This triangular township, some eighteen or twenty miles west of the Hudson River, is in the northwest corner of Orange County, bordering upon the counties of Sullivan and Ulster. It carries a point of Orange County land well up into old Ulster County and contains the northernmost soil of the county.
It is bounded on the north by Sullivan and Ulster, on the east by Ulster and the town of Montgomery, south by Montgomery and Wallkill, and on the west by the town of Wallkill and Sullivan County.
The area of the town, as given in the last report of the Orange Supervisors, is 24,769 acres. Upon this land the Crawford assessors for 1906 placed a valuation of $664,531, and returned personal property of its residents to the value of $15,300. The total tax raised in the town that year was $8,617.89. This amount was made up as follows: General fund, $2,668.14; poor fund, $600; town audits, $2,287.12; roads and bridges, $400; railroad purposes, $2,107.50; temporary relief, $250; sworn off taxes, $185.45; treasurer's credits, $115.33.
The name Crawford came from a numerous and respectable family of Irish descent who were among the first settlers of the locality. The land was a part of the original John Evans patent referred to in other parts of this work. When this great tract was set aside the territory of this section was disposed of in many smaller grants to Philip Schuyler and others. Among the many other tracts mentioned in the Crawford titles were the 8,000-acre tract which now includes the village of Pine Bush, and the 10,000-acre tract next on the south. The following separate patents were included in the Crawford township; Thomas Ellison and Lawrence Roome, November 12, 1750; Frederick Morris and Samuel Heath, January 24, 1736; Jacobus Bruyn and Henry Wileman, April 25, 1722; Philip Schuyler and others, 8,000 acres, July 7, 1720; part of the patent to Jeremiah Schuyler and others, January 22, 1719; part of Thomas Noxon's patent February 21, 1737.
NATURAL FEATURES OF THE TOWN.
The general altitude of the town is somewhat higher than that of Montgomery. The general surface is a hilly upland broken by high ridges, which extend northeast and southwest. It is in fact separated from Montgomery by one of these elevated ridges known as the Collaburgh and Comfort Hills, which at times rise 200 feet above the valley. While the land is somewhat more difficult to cultivate because of the stony hills and undulating surface, the soil is very strong and productive, yielding fine crops of grass, grain and fruits and responding well to tillage. These slopes and elevations have been found particularly well adapted to the growth of fruit of a superior quality. The proximity of the mountain range is said to have a favorable influence upon the general rainfall of the region. Showers are frequent in summer and the effects of drought are less severe than in other sections not so favored.
The Shawangunk Kill or river is the principal stream, and it forms the western boundary of the town between it and Sullivan County, and afterward it also separates the town from Ulster County until the northern limit of the town is reached. This is a rapid flowing stream and affords much valuable water power at different points, which has been utilized to some extent in a variety of ways. The early settlers were quick to see the value and importance of these privileges, and they began to make use of them in their primitive manner at once.
Among the numerous tributaries to the Shawangunk in the town is the Paughcaughnaughsinque. The name is of Indian origin. There are in fact two of these subsidiary streams, the Big and the Little Paughcaughnaughsinque. They flow northward and afford additional water power at different points.
In the eastern portion of the town is a more important stream known now as the Dwaarskill. This, too, has enjoyed a great variety of orthographic nomenclature, such as "Dwaaskill," "Dwarf'skill," etc. Of course the original was bestowed by the Indians, and, it is said, was given in honor of a Chief of a small tribe which dwelt upon its banks. One of the old settlers in that region is credited with having seen this Indian Chief, who was called "Dwaase," and who had his wigwam near the old turnpike gate No. 3. Others claim, however, that the name is clearly Low or Holland Dutch, and signifies perverse or contrary because it flows north. The stream begins somewhere near the center of the town of Wallkill, not far from the Crawford Railway junction, flows through the valley parallel to that of the Shawangunk Kill, and finally leaves the town at the northeast corner.
Joel Whitten
This town also has its share of swamps, of which the historian Ruttenber says Orange County has over 40,000 acres. One of these swamps is northwest of the Sinsabaugh neighborhood, and another is southwest of Searsburgh.
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS.
