The Commercial Interests of Adams Village NY

1864 Map of Adams Village New York

The Manufacturing Interests of the village date from 1800. That year David Smith built and got in operation a saw-mill near where the present mill stands. It did a great deal of work, yet it was not able to supply the demand for lumber, and even the slabs were used in building. From this circumstance the village was sometimes called ” Slab City.” A larger mill replaced the first one, which has long since been destroyed. In the western part of the village there is a good saw-mill, owned by Saunders & Wright. In 1802, David Smith got in operation … Read more

History of Adams Center, New York

1864 Map of Adams New York

This pleasant village, of 500 inhabitants, is situated on the upper lake ridge, which here forms a plain, three miles north of Adams, and ten miles by railroad from Watertown. The location is very favorable, and, being surrounded by a rich farming country, the place has become noted for its many comfortable homes, substantial business men, and beautiful streets. Settlement in this’ locality was first made in 1816, by Luman and Hiram Arms, who opened a farm just north of the village site. The place was densely timbered with cedar and the hard woods of this section, and clearings were … Read more

Brownville New York Biographies – Part 1

1864 Map of Brownville New York

The following 10 biographical sketches were extracted from the Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890: Samuel Plumb, John Cole, Jonathan Emerson, Benjamin Prior, Jacob Kilborn, Josiah Bonney, William Stow Ely, Cyrus Allen, Jacob Carpenter, and William Berry.

History of the Village of Antwerp

1888 Birds Eye View of Antwerp NY

The first settlement and improvements upon the site of the present village of Antwerp were made under the direction of General Lewis R. Morris. On the 23d of December, 1804, he had purchased a tract of forty-nine thousand two hundred and eighty acres of land within the present boundaries of the town, comprising more then two-thirds of its entire area, and including the location on which the village stands. It was not until the year 1808 that David Parrish became proprietor of a part of these lands, by purchase from Morris. In the year following his purchase (1805) General Morris … Read more

History of Ives Seminary, Antwerp, New York

1888 Birds Eye View of Antwerp NY

Ives Seminary, located in Antwerp village, is an outgrowth of two previously-existing educational enterprises, – the Antwerp Liberal Literary Institute and the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary. The last-named institution was incorporated April 5, 1828, and was successfully conducted as a grammar-school until 1837, when it was placed under the patronage of the Black River conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and became their conference seminary, with Rev. Jesse T. Peck as principal. It remained under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal church, until 1869, when, as the buildings and facilitates had become inadequate of the needs of the institution, it was … Read more