THE BULLETIN
Cortland County His torical Soci ety
Mindy’s Musings
November’s newsletter marks an end to the newsletter cycle. Fortunately it serves as a public
thank you to those who make the work of Cortland County Historical Possible, our volunteers.
November also serves as the beginning of the Holiday Season, a time to think about the people that
mean the most to us and be thankful for what we have. As this holiday
season begins I felt a look at the tradition of Thanksgiving would be an
appropriate musing.
I remember as a little girl (I think Kindergarten) dressing up
as a pilgrim and dining on food with our parents at the school. We
“weaved” our own placemats out of construction paper, and wore little
hats. This early remembrance focuses much of my thoughts of
Thanksgiving, but doesn’t accurately cover the meaning or history of
Thanksgiving.
Did you know that the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
was offered November 1, 1777? What about that George Washington
offered the first Presidential Proclamation on November 26, 1789? Were you aware that since
Thanksgiving Day 1863 there has been an unbroken string of Presidential Thanksgiving
Proclamations?
November 1, 1777 the Continental Congress offered the first in a string of Thanksgiving
Day Proclamations that lasted until 1784. The colonies had been at war since 1775, and still took time
to think about what they were blessed with.
“FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty
God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther
Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us
the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and
necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he
hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown
our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart
THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at
one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, … That it may
please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public
Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom
and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, …
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may
be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.”
(http://www.pilgrimhall.org/GivingThanks3c.htm)
From 1785 until 1788 there were no proclamations issued until 1789 when George
Washington offers a proclamation. Expressing gratitude “for his kind care and protection of the People of
this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable
Continued on Page 2
Inside this issue:
Continuation of
Mindy’s Musings
2
Early Days of
Railroading in
Cortland Recalled
3
Early Days of
Railroading in
Cortland Recalled
continued
4
Arithmetic Answers 5
Thank you to our
volunteers
5
Membership Renewal 6
Harford 7
Special points of in-
terest:
• Join us Saturday,
November 20th for the
opening of our 85th
Anniversary Exhibit from
2 to 4 pm.
• Check our website for
Holiday Closings.
• We wish everyone a safe
and happy Holiday
Season.
November 2010
Volume 3, Issue 4
http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2009/11/free-thanksgiving-clip-art-turkey-with.html
Continued from page 1
interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great
degree of tranquillity (sic), union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational man-
ner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and par-
ticularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and
the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors
which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.” (http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc1789.htm)
From 1816 until 1861 the Proclamation falls by the way side and is resurrected with Presi-
dent Lincoln in 1863. In 1862 and 1863 Lincoln offers a Thanksgiving Proclamation in the spring for
recent successes in battle, but in the fall of 1863 at the urging and writing of Secretary of State William
Seward, Lincoln offers a Thanksgiving Proclamation and establishes a precedent that has continued
down through today. Lincoln’s Proclamation reads:
“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To
these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others
have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the
heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to
invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the
laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military
conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful
diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested
the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron
and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily
increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the coun-
try, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with
large increase of freedom.
…
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with
one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the
United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and ob-
serve the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwel-
leth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such
singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedi-
ence, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamen-
table civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand
to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore if, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full
enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity (sic), and union.”
(http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc1862.htm)
Cortland County Historical Society has the greatest volunteers. The society is blessed by the
work you do, and we give thanks for your friendship and support. Thank you for all that you’ve done
and continue to do.
Page 2 The Bulletin
http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/search/label/Thanksgiving%20Clip%20Art
It has seemed to me fit and
proper that they should be
solemnly, reverently, and
gratefully acknowledged, as
with one heart and one voice,
by the whole American people.
I do therefore invite my fellow-
citizens in every part of the
United States, and also those
who are at sea and those who
are sojourning in foreign lands,
to set apart and observe the
last Thursday of November
next as a day of thanksgiving
and praise
New for 2010
Images of Cortland
Author: Mary Ann Kane
$23.75 (includes tax)
Available at CCHS
PLEASE REMEMBER
Contact us to hold your newsletter: if you go on a long
term vacation around our publication date (February,
May, August, November). Due to new postal regula-
tions they are returned to us at cost. Help keep our
costs down allowing us to continue providing The Bulle-
tin.
