(title assigned by typist)

Lafargeville, Jan. 17. -- Once again, the historic land office of John LaFarge, known as the Orleans house, has changed hands.

Built when Lafargeville was known as Log Mills, the hotel, for eight years has been the property of Richard Failing, who took possession Jan. 8, 1931. Now Patrick Hughes of Chaumont has taken possession of the building, the purchase price being reported at $6,500. Mr. Hughes will operate the hotel.

It was in the year 1816 that Dr. Ruben Andrus came into northern New York from Vermont and decided to locate on the banks of Catfish creek. In 1807 John Wilkes, who had made a purchase of a tract of land in this section, came to visit the place, but not enjoying the hardships of pioneer life he made a short visit and did not return to his lands. A year earlier Roderick C. Frazier had explored the section and had decided to locate a home hereabouts. He built a log house about where Miss Ella Gates now resides, on the Stone Mills highway.

Along with Dr. Andrus came Benjamin Page, also from Vermont, and he built a log house where Wayland Ford later had a home. In 1816 Dr. Andrus built a dam in the creek back of his log house and put up a log grist mill. It was this mill that caused the settlers who followed later to refer to the settlement as Log Mills. The name lasted several years.

About the time the mill was built Moses Darby, a hunter, located a long (sic) house about where the Strough residence stands in Clayton street. Peter Cook, with his four sons, Horace, Hiram, Hial and Harvey, came the next year and built the first frame house in the settlement. Charles Cummins came about 1818 and opened a public house that Dr. Cushman, first physician of the settlement, purchased and also operated as a hotel.

In 1823 came John LaFarge, who had purchased much of the tract of land for taxes from the state comptroller, planned to sell the land to the settlers. He needed a land office and so caused the building that has for a century or more, been known as the Orleans House. The building was erected almost upon the exact spot where Dr. Andrus had built his log house, the first dwelling in Lafargeville. It was during a Fourth of July celebration in 1823 when the settlers were gathered in the grove on the hill where the former schoolhouse was built, that the people proposed changing the name of the settlement from Log Mills to Lafargeville, in honor of the new proprietor.

In Civil war days, according to old records, D. D. Calvin was the manager of the Orleans House, while a short distance up the street was another hotel operated by Budlong & Fults. In the late 1860’s and early 1870’s the Orleans House was picked by many young couples as the place to have their marriage solemnized.

Soon after the war a Lafargeville boy, Roswell Gates, took charge of the hotel and operated it successfully for a long term of years. When the Getman brothers of Theresa were expanding their business beyond Canton, Gouverneur and Theresa, they bought the Lafargeville hotel, which they named the Getman House.

It is believed that the Orleans House was erected in 1824, although probably it was started the previous fall. It is now one of the oldest hotels in the north.

Note: Alongside this scrapbook article was a photo of “LaFargeville Masonic lodge, once located at Stone Mills, has its house on the second floor of this business building.” Also, included was another photo: “LaFargeville Odd Fellows owns a building of their own, which has one of the few halls in the community.”