|
CLINTON COUNTY.
Sable, contains 20 houses. Tlie Union is a hamlet, on the line of Peru, and contains two
Quaker meetinghouses. Edward Everett located upon the site of The Union in 1786.1 The first
religious society (Friends) was organized in 1799.2 •
BEEEMASTOWS3—was formed from Plattsburgh, Feb. 25, 1820. Dannemora was taken
off in 1854. It lies upon Lake Champlain, near the center of the e. border of the co. The surface
is level .in the e. and moderately hilly in the w. Its streams are small creeks and brooks. St.
Armands Bay extends into the s. e. corner. Point au Roche and Rams Head are capes upon tho
lake. The soil is a clay loam in the center and e., and a light sand in the w. A spring emitting
sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid gases is found in town. Beekmantown (p.o.)
and East Beekmantown (p. o.) are hamlets. The first settlers were Maj. Benj. Mooers and
7 associates, who located at Point au Roche Aug. 10, 1783.4 The British passed through the town
in 1814, and on the 6th of Sept. a slight skirmish took place, in which several were killed.5 The
census reports 4 churches; 3 M. E. and 1 Presb.
BLACK BROOK6—was formed from Peru, March 29, 1839. It is the s. w. corner town in
the eo. Its surface is a rocky and mountainous upland, the highest summits being 1,500 to 2,500
ft. above the lake. Among the mountains are several nearly level table lands 200 to 300 ft. above
the general level. Ledges, crags, and boulders cover a large share of the surface. The forest
trees are thinly scattered, and nearly the whole town is too rough and poor for cultivation. Sara¬
nac River flows across the n. w. corner, and the' Au Sable forms a portion of the s. boundary.
Great Black Brook and Little Black Brook, tributaries of the Au Sable, drain the central parts
of the town. In the mountainous region are several small lakes or ponds, the principal of
which are Mud, Sampson, Taylors, Slush, and Military Ponds. The soil is cold, , wet, and unpro¬
ductive. Extensive beds of iron ore are scattered through the town.7 The people are principally
engaged in the manufacture of iron8 and charcoal, and in lumbering.9 All Sable Forks,
(p. v.,) on the Au Sable, in the s.e. part of the town^is mostly on the s. bank of the river, in Essex co.
Black Brook, (p.v.,) near the s. border, contains extensive iron works, several sawmills, and
about 85 houses. Claybsirgll, on the Saranac, in the n. part, lies partly in the town of Saranac.
*It contains iron works and 30 houses.10 .Union Falls (p. o.) and Garlick Falls, (p. o.,) both
on the Saranac, are hamlets and lumber stations. The first settler was Zephaniah Palmer, who
located at Au Sable Forks about 1825.11 The census reports one church (R. C.)
CHAMPLAII—was formed March 7, 1788. Chateaugay (Franklin co.) was taken off in
1799, and Mooers and Chazy in 1804. It lies upon Lake Champlain, in the*N. e, corner of the co.
Its surface is generally level, with a gentle slope toward the lake. The crest of a swell of land
between Champlain Village and Rouses Point is about 200 feet above the lake. Great Chazy oi
Champlain River flows in a tortuous course through the town and discharges its waters into
|
® Named from its principal stream. The town comprises por¬
tions of the Old Military Tract and of Livingston’s Patent. The
military lands were finally conveyed to Benj. Birdsall and Ilia
associates by act of Eeb. 4, 1793, to satisfy claims growing out
of the suppression of the lease of all of the Indian lands in the
State for 999 years.—Folio Laws, XVI. Sess., p. 24. Clark’s Hist.
Onon., vol. I, p. 368.
I The Palmer Mine, 2 mi. n. of Au Sable Porks, was discovered
by Z. Palmer in 1825. It is situated on a hill 400 to 500 feet
above the river. The ore is raised by steaih, and the yield is
16.000 to 20,000 tons per year. Hie Myers Mine, at Clayburgh,
has been worked since 1846. It yields annually 1,500 tons of ore,
principally used in the manufacture of wire, tacks, and small
nails. The Trombois Mine was discovered in 1845, and about
10.000 tons of ore have been raised. The iron made from it is
soft and tough, and is principally used in the manufacture of
boiler plates, horse shoe nails, and car axles.
8 The Sable Iron Company have extensive works at Au Sable ’
Porks and at Black Brook, and they manufacture 2,600 tons of
blooms, 900 tons of merchant iron, 50,000 to 55,000 kegs of
hails, using 1,600,000 br^h. of charcoal per annum. 2,500 tons
of blooms are manufactured at their establishment at Black
Brook alone. The Co. was incorp. in Sept. 1834,.and the stock
is now owned by J. & J. Rogers.
8 There are 8 to 10 large sawmills in town.
18 The products of the Myers Mine are principally manufac¬
tured at this place. A water-power near the mine is improved,
and a forge of 5 fires is in active operation. A steam forge and
steam hammer for the manufacture of it. r. axles were in opera¬
tion here about 4 years.
II Several plank roads have been built in this town to facilitate
the iron and lumber business. A. Curtis kept the first inn,
near the center, in 1828. Halsey Rogers and John McIntyre
located in town in 1830. The Sable Iron Co. erected the first
forge the same year. |
1
Among the other early settlers were John Keese and his
sons Richard, John, Oliver, Stephen, and William, Caleb Green
and his sons Henry, Rodman, John, and James, Peter Halleck,
Danl. Jackson, Gilbert and Gerrit Thew, John Haff, Elisha
Arnold, and John Stanton, about 1795. The first child born was
in the family of John Stanton, about 1795. The mother of this
■child was a servant girl in the family. The wife, not being
exactly reconciled to the circumstance, insisted upon being
immediately taken to her friends in Dutchess co. It being
winter, the husband took her upon a hand sled and drew her
upon the lake to “ Skenesborough,” thence to Eort Edward, and
down the Hudson to her father’s, after which he returned to Au
Sable, having been 5 weeks in performing the journey. Upon
his return he married the mother of the child, and lived with
her many years. The first school was taught in 1791, by-
Thompson: the first inn was kept by Joel Buck, in 1800; and
the first forge was erected by Geo. Griswold, in 1812.
2
The census reports 8 churches in town; 2 Cong., 2 M. E., 2
Friends, Presb., and R. C.
3
8 Named from Wm. Beekman, to whom, with 29 others, the
town was granted March 27,1769. It embraced 22,475 acres.
4
Mooers was appointed to survey the Refugee Tract. After
several years he removed to Cumberland Head, and afterward
to Plattsburgh. Thomas Treadwell, Ezekiel Hubbard, Henry Do-
miny, Jonathan Scribner, Abner Pomeroy, Simon Newcomb, jr.,
7 Capt. John Jersey, and Joseph Main settled near Beekmantown
Corners; Philip Roberts, Henry Barnes, Ephraim and Amos
Mooers, James Mix, and John Dominy were also early settlers.
The first birth was that of Silas Pomeroy; the first marriage,
5
that of Ira Howe and Miss Hubbard, in 1794; and the first
death, that of a child of Simon Newcomb. Dr. Baruch Beck¬
with was the first physician.
6
Among the killed were Lieut. Col. Willington and Ensign
|