Early Days of Railroading in Cortland Recalled
Railroad historian Richard Palmer recently found this faded old clipping while organizing the railroad historical files at the Cortland
County Historical Society. He is the author of the Society's publication, "Rails Through Cortland." The article is from the Cortland
Standard, Thursday, November 17, 1927}
______
Days when "railroading was railroading," on the old New York & Oswego Midland Railroad between DeRuyter and Norwich, now but
a memory, and of the building of the Cincinnatus branch of the Lackawanna, have been brought to light through a small news item
which recently appeared in different papers.
The little item which stirred up the tales of the old wood burning and hand brake days referred to the sale which was held in
DeRuyter, June 11, of bonds amounting to $21,000 to refund outstanding bonds issued to aid in the construction of the old Oswego
Midland Railroad, defunct for a half century.
Few people are to be found who remember much of the history of the road, but here and there may be found a gray haired individual
who recalls incidents of interest. In this group is John C. Kelley, 4 Maple Ave., who worked for several years on the old Midland, and
recalls several dramatic incidents of the old days.
Kelley took part in the building of the road in the years 1868-69 and later worked as a brakeman in '72 and '73. The section between
Norwich and DeRuyter was abandoned in 1879 due to the high cost of keeping the road bed in repair and the lack of business, other
lines having come into the territory and taken the traffic.
DeRuyter Bonded for $150,000
DeRuyter was at that time bonded for $150,000 and when the road went defunct bonds were issued for an additional sum of $10,000
to fight the payment of the first figure. Otselic, Plymouth, Pitcher were among the towns to issue bonds to promote the road and
Lincklaen, although not on the route, got in on the proposition to aid in the construction of the road.
The whole thing started when the late D.C. Littlejohn, then of Oswego, said that he could build a railroad from Oswego to New York
without a dollar of capital. And he did. The New York, Ontario & Western railroad is the monument to the enterprise of the people of
Central New York who wanted to develop their section through the building of a railroad.
But the plan grew. In the early dream for a gigantic network of railroads, it was planned to run a road from Norwich to Auburn and
the Auburn branch of the New York and Oswego Midland was started. The branch never got any farther than Cortland, and then what
is now the Lehigh Valley, built a line from Freeville to Auburn and the plan was abandoned. In 1906 the idea of a Cortland-Auburn
railroad was again revived, but after the route had been surveyed, the plan was given up.
But to get back to the early history of the Midland. J.W. Merchant, then of DeRuyter, was the man who had the most to do with the
laying out of the route. Merchant was interested in the road and he was also interested in a large tract of timber on Crumb Hill, east of
DeRuyter. Wood was burned in those days in the locomotives, and Merchant saw a market for his timber. It was largely through his
influence that after surveying several different routes, the road was finally laid out through the towns of Norwich, Plymouth, Otselic and
DeRuyter, with stations at Norwich, Plymouth, Ireland Mills, Lower Beaver Meadow, Otselic Center, Crumb Hill (a flag station), and
DeRuyter.
Wooden Trestles
The construction over this route required many long trestles, and all of these, in those days, were of wood construction. Mr. Kelley
tells of the old Lyon Brook bridge near Oxford Summit on the main line, which was 165 feet high. Trains had orders not to cross that
bridge faster than a man could walk, and to conform with this rule, a brakeman was always sent across on foot in front of the
locomotive.
Needless to say, these trestles soon began to wear out and this was one of the features which brought about the abandonment of the
road after 10 years of operation. From DeRuyter, the road, which has since been taken over by the Lehigh Valley, came to Cortland.
Homer was the only town along the route that would not bond for the construction, but despite this fact the road was put through the
eastern end of the township.
Continued on Page 4
Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 4
Continued from Page 3
"I can remember the first train that was run this side of DeRuyter", said Mr. Kelley, in recounting some of the incidents of the early
days of railroading. "They were laying the roadbed down past the old Countryman place, later known as the John Boyce farm. Mrs.
Countryman had never seen a train and came out on the knoll to watch the locomotive which was following the iron down as fast as it
was laid. The engineer blew a sharp blast on the whistle and Mrs. Countryman dropped dead. Tom Lynch, who is now a conductor on
the Lehigh, was a brakeman on the work train."
