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ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. 575
War” Tlie battle of Windmill Point, the most memorable event of that ill-concerted movement,
was fought within sight of Ogdensburgh, in Nov. 1838.1 The U. S. Collection Dist. of Oswegatchie
was established March 2, 1811, and embraces the whole co. Its chief office is at Ogdensburgh,
with subordinate offices at each of the river towns.
BKASHEB2—was formed from Massena, April 21, 1825. A part of Lawrence was taken
off in 1828. It lies on the e. border of the co., n. of the center. Its surface is generally level,
with gentle undulations in the e. part. The principal streams are St. Regis and Deer Rivers
and Trout Brook. The soil in the w. part is stony and in parts sandy; in the s. e. it is light and
sandy; and in the n. it is a clay loam and very productive. Bog iron ore is obtained abundantly
in the e. part, in the range where the sand rests upon the clay deposits. Braslier Falls3 (p.v.)
is a manufacturing village upon the St. Regis, in the s. w. corner of the town, 1 mi. below the r. r.
station. Pop. 257. Helena4 (p. v.) is situated at the mouth of Deer River, and has a limited
amount of water-power. Pop. 100. Brasher Iron War Its, (p.o.,) 2J mi. above Helena, on
Deer River, is the seat of an important furnace. Brasher Center is a hamlet on the St.
Regis River. The first improvement in town (at Helena) was under the agency of Russell At¬
water, in 1817. Stillman Puller built the furnace at Brasher IronWorks in 1835,5 The first
settlement at Brasher Palls was made in 1826. In 1839 C. T. Hulburd purchased 600 acres,
including the village site of Brasher Falls, and in 1841 made the first considerable improvement.
On the 26th of May, 1857, a fire in the woods ravaged this town, and destroyed the furnace and
nearly the whole village at the “Iron Works.”2 The census reports 7 churches in town.3
CANTON4—was formed from Lisbon, March 28, 1805. It occupies a nearly central position
in the co. Its surface is level or gently undulating. Grass River, flowing through the center, and
the Oswegatchie, flowing through the n. w. corner, are the principal streams.9 It is underlaid
by white limestone and gneiss in the s., and by Potsdam sandstone in the central and n. parts.
The soil is a deep, fertile, gravelly loam. Iron pyrites, from which copperas (sulphate of iron) has
been manufactured, is found in abundance near High Palls, on Grass River.5 Canton,6 (p.v.,)
the county seat, is pleasantly situated on Grass River, a little e. of the center of the town. It is
an important station on the P. & W. R. R. It has a number of manufactures,12 and is the seat
of the Canton Academy, founded in 1831, and of the St. Lawrence University,7 an institution
founded under the auspices of the Universalist denomination in 1856. Pop. 1,029. Morley14
(p. v.) is on Grass River, near the n. border of the town. Pop. 350. Bensselaer Falls8
(p. v.) is a small village on the Oswegatchie, in the N. w. corner of the town. It was formerly
the seat of an iron forge. Crarys Mills (p.o.) is a hamlet on the line of Potsdam. Soatla
Canton is in the e. part. Daniel Harrington settled on the site of the Agricultural Fair Grounds
in Canton Village in 1800. The first permanent settler was Stillman Foote, who bought a mile
square where the village now stands, and removed thither in 1801, accompanied by several men.
In 1802 he built a mill, and the town began to be rapidly settled.16 Religious meetings were held
as early as 1804. The first church (Presb.) was formed under the Rev. Amos Pettingill, in 1807.1T
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This canal was formerly 3 to 20 rods wide, and was navigable for
small boats in high water. It flowed toward the w., and over¬
flowed an alluvial flat of 4500 acres. To reclaim this, both ends
of the canal have been closed, and a drain dug along the Oswe¬
gatchie to below Rensselaer Palls.
10 Fruitless explorations for copper have here been made at
great expense.
11 Incorp. May 14, 1845.
12 Consisting of lumber, shingles, sash, wagons, flour, and
leather.
18 An elegant brick building was erected here in 1857; and
in 1858 a theological school was organized by E. Fisher. The col¬
legiate department has not yet been organized.
14 Formerly “Long Rapids.” Named Morley from a relative
of the Harrison family.- It contains several sawmills, a sash
factory, and tannery.
16 A forge was erected here in 1839, by Tate, Chafee & Co., and
the place named * Tateville.” It was more generally known as
“ Canton Falls" until the p. o. was established in 1851. The
present name was derived from H. Van Rensselaer, who laid
out the village in 1846,
18 Daniel W. Church, the pioneer millwright of the co., erected
the first mill here, for S. Foote, in 1801. The summer of that
year was very sickly; and in May the father of S. Foote died of
the smallpox and was buried in a bark coffin. Wm. Barker
taught the first school, in 1804. The first bix’th was a daughter
of L. Johnson.
H The census reports 9 churches; 2 M. E., Bap., Univ., Prot. E,,
(Grace C.,) Wes. Meth., Cong., F. W. Bap., and R. C. |
1
The leaders In this movement dared not risk their own lives
in the battle, and left the few, consisting mostly of young men
and boys, to engage the greatly superior numbers of the British.
The battle was short and bloody. Of the 159 patriots taken
prisoners, 18 were released without trial, 3 were acquitted, and
129 were sentenced to be hung. Of the last number, 10 were
hung, 60 transported to Van Diemens Land, 56 pardoned, 2 sen¬
tenced to a 7 years’ term in the penitentiary, and 2 died of their
wounds.—Hough’s Hist. St. Law., d; Frank. Cos.
2
until the village was destroyed by fire in 1855. The works are
3
about being rebuilt.
4
The fire desolated nearly the whole town, and for a time
5
lated by running fires in 1857.
6
t 2 Presb. andM.E. at Brasher Pails, Presb. at Helena, M. E.
7
and P. W. Bap. A M. E. Ch. at Brasher Ironworks in 1857.
8
8 A natural canal connects the channels of the two streams.
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