|
508 ORANGE COUNTY.
Station. A blast furnace is situated near the r. r., and another about 1 mi. e. There are about
15 houses in the vicinity. Monroe WorliS, (p. o.,) 3 mi. s. of Greenwood Works, was the seat
of extensive iron works, which have been abandoned. It is Southfield Station on the N. Y. & E.
R. R. Highland Mills, (p. v.,) in the n. part, contains 2 churches and 15 dwellings. Lower
Smith Clove, 1 mi, s., and Woodbury Clove, 1 mi. n., of Highland Mills, are hamlets.
The first settlements were probably made about 1742.1 The Cheesecocks Patent, granted in 1707.
embraced a portion of the Ramapo Yalley in this town. There are 5 churches in town.2
MONTGOMERY 3—was formed March 7, 1788. Crawford was taken off in 1823, and a part
of Hamptonhurgh in 1830. It lies upon the n. border of the co., e. of the center. Its surface is
generally a hilly upland. The Comfort Hills,4 600 to 800 ft. ahove tide, extend along the w. border.
Walkill Creek flows n. e. through near the center; its principal tributary, Tin Brook,5 flows through
the e. part. In the Walkill, in the n. part, is a fall of 40 ft., affording an excellent water-power.
Along the same stream, in the s. part, is considerable swamp land. The soil is a fine quality of
gravelly loam. Moiitgoutiery, (p. v.,) upon Walkill Creek, s. of the center, was incorp. Feb. 17,
1810. It contains 2 churches, the Montgomery Academy, 3 gristmills, and a sawmill. Pop. 760.
Walden, (p. v.,) on Wall Kil, 3 J mi. n. of Montgomery, was incorp. April 9, 1855. It contains
3 churches, a shawl factory, satinet factory, and a manufactory of cutlery. Pop. 641. St. An¬
drews, (p.o.,) in the n. e. part, contains 10 dwellings. €,'oldenlia.ua,6 near the e. line, is a
hamlet. The earliest patent comprising land in this town was granted in 1709, to Henry Hile-
man. It was located at the mouth of Tin Brook, below Walden. It was settled by the proprietor
and divided into lots in 1712. Lieut. Gov. Cadwallader Colden, the owner of a patent in this town,
located at Coldenham in 1728.7 The first church (Ref. Prot. I).) was formed at Montgomery Vil¬
lage in 1732'.8
MOUNT HOPE—was formed from Wallkill, Minisink, and Deerpark, as “ Calhoun,” Feb.
15, 1825. Its name was changed March 14, 1833. It lies upon the n. border of the co., sr. w. of
the center. Its surface is a hilly and broken upland. The Shawangunk Mts. extend through the
w. part; the highest summits are 1,400 to 1,800 ft. ahove tide. Shawangunk River flows sr.e.
through the center, and the Little Shawangunk along the e. border. The soil is a sandy and
gravelly loam. Otlsville, (p. v.,) near the w. border, contains 2 churches and 309 inhabitants.
It is a station upon the Erie R.R. Mount Hope, (p.v.,)2mi.s.E.ofOtisville, contains 2
churches and 120 inhabitants; New Vernon, in the x. part, a church and 20 dwellings.
Finclivllle is a hamlet, in the s. w. part. The precise date of the settlement of this town is
unknown. James Finch settled some time previous to the Revolution.9 There are 6 churches in
town.10
NEWBURGH11 —was formed March 7,1788. It lies upon the Hudson, and is the n. e. corner
town of the co. Its surface is a hilly and broken upland, the highest summits being 600 to 900 ft.
|
ton, by reason of the great scarcity of supplies and provisions,
applied to this State for aid; and accordingly a public meeting
was called, which convened in the town of “Hanover,” (now
Montgomery.) In the mean time the friends of the mother
country, always on the alert, had procured the services of a
talented orator for the purpose of defeating the objects of the
meeting.. As no one could be found among the adherents of
the cause of liberty who was able to speak in public, recourse
was had to the Rev. Mr. Annan, of Neelytown, who at first
declined, but at length consented. A multitude -were assembled
on the occasion to hear a discussion upon a subject which was
then the absorbing topic of the day. The discussion -was con¬
tinued for some time with fairness and ability on either side,
until at length, to check a strife of angry words and to test the
disposition of the assembly, Mr. Annan suddenly said, “ As many
as are in favor of assisting the people of Boston and the cause
of Liberty, follow me.” The effect was electric. Immediately
upon his leaving the house he beheld, to his utter astonishment,
the whole multitude at his heels.—Pager’s Hist. Oranqe Co., p.
636.
8 There are 7 cfturches in town; 2 Ref. Prot. D., 2 M. E., Prot.
E., Presb., and Covenanter. The Ref. Prot. D. church, near
Montgomery, has connected with it a farm of 75 acres, valued
at $7,000, and a parsonage.
9 Mr. Finch was a soldier in the French War, and a minute-man
during the Revolution.
10 2 Presb., 2 M. E., Cong., and Bap.
11 Until 1763, the present towns of Newburgh and New Wind
sor -were included in the “ Precinct of the Highlands.” During
that year this precinct was divided into the precincts of New¬
burgh and New Windsor, and continued as such until they were
organized as towns in 1788. |
1
A family of Smiths settled very early in the town, and from
them the town was called “ Smiths Clove.” Among the early
settlers were families of Millers, Galloways. Carpenters, Bulls,
Dobbins, Wygants, Wards, Coltons, Nobles, Cunninghams,
Slaughters, and Lamoreaux,—mostly English families from the
Eastern States. The first iron works was that of Ward & Colton,
erected in 1751 for tho manufacture of anchors. It was situated
in Warwick, just over the line from Monroe. In 1752 Abel
Noble, from Penn., erected a forge in this town, near the Ward
& Colton furnace. Here the first anchor was made, in 1753.
Steel was made in 1776; and during the Revolution one of the
chains thrown across the Hudson was manufactured here. It
weighed 186 tons. During the Revolution, Claudius Smith, a
noted tory, resided in this town. lie was hung at Goshen,
Jan. 22, 1779.
2
3 M. E., Presb., and Friends.
3
Named in honor of Gen. Richard Montgomery. In 1767 the
town was called the “Walkill Precinct,” and in 1772 it was
known as the “Hanover Precinct.” In 1782 its nan^e was
changed to the Montgomery Precinct.
4
Named from a family of Comforts who ■were early settlers in
that region.
5
Name derived from Tinn and Broc, meaning small river.
6
Named from the family of Cadwallader Colden, who was an
early proprietor.
7
Johannes Miller settled on Wall Kil, 2 mi. s. of Montgomery,
8
in 1727. Among the other early settlers were John Neely,
9
Charles Booth, Wm. Eager, Fred. Sinsabaugh, and Johannes
Youngblood.—all of whom settled between 1730 and 1741. The
E. part of the town was originally settled by Irish, and the
10
valley of Wall Kil by Hollanders. The first store was kept by
Alexander Colden, in 1742; and the first gristmill wTas built at
11
Walden, by James Kidd. In the fall of 1775 the people of Bos¬
|
