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SENECA COUNTY.
of 200 to 700 feet above its surface, furnishing some of the most quiet and beautiful scenery 'n the
State. This lake is never entirely frozen over. Cayuga Lake occupies a parallel valley on the e.
border of the co., and is 38 mi. long and 1 to 3J mi. wide. It is 60 feet below Seneca, and its
greatest depth is 346 feet. Near the foot the lake is very shallow, and a large extent of land,
immediately adjoining and lying along the course of its outlet, is swampy.1 Further s. the shores
are bluff and the country is of the- same general character as that bordering upon Seneca Lake.
The soil is generally of a very excellent quality. The sandy and gravelly loam of the drift de¬
posits is well adapted to either grain raising or grazing. The lower portions of the ridges are
enriched by the disintegration of the rocks above, making the soil very productive. The lowlands
bordering upon Seneca River are clayey and in many places mixed with disintegrated gypsum and
limestone. North of the river have been found extensive marl deposits of great agricultural value.
North of the foot of Seneca Lake is a sandy region once considered worthless; but upon trial the
soil has been found susceptible of being made productive at little expense. The marshy regions w. of
Cayuga Outlet are covered with thick deposits of marl and muck. Measures have been instituted
to drain these marshes; if successful a new and exceedingly fertile region will be added to the pro¬
ductive lands of the State.
The co. is a half-shire, the co. seats being located respectively at Ovid and Waterloo.2 The court¬
house and clerk's office at Ovid are brick buildings, situated in the e. part of the village. The
combined courthouse and jail at Waterloo is a brick building, situated near the r. r., fronting the
public square, in the w. part of the village. The co. poorhouse is located upon a farm of 126
acres, upon the line between Seneca Falls and Fayette, 4 mi. s.e. of Waterloo.3
Four weekly newspapers are now published in the co.2
The public works of the co. are the N. Y. Central R. R., extending through Seneca Falls and
Waterloo, and the Seneca Canal, extending along Seneca River through the same towns.3 Above
the falls at Waterloo the canal is formed by slackwater navigation upon the river.
The lands in this co. were first brought to the notice of the whites by the expedition of Sullivan,
which passed along the banks of Seneca Lake in 1779. Portions of the land at that time had been
cleared and were under cultivation. The Indians had a tradition that this whole region had once
been occupied by a race that pursued agriculture, but which had long ago disappeared. Many of
Sullivan's soldiers, attracted by the beauty and fertility of the lands, after the war settled in
various parts of the co. The first settler, Job Smith, who located at Seneca Falls in 1787, and the
second, Andrew Dunlap, who located at Ovid in 1789, came in by way of Chemung River. The
third settler, Lawrence Yan Clief, who settled at Seneca Falls in 1789, came in by way of Oneida
Lake and Seneca River.4 After 1790 settlement progressed rapidly, and the most fertile lands
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The Seneca Farmer and Seneca, Falls Advertiser, and was issued
by Wm. Child until 1835.
The Western Times rvas published at Waterloo in 1830 by Ebe¬
nezer P. Mason.
The Ovid Emporium was published in 1832 by Bishop Oren-
shier.
The Seneca County Courier was commenced at Se¬
neca Falls in 1837 by Isaac Fuller & Co. It was success¬
ively published by Fuller A Bloomer, Mills & Bloomer,
Mills & Davis, John J. Davis, N. J. Milliken, Milliken &
Fuller, Milliken & Mumford, Foster & Judd, Fuller &
Judd, until 1850, when it passed into the hands of Isaac
Fuller, its present publisher.
The Ovid Bee was started in 1838 by David Fairchild &
Son. At the end of one year it passed into the hands
of the son, Corydon Fairchild, its present publisher.
The Seneca Falls Democrat was commenced in 1839 by Josiah T.
Miller, and was continued 10 years.
The Seneca Democrat, semi-w., was issued a short time from the
same office.
The Seneca Falls Register was commenced in 1835 by J. K.
Brown, and was continued 2 years.
The Memorial was commenced at Seneca Falls in 1840 by Ansel
Bascom, and was continued until 1846.
The Water Bucket was published at Seneca Falls by an associa¬
tion of Washingtonians in 1841.
The Free-Soil Union was commenced at Seneca Falls in Aug.
1848, by N. J. Milliken, and continued about 1 year.
The Lily was commenced at Seneca Falls in 1849 by Sirs.
Amelia Bloomer, and was continued until 1854, when it
Was removed to Ohio.
Tlie American Reveille was commenced at Seneca
Falls in Jan. 1855, by Wilcoxen, Sherman & Baker. In
1856 it was purchased by G.Wilcoxen, and was continued
by him until Jan. 1859, when it passed into the hands
of Holly & Stowell, the present publishers.
5 The first locks on this river were made by the Seneca Biver
Navigation Company, in 1815.
6 Mr. Van Clief was one of the 100 men dispatched by Sullivan
under Col. Gansevoort, directly e. from the head of Seneca Lake, |
1
Tbis swampy region is the southern termination of the noted
Montezuma Marshes.
2
The Seneca Patriot, the first paper published in the co., was
started at Ovid in 1815 by Geo. Lewis. In 1816 it w*as
changed to
The Ovid Gazette. Upon the change of the co. seat in 1817, it
was removed to Waterloo and changed to
The Waterloo Gazette, and was continued several years by the
original proprietor.
The Seneca Farmer was started at Waterloo in 1822 by Wm.
Child. In 1832 it was removed to Seneca Falls and
united with the Seneca Falls Journal.
The Waterloo Republican -was issued a short time in 1822.
The Waterloo Observer was started in 1824 by Charles Sentell.
It was soon after issued a short time as
The Observer and Union, and was subsequently changed to
The Seneca Observer, under which title it is still issued
by the original proprietor.
The Wreath and Ladies’ Literary Repository was issued from
the Observer office in 1831.
3
The Seneca Republican was established at Ovid in 1827 by Mi¬
chael Ilayes. In 1830 it was changed to
The Ovid Gazette and Seneca County Register, and was issued a
short time by John Duffy.
4
The Seneca Falls Journal was commenced in 1829 by O. B.
Clark. In 1831 it passed into the hands of Wm. N.
Brown, and in 1832 it was united with the Seneca
Farmer and changed to
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