HISTORY: Chapter 6, History of Cayuga Co., NY 1879; Cayuga co., NY

submitted by W. David Samuelsen
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1789 - History of Cayuga County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches of some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, by Elliot G. Storke,
assisted by Jas. H. Smith. Pub. by D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, N.Y. 1879

CHAPTER VI.
FORMATION AND TOPOGRAPHY.

EARLY CIVIL DIVISIONS - FORMATION OF THE COUNTY - SIZE OF THE FIRST TOWNS -
FIRST TOWN MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS - RAPID SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY - FIRST
SETTLER - SITUATION - GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY - LAKES, RIVERS AND STREAMS -
FORMATION OF THE SEVERAL TOWNS - TOPOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN TOWNS - OF THE
NORTHERN TOWNS.

FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.-The earliest civil division in this part of the State
was Tryon county, formed in 1772, and changed to Montgomery in 1784. It
included the entire State west of a north and south line drawn through the
center of Schoharie county. Ontario county was next formed, January 27, 1789,
and included all that part of Montgomery county lying west of a north and
south line drawn through Seneca Lake, two miles east of Geneva. Herkimer
county was formed in 1791, extending from Ontario county to Montgomery.
Onondaga was formed from Herkimer, March 5th, 1794, and included the original
military tract, the present counties of Cayuga, Seneca, and Cortland, and
parts of Tompkins, Wayne and Oswego. Cayuga was formed March 8th, 1799, and
then embraced Seneca and a part of Tompkins county.

The early towns were very large. Whitestown, formed in 1788, embraced the
entire State west of Utica, and there were in it when formed, Iess than two
hundred inhabitants. The town officers were scattered from Geneseo on the west
to Utica on the east. This large town was after-wards divided into Mexico,
Peru and Whites-town, Mexico embracing the eastern half of the military tract.
The first town meeting in Mexico, was held at the house of Seth Phelps, in the
town of Ledyard, and the first general election in the town of Whitestown, was
held at the Cayuga Ferry. If the voters residing as far east as Utica came to
Cayuga to vote, traversing over eighty miles of forest roads, they paid a full
equivalent for the right.

The first settlement (1) within the present limits of Cayuga County was made
in 1789, and the subsequent influx of emigrants into the County was very
rapid. In 1800, twelve years after the first settler had fixed his home here,
Cayuga County had 15, 097 inhabitants, the accessions thus averaging for
eleven years, over t, 200 per year ; while Onondaga had then but 7,698.

The tendency of early emigration was, there-fore, to the "lake region," the
reputation of which for health and fertility, had been widely circulated by
the officers and soldiers of SuIlivan's army, (2) whose reports were confirmed
by the subsequent surveyors and land seekers.

SITUATION. - Geographically this County lies about equi-distant from Albany on
the east and Buffalo on the west. It is the easternmost of the lake counties,
having Skaneateles Lake on its eastern boundary, Owasco Lake in the interior,
and Cayuga Lake upon the west, with Lake Ontario on its northern boundary; the
counties of Oswego, Onondaga and Cortland, bound it on the east, Tompkins on
the south, and Seneca and Wayne on the west. It extends from north to south a
distance of 55 miles, with an average breadth of about 14 miles, embracing an
area of 760 square miles, exclusive of 160 square miles of the waters of Lake
Ontario, or 486,400 acres.

GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY. - The inclination and drainage of the County
is in a general northerly direction; the table lands near the center of the
town of Scipio, being the source of the principal streams which flow southerly
through the towns of Venice and Genoa;

but, with this exception, and a part of Sempronius and Summer Hill, the waters
of the county are discharged into Lake Ontario.

SURFACE - The surface of the county is, generally, susceptible of easy
cultivation, being either flat, or its ascents gradual. The hills that border
the valleys of the Salmon creeks in the towns of Venice and Genoa, and those
in Niles, Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius, form the principal
exceptions, the comparative elevations of which will be given in the "
topography of the towns."

