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200 CAYUGA COUNTY.
The Auburn Academy is a fine stone edifice on Academy St. It was first erected in 1811, but
was burned in 1816, ‘and the present building was soon after erected.
The Auburn Female Seminary, a private institution, is in the building erected for a city hall, at
the- junction of Market, Franklin, and North Sts.
The Auburn Theological Seminary, a Presb. institution, was established by the Synod of Gene¬
see in 1819. It was incorp. in 1820 and opened in 1821. The building is located upon a com¬
manding site, fronting Seminary St., in the n. e. part of the city.
The Cayuga Orphan Asylum, an institution for the care of orphan and destitute children, is
supported by State and co. appropriations and private contributions.
The Auburn State Prison is situated on the n. bank of Owasco Outlet, n. of the center of the
city. The site, containing 10 acres, is surrounded by high walls, and within this inclosure are the
prison proper1 and the various workshops in which the convicts are employed. The main building,
fronting upon State Street, is 3 stories high and 276 feet long, and is flanked by two wings 42 feet
wide and 242 feet deep. *
The Asylum for Lunatic Convicts, situated upon a lot of 10 acres, formerly the prison garden, in
the ijpar of the prison, is a fine brick .building, faced with cut stone. It contains 64 .cells, and
rooms for physicians, attendants, &c.2
Port Hill is a beautiful rural cemetery, located upon the site of an ancient fortification and
Indian village. It contains a monument to the memory of Logan, the celebrated Cayuga chief.2
The first settlement at Auburn was made in 1793, by Col. John Hardenburgh, from Ulster co.3
Hon. Wm. II. Seward resides in this city. ,
AUKEIilUS—was formed Jan. 27,1789. Brutus, Cato, Owasco, and' “ Jefferson” (now Mentz)
were taken off March 30, 1802, Auburn and Fleming and a part of Springport in 1823, and a
part of Throop in 1859. It lies upon Cayuga Lake, near tho center of the w. border of the co. Its
surface is undulating, with a slight inclination toward the n. and w. Owasco Outlet flows through
the n.e. corner; and upon its course are several fine mill privileges. Cayuga Brook, Crane Creek,
and several other small streams take their rise in the town. The soil is mostly a heavy clay and
gravelly loam. Cayn^a, (p*y.,) upon Cayuga Lake, 2 mi. s. of the outlet, was incorp. in 1858.
It*is an important station upon the Central it. R., and is connected with Ithaca by a daily line of
steamers. It contains 2 churches and 400 inhabitants. Fosterville,. (p. v.,) in tbe n. part,
contains a cburch and 12 dwellings; and Aurelius, (p. v.,) in the s. e. part, a church and 12 dwell¬
ings. Clarksville, on the e. line, is a manufacturing village, and forms a suburb of Auburn.
It contains a paper mill,5'gristmill, hoe factory, woolen factory, and 300 inhabitants. The first
settlement was made at Cayuga in 1788, by John Harris, from Harrisburgh, Penn.6 The first
church was formed in 1804, by Rev. David Higgins.4
. BRUTUS—was formed from Aurelius, March 30, 1802. Sennett was taken off in 1827. It
lies on the e. border of the co., n. of the center. In the n. and w. its surface is level, with an
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the last century. He afterward emigrated to Penn., and finally
to Ohio. He was always known as a peacemaker and friend to
the whites until his wife and children were murdered by Col.
Cresap, after which he took up the hatchet and became one of
the most noted of the Indian warriors. His address to the
Peace Commissioners at the close of the war has scarcely its
parallel in history for true eloquence and pathos. This ancient
work is particularly described in the Smithsonian Contributions,
Vol. II, Art. VI, p. 35. .
4 Among the other early settlers were Col. Brinkerhoff, Dr.
Hackcliat Burt, Wm. Bostwlck, Barnabas Caswell, and Lyman
Paine, who came about 1795. John Hardenburgh built the first
gristmill, in 1794; and Wm. Bostwick kept the first inn, in 1796.
The place was called “ Hardenburgh Corners” until 1805, when
its name was changed to Auburn.
6 The Auburn Paper Mill was incorp. here Feb. 17, 1848, with
a capital of $50,000. It gives employment to 40 hands, and
manufactures paper to the amount of $150,000 annually.
6 Mr. Harris established the first ferry across' Cayuga Lake.
Wm. Harris and John Richardson came in the same year. The
first marriage was that of John Harris and Mary Richardson, in
1789; the first birth, that of John Harris, jr., in 1790; and the
first death, that of —— Depuy, in 1797. Hugh Buckley taught
the first school, in 1797 ; John Harris kept the first inn, in 1790,
and the first store, in 1789. The celebrated Cayuga Bridge, 1
mi. 8 rods in-length, was built in 1797, by Swartwood & Deman,
of New York City, and Joseph Annin and others, of Cayuga. It
fell in 1808, but was rebuilt in 1812-13, and was abandoned in
1857. After it was built, the road across it was the great high¬
way of emigration until the canal was finished. The coun+y
seat was located here at the first organization of the co.
7 There-are 4 churches in town; 2 Presb., and 2 M. E. |
1
The cells of the prison are built in a block 5 stories high,
separated from the exterior walls hy an open space and sur¬
rounded by galleries. Each cell is 7 feet long by 3| wide and
7i high, closed by an iron grate. Breakfast and dinner are
eaten at -narrow tables, so arranged that the convicts cannot
exchange looks or signs. Supper is eaten in' the cells. The
workshops form a range of nearly 1000 feet, built against the
outer wall and lighted from the roof and inner sides. Water¬
power is afforded hy the Owasco. These prison buildings were
commenced in 1816 and completed in 1819, by the State, at a
dost of $300,000, exclusive of the labor of convicts upon, them.
The general control is vested in a Board of Inspectors; 54 offi¬
cials, including a guard of 20 men, a chaplain, a physicidn, and
2
This ancient fortification was evidently the work of a people
who occupied the country prior to the advent of tho Indians.
The monuments left hy this people, the remains of the language
still existing, and the traditions of the Indians, all show that
3
they belonged to the same general stock as the aborigines of
Mexico. They are known as the “Mound Builders,” and in
4
Indian, chief, Logan, was horn here about the commencement of
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