This being among the newer towns of the county, the specific details of its settlement are so blended with the early history of the old Wallkill precinct and that of the town of Montgomery, from which Crawford was set off, that it is quite impossible to separate them for this place.
The Weller settlement was partly upon this territory. Johannes Snyder started a small settlement in the vicinity of Searsville, where he bought a large tract of land on both sides of the Dwaarskill. He built a primitive log mill there at once, and this is down in the records of 1768 as Snyder's Mill. He seems to have been a man of means and influence, as he also built a log church soon after settling there, which was known as Snyder's Church. This Snyder family was Dutch and made the first settlement here in 1740, if not earlier. All the services in this little church was in the Dutch language, and it is recorded that the church was worn out or outgrown even before the Revolution.
Somewhere about the same time Robert Milliken built a saw mill on the Shawangunk Kill. This is referred to as Milliken's mill in the records of 1768, and this is the earliest mention of a saw mill on that stream in the records. Other mills were built there, however, in later years. First was the old flour mill of Pat. Boice, next below the Milliken mill was the Sear's grist mill, then Abraham Bruyn's flour mill, and finally Cornelius Slott's saw and grist mill combined. The latter was continued by Arthur Slott after the death of his father, and he soon built a small collection of houses there for his employees. This Slott ancestry were among the oldest settlers in the State. The family came from Holland in 1670, as the family record shows. They located first at Hackensack, N. J., and after a few years there they removed to Rockland County, and soon after that they came to Montgomery and settled on the Tinn Brook at a point afterward known as Slott Tow. Cornelius Slott engaged in farming. In 1777, while serving as an orderly sergeant with his military company, in the active defense of Fort Montgomery, he was taken prisoner and confined in the old Sugar House, New York, by the British forces for ten months. In 1785, on regaining his liberty, he sold his farm and lived in New York for the next five years. Then he bought the mill site in Pine Bush and erected his saw mill just below the mouth of the Paughcaughnaughsinque stream. The next year he also built a grist mill. There was no public road leading to his mill at the time, but he soon secured one from Hopewell.
A small early settlement near Graham's Church was made by Abraham Dickerson, an Irishman, John Robinson and Philip Decker. Philip Decker's ancestors came from Holland. When sixteen years old he drove a team from Ward's Bridge to Valley Forge with a load of corn for Washington's army. Dickerson built a saw mill on a small stream near there which was operated successfully for a time and then fell into decay. The portion of the Wallkill valley in this town was the site of the earliest settlement. These old pioneers consisted of Germans, Hollanders and Huguenots. Many of them came from the older settlements in Ulster County, and others were directly from their native land.
Robert Jordan came here from Ireland in 1771. About 1784 he settled at Bullville in this town. His brother John seems to have settled there in 1767, having arrived in this country some years ahead of Robert. Among his neighbors there about that time or a few years later, were Joseph Elder, James Barclay, Samuel Barclay, John Martin and Daniel Bull. Thomas Turner was also a land owner in the Bullville settlement to the extent of 300 acres.
In the Searsville neighborhood William Snider was among the pioneers. He purchased a large tract of land there upon which he lived many years before the Revolution. He seems to have been a man of some wealth, for at the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain he buried a considerable sum of money in a secret place upon his property, the location of which was known only to a faithful Negro slave. After the war this Negro was awarded by his master with his personal freedom because of his loyalty and faithfulness.
An old apple orchard planted before the Revolution near Bullville, died out long years since. Nathan Johnson was the village shoemaker, going around from house to house with his kit of tools strapped upon his back. This occupation was then known as "whipping the cat" for some reason not very clear at this time. Johnson was an old shoemaker who had been employed making army shoes during the war. It was the custom at that period for those cobblers to go about at stated periods and do the family cobbling and shoe-making for the year.
William Jordan, son of Robert, became colonel of the Shawangunk regiment of militia, and he lived under every President of the United States until his death, having voted the Democratic ticket for 66 years.
Benjamin Sears is mentioned in the records as a remarkable man in many respects among the settlers in that region. Coupled with rare native talent he had a most remarkable memory of details. Nothing ever escaped him when once his mind grasped it. All his accounts were accurately kept in his mind. But his education is said to have been very limited. He served as constable in the town of Montgomery during his early life, where he had five brothers from whom there has been a long line of descendants. He also served as sheriff of Orange County for a time. And the small hamlet of Searsburgh, near the center of the town, on the Dwaarskill stream, was named for him. He established a flour and saw mill there at an early date.
