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176 ALLEGANY COUNTY.
interior town, lying s. e. of the center of the co. Its surface is very broken and mountainous,
the highest summits being 800 to 1,200 feet above the valleys. The declivities are too .steep for
profitable cultivation. The streams are Genesee River and Dyke and Chenunda Creeks, all flow¬
ing in narrow and deep valleys winding among the almost precipitous mountains. The soil is
mostly a sandy loam. Considerable pine lumber is still manufactured in town. Wellsville,
(p.v.,) on Genesee River, was incorp. Oct. 12, 1857; it contains 4 churches, 2 weekly newspaper
offices, 2 flouring and 3 saw mills. Pop. 1,286. The first settlements were made in the yalley of the
Genesee, about the commencement of the century.1 There are 4 churches in town.2
WEST ALMOIVD—was formed from Angelica, Almond, and Alfred, April 15, 1835. It is
an interior town, lying a little N. E. of the center of the co. Its surface is a broken and elevated
upland. The streams are Angelica, Black, Philips, and Karr Valley Creeks,—all flowing in
narrow ravines bordered by steep hillsides. The soil is principally a clay loam underlaid by
hardpan. West Almond (p. v.) contains a church an'd 15 houses. The first settlement was
made at the center, in 1816, by Daniel Atherton.3 The first religious meeting was held by Rev.
Robert Hubbard, (Presb.,) at the house of Daniel Dean, in 1823; and the first and only churcfc
(Bap.) was formed in 1824. '
WIEEItfG—was formed from Independence and Scio, Nov. 19,1851. Alma was taken off in
1854, and a part of Wellsville in 1855. It lies upon the s. border of the co., e. of the center. Its
surface is a broken and mountainous region, the highest summits being 800 to; 1,200 ft. above the
valleys. The streams are Genesee River, Cryder, Chenunda, and Fords Creeks, all flowing in
narrow valleys bordered by steep mountain declivities. The soil is a clay and sandy loam. A
considerable part of the surface is still covered with forests, and lumbering is extensively carried
on. Beanville, (Shongo p. o.,) on Genesee River, in the s. part of the town, contains a church
and 61 inhabitants; and Hails Port, (p. v.,) in the n. e. corner, a sawmill and 64 inhabitants.
Elijah Robinson, from Brookfield, Madison co., settled on the Genesee, adjoining the State line,
in 1825. He built a sawmill, made other improvements for four or five years, when he became
deranged, and left the town.2 The first religious meeting (Prot. Meth.) was held at the house
of Daniel Baker, by Rev. Seneca Fish, in 1834.3
WIRT—was formed from Bolivar and Friendship, April 12, 1838. It is an interior town,
lying s. w. of the center of the co. Its surface is a wild, mountainous upland, divided into three
general ridges extending n. and s. The streams are headwaters of Van Campens, Little Genesee,
and Dodges Creeks. Bicllbiirg'li, (p. v.,) in the s. w. part of the town, contains 2 churches, the
Richburgh Academy,® 2 steam gristmills, 2 sawmills, and 50 dwellings. Wirt is a p. o., near the
center of the town. The first settlement was made in the u. part of the town, in 1812, by Benj.
Crabtree and Levi Abbott, from Amsterdam, Montgomery co.7 The first religious meeting (Bap.)
was held at the house of Benj. Crabtree, in 1816, by Rev. Jonathan Post. The first church
(Bap.) was organized in 1826.8
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Lovell. Allen Gifford kept the first inn, in 1838, at Beanville, and
Jas. R. Wood the first store, at the same place, in 1839. Elijah
Robinson erected the first sawmill, near the Penn, line, on the
Genesee.
5 There are 2 churches in town; M. E. and Univ.
6 This institution has lately been incorp. with the common
school system.
7 Azel Buckley, from Unadilla, Otsego co., settled in 1814, and
Daniel Willard, from Mass., in 1815. Mr. W. is the oldest settler
now living in town. The first child born was Benj. Crabtree, jr.,
in 1813; and the first marriage, that of Hyra Axdell and Lucy
Crabtree, in 1814. The first school was taught, in the n. part of
the town, by Sophia Hitchcock, in 1820. Alvan Richardson erected
the first sawmill, in 1824, and the first gristmill, in 1825, on Gene¬
see Creek, near Richburgh. Mr. Richardson also kept the first
inn, in 1824, and Francis L. Leroy the first store, in the same year.
3 There are 4 churches in town; Bap., F. W. Bap., Seventh Day
Bap., and M. E. |
1
The first child horn was Rachel Dyke, in 1805; and the first
death, that of Thos. Brink, in 1807. The first school was taught,
near the e. line, by Ithamer Brookings, in 1814. Nath’l Dyke
built the first grist and saw mill, in 1803, on Dyke Creek, near
the e. line.
2
The first death was that of a child of Austin Butler, in 1837.
3
The first school was taught near Beanville, in 1836, by Betsey
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