G A Z E T T E E R

of

"Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That all that part of the county of Oneida, contained within the following bounds, to wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of the town of Ellisburgh, on the easterly shore of Lake Ontario, and running along the southerly line of said town; thence along the easterly line thereof to the southwest corner of the town of Malta (Lorraine); thence along the southerly line of the said town of Malta, and continuing the same course to the corner of townships number two, three, seven, and eight; thence north along the east line of the town of Malta aforesaid to the northeast corner thereof; thence in a direct line to the corner of the towns of Rutland and Champion; thence along the line between the said town of Champion and the town of Harrisburg to Black River; thence in a direct line to the bounds of the county of St. Lawrence, to intersect the same at the corner of townships numbers seven and eleven, in Great Tract number three, of Macomb’s Purchase; thence along the westerly bounds of the said county of St. Lawrence to the north bounds of this state; thence westerly and southerly along said bounds, including all the islands in the River St. Lawrence, in Lake Ontario, and in front thereof, and within this state to the place of beginning, shall be, and hereby is, erected into a separate county, and shall be called and known by the name of Jefferson.”

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“And be it further enacted, That all that part of township number nine, which is comprised within the bounds of the said county of Jefferson, shall be annexed to and become a part of the town of Harrison (Rodman), in said county, and that all that part of the said township number nine, comprised within the bounds of the said county of Lewis, shall be annexed to and become a part of the town of Harrisburg, in said county.”

Hough’s History says: “The relative limits of Jefferson and Lewis counties have been three times changed. It will be noticed by reference that the present town of Pinckney was then divided by a line that was a continuation of the west lines of towns 8 and 3, of Boylston’s tract; and that from the line between Champion and Denmark, on Black River, the division ran straight to St. Lawrence County, where the line of townships 7 and 11, of tract III., touched the county line. On February 12, 1808, the whole of No. 9 (Pinckney) was included in Lewis County. On April 5, 1810, the line east of the river, beginning as before at the east corner of Champion, ran thence to the southwest corner of a lot in 11 west and 21 north ranges, to the southwest corner of lot in 10 west, 21 north range; thence north between 10 and 11, to south line of lot No. 4; thence east to lots 808 and 809; thence along 808 and 809 to lot 857; thence to southeast corner of 857 and 809, to northeast corner of 851; thence west, on line of lots 851 and 850, to the southwest corner of 850; thence northeast along line of lots to St. Lawrence County. The present line between the two counties was established April 2, 1813, by which this county received considerable accessions from Lewis an the town of Wilna.”

Jefferson County is situated in the northern part of the state of New York, in an angle formed by the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, the superficial area, according to the latest statistics, being 733,585 acres, equivalent to 1,146 square miles. It is bounded on the northwest by the St. Lawrence River, on the northeast by St. Lawrence County, on the west by Lake Ontario, on the south by Oswego County, and on the east by Lewis County. The southwest part is marshy, but at a short distance from the lake the land rises in gentle undulations, and farther inland, by abrupt terraces to the highest point, 1,200 feet above the lake, in the town of Worth.* A plateau, about 1,000 feet above the lake, spreads out from the summit, and extends into Oswego and Lewis counties. An ancient lake beach, 390 feet above the present level of the lake, may be traced through Ellisburgh, Adams, Watertown, and Rutland. North of Black River the surface is generally flat or slightly undulating; in the extreme northeast corner it is broken by low ridges parallel to the St. Lawrence. With the exception of a few isolated hills no part of the region is as high as the ancient lake ridge mentioned. An isolated hill in Pamelia formerly bore a crop of red cedar; and, as this timber is now only found upon the islands in the lake and in the St. Lawrence, it is supposed that the hill was an island at a time when at least three-fourths of the country was covered by water.