Joseph Elder was of Irish descent and came into this region some years before the Revolution. He lived upon a very stony farm, and it is recorded of him that being a man of giant frame, robust and vigorous, he would gather up these stones in a leathern apron girded about his loins and carry them to the place where they were used for fence walls, instead of carting them in a wagon. Though also scantily educated, he served some years as magistrate of his town with much satisfaction, being a man of strong common sense and good judgment. He seems also to have been a pioneer pedestrian, the original Weston, apparently; for it is recorded that on a certain occasion, missing his sloop at Newburgh, which was already out of sight above the Danskammer Point, running with a fair wind, on the Hudson, on its way to Albany, young Elder started off at a rattling pace, with his musket and knapsack, to join his military company at the Capital in time or be denounced as a traitor. It is said he beat the sloop by several hours, though the precise time made is not given.
Dr. Joseph Whalen, another well known Irish pioneer, was among the early physicians practicing his profession in this region. He came at the close of the war, settled in this town for a few years, and afterward practiced in Montgomery for over fifty years. It is worthy of note in this connection that in those days no doctor ever expected to collect for his services from his patient in person. The doctor's claim was always presented to the executor or administrator, as the case might he, after the patient's death. There were obvious reasons for this custom then, as there often are even in these later times, but the reader must be left to draw his own conclusions. This noted doctor had a most extensive practice, and he was also a famous horseman and equestrian, owning much fine horseflesh. He even rivaled the celebrated Count Pulaski, the Polish general in the Revolution, who would throw his hat before him on the road while under full speed on his horse and so far dismount as to take it up. Dr. Whalen could take a glass of liquid in his hand, mount his horse, ride away a quarter of a mile and return without spilling a drop.
Daniel Bull was another prominent settler of this region. He came some years before the Revolution and settled upon an extensive tract of newly cleared land which was rough and stony and had been owned by his father, Thomas Bull, who lived in the old stone house in Hamptonburgh. This land was then valued at $2.50 per acre. In 1780 he married Miss Miller at Goshen, where the bride and groom were snowbound for two weeks of their honeymoon. They had thirteen children and the family became one of the most prominent and numerous in the town. Mr. Bull was a most successful farmer, and he reclaimed a vast acreage of wild land and brought it under good and profitable tillage. He amassed wealth and became a valued citizen, being long regarded as a patriarch of the town. In 1821, the record shows, that fifty-two grandchildren had been born of this parentage, making a family total of seventy-six. All were then alive except two who died in infancy, and on a certain day in June of that year seventy-four members of this noted family were gathered in the family homestead near Bullville for a grand reunion. The farm is now owned by Theodore Roberson.
The Crawford family, after which the town was named, were descendants of John Crawford, who settled in New Windsor in 1737. The names of John, William, James and Samuel are found upon the old military roll of 1738 for the Wallkill. Robert I. Crawford was a prominent citizen here early in the last century, and he lived near the old Hopewell church.
The Thompson brothers, Alexander, Andrew, and Robert, came from Ireland about 1770. They bought 500 acres of land on what became afterward known as Thompson's Ridge, and divided the plot equally among themselves. One of these farms then included the site of the Hopewell church, and all this property has been kept in the Thompson family.
David Rainey was another ante-revolutionary settler in this locality, and he established what was afterward known as the "brick-house farm," near Pine Bush. He erected the first brick house between Newburgh and Ellenville. Although only a boy during the Revolution, he served for a short time in the Continental Army under Clinton. The ancestor of Jacob Whitten was also among the pioneers there.
Among the early physicians of the town were Dr. Crosby, who lived near the Hopewell church and practiced during the early part of the last century; Dr. Charles Winfield, who lived near Pine Bush; Dr. Hunter, of Searsville, who later served as school inspector for that time; Dr. Griffith, also of Pine Bush, who died in 1855, and Dr. Durkee, who lived a mile south of Pine Bush.
TOWN ORGANIZATION.
