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ONEIDA COUNTY. 403
half that width in th'e s.1 The hills rise, on the e. and w. borders, 300 to 500 ft. above the valley,
their declivities being often steep. The w. branch of the Unadilla2 flows s. through the town.
The soil in the e. is a gravelly loam, and in the w. clay. Stone is quarried in the n. e. part.
Bridgewater, (p.v.,) in the s. part, contains 2 churches, the Bridgewater Academy, and 300
inhabitants. IVortli Bridgewater (p.v.) contains 15 houses. Babcock. Hill (p.o.) u
a hamlet. The first settlement was commenced in 1788,3 by Joseph Farwell. There are 3 ehurcho!
in town; Cong., Welsh, and Univ.
CAMDE1V—was formed from Mexico, (Oswego co.,) March 15, 1799. Florence was taken oft
in 1805, Vienna in 1807, and a part of Annsville in 1823. It lies upon the w. border of the co.,
near the n. w. corner. Its surface is rolling, gradually rising toward the n., where it is broken by
hills whose summits are several hundred feet above Oneida Lake. The w. branch of Fish Creek
flows diagonally through the town toward the s. e. Mad River from the n. unites with it near
Camden Village; and Little River, a tributary, forms part of the s. boundary. The soil is a
sandy loam, in some places gravelly and stony, but generally well adapted, to grazing. Cam*
den, (p.v.,) in the e. part, was incorp. in 1834. It contains 3 churches, saw and grist mills, a
sash and blind manufactory, pump factory, 2.tanneries, a cloth manufactory, and 862 inhabitants.
West Camden, (p. v.,) near the n. w. corner, contains 20 houses. Hillsborough, (p. o.,)
in the s. part, is a hamlet. The first settlement commenced near the close of the last century.*
The first religious society was formed Feb. 19, 1798, by Rev. Eliphalet Steele.5 The church re¬
ceived from the heirs of John Murray an endowment in lands yielding a revenue of $112.
DEERFIEEO—was formed from Schuyler, (Herkimer co.,) March 15, 1798. Marcy was
taken off in 1832. It lies near the center of the e. border of the co. Its surface is mostly a high
plateau, 600 to 1,000 ft. above the Mohawk, forming the n. continuation of the Hassenclever Mts.
of Herkimer co. A broad intervale, partly overflowed in high water, extends along the Mohawk
opposite Utica; and on the n. e. the surface descends abruptly to the creek. The Mohawk flows
along the s. w. border of the town, and West Canada Creek along the n. e. border. The soil on
the flats is a deep, rich, alluvial loam, and on the hills a slaty and gravelly loam. Beerfieid
Corners, (Deerfield p. o.,) in the s. part, contains 2 churches, 3 carriage shops, and 50 houses.
A thickly settled suburb of Utica extends toward the village. IVortb Gage, (p. o.,) in the n.
part, is a hamlet. The first settlement was commenced in 1773.6 *The first religious services were
held in 1798, by Rev. Eddy. There are 4 churches in town.7
FLORENCE 8—was formed from Camden, Feb. 16,1805. A part of Annsville was taxen off
in 1823. It is the n. w. corner town of the co. Its surface is rolling, and 250 to 300 ft. above the
Rome level. Mad River flows s. e. through the. town. The soil is stony and light, and is underlaid
by the Hudson River shales. A portion of j§ie town is still covered by forests, wnich extend n. to
near Jefierson co. Florence, (p. v.,) n. of the center, contains 3 churches, 3 sawmills, a grist¬
mill, tannery, and 40 houses. Empeyville, in the e. part, contains 2 churches and 20 houses.
East Florence (p. o.) and Florence Hill are hamlets. The first settlement commenced in
1801,9 by Amos Woodworth. The first religious society (Cong.) was formed Dec. 16, 1816 ;10 Rev.
Samuel Sweezey was the first settled minister.
FLOYD11 —was formed from Steuben, March 4, 1796. It lies in the interior, e. of the center
of the co. Its surface is rolling, gradually rising to the sr. border, where it attains an elevation
of 200 to 300 ft. above the valley of the Mohawk. Nine Mile Creek12 flows through a small portion
6 George G. Weaver, Capt. Mark Damoth, and Christian Real
1 The excavation which forms the valley has been filled to an
immense depth with drift; and rock cannot be found within a
great distance below the surface. Cedar swamps extend along
several of the streams.
2 Called also the Ti-a-na-da-ra.—Jones’s Annals, p. 122.
3 Among the early settlers were Ezra Parker, Ephraim and
Nathan Waldo, Lyman, and Jesse, Joel, and Abner Ives.
Ezra Parker kept the first inn; Major Farwell built the first
sawmill; and - Thomas the first gristmill. This is the
smallest and least populous town in the co.
4 Henry Williams was the first permanent settler, in 1796-97.
Jesse Curtis had previously built a sawmill; but he did not
settle in town until some time after. Levi Matthews, Daniel
Parker, Seth and Joel Dunbar, Aaron Matthews, Samuel Wood,
Thos. Comstock, Elihu Curtis, Samuel Boyce, Noah and Andrew
Tuttle, Benjamin Barnes, sr. and jr., Philip Barnes, Israel Stod¬
dard, and Carrier were early settlers. The first birth was
that of Noab P. Tuttle; the first marriage, that of Elihu Curtis
’and Anna,Northrop; and the first deaths were those of Mrs.
Bacon and a child, who were drowned in crossing Mad River in
a canoe. Elihu Curtis kept the first inn, in 1799; and Timothy
W. Wood the first store, about the same time.
9 There are now 5 churches in town; M. E., Wes. Meth.,
Prot. E., Cong., and R. C.
settled at the Corners in 1773. In 1776, hearing that a hand of
tories and Indians were planning a descent upon the settlement,
they retreated to Little Stone Arabia. In 1784 they returned,
and about the same time Peter, Nicholas, and George Weaver,
Geo. Damoth, Nicholas and Philip Harter, came in. During the
first 15 or 20 years the settlements did not extend to the N. part
of thetown. The Cox and Coffin families were the first in that
part. 7 Bap., Calv. Meth., Union, and B. O.
8 Named from the city of Florence, in Italy.
9 The first settlement commenced under the auspices of Wm.
Henderson, owner of Township 4 of Scriba’s Patent. He gave
Amos Woodworth, John Spinning, and Turner 50 acres
each, to commence a settlement. Azariah Orton, Crawford
and his son Clark, Norman Waugh, Benoni and Ebenezer Bar-
low, Ambrose Curtis, Ephraim Wright, Joseph Olcott, and Benj
Young came soon after. Several of the latter settled at Florence
Hill. Nathan Thompson kept the first inn.
10 There are 5 churches in town; 2 M. E., 2 Union, and Bap..
11 Named from Gen. Wm. Floyd, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, who purchased a part of Fonda’s
Patent and removed to this co. in 1803.—Jones’s Annals of Oneida
Co., pp. 155,705.
12 Called by the Indians Te-ya-nun-soke, “ a beech tree standing.”
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