LAKES.- Lake Ontario, lying on the extreme northern boundary of the County, is
130 miles long and 55 miles wide. It is 232 feet above tide-water, and its
greatest depth is 6oo feet. The only harbor on this lake in the county, is
Little Sodus, elsewhere fully described. (3)

The surface of this lake, as also of our other great lakes, is subject to
variations of level, that of Lake Ontario varying about four and three-fourths
feet between the extremes, and the period of variation extends through several
years, caused, it is believed, by long prevailing winds and unequal amounts of
rain and evaporation. Sudden and unaccountable variations of several feet in
the level of the surface of this lake, have, at different times occurred and
given rise to much speculation as to the cause.

Cayuga Lake, on the south-western border of the County is 387 feet above tide,
40 miles long, and at and: above Aurora, exceeds three miles in width. Owasco
is 770 feet above tide, has an extreme width of one and one-fourth miles and a
length of ten and three-fourths miles. This lake receives the drainage of the
eastern parts of the towns of Fleming, Scipio, Venice and Genoa, the whole of
the surface of Moravia and Locke, the north-western part of Summer Hill,
nearly two-thirds of Sempronius, and fully three-fourths of the town of Niles,
the entire surface drained into the lake, being over 100,000 acres.

Cross Lake, about five miles in length by one mile in breadth, is formed by
the discharge of Seneca river into a shallow basin, out of which it flows, the
lake receiving .little other drainage. A large swamp borders this lake on the
west, and another on the north.

Besides these larger lakes, there are Duck Lake and Mud Pond in the
north-western part of Conquest, Otter Lake and Parker's Pond in Cato, and
Summer Hill Lake, in the town of that name.

RIVERS - Seneca is the principal river of the County. It receives the entire
drainage of the immense water-sheds that drain into Canandaigua, Seneca,
Cayuga and Skaneateles Lakes, and hence bears a large and, with the seasons, a
greatly varying body of water. Besides the out-lets of these lakes it
receives, as has been shown, the principal drainage of Cayuga County in a
multitude of streams, of which the larger are the Owasco Outlet, Cold Spring,
Cayuga, Crane's, and Bread Creeks. The principal streams in the south part of
the County are the. Cayuga In-let, having its source in the hills of Locke and
Moravia, and the Big and Little Salmon Creeks, rising in the hills of Venice
and Genoa, and flowing southerly.

FORMATION OF THE TOWNS. - A town of Aurelius was formed in the county of
Ontario, by the Court of General Sessions of that county, January 27, 1789.
This town, it should be remembered, was outside of the territorial limits of
what afterwards became Onondaga and Cayuga Counties, and should not be
confounded with the Aurelius in Cayuga County, which was one of the " Military
Townships," formed January 27, 1789, but was enlarged by an act passed March
5th, 1794, "to divide the State into counties and towns," and described as
containing "all the townships of Cato, Brutus and Aurelius and all of the
reservation north of the town of Scipio and west to the center of Cayuga Lake.
Auburn was formed from Aurelius, March 28th, 1823. Brutus and Cato, original
military townships, but merged in Aurelius by the act of March 5, 1794, were
detached and formed into separate town-ships on March 30, 1802 ; Conquest, (4)
from Cato, March 16, 1821 ; Fleming, from Aurelius, March 28, 1823 ; Genoa,
from the " Military Tract," as "Milton," January 27, 1789, name changed April
6, 1808 ; Ira, from Cato, March 16, 1821 ; Ledyard, from Scipio, January 30,
1823 ; Locke, from Mil-ton, now Genoa, February 20, 1802 ; Mentz, from
Aurelius, as Jefferson, March 30, 1802, name changed April 6, 1808; Montezuma,
from Mentz, April 8, 185'9 ; Moravia, from Sempronius, March 20, 1833 ; Niles,
from Sempronius, March 20, 1833 ; Owasco, from Aurelius, March 30, 1802 ;

Scipio, from the Military Tract, March 5, 1794; Sempronius, from the Military
Tract, March 9, 1799 ; Sennett, (5) from Brutus, March 19, 1827 ; Springport,
(6) from Scipio, January 30, 1823; Sterling, (7) from Cato, June 19, 1812 ;
Summer Hill, from Locke, as Plato, April 26, 1831, name changed March 16, 1832
; Throop, from parts of Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett, April 8, 1859; Venice,
from Scipio, January 30, 1823 ; Victory, (8) from Cato, March 16, 1821.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TOWNS. - In the town of Sempronius is the highest land in
the county, rising to the height of 1,700 feet above tide. The hills ascend
sharply from the shores of Skaneateles Lake to a height above the valley, of
from 800 to 1,000 feet. Deep valleys have been cut through the drift and
shales in this town, by Mill, Swamp and Fall Brooks.