The town of Crawford was formed from the town of Montgomery, March 4, 1823. That older town covered such a large extent of territory that it was found inconvenient and expensive to conduct the public business to advantage. A convenient and practicable arrangement of boundary lines for a division of the town was found possible whereby there might be a central point convenient of access for the citizens of each town. The name Crawford was given in honor of that pioneer family, as before stated, many of its descendants having become so closely identified with the local interests of the region.
The first town meeting was held at the house of Edward Schoonmaker, April 1, 1823. William W. Crawford was then chosen the first supervisor; Oliver Mills, town clerk, and a full list of officials was selected. Every man was authorized to act as his own pound-master, and every farm was regarded as a pound. A bounty of $25 was voted for every wolf killed in the town, which shows that these hungry animals were still roaming through the forests at that time. At a special meeting held later in the month, $460 was voted to be raised for the support of the poor for that year. There were then thirty-nine road districts in that little town, and each district had its accredited road-master. But the records are not clear as to the character or extent of the road work done in that early period. Of course every male citizen was required to appear for service upon the road at such time or times as the master of his district would designate, and put in such number of days' work as his property possessions called for under the prevailing provisions of the State road laws. The road-master was the boss, and if he said the roadway must be highly rounded in the center, a plow was run deeply along each side of the track and the loose mud or dirt was scraped up into the road with hoes or shovels. Then the wagon wheels would throw out this mud during the rest of the year when it was not frozen, where the workers of the succeeding year would find it again, waiting to be scraped back into the roadway. This was the old process of road repair for two hundred years, and there seems to have been general satisfaction with the curious method as far as the records disclose. In fact, the public highways were not regarded of great importance in those days in spite of the fact that they were the leading if not the only arteries of transportation throughout the country before the advent of railways and cheap water-line shipment. These observations are made in this connection because of the recent dawn of a new era in roads and road work, when the great importance of public roads and their proper repair and maintenance has at last been more nearly recognized. Very soon these antiquated methods will be among the curious events in history.
When the Middletown and Crawford Railway was projected through this town the sum of $80,000 was raised by the town authorities in aid of its construction. This was in July, 1868. The interest upon this debt has been paid annually since that time, but in 1880 no part of this principal sum had yet been paid. This was a severe tax upon the town which bore rather heavily upon the farmers especially, a class that rarely escapes the lion's share of these burdens of modern civilization. But the railway has been of great value to every resident as a developing factor of that entire region and none now regrets its cost.
VILLAGES OF THE TOWN.
Hopewell.—This village is in the western portion of the town, not far from the Shawangunk River. The name was taken from the old Hopewell church, which was an offshoot from the Goodwill Presbyterian congregation at Montgomery, where the Congregational section had been squeezed out, as it were. They were thus in need of hope at the time, and thus the name "Hopewell" was suggested by some of the more thoughtful members, and it was very promptly adopted for the church name, as it afterward was also for the little village which gathered about it. It does not appear that any important business or mercantile trade was ever conducted there, however. It is merely a fertile farm section where the residents have gathered to make their homes. The postal facilities for these people are at Thompson's Ridge, a station on the Crawford branch of the Erie Railway.
Bullville.—This is in the southwestern portion of the town near the Wallkill line. It was named in honor of Thomas Bull, who lived there many years and engaged in various business enterprises, and in fact founded the place. While the name of the hamlet is not especially felicitous, nor even euphonious, the location is attractive and pleasing, it being upon high ground with a fine view of the surrounding landscape. A fine commodious Methodist church was built there many years ago and there is a most attractive cluster of fine dwellings. In 1880 a hotel was conducted by Silas Dickerson and a general store by Charles Roe. There were also a creamery, two blacksmith shops, a flour and feed store, a coal yard and even a distillery. The place is seven miles west of Montgomery village.
Searsville.—This was formerly known as Searsburgh. It is another small village, near the center of the town, on the Dwaarskill. It was named for, and practically founded by, Benjamin Sears, already mentioned at some length. He built the mills there at an early date, and his more distant neighbors soon gathered about him and built their homes there. It was formerly a trading point of some importance, but the advent of the railway brought other neighboring hamlets into greater prominence and left this place somewhat isolated. But in 1880 there were a hotel, two blacksmith and wagon shops, a grist mill and a saw mill still in operation. There is also a post-office. The location being central, the town meetings were usually held there in past years, and the general official business was transacted there.
