Around Oswegatchie

By David E. Martin

Around Oswegatchie provides a vivid look at the lifestyle of an area of far northern New York State during the time that it depended primarily on an agrarian existence. In its early days, the town of Oswegatchie was subdivided numerous times into new townships. From Oswegatchie, Lisbon, Morristown, and DePeyster came artists, politicians, industrialists, inventors, and Civil War heroes people who left their footprints on a nation and helped make a better life for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 29, 2005
• ISBN: 9781439616277

David E. Martin

David E. Martin is also the author of Ogdensburg and coauthor of Massena. For Around Oswegatchie, he has assembled images from the St. Lawrence County Historical Association, the village of Rensselaer Falls, and the town historians of Oswegatchie, Lisbon, and DePeyster. A longtime collector of vintage pictures, he is an active member of the St. Lawrence County Historical Association and works in conjunction with local museums and historical groups to bring the past into the present so that local heritage will not be forgotten.

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INTRODUCTION

In the early 1600s, the French began to explore the northern coast of what is now America, searching for a northwest passage to Asia. After numerous expeditions, it became apparent that there was no route to Asia via the New World and that no gold was to be found to fill the coffers of the king of France. But what did not go unnoticed was the endless forest of hardwoods that covered the land and the seemingly limitless quantity of fur pelts to be had for the European market. It was not long before other countries became aware of the New World and wanted their share of the bounty. The king of England felt that the discoveries of Sebastian Cabot, the first man to sail up the Mississippi River, gave England rightful claim to all territories in the New World, including land already occupied by France. Before long, the French and British were locked into a state of continuous conflict known as the French and Indian Wars, which lasted from 1689 until 1763. As a result of the Treaty of Paris, the French were finally forced to relinquish all claims to territory in the Americas. The British controlled all of the Northern Territories and remained from August 25, 1760, through June 1, 1796.

The British met little or no resistance from the fledgling United States, which was expending most of its resources with the formation of a new government. The British remained in northern New York for almost 20 years, illegally cutting the best timber and harvesting fur pelts from the great forests and shipping them to Montreal for the British market. They finally left in 1796 with the proclamation of Jay’s Treaty, in which they also relinquished all rights to the land.

The New York State legislature now opened the northern sections of the state for settlement and established 10 townships of approximately 64,000 acres each. These townships were further divided into smaller parcels to make them affordable and thus encourage settlers to move into the area, clear the land, and establish new communities. To further encourage settlement, land in each township was set aside to be used specifically for the construction of schools and for religious purposes.

The original 10 towns were Louisville, Stockholm, Potsdam, Madrid, Lisbon, Canton, DeKalb, Oswegatchie, Hague (now Hammond), and Cambray (now Gouverneur). With the passing of time, many of these original towns were further subdivided into smaller townships in order to conduct business without having to travel long distances to do so.

The majority of the original 10 towns were purchased by a wealthy land speculator from New York City by the name of Alexander Macomb. He acquired the land under somewhat questionable circumstances and was soon forced to sell his holdings to other speculators. Samuel Ogden, another speculator from New York City purchased most of the town of Oswegatchie along with surrounding areas. He sent his land agent, Nathan Ford, to divide and sell the land to settlers. Ford also purchased large areas of land for himself for future dealings.

The town of Lisbon was organized in 1801. Located in the northern section of St. Lawrence County along the St. Lawrence River, Lisbon contains some of the finest farmland in the county.

The town of Oswegatchie was organized in 1802. Oswegatchie contained the village of Ogdensburg, which was the county seat for St. Lawrence County. Many felt that the village was too far from much of the county, so the seat was moved to Canton in 1830.

Hague (now Morristown) was formed on March 27, 1821. The name may have come from the Gouverneur Morris family, who were some of the area’s original landowners, or the family of David Ford, who were from Morristown, New Jersey.

The town of DePeyster was organized on March 24, 1825. A substantial portion of the land was taken from the town of Oswegatchie, while the remainder of the land was taken from the town of DeKalb.

Most of the small towns and villages throughout New York and the rest of the country were too small to get much attention by themselves, but these communities have much to offer and have played important roles in the development of the country. From communities such as these have come some of the greatest soldiers, politicians, doctors, inventors, industrialists, and artists of our time. People such as these have had a major effect on the country and even the world. It seems only fitting that we mention a few of the towns here, for they, like so many other places, have contributed much and will continue to do so in the future.

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OSWEGATCHIE

LISBON STREET. This is the intersection of State and Lisbon Streets. Lisbon Street provided a direct route to the hamlet of Flackville and the town and village of Lisbon. These early roads were primarily corduroy and plank roads. They were made into toll roads to finance their constant need for repair. Here we can see the post office on the right and the Presbyterian church farther down on the left side of the street. (Courtesy St. Lawrence County Historical Association.)

ANNETTE AND WATER STREETS. This view is looking north across the Oswegatchie River at the intersection of Annette Street. The house to the left is the Snyder House. According to the 1865 Beers atlas of St. Lawrence County, the house on the right was the property of John Pickens, and the house to the far right was the home of N. F. Griffin. In the center behind the two white houses can be seen the rear of the Methodist Episcopal church. (Courtesy St. Lawrence County Historical Association.)

CHARLES SNYDER HOUSE. This house was built in 1899 at the intersection of Annette and Water Streets by Charles Snyder and his wife, Lura Coffin. In its later years, the house became the property of the Richardson family. Over the years, the interior of the house had been subdivided into a number of apartments. The house still stands today, but it is a shadow of the stately mansion it once was. (Courtesy Town of Oswegatchie Historian.)

POLITICAL BANNER. Hanging over the intersection of State and Lisbon Streets is a banner for the presidential election in 1916. Charles Evan Hughes ran for president, and Charles Warren Fairbanks ran for vice president. Both candidates, however, were