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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
This county was formed from Albany and Otsego,. April 6, 1795.1
A small part of Greene was annexed in 1836. It is an interior
co., lying s. e. of the center of the State, is centrally distant 35
mi. from Albany, and contains 675 sq. mi. Its "surface is an
upland, brftken by mountains in the s. and by hills in the center
and n. A northerly branch of the Catskill Mts. lies along the s,
border, the highest summits of which are 3,000 ft. above tide.
From them irregular spurs extend northward, occupying the greater
part of the co. Many of the summits, along the e. and w. borders
are 800 to 1,000 ft. above the valleys and about 2,000 ft. above tide.
In the n. the hills are generally rounded and are arable to their
summits; but in the center and s. the declivities are steep and in
many places precipitous. The high ridge along the E. border, and extending into Albany co., is
known as the Hellebark Mts.
The hills derive their general features from the rocks that underlie them. The extreme x, part
of the co. is terraced like the limestone region farther w. Toward the s. the hills become more
steep; and in the shaly region they are broken by deep, irregular ravines. In many places the hills
bordering upon the streams are 1,000 ft. high and in places very steep. Schoharie Creek flows
N. e. through the co., a little e. of the center. It receives as tributaries Foxes Creek, Stony
) Brook, Little Schoharie Creek, Keysers, Platter, and Manor Kils from the e., and Cripplebush,
Cobles, Line, Panther, West, and Mine Kils from the w. West and Punch Kils are tributaries of
Cobles Kil.. Charlotte River, a branch of the Susquehanna, takes its rise in the w. part, and
Catskill Creek in the s. e. part, having its source in a marsh called the Ylaie. Utsyanthia2 and
I Summit Lakes, two small ponds, are the only bodies of water in the co. The former is 1,900 ft-
| and the latter 2,150 ft. above tide.
5 The rocks in the co., commencing upon the x. border and appearing successively toward the s.,
| are those belonging to the Hudson River group, Clinton group, Onondaga salt group, Helderbergh
| series, Hamilton group, Portage and Chemung group, and the Catskill group. The limestones are
cavernous;, and the minerals which they afford are particularly interesting to mineralogists.3
\ Drift is scattered over the co. to a limited extent. Waterlime is found, but is not now manufactured.
■ The soils are principally derived from the disintegration of the underlying rocks. In the n. the
| soil is a productive, clay loam, and in the center and s. it is a clay and sandy loam, the latter pre-
. , dominating upon the s. hills. The alluvial flats along Schoharie Creek are unusually fertile,
; The co. is eminently an agricultural region. Spring grains are largely produced. Hops are
i cultivated in the w. part, and broomcorn upon the Schoharie Flats. Dairying is the principal
‘ business in the s. part. Yery little manufacturing is done, except such as is customary in an
agricultural region.
The county seat is located at the village of Schoharie.4 The courthouse is a fine edifice built of
i ' blue limestone, located near the center of the village. The jail is a stone building, situated in rear
of the courthouse. The clerk's office is a small, fireproof building, upon the courthouse lot, nearly
( in front. The poorhouse is located upon a farm of 160 acres in Middleburgh, 5 mi. s. w. of the court-,
. house. The average number of inmates is 60, supported at a weekly cost of 75 cents each. This
i institution seems to be well managed and much above the average of similar institutions in the State.,
| The Albany & Susquehanna R. R. is located along the valleys of Schoharie Creek and Cobles
1 Schoharie is said to signify “drift ■wood.” At a place i
; mi. above Middleburgh Bridge the "Line Kil and Little Scho¬
harie flow into Schoharie Creek from opposite sides; and here
drift wood is said to have accumulated in large quantities,
forming a natural bridge.—Brown’s Hist. Schoharie.
4 The first courts were held in a wagon house of Johannis
Tngold, and prisoners were at first sent to the Albany jail. The
first meeting of the Judges, Justices, and Supervisors was held
Dec. 16, 1795, and it was decided to fix the site for co. buildings
2 mi. w. of their present location. The location was changed
before the buildings were erected. The first buildings were
erected soon after, and were burned in 1847. The first court¬
house was built under the direction of Joost Borst, jr., Jacob
Lawyer, Peter Snyder, John H. Shafer, and Wm. Phrall, com¬
missioners. Abraham A. Post, of Ontario, Alexander H. Buel,
of Herkimer, and Wm. Duer, of Oswego, were appointed to
locate the present site. The first co. officers were Wm. Beek¬
man, First Judge, (reappointed constantly till 1838;) Joachim
(}. Staats, Clerk; Jacob Lawyer, jr., Sheriff; and Stephen A.
Becker "
The original Indian-name was To-wos-scho'her; and it has
been written Shoary, Skohary, Schughhorre, Ac.
2 Utsyanthia was the n. e. corner of the Hardenburgh Patent,
and a distinguished landmark in early records.
; 3 Among the more interesting are stalactites of pure white,
j translucent" and solid, sulphate of barytes, calcite, satin spar,
tufa, agaric mineral, bog ore, black oxid of manganese, sulphate
and carbonate of strontia, fluor spar, calstronbaryte, carbonate
of iron, and arragonite. The co. affords an unusual variety of
fossils peculiar to the respective geological formations.
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