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ERIE COUNTY. 291
colony of Jews upon Grand Island, as an Ararat, or resting place, for that scattered and broken
people.1
HAMBURGH 2—was formed from “ Willink,” (now Aurora,) March 20, 1812. A part of
Evans was taken off in 1826, East Hamburgh in 1850, and a part of West Seneca, as “Seneca,”
in 1851. It lies on the shore of Lake Erie, near the center of the w. border of the co. Its surface
in the e. is rolling; but in the w. it is nearly level, with a gentle inclination toward the lake. A
bluff averaging 50 to 100 feet high borders the lake. The principal stream is Eighteen Mile
Creek. The soil is mostly a clayey loam; in the s. e. corner it is gravelly. Whites Corners,
(p. v.,) on the n. branch of Eighteen Mile Creek, in the s. e. part of the town, contains 5 churches,
a gristmill, a sawmill, a tannery, and has a pop. of 609; Water Valley, (p. v.,) on the same
stream, w. of Whites Corners, contains a woolen factory, a furnace, and 20 houses; Abbotts
Corners, (Hamburgh p. o.,) on the line of East Hamburgh, contains 2 churches, a sawmill, a
shingle mill, and 145 inhabitants. Big Tree Corners and Hamburgh-on-tbe-Lake
are p. offices. The first settlement was made in 1804, by Nathaniel Titus and Dr. Rufus Belden.3
There are 7 churches in town.4
ISOLLA1VD—was formed from “Willink,” (now Aurora,) April 15, 1818; and Colden was
taken off in 1827. It lies upon the e. border of tbe co., s. e. of the center. The surface is a high,
broken upland, divided by the valley of Cazenove Creek. The summit of the highland is about
900 ft. above Lake Erie. The soil is a gravelly loam, intermixed in some places with slate and
clay. The valley of Cazenove Creek is very fertile. Holland, (p. v.,) on Cazenove Creek,
contains 1 church, several manufacturing establishments,5 and 50 houses. The first settlement
was made in 1807, by Jared Scott, Abner Currier, and Arthur Humphrey, from Vt.6 There is
but 1 church (Bap.) in town.
1LASTC ASTER—was formed from Clarence, March 20,1833. A part of West Seneca was taken
off in 1851, and a part of Elma in 1857. It is an interior town, n. e. of the center of the co. Tlia
surface is level. Cayuga and Eleven Mile Creeks are the principal streams; upon them are several
mill sites. The soil is a clayey and gravelly loam. Eancaster, (p.v.,) incorp. March 13,1849,
is a station on the N. Y.C. R. R., in the w. part of the town. It contains 6 churches, a bank, and
several manufactories.7 Pop. 1,259. Bowmansvllle, (p. v.,) in the n. w. corner of the town,
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1818, by commissioners appointed respectively by the United
States and British Governments. While the matter was still
undecided, a large number of lawless persons—mostly refugees
from justice from both sides of the river—squatted upon the
island, locating principally along the shores. Remaining for
some time unmolested, they began to commit extensive depre¬
dations upon the timber; and finally they set up an independent
government and elected a full,quota of municipal officers. In
April, 1819, the legislature passed an act authorizing the re¬
moval of these intruders. During the succeeding summer the
governor issued a proclamation commanding them to desist
from depredations upon the property of the State, and at once
to remove. A few obeyed the command; but, seeing no active
demonstrations on the part of Government, they returned. In
the fall of 1819, Gov. Clinton directed Col. Jas.Cronk, the sheriff
of Niagara co., to call out a sufficient military force for the pur¬
pose and forcibly expel them. On tbe 9th of Dec. 1819, the
sheriff, accompanied by Lieuts. Benj. Hodge and Osborne,
2 serjeants, 4 corporals, and 24 privates, went to the island in
boats, manned by 20 boatmen, to carry into execution the orders
of the governor. Every facility was given the people to remove
with their effects; and the boatmen took them to either shore, as
they might elect. The military were divided into 3 parties: a
vanguard, to read the governor’s orders and assist in clearing
the houses; a second party, to forcibly remove all property left
in the buildings; and a rear guard, to burn the buildings and
complete tbe removal and destruction. Seventy houses were
burned, and 150 people, consisting of men, women, and children,
were turned out shelterless upon the U. S. and Canada shores.
Two buildings, filled with grain, alone were saved. The
removal and destruction occupied 5 days and cost the State
$568.99. A few families returned immediately, but did not re¬
main.
1 In a memorial to tbe legislature in 1820 for the purchase
©f the island, Maj. Noah explained his object; repunted tbe
persecution which his co-religionists in the Old World had suf¬
fered through many centuries; pointed out the benefits that had
resulted to Spain, Portugal, France, and Germany from the com¬
mercial enterprise and the capital of the Jews when allowed the
exercise of their rights; and painted in brilliant colors the
benefits that would accrue to the U. S. if his people could ex¬
change “ the whips and scorns of Europe, Asia, and Africa for
the light of liberty and civilization” which this country afforded.
He estimated that there were 7,000,000 of Jews in the world, and
predicted that, if the existence of an asylum of freedom were
made known, large numbers would be induced to emigrate. Tbe
sanction of law was asked to give confidence to those who might
not otherwise be induced to remove. His attempt to gather the
Jews, like those before it, ended in day dreams. The European
rabbii refused to sanction the effort; and Maj. Noah soon gave up
the attempt, leaving no trace of his “city” upon the island but
a monument of brick and wood. It bore, on a marble tablet, the
following inscriptions from Deuteronomy vi. 4:— |
-innSx ym
ARARAT,
A CJTY OF REFUGE FOR THE JEWS,
Founded by Mordecai M. Noah, in the month of Tizri 5,586,
(September, 1825,) and in the 50th year of American Inde¬
pendence.
The monument has since tumbled down; and the schemes of
Maj. Noah have now scarcely a place in memory or a trace
in history.
A Boston company was formerly extensively engaged in the
manufacture of ship timber upon the island.
2 Named from Hamburgh, in Germany.
8 Benj., Enos, and Joseph Sheldon settled in the town in 1805,
and John Fox and Elisha and David Clark in 1806. The first
marriage was that of Ezekiel Cook and Anna Smith, in 1807.
Nath’l Titus kept the first inn, in 1804; and John Cummings
built the first mill, in 1805.
4 Bap., F. W. Bap., Evang. Luth., M. E., and R. C. at Whites
Corners, and M. E. and Presb. at Abbotts Corners.
8 2 sawmills, a gristmill, and a tannery; the last named is a
large establishment, employing about 35 men, and turning out
about 60,000 sides of leather per annum.
6 They were followed by Dan’l McKean and Ezekiel and Har¬
vey Colby the same year, and by Increase Richardson, Samuel
Miller, Theophilus Baldwin, and Sandford Porter in 1808. Tbe
first birth was that of Dan’l McKean, in 1808. Joshua Barrow
kept the first inn, in 1817, and Leander Cook the first store, the
same year. The first school was taught by Abner Currier, in
1808. .
7 A glass factory, a bedstead factory, a tannery, a gristmill,
and a sawmill. |
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