In Summer Hill, the surface lies from 1000 to 1,100 feet above tide, and the
valley of Fall Brook is from 300 to 400 feet below.

In Niles the highest elevation is 1470 feet above tide and 700 feet above
Owasco Lake. The hills of Moravia rise between 300 and 400 feet above the
flats and their sides are often steep and precipitous. The mean elevation of
the hills of Locke, is about 1000 feet above tide, while they rise from 300 to
400 feet above the valleys, through which the Cayuga Inlet flows ; but they
spread out into fine undulating uplands. In Genoa, the highest land is 1000
feet above tide, and 670 above Cayuga Lake, from which it gradually rises. The
ridges, running north and south through the town, are divided by the two
valleys, through which flow the Big and Little Salmon Creeks ; the ridges
rising from 50 to 150 feet above them.

In Owasco, the land rises gradually from the lake to an extreme height of
about 500 feet.

Scipio has a high rolling or level and generally feasible surface for
cultivation, lying on the summit of its range of towns, the drainage from it
being both to the north and south. It rises gradually about 500 feet above
Owasco Lake at its highest points, except near its shores, along which extends
a steep bluff.

In Ledyard from its eastern boundary, where it rises about 50o feet above the
lake, the land gradually declines to its shores. Numerous small streams flow
through it into the lake.

In Venice are deep valleys running north and south, near the center of the
town, and through which the Big and Little Salmon Creeks flow. Its highest
summits rise from 300 to 400 feet above Owasco Lake. Its general surface is a
rolling upland, but on the lake and the west bank of Salmon Creek the
declivities are abrupt.

Fleming has a northerly and easterly inclination sloping towards the lake for
three-fourths of a mile with a rolling surface, easily cultivated. Its ridges
run north and south, and rise from 150 to 250 feet above the lake.

Springport rises gradually from Cayuga Lake, to an elevation between 400 and
50o feet, with a generally plane or moderately rolling surface

Such is the general topography of the twelve towns lying south of the city of
Auburn. We will now present the topography of the northern towns of the
County, with some contrasts between them and the southern towns.

Lake Ontario, on the northern border, is 232 feet above tide water, and 155
feet lower than the surface of Cayuga Lake.

The highest ridges in the town of Sterling, rise 200 feet above the lake, and
are therefore 532 feet above tide, or about 1200 feet below the highest
elevation in the County in the town of Sempronius ; and 350 feet below the
table lands of Scipio. Sterling has a slight northerly inclination, and its
streams flow into the Little and Big Sodus Bays. Courtright Brook and Little
Sodus Creek are the principal streams. Little Sodus Bay is two miles long and
one mile wide, and furnishes one of the finest harbors on the shore of the
lake. The water is of ample depth, it is thoroughly land-locked by the high
lands on three sides, and its entrance has been improved by liberal
appropriations by the general government. It is elsewhere fully described. (9)

East of the bay is a large swamp, embracing several hundred acres, and also
another in the south part of the town. Some parts of the town are exceedingly
stony and difficult of cultivation. The surface of the town of Victory is but
moderately uneven, the hills not exceeding fifty feet in height. In the
south-west part is a large swamp. As in Sterling, so in this town, some parts
of it are very stony.

In Ira, also, the surface is gently undulating, the hills rising from fifty to
seventy-five feet above the valleys.

Cato has no elevation exceeding fifty feet above the valleys, and not above
two hundred feet above Lake Ontario. Seneca River bounds the town on the
south, along which the land is flat and subject to overflow. Cross Lake is a
body of shallow water, five miles long by one broad, into, and from which, the
Seneca River flows. Otter Lake is about two miles long and Parker's Pond, of
circular form, is about one mile in diameter, the outlets from both, flowing
into Seneca River. Along the river, in this town, the ground is low and swampy
and subject to inundation. That part of the town of Conquest which borders
upon Seneca River, is low and swampy and subject to overflow, and a swamp
about eighty rods wide extends from the river through the town.