"I worked as a brakeman back in '72 and '73 and we used to have to take the trip over from Norwich to Cortland. Wages weren't very
high then and we used to have to stay over night here, at 50 cents and 50 cents for each meal, including putting up of a lunch, because
it would take all day to get back to Norwich."
Wood Burning Engines
"We used to wood the engine here and again at DeRuyter so that we would be able to get through to Norwich. In those days a
brakeman couldn't sit in the caboose all the time. Most of the time he had to be up by his brakes because there was no air then and
when one of those old coupling pins would snap, the brakes had to be put on by hand or the cars would run away. I saw three carloads
of wood get away on Crumb Hill one time and run the seven miles down into DeRuyter and then they pretty nearly made the grade
and came over to Cortland. No, the brakeman didn't get hurt but he had a wild ride.
"I saw 10,000 cords of four foot wood, which had been stacked beside the tracks, burn one time. It was set afire by a locomotive.
They used to stack the wood on Crumb Hill beside the tracks and then we would load it into cars and take it to the stations where the
engines took on wood. I'd like to see some of these firemen now keep an engine going with wood on those grades", he added
reminiscently.
"Things are a lot different now", he concluded. "They have a tunnel through the mountain at Hancock instead of going over the top
of it. The old Chenango canal swing bridge in Norwich is gone and the wooden trestles are replaced by steel so that the trains don't
have to to slow down for anything any more. But if you want to see where the old Midland railroad was", he added, "just drive over to
DeRuyter some time and then follow the state road down through Otselic Center and over toward Norwich. You can see the old
roadbed but all the iron is gone and the trestles have gone down."
Page 4 The Bulletin
Stereoptican slide of Rainbow Trestle at Otselic Center
on the Auburn branch of the New York & Oswego
Midland Railroad in the 1870s.
CALENDARS ARE BACK
This year Cortland County Historical Society has partnered with the East End Community
Center to bring back the calendar.
Calendars will be available for $15.00 at CCHS as well as the Youth Bureau.
Call at (607)756-6071 to inquire about availability .
Attic Treasures Sale
While we all think of Spring Cleaning as the time to pack up those unwanted items and donate them to Cortland County Historical
Society ; we would like to remind you that we collect items year round for our sales. Keep an eye out for an upcoming sale date.
Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 4
Arithmetic Answers
I was asked to provide the answers to the Arithmetic Exam found in last months newsletter. I admittedly am a history major, but undertook the
task of finding answers. A special Thank You to Craig Riha (JD Law, BS Mathematics) for helping me by double checking my answers.
1. Definitions from dictionary.com unless otherwise noted
Interest - a sum paid or charged for the use of money or for borrowing money, or such a sum expressed as a percentage of money
borrowed to be paid over a given period of time.
Longitude of a place - angular distance east or west on the earth's surface, measured by the angle contained between the meridian of a
particular place and some prime meridian
Brokerage – commission of a broker
Gram - a metric unit of mass or weight equal to 15.432 grains; one thousandth of a kilogram.
Power of a number - The power of a number shows you how many times to use the number in a multiplication. It is written as a small
number to the right and above the base number. (http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/power.html)
2. .132,068
3. If he travels 360 miles in 12 days he is going (360/12) 30 miles a day, so in 21 days he will have been able to go 630 miles (30 x 21).
4. $400.75 (used http://easycalculation.com/simple-interest.php for the answer)
5. a. 445.373 b. 445.227 c. 32.5069 d. 6100
6. 96 feet front and 180 feet side, sidewalk will intersect at 4 feet from end of both sides, so 92 x 4 = 368, 176 x 4 = 704 and 4 x 4 = 16 for a
total of 1088 square feet. Cost is $195.84
7. 2 for 5 cents becomes 30 cents for 12 instead of 20 cents for 10 which is .10/.20 x 100 = 50 for a 50% increase.
8. First discount 25% of 500 is 380 ($120 discount) second discount of 10% of 380 is 38 for a total of 342, which is a $158 discount.
Flat discount of 33 1/3% of 500 is $166.65 discount. The 33 1/3% flat discount is better.
