

The upper room was usedof

worship and for public

many years as a place meetings. The Clinton Countyfor

Bible Society was organized in this room, on the 5th of

;

PLATTSBURGII

VILLAGE.of

35

March, 1816, with Pliny Moore,dent;

Champlain, as PresiVice President

Doct John

Miller, of this village, as

Azariah C. Flagg, as Treasurer, and William Swetlandas Secretary.of Chazy,iel

The Rev.

J.

Byington and Roswell Ransom,

David Savage,

of

Champlain, the Rev. Nathan-

Hewitt, William Pitt Piatt, James Trowbridge, and

General Melancton L. Woolsey, of Plattsburgh, were appointed directors.

The

first

temperance society

in the

county was also

organized in this room.

A preliminary meeting5,

was held

on the 7th day

of October, 181

at

which General Ben-

jamin Mooers presided, and Silas Hubbell, Esq., of Champlain, acted as Secretary.

A

committee was appointed

tore-

prepare an address to the people, and the towns were

quested to send delegates to an adjourned meeting, to beheld at the same place, in the

month

of January.

The

address was published in the Plattsburgh Republican of

Decemberday

16.

It

was a strong appeal"

for aid to sup-

press, not only intemperance, but the other vices of the

those

"

bummers

following in the track of war

swearing, gambling, and an open violation of the Sabbath.

The committee

refer to the great

consumption of ardentat 30,000 gal-

spirits in the county,

which they estimated

lons annually, or nearly four gallons to each inhabitant,

including

women andat the

children.it

The

appeal was not

made

too soon, nor was

made

in vain.

The convention"

was heldSociety"

appointed day, when a

County Moralof

was organized, the salutary influencefelt

which

was long

throughout the county.the supervision of the com-

The Academy was under

36

PLATTSBURGII

VILLAGE.

^

mittee and their successors until the spring of 1828,it

whenof

was incorporated under the name

of the " Plattsburghof a

Academy," and placed under the controlTrustees, with perpetual succession.of

Board

Incorporation,

is

April 21, 1828.

The date of the act The first Board ofFrederick Halsey,

Trustees was composed of Benjamin Mooers, John Lynde,

William Swetland, JonathanFrederick L. C.Sailly,

Griflfin,

Heman

Cady, Ephraim Buck,

William

F.

Haile,

George Marsh, John Palmer, andBut twoof these

Henry K.living

Averill.Sailly,

gentlemen are now

Mr.

who

is

President of the present Board

of Trustees,

and Mr.

Averill,

who

resides in one of the

Western

States.of trustees of the

The Board

Plattsburgh Academy,

has from the beginning been a strong one.

The

leading

men havehold words

filled this;

office,

and

their

names

are " house-

"

always serving without pay and often con-

tributing liberally in aid of the institution.

Mr. Swetland was for nearly his wholeciated with the Board of Trustees,

lifetime, asso-

and

for

many yearslife,

its

presiding

officer.

Judge John Palmer wasfied

also,

during his

identi-

with the institution.

The present Board are Frederick L. C. Sailly, Doct. Truman DeForris, Cornelius Halsey, Peter S. Palmer,William

W.F.

Hartwell, Smith M.Vilas,

Weed, George

L. Clark,

Samuel

George M. Beckwith, John HenryPiatt.

Myers, and Theodorus

The

internal

arrangement

of the

rooms

of the

Acade-

my was

changed several times.

At

first,

as

we have

PLATTSBURGHstated, there

VILLAGE.

37

were two large school-rooms below and a

large hall above.

The partitions below were subsequentlyTheyoff

torn down, and the whole thrown into one room.

were again put up and the north portion partitionedinto small rooms, for those

who wisheddown.

to

reside in the

building

to be again torn

In 1839, or about that

time, an addition, doubling the capacity of the

Academv,

was erected by voluntary contributionsIt iser,

of the citizens.first

said that Bela

Edgerton was the

head teach-

with Benjamin Gilman as assistant.

After the war,of the classical

Spencer Wall was employed as principal

department, and continued to occupy that position untilthefall

of

1

81

7.