Duck Lake, in the north-west part of the town, is about one mile in diameter.
The general surface of the town is rolling upland. Howland's Island, in the
south-west corner of the town, formed by a branch of Seneca River which
surrounds two thousand seven hundred acres, was owned by Humphrey Howland, and
descended to his son Penn. It has now passed into other hands. Nearly
one-third of its exterior surface bordering the river is low and swampy and
the balance rolling and fine upland.

The north-western and northern parts of Brutus are level, rising but a few
feet above the level of Seneca River, by which considerable portions are
overflowed. It is exceedingly rich and productive. In the southern and
south-eastern parts rise frequent and very fertile drift-hills, from fifty to
seventy-five feet above the general surface. Cold Spring Brook, in the western
part of the town, rising in the Tyler Spring in Auburn, and Bread, or Putnam
Brook, flowing centrally through the town, and having its head-waters in the
town of Owasco, are the principal streams ; the latter is a canal feeder, and
both empty into the Seneca River.

That part of the town of Mentz, which lies upon the Seneca River is low and
more or less swampy ; in the south rise fertile drift-ridges.

The Owasco Outlet flows through the center of the town, and furnishes a very
valuable water power.

The town of Montezuma is enclosed on its western and northern sides by the
Seneca River, which at the north-western corner of the town, turns sharply to
the east, sending a northerly arm around Howland's Island. The surface of this
town is generally low and flat, but where it is susceptible of cultivation it
is exceedingly fertile in the grasses and all the grains that are cultivated.
This town is rich in its exhaustless deposits of alluvium, drained for
thousands of years from the surface of Cayuga, Seneca, Yates, Ontario, and
Wayne counties, and stored here for the use of man, and which, it is believed,
will be utilized to restore the exhausted fertility of the bordering upland,
and as in Holland and Belgium, be converted, with less labor than there, into
one of the most valuable and productive regions of the globe.

The "Cayuga Marshes," extending along the Seneca River in Aurelius, Montezuma
and Mentz, embrace about forty thousand acres, and in the opinion of the State
Geologist, are under-Iaid by shell marl. (10)

This marl is an excellent fertilizer, being exceedingly rich in animal and
mineral phosphates ; and efforts are now being made to utilize it and give it
a commercial value. The deposit extends in places to a great depth, and covers
immense areas, being practically inexhaustible. Along the canal in the town of
Mentz, a little west of Port Byron, works have recently been erected for the
purpose of preparing it for the market. Similar works have been in operation
for a longer period just across the Seneca River, in Seneca county, a little
above Montezuma, and considerable quantities have been shipped to New York
both in the crude and manufactured state.

Montezuma also abounds in salt springs, from which large quantities of salt
have, at different periods, been made ; but its manufacture has been abandoned
owing to the superior strength of the Onondaga brines. The town of Aurelius is
flat or gently undulating, with many drift-hills, gradually inclining to the
north and west, and is one of the best agricultural towns in the County.
Owasco Outlet, and Cayuga and Crane Brooks, are the principal streams.

Sennett has a level or gently rolling surface, the slopes of the hills being
long and gradual, rising from 50 to 100 feet above the valleys. There is very
little swamp or waste land, and it is one of the most fertile and best
cultivated towns in the county.

(1) Roswell Franklin, from Wyoming, was the first settler, locating at Aurora,
in 1789. He had been in the battle of Wyoming, in which his wife was killed
and one of his children taken captive by the Indians. He is said to have been
so much depressed by his misfortunes, as to lead him to self-destruction.

(2) In the first address upon the subject of agriculture delivered in this
County before an Agricultural Society, by Humphrey Howland, he stated that
Sullivan's soldiers, in 17i9, while destroying the immense mass of corn which
they found growing and ripened, or ripening, in the Genesee Valley, were so
impressed by the size and perfection of the ears, that they carried samples of
them to their homes in their-knapsacks, and thus widely advertised the
fertility of the region.

(3) See History of the town of Sterling.

(4) So named from the conquest or success of the party favoring the division
over their opponents.

(5) So named in honor of Judge Daniel Sennett, an early and enter-prising
settler of the town.

(6) So named from two celebrated springs, which unite and form the water power
of the village of Union Springs.

(7) named in honor of Lord Sterling, of Revolutionary fame.

(8) named because of the success, or victory, of the party favoring the
division, over their opponents.

(9) See History Town of Sterling.

(10) See History of town of Montezuma, where this subject is more fully
considered.