9. If the AV =s 2,559,000 and they want to raise 11,515.5 divide 11,515.5 by 2,559,000 multiply times 100 to get a tax rate of .45%. To figure
the blocks value divide .45 by 100 multiply by $85,000 for a tax of $382.50
10. a = πr2, radius = 30 answer 2826 square feet
11. 198.838 miles (used http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/kilometers-to-miles.htm for the answer)
12. 4,000 total cattle, the farmer with 1253 has 31.3% of the cattle and the farmer with 2747 cattle has 68.7% of the cattle. Their shares would
respectively be $25.04 and $54.96.
Thank You to Our Volunteers
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
~Dr. Seuss
Cortland County Historical Society wishes to thank the following people for their continued service to our programs. They
make the work of our staff a little lighter and brighten our lives with their daily support of our work. As the director it is my
privilege to work with these loyal friends and am proud to consider them friends. In 2009 CCHS volunteers contributed over
3600 hours. Thank you from the staff and trustees.
Diane Ames, Ina Bean, Betsy Beardsley, Mary Alice Bellardini, Mary Bickford, Betty Bonawitz, Anna Brookes, Chris Buck,
Elaine Case, Joe Compagni, Elaine Contento, Charlie Cooper, Sandra Decker, Marti Dumas, Margaret Fiske, Toni Gallagher,
Johanne Halcomb, Jaff Harris, Nadyne Harris, Ed Hart, Byron Horak, Roger Horak, Sally Horak, Betty Hudson, Otto Janke,
Mary Ann Kane, Carl Kimberly, Mary Kimberly, Paul Lorenzo, Berniece Potter—Masler, Sue Maxwell, Gwen McCabe, Anna
McConnell, Therese McDonald, Jim Miller, Pamela Poulin, Wilma Puderbaugh, Len Ralston, Ed Raus, Linda Ruthig, Dottie
Sarvay, Jake Schuhle, Kevin Sheets, Lorraine Sherry, Joan Siedenburg, Esther Slater, Laura Spencer, F. Michael Stapleton, Ron
VanDee, Matt VanSchneider, Betsy Walters, Jennifer White, and Ginny Wright.
We also wish to thank the following businesses: Carbon Copies, Good News Computing, and Wright-Beard Funeral Home.
Ms. Marsha Powell
Mr. Gregory Reed
Mr. Peter Rice and Family
Mr. and Mrs. Robert and
Patricia Riehlman
Ms. Dorothy Roberts
Ms. Teresa Roberts
Ms. Margaret Robinson
Mr. Merton Sarvay
Ms. Reva E. Sias
Mrs. Laura Spencer
Dr. Robert Spitzer
Mr. and Mrs. F. Michael and
Kathy Stapleton
Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Con-
nie Steger
Ms. Angela Thurlow
Mr. and Mrs. George and Pa-
trica Walter
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth and
Janice Wheeler
Ms. Jennifer White
Mr. Ken White
Mr. and Mrs. Dale and Barbara
Wightman
Mr. and Mrs. Newell and Ardis
Willcox
Mr. Ron Wiser
Mr. George Wright
Honorable and Mrs. Paul and
Elizabeth Yesawich
2010 Memorial Donations:
Donald Lammers
Betty Palm
Barbara Brewer-Rogers
Markam Woods
Mr. and Mrs. Ted and Helen
Ackroyd
Ms. Rita Alcorn
Mrs. Patricia Arnold
Mr. Edward John Barry, Sr
Mrs. June Belknap Paser
Mr. and Mrs. Harry and Mary
Alice Bellardini
Mrs. Barbara Bergeron
Mr. Karl Blixt
Mrs. Rosemary Bracciale
Mr. James Bryan
Mr. and Mrs. John and
Christine Buck
Dr. Van Burd
Mrs. Joanne Canale
Ms. Joan Cannella
Miss Anne Caratelli
Dr. and Mrs. James and Patricia
Clark
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard and
Linda Cohen
Ms. Mary Louise Congdon
Ms. Elaine M. Contento
Mrs. Mary Jane Corey
Mr. Dick Crozier
Mrs. Carol Deloff
Ms. K. Ann Dexter
Ms. Elaine Eff
Mr. and Mrs. William and
Susan Eligh
Dr. and Mrs. C. Ashley and
Beverly Ellefson
Mrs. Connie N Eubanks
Mrs. Charlotte Farris
Mr. Louis Fiorentini
Mr. Roger Frain
Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Jean
Fryer
Ms. Ronda Garbin
Mrs. Barbara Gebhardt
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff and Gonda
Gebhardt
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and
Deborah Geibel
Ms. Mary Giamei
Ms. Gayle Gleason
Ms. Jeanne Gleason Buhl
Mr. William J. Haight
Mr. and Mrs. Howe Handiboe
Mrs. Nancy Hansen
Mr. and Mrs. Edward and
Patricia Harrison
Mr. Thomas J Hennessey
Dr. and Mrs. R. Paul and Elima
Higgins
Mrs. Johanne Holcomb
Ms. Maureen Isaf
Mrs. Gladys Jacobs
Mrs. Ruth Jordan
Drs. Richard and Nancy Kroot
Mrs. Beatrice Lammers
Mrs. Diana Leisenring
Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Gayle
Ann Livecchia
Mr. Paul Lorenzo
Mrs. Joan Mack
Mr. Erling Maine
Dr. and Mrs. Raymond and
Patricia Malbone
Mrs. Gwendolyn McCabe
Mr. John Montville
Miss Ann Marie Mooney
Mrs. Judith Niederhofer
Mr. Robert Pearson
Ms. Patricia Perkins
Ms. Kaaren Pierce
Membership Renewals July—September 2010
Page 6 The Bulletin
"Volunteers are paid
in six figures...