On

the 9th of September, 18 16,

a

school

was

organized on the

Lancasterian plan, and

placed under the charge of William Young, of Albany.In

May, 181 7, a "Sunday free-school

"

was organized,in the

which was held every Sunday, from 8 o'clocking, " until the

mornof

time of public service."

The upper roomAbout"

the

Academy was usedfirst

for this purpose.in

This was probthis

ably the

Sunday-school

the county.in the

time. Miss Clark

opened a school

Academy,

for

the instruction of

young

ladies in the various useful

and

ornamental branchesIn November, 181

of education."7,

Mr, Wall was succeeded by the

Rev. Frederick Halsey, with Missas assistants.18 18,

Cook and Mr. Young,in

Mr. Halsey was succeeded,

December,

by A. C. Fowler,

who remained

in

charge for a

year or more,

when Alexander H.

Prescott was appointassistant.

ed principal, with

David Brock as

At

this

38time, Miss

PLATTSBURGH

VILLAGE.

Deming taughtin

the ladies department and

continued to do so until the Fall of 1824.

Mr. Prescott remained

charge of the

Academy untilAfter

about the year 1831, and during his administration, theschool deservedly acquired a highleaving thereputation.

Academy, Mr. Prescott kept"

a private classi-

cal school in the village, until

August, 1833, when he was

appointed principal of theat Schuyler Falls.

Clinton County

High School,"at

He

subsequently removed to Chazy,principalof a school

and wasplace.

for

some time

that

Mr. Prescott was succeededthan Blanchard,Jr.

in the

Academy by

Jona-

The numberOf

of students for thethese, thirty-five, in-

year 1832, was one hundred.

cluding Margaret Davidson, the gifted poetess, her brother, Levi P. Davidson, afterwards

an

officer in the

U.

S.

Dragoons, and William Sidney Smith, anist

officer in

the

known to have died. Of those of the classes of 1832, now living, we call to mind Samuel B. M. Beckwith and Doct. George Howe, nowReg't U.S. Artillery, are

of

Chateaugay

;

A.

J.

C.

Blackman,;

of

Mooers

;

Joseph K.

Edgerton, of Fort Wayne, Ind.ill,

Hon. John C. Church;

of

Oswego

;

Hon. D.

B.

McNeil, of Auburnof

SamCity;

uel

Piatt

and George Stevenson,of;

New York

John White,som, of Peru

Cleveland, Ohio

;

Rev. Cyrenus

Ran-

Erastus S. Mead, of Belmont, and Dewitt

C. Boynton, Rev. Charles L.

Hagar, John

W. Lynde,S.

William D. Morgan, Elric L. Nichols, PeterLeviPiatt,

Palmer,

and George M. Sperry,in

of this town.

Mr. Blanchard remained

charge of the

Academy

PLATTSBURGIIfor several years,

VILLAGE.in

39

and was succeeded

somewhat rapidRobert T. Co,

succession by Mr. Boynton, Mr. Rich, Mr. Doohttlc, Mr.Scott, Mr.

Foster, andin

Rev

Dr. Coit.

nant was the principal

1844 and 1845.

On

the 5th ofas

January, 1846, John S. D. Taylor, better

known

Dor-

sey Taylor, was appointed principal. His brother, Joseph

W.

Taylor, joined him in September, 1847, and under the

joint

management

of the

two brothers, the Academy

at-

tained a high reputation in this section.

Royal Corbin succeeded as principalP.

in i860,

Edward

McDonald in 1865, E. A. Adams in 1869, W. L. R. Haven in 1867, W. M. Lillebridge in 1869, and Oscar Atwood in 1871.Nicholsin

1861, F.

G.

In May, 1867, an act was passed by the Legislature,

forming a Union School District

in the village,

and

vest-

ing the government of the schools and of thein a

Academyfive

Board

of Education,

composed

of ten

members,district,

to be electedfive to

by the qualified voters

of the

and

be chosen by the trustees of the Academy, from Since then, the

their

own number.

Academy

building

has been under the control of the Board of Education.

Theing,

old building was destroyed by

fire

on Friday evenwere purchased

November

10,

187

1.

Two

lots

adjoining the old

Academy

building on the north, andin thefall

the foundation of aof the year 1873.

new building commencedfor use

This building was completed

at a cost

of $35-ooc)>

aii