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520 OSWEGO COUNTY.
“ Vera Cruz”1 (now Texas.) He here built a saw and grist mill, store, and other buildings, and
commenced an active trade on the lake; and for some years the place bid fair to become a formid¬
able rival of Oswego, and the most important commercial station upon tbe lake. A few other
settlements were made at other points in the co., principally under the auspices of Mr. Scriba, pre¬
vious to 1800; but immigration did not begin to flow in rapidly until a few years later. The lauds
of Mr. Scriba were divided and sold to a great number of different parties; and while his exertions
and expenditures were of great service to the first settlers, they proved extremely unprofitable to him¬
self.2 In common with all the frontier settlements, the growth of this region was seriously retarded
by the War of 1812. Oswego Village became the theater of stirring military events; and on the 5th
of May, 1814, it was taken by the British.3 At the return of peace, immigration again flowed in, and
the subsequent history has been one of steady and continuous progress. The opening of the Erie and
Oswego Canals, in this State, and of the Welland Canal, in Canada, greatly increased the commercial
importance of the city and stimulated the manufacturing interests throughout the co.
ALBIOIV—was taken from Richland, March 24, 1825. It is an interior town, lying e. of the
center of the co. Its surface is level or gently undulating. The summits of the ridges are 50 to
100 feet above the valleys, and the highest point in town is 392 feet above Lake Ontario. The low¬
lands are wet and in some places marshy. Salmon River flows through the n. part.4 In the n.e.
part are 2 or 3 small ponds. The soil consists of deposits of sand and gravel, and is of medium quality.
Drift deposits cover the whole surface, except along the river courses, where the underlying rocks
crop out. Much of the s. part of the town is yet unsettled. Considerable manufacturing is carried
on.5 Sai&d Bank, (p. v.,) on Salmon River, is a station on the Watertown & Rome R. R., midway
between the two places. It contains 1 church, a hotel, 4 stores, 2 tanneries, 5 sawmills, and a flour¬
ing mill. Pop. 313. Pmevtlle, (Salmon River p. o.,) a station on the W. & R. R. R., situated on
Salmon River, contains 1 church, an inn, a store, a sawmill, and a large tannery. Pop. 144. Sew
Centerville, (p. o.,) a station on the W. & R. R. R., Dug Way, (p. o.,) and South
AlMon (p. o.) are hamlets. Settlement was commenced in 1812, by Cary Burdic, of Williams¬
town, on Lot 29, and Peter Henderson, at Sand Bank.6 There are 4 churches in town.7
AMBOY—was formed from Williamstown, March 25, 1830. It lies upon the e. border of the
co., s. of the center. The surface is rolling and has a general southerly inclination. Its highest
point is about 450 feet above Lake Ontario. It is drained principally by Fish Creek and other
small tributaries of Oneida Lake. In the s. and w. parts are numerous small lakes and ponds, the
principal of which are Painter Lake, North and South Ponds. The n. half of the town is in the
region of the gray sandstone, and the s. half in that of the red or Medina sandstone. The soil is
principally a sandy or gravelly loam. ASMtooy Center (p.v.) contains 13 houses; West
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ships, of Scriba’s Patent, like those of Macomb’s Purchase, re¬
ceived names from the proprietors that are known only in deeds;
viz.,—
1. Fulda...............................Ava, Lee, and Annsville.
2. Munden...........................Lee and Rome.
3. Solingen..........................Annsville
4. Florence..........................Florence.
5. Franklin.........................Williamstown.
6. Middleburgh....................Amboy.
7. Linley.............................Camden.
8. Bloomfield.......................Lee and Annsville.
9. Embden...........................Vienna.
10. Edam..............................Vienna.
11. Rotterdam.......................Constantia.
12. Delft ..........................West Monroe.
13. Breda..............................Hastings.
14. Brugeu............................Palermo.
15. Mentz.............................Volney. '
16. Georgia...........................Schroeppel.
17. Fredericksburgh...............Scriba and Oswego City.
18. Oswego............................Scriba and Oswego.
19. Vera Cruz........................New Haven.
20. Mexico............................Mexico.
21. Richland.........................Richland.
22. Alkmaer ;...............Albion
23. Strasburgh......................Parish.
24. Erlang............................Schroeppel.
The townships of the Boylston Tract in this co. are,—
6. Campania.........................Boylston.
7. Arcadia...........................Redfield, (once Greenboro’.)
10. Richland..........................Sandy Creek and Richland.
11. Longinus..........................Orwell.
12. Redfield...........................Redfield.
Richland appears to he uncertain, or this name has been
applied to two surveys. |
1 Vera Cruz was laid out into city lots hy Mr. Wright, who
was an agent of Scriba, and considerable improvements were
made. A 4 rod highway was cut from Rotterdam to Vera Cruz,
a distance of 20 mi., from lake to lake. In 1798 a schooner was
built there by Mr. Scriba’s agent, -which was engaged in the
trade between Vera Cruz and the Canadian port of Kingston.
It is said that in 1804 more merchandise was sold there than at
Oswego or IJtica; and in the imagination of many persons Vera
Cruz was destined to command tho trade of Canada and the
West. But, by a series of disasters on tbe lake, a large portion
of the male residents were lost to the infant settlement; and the
restrictive policy of Mr. Jefferson’s administration, followed hy
the War of 1812, extinguished the flattering prospects of Vera
Cruz. The events and the action of half a century have nearly
obliterated all traces of the once promising fiity.
2 At the time of the purchase Mr. Scriba’s fortune was estb
mated at $1,500,000; but the whole of it became swallowed up
in his efforts to promote the interests of the infant settlements;
and he died Aug. 14, 1836, at the age of 84, a poor man.
3 See page 525.
4 Before the dams were built upon this river, great numbers
of salmon were annually taken.
6 Large quantities of lumber, leather, and barrels are manu¬
factured, the latter for the Onondaga salt and Oswego flour
markets. There are 38 sawmills, 3 tanneries, and 2 gristmills
in town.
6 In 1813 David, Luther, and Benj. Lilly and Allen McClarn
settled in the town. The first birth was that of a son of Luther
Lilly, in 1813; the first marriage, that of Henry Baker and Lucy
Burdic, in 1819; and the first death, that of a son of Luther
Lilly, in 1813. The first inn was kept hy Dr. Brace, at Sand
Bank, in 1814; and the first store, by Ammi Hinklsy, in 1828
The Lilly brothers built the first sawmill, in 1813, and Ezekiel
Smith the first gristmill, in 1818. The first school was taught
by Sylvia Breed, in tho summer of 1817. 7 2 Union, Bap., M. E. |
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