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*A recent correspondent in the Watertown Times claims the highest point of land in Jefferson County to be in the town of Wilna, on the farm of James Harvey, about one mile from Carthage village. This peak (which is but a huge rock) is known as Mount McQuillan, and is one corner of the Adirondack survey. On the highest portion of the rock is a spot chipped out by the surveying party to locate the place. On one side of the rock there is a natural well, as round as a barrel and 12 feet deep, which furnishes pure and wholesome water. From this well have been taken, in cleaning it, large quantities of small stones, such as are found on the lake shores, that had the appearance of having been washed by running water for years.

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The main water features of the county are Ontario Lake and St. Lawrence River. The main indentations of the lake are Black River Bay, Chaumont Bay, Henderson Bay, and Guffin’s Bay. Black River Bay is accounted the finest harbor on Lake Ontario, and is surpassed by none on the upper lakes for capacity, depth of water, and safety. It is completely land-locked, and including its various ramifications, covers an area of about 60 square miles, with depth of water sufficient to float the heaviest vessels. The largest islands attached to Jefferson County are Wells, Grindstone, and Carleton in the St. Lawrence, and Grenadier, Galloe, and Stony islands in the lake. Besides these there are innumerable smaller ones, including several in the mouth of Black River, a number in Black River and Chaumont bays, and a portion of the archipelago, known as the “Thousand Islands.” Among the most prominent headlands and capes are Stony Point and Six Town Point, in the town of Henderson; Pillar Point, in Brownville; Point Peninsula and Point Salubrious, in Lyme; and Tibbets Point, in Cape Vincent.

There are about 20 small lakes in the county, of which 10 are in Theresa and Alexandria, two in Henderson, four in Ellisburgh, two in Antwerp, and one each in Orleans and Pamelia, Champion and Rutland. The largest of these is Butterfield Lake, lying between Theresa and Alexandria, which is about four miles in length. The other more important ones are Perch Lake lying between Orleans and Pamelia, nearly three miles in length, and Pleasant Lake, in Champion, about two miles long.

The most important of the interior streams is Black River, which drains about one-fourth of the county, passing through a little south of the center. Between Carthage, on the east line of the county, and the lake this stream falls 480 feet, and is almost a continuous series of rapids, with several cascades varying from two to 15 feet in perpendicular descent. The other principal streams are Indian River, a branch of the Oswegatchie; Chaumont River, flowing into Chaumont Bay; Perch River, which drains Perch Lake and discharges into Black River Bay; the two branches of Sandy Creek, in the south part of the county; Stony Creek, in Henderson and Adams; and Mill Creek, in Hounsfield, the last four names flowing into Lake Ontario south of Black River. These and minor streams will be described more fully in the description of towns through which they flow.

When the settlement of Jefferson County began its territory was embraced in two towns of Oneida County. All south of Black River was a part of Mexico, and all north of the river belonged to Leyden. The formation of Jefferson and Lewis counties from Oneida was made necessary by the rapid settlement of the country, and the inability of the courts to meet the demands of justice when their jurisdiction extended over such a vast territory. It was at first intended to erect but one new county. Local interests began to operate to secure the advantages expected from the location of the public buildings. Each section had its advocates. Nathan Sage in Redfield, Walter Martin in Martinsburg, Silas Stow and others in Lowville, Moss Kent, Noadiah Hubbard, and others in Champion, Henry Coffeen in Watertown, and Jacob Brown in Brownville were each intent upon the project of a county seat. In case but one county was erected Champion had the fairest prospects of success, and indeed such had been the chances, in the opinion of several prominent citizens, that they located there. To obtain an expression of public opinion on this subject three delegates, chosen at town meetings, from each town interested in the question, met at the house of Freedom Wright, in Harrisburg (Denmark), November 20, 1804. Many went with the intention of voting for one new county only, but strong local interests led to the attendance of those who so influenced the voice of the delegation that, with but one exception, they decided for two new counties, and the convention united upon recommending the names of the executive officers of the federal and state governments, then in office, from whence came the names of JEFFERSON and LEWIS from Thomas Jefferson and Morgan Lewis, both men of national celebrity. Application as accordingly made to the legislature, and on March 4, 1805, Mr. Wright, then in the Assembly, from the committee to whom was referred petitions and remonstrances from the inhabitants of the county of Oneida relative to a division thereof, reported “that they had examined the facts stated as to population and extent of territory, in said county, and the inconvenience of attending county concerns, and find the same to be true.” A division was deemed necessary, and leave was granted to bring in a bill, which was twice read the same day, and passed through the legislature without opposition. (Hough’s History of Jefferson County)

