With the
construction of the Erie Canal in the 1820s,
the village began to grow. Its residents
worked at the dry docks, hotels, stores,
blacksmith and harness shops as well as one
of the three mills which began operating when
the village was formed in the late 18th
century. The upper mill, which is believed to
have started out as a saw mill, was located
at the north end of the village where the
roads of Vischer Ferry and Crescent intersect
into a "Y" next to the old stone
bridge.
The mill may
have also operated as a grist mill, but by
1855 was converted to a linen mill. According
to Clifton Park Town Historian, John Scherer,
"large quantities of stone were brought
down the Erie Canal in boats and drawn to the
mill with teams, and afterward ground up.
Lastly it was used as a cider mill, producing
hundreds of gallons of cider yearly. This
mill, like the other two mills, was run by
water power, a dam being built across Stony
Creek."
This mill was
operated by William Peters during the first
half of the 19th centry. William was born 06
Apr 1782 and was the son of Richard and his
wife Jerusha (Sutton) who settled north of
Vischer's ferry on the H.J. Miller place and
was one of the early founders of the Old
Clifton Park Church. On 28 Dec 1805 William
married Jeanette Shepard, the daughter of
William and Margaret (McInstosh) and they
resided in the home which was built in about
1814.
