Formation of JavaFrom the book "History of Town of Java"
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The territory of western New York was originally claimed by Massachusettes by virtue
of charter granted by the King of England to the Plymouth Colony. The same territory was
subsequently granted to the Duke of York and Albany - the question settled December, 1789.
This area was part of Albany County from 1683 to 1772; then Tryon County from 1772 to
1784; Montgomery County from 1784 to 1789; Ontario County from 1789 to 1802; and Genesee County
from 1802 to 1841 when Wyoming County was formed.
In 1789, all the State line through Seneca Lake northward to Lake Ontario and south to
Pennsylvania was called Ontario County and the single town called Northampton, took up the
entire Holland Purchase. This was again divided into 4 parts and Batavia took up all the
Holland Purchase.
On March 19, 1808, Sheldon was formed and comprised of what is now Arcade, Attica, Bennington,
Java, Orangeville and Wethersfield. In 1811, Attica was formed; Bennington in 1818. China
(consisting of the present Arcade and Java) left Sheldon in March, 1818. China assumed the
name of Arcade in 1866. On April 30, 1832, the present boundaries of Java were established
and we were on our own. We are the youngest town in the county, but still not as young as the county.
Joseph Elliott was the chief surveyor for the Holland Land Co. They originally sold land
for $2.75 per acre with 10 percent down; this was later reduced to $2.00 and no down payment
because many were too poor to afford the prices. The Holland Land Co. was criticized for this.
Holland Land Co. released the land in this area in 1809.
The first white settlers in the area were in 1802 and were John Tolles, Jacob Wright,
Nathaniel Sprout, Stephen Crowe. Other early names were Samuel Coleman, Joshua Gates,
David Wolcut, Ereatus Wells, Guy Morgan, Abraham C. Hollenbeck, Amasa Joslin, James Hall,
Lemuel J. Paul and Oren Waters. There is no record that any of these stayed on.
The earliest names on the permanent settlers are Timothy Kerby in 1812, near Strykersville,
then to Curriers; S. Woodworth-1816, M. Warner-1814, both near Strykersville; D. Smith-1814,
D.H. Wooster-1812 and H. Woolsey-1819 all near Java Village; A. and M. Twiss in 1817 on Catt. Rd.,
then they went to Curriers; L. Stearns in 1816 at Java Lake; R. Jewell-1816 in North Java Area;
B. Lockwood-1817 and Elijah Bassett-1819, on the Youngers Rd.
The first mill was established in 1816 in Java Village by Daniel H. Worcester, the first
inn by Charles Fox at Curriers Corners in 1818 and the first store in 1820 by Comstock in Java
Village. It is said that Joab Wooster, son of Daniel, was the first white child to be born in
the town of Java, in 1815 near Java Village.
Java was formed from China 4/20/1832. It lies on the west border of the county, south of the center. Its surface is an elevated region, broken by hills and the deep valleys of the streams. The highest summits are 400 to 600 feet above the valleys and 1000 to 1200 feet above lake Erie. Buffalo Creek flows through west part and receives a large no. of tributaries. Catt. Creek takes its rise in the east part. Catt. Lake is a small sheet of water in the south east part, nearly surrounded by steep hills. It forms on of the sources of Catt. Creek. The soil upon the hills is a thin dark loam under laid by hardpan; in the valleys it is principally a gravelly loam. About 1 mile east of Java Village is a quarry of fine building stone. Java Village lies upon Buffalo Creek in the new part of the town. Population about 200. North
Java in the north east corner of the town, contains a church and about 100 inhabitants.
Java Center, center of town; East Java, south east part; Curriers Corners(Java p.o.) in the
south west and Williamsville, near the border are hamlets. The first settlement was made
by Jonas Sellick (from Ruthland Co., VT) in 1802 near Wrights Corners. There are 5 churches in town. It is not known exactly where the name Java originated, but the story has it that there were many
nationalities in the Town and everyone wanted it named after their homeland. It was named
Java because no one was from there and the name didn't favor anyone.
The first town board meeting was held at the home of Abner Currier in March 1833. Elected
to the office were Moses Twiss, Supervisor; Nelson Wolcott, Town Clerk; Nathan Thompson,
Seth Lewis-Justices of Peace; also 4 constables, 3 assessors, 2 overseers of the poor, 3
commissioners of highways and 3 commissioners of common schools. There was also a sealer
of weights and measures and Harry Harrington was elected Tax Collector.
Following is a list of supervisors to the present[1976]:
1833-36 Moses Twiss
To order a copy of the History Of Town of Java, see the historians page. To find out if a specific
individual is in this book, return to the County page and go to lookups.
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