S-M-I-L-E-S"
--Gayla LeMaire
Board of Trustees
Diane Ames—President
Dr. Leonard Ralston—Vice President
Joseph Compagni—Secretary
F. Michael Stapleton—Treasurer
Mary Alice Bellardini
Mary Bickford
Christine Buck
Marti Dumas
Toni Gallagher
Ed Hart
Byron Horak
Mary Kimberly
Paul Lorenzo
Dr. James Miller
Dr. Kevin Sheets
Ron Van Dee
Trustee Emeritus
Joan Seidenburg
Staff:
Mindy A. Leisenring, Director
Anita Wright, Collections Manager
Growth of Harford, Little Cortland Co. Town, Was Due to Early Rail
Facilities
optimistic anticipations of the
inhabitants of Harford village as to the
future of the place, led 22 of their
number to form a stock company for the
erection of a large hotel near the railroad
stations. This resulted in the building of
the Southern Central House, a three-
story structure, costing $12,000. It is still
in use.
The old Union Church was erected in
the year 1835 by all the Christians in the
vicinity. This was considered an
important event and most of the men in
the community joined the bee. The
omnipresent whisky jug was there and
circulated, as was the custom during that
period at all similar undertakings. It is
said a man named Lansing Hay mounted
the top timber of the spire after the
frame was up, swung the jug aloft and
christened the building, “The Union
Church of Virgil Flats.”
The structure was several years later
rebuilt and passed into control of the
Presbyterian denomination, later
becoming a Congregational Edifice.
The Methodist Church was built about
the year 1858, and was rebuilt in 1882.
The first school in the town was taught
by Betsey Curran in the winter 1806-07.
The first school house in the village was
built about 1820. An excellent school is
now maintained there.
First Postoffice.
The first postoffice (sic) was established
in about 1826, under the name of
“Worthington.”
The village of Harford Mills is situated
about one and a half miles south of
Harford village. Settlements on the site
of this hamlet was made a little later
than in the vicinity of Harford village
and what was called “Chicken Point.” A
post-office was established there about
1866, with David Wilcox as postmaster;
it was then called South Harford.
The first store in this hamlet was built by
Charles Baker. The hotel was built in
1870 by George W. Griggs.
Religious meetings have been held at
Harford Mills since an early day, in
private houses, schoolhouses, etc., by
various Christian denominations, includ-
ing Methodists. Methodists services have
been conducted by ministers from Har-
ford at different times. The church was
built by a union of Christians in the
vicinity in 1872.
Published in the Harold before 1893.
Cortland, Feb. 16—The Town of
Harford, the subject of the present
sketch of The Harold’s series on early
history of the various towns of
Cortland County, is the second small-
est in the area, being but 519 acres
larger then Preble. The Town of
Harford has 14,612 acres.
It comprises the southwestern quarter
of the original military tract, and is
now the extreme southwestern town
of the county. The town was not
organized until May 2, 1854, and
consequently much of its early history
is identified with that of Virgil, in the
preceding chapters.