Section 5 of the act erecting Jefferson and Lewis counties provided for the appointment of three commissioners, “who shall not be resident within the western district of this state, or interested in either of the said counties of Jefferson or Lewis, for the purpose of designating the sites for the courthouses and goals, of the said counties respectively, and to that end the said commissioners shall as soon as may be, previous to the first day of October next, repair to the said to the said counties respectively, and after exploring the same, ascertain and designate a fit and proper place in each of the said counties for erecting the said buildings.”

The commissioners appointed were Matthew Dorr, David Rogers, and John Van Bentheusen. The question of location was not settled without the most active efforts being made by Brownville to secure the site; but the balance of settlement was then south of Black River, and the level lands in the north part of the county were represented to the commissioners as swampy and incapable of settlement. Jacob Brown, finding it impossible to secure this advantage to his place, next endeavored to retain it, at least, north of Black River, and offered an eligible site in the present town of Pamelia; but in this he also failed. The influence of Henry Coffeen is said to have been especially strong with the commissioners, although he was seconded by others of much ability. The location finally decided upon was in Watertown, on the site of the present county jail, then quite a distance from the business portion of the village. This, it is said, was to conciliate those who had been disappointed in its location. A deed of the premises was presented by Henry and Amos Coffeen.

The first meeting of the board of supervisors of Jefferson County was held in the old frame school house, which occupied the site of the present Universalist Church in Watertown city. The date of this meeting was October 1, 1805, and the following persons constituted the first board; Noadiah Hubbard, of Champion; Cliff French, of Rutland; Corlis Hinds, of Watertown; John W. Collins, of Brownville; Nicholas Salisbury of Adams; Thomas White, of Harrison (now Rodman); Lyman Ellis, of Ellisburgh; and Asa Brown, of Malta (now Lorraine). Noadiah Hubbard was chosen president, after which they adjourned the meeting until 3 o’clock P.M., at the house of Abijah Putnam. They met according to adjournment and proceeded to elect, by ballot, Zelotes Harvey, clerk, and Benjamin Skinner, county treasurer. The latter was required to furnish security in the sum of $5,000 for the faithful discharge of his duties, which he did, Jacob Brown becoming his bondsman. The session lasted seven days, the entire appropriations amounting to $723.44

The first officers of the county, after its organization, who were appointed by the governor and council, were as follows: Henry Coffeen, county clerk; Abel Sherman, sheriff; Benjamin Skinner (appointed by board of supervisors), county treasurer; Nathan Williams, district attorney (1807); Ambrose Pease, coroner.

The following is a full list of members of the board of supervisors of Jefferson County for 1890 and includes 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats; Adams, W. D. Arms; Alexandria, Fred T. Holmes; Antwerp, Dr. G. H. Wood; Brownville, Walter Zimmerman; Cape Vincent, D. L. Fitzgerald; Champion, Wesley Briggs; Clayton, W. H. Consaul; Ellisburgh, J. M. Thompson; Henderson, A. A. Scott; Hounsfield, J. A. McWayne; Le Ray, F. E. Croissant; Lorraine, C. D. Grimshaw; Lyme, Eli B. Johnson; Orleans, B. J. Strough; Pamelia, E. B. Nicholas; Philadelphia, R. Oatman; Rodman, W. J. Wyman; Rutland, Carl H. Frink; Theresa, George E. Yost; Watertown, B. W. Gifford; City: 1st Ward, R. Holden, Jr.; 2d Ward, J. Atwell, Jr.; 3d Ward, R. E. Smiley; 4th Ward, Solon Wilder; Wilna, W. H. Delmore; Worth, Philip Brennan.