Settlement in this town was more
backward than in most other sections
of the county, and the clearing and
improvement of the more remote and
hilly portions proportionately
retarded. Lumbering was consider and
important industry in this town for
many years.
Dorastus DeWolf was the first settler
in the town in 1803. Putnam DeWolf,
a brother of Dorastus followed soon
after, and located near his brother.
Haunt of the Wild Game.
The forests with which the town was
then covered abounded in wild game.
Wolves were numerous and it was
near the close of the first quarter of
the century before the few settlers
could leave their sheep unprotected at
night. The woods were traversed by
numerous deer, which were often seen
in droves; bears were plentiful and an
occasional elk was seen in the secluded
valleys.
Josiah Brown was tan early settler
coming into town from Chenango
County during the progress of the
War of 1812.
Of the settlers that followed De-Wolf
into town before the year 1815 were
the following: Jacob Hemingway,
Josiah Hart, Lemuel Barnes, Barney
Norwood and George Cooley, Asel
Sexton, Ebenezer Burgess, Lansing
Hay.
Calvin Totman settled on what was
long known as “Chicken Point,”
where he kept the first store in town.
Those that came in the year 1815 or a
year later included Levi Moore, Enoch
Allen, Charles Graves, Nathan
Heaton, Warren Hart, Richard
Collins, Samuel Crosby, Israels
Graves, John Straight, Gordon
Burlingame, Lorenzo Totman, Daniel
Allen, Stephen Cross and John Moss.
Nathan Heaton, Theodore E. Hart,
Levi Moore, Seth Stevens, Benjamin
Holden and Henry Ballard were
among other early settlers. The latter
died in 1853 at the age of 109.
Aided by Railroad.
This town was more fortunate than
some others in the county in the early
days, which might otherwise, perhaps,
have left it behind in prosperity, in the
fact of its having simple rail
communication over the line known
in those days as the Southern Central,
with Auburn on the north, connecting
with the New York Central, and
Owego on the south, where it
connected with the New York, Lake
Erie and Western. In the year 1852 a
company was organized under the
name of the Lake Ontario, Auburn
and New York Railroad Company
with a capital stock of $1,500,000.
A route running from Fair Haven on
the North to Pugsley’s Station on the
South was established and much right
of way secured. About $375,000 was
spent on grading, when the company
collapsed. In 1853 another company
was organized and $450,000 was
spend in grading. Operations ceased at
the outbreak of the Rebellion; but in
1865 the company was again
reorganized and its route changed to
its present course. The road was
completed and trains started running
over the road in 1869.
The first supervisor of the town was
Bert Morse.
The village of Harford is a pretty little
hamlet in the southwestern part of the
town, and contains two churches,
several stores, hotel, and shops. It is
situated towards the northern limits of
what was known many years ago as
“Virgil Flats.”
Totman First Merchant.
It is said that Calvin Totman was the
first merchant here but removed his
goods at a subsequent date to
“Chicken Point.” Theodore Hart
began selling goods here in 1830. He
was the first postmaster in 1825-26,
the village being then called
Worthington. It soon, however,
changed to its present name.
About this time Samuel Hart built the
original store. The building is still
standing but alterations have been
many.
The first Hotel in the village was kept
by Levi Moore. In 1871, soon after the
completion of the railroad, the
Page 7 Volume 3, Issue 4
Harford 1948, taken by Frank Place
CCHS Collection
We are prone to judge
success by the index of our
salaries or the size of our
automobiles, rather than by
the quality of our service
relationship to humanity.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
CORTLAND COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Phone: (607)756-6071
E-mail: [email protected]
25 Homer Avenue
Cortland, NY 13045
Your primary source for Cortland
County History
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WWW .CORTLANDHISTORY .COM
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Non-Profit Org.
Cortland, N.Y.
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Christmas Shopping at CCHS
Make CCHS your one stop for that hard to shop for history fan in your life. All prices include tax. Our Gift
Shop is open Tuesday—Saturday from 9:30 to 5.
$13.35 members $20.00 $25.00 $20.00 $21.95
$14.00 non-members
Also available: Bicentennial Plate ($25.00), Afghan ($53.95), Historic Note Cards ($5 for a set of 8, or $1 each), Coloring Books and Paper Dolls
of various prices, and MUCH more.