Thompson's Ridge.—A short distance west of Searsville, on the Crawford Branch Railway, is this hamlet, as before stated. In former years it was mainly composed of the Thompson family, for which it was originally named. Daniel Thompson, the railway superintendent, lived near there. The station is quite an important one both for its passenger business and the large shipments of milk which are made from it. A small store, the post-office, and the various railway structures make up the business part of the hamlet. It is in the midst of the finest farming section of Orange County, the farms of the Thompson family and others in that neighborhood being the most productive in the county.
Collaburg.—This is in the southern section of the town, and the name is now printed "Collabar" on the modern map of the county. The locality is somewhat thickly settled. It was formerly an important point on the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike, with a hotel and many other buildings of a varied character. But the new railway did not touch the place and travel was soon diverted to other points, which stopped all further development there.
Pine Bush.—This is located near the Shawangunk River, in the northern part of the town, near the Ulster County line, and it is a thriving business village, the most important in the town. It is the northern terminus of the Crawford Branch Railway, and its post-office serves a large section of country on both sides of the river in that region. The village site is generally level and attractive, upon the high bank of the stream at that point, and the land environment comprises a most fertile farming section. The old grist mill there belongs to the Revolutionary period, and the Shawangunk Mountains rise in rugged, frowning peaks which overlook the valley and form a background of rare beauty. The heights of the Hudson River are seen in the distant horizon toward the east and north, and there is a rare combination of upland, valley, mountain and stream, forest slopes and well tilled farms which charms the beholder and forms a most attractive and beautiful landscape. Summer visitors are attracted here in large numbers, and they find much to admire and enjoy.
Among the early tradesmen here was James Thompson, who opened a store in 1824. He was succeeded by Hezekiah Watkins, Tarbosch & Weller, Louis Wisner, Elijah Smith and George Oakley. Dr. Ewan came in 1830, and built a hotel and also conducted a drug store. Abraham Mould began a tannery plant in 1825, but after a few years he was killed by James Mitchell in a violent personal quarrel, for which Mitchell was finally acquitted on the ground of self defense.
The old Ellenville and Newburgh plank road—a wicked production of a benighted period—passed through Pine Bush. This, however, marked the beginning of the modern growth of the place. There were then only three or four dwelling houses. In 1880 there were in addition to the various railway structures, two hotels, several stores, many shops of various kinds, a restaurant, grist mill and saw mill, meat market, photograph gallery, livery stable, distillery, marble works, and a great variety of other business enterprises. The post-office was originally known as Crawford, and Arthur Slott was probably the first postmaster. The name of the village was bestowed on account of the dense growth of pine trees which formerly covered that entire tract of land. The opening of the railway was of course a great event for Pine Bush and had much to do with its subsequent development and progress. Mr. A. R. Taylor, a leading business man, came from Ulsterville in 1848 and proved a most progressive citizen, opening many new stores and taking an active part in all village improvements. He was a civil engineer and was credited with having driven the first stake in Chicago during an engagement in the west many years ago, which if true is a well merited distinction.
SCHOOLS OF THE TOWN.
Oliver Mills, Alexander Thompson and Hieromous Weller were the first school commissioners chosen at the formation of the town. From 1843 to 1856 the public schools were under the control of town superintendents chosen at each annual election. There were ten school districts in 1823, and 655 children between the ages of five and fifteen in the town, small portions of the towns of Wallkill and Montgomery being then included in this enumeration. The amount of public money received was $264.44. Among the early school teachers of this town were John Hardcastle, William Brown, Mr. Reed and Mr. Crosby. And they are said to have been firm believers in the free use of the rod in the inculcation of a thorough knowledge of the three "Rs" and the maintenance of proper discipline.
THE CRAWFORD CHURCHES.
The first effort to build a church in Hopewell was made in 1779 by the Presbyterian association. But they succeeded only in completing the exterior of the building and very little was done toward finishing the inside of the structure. And yet for the next three years those devoted Christian people were content to worship in this unfinished building with all its discomforts. They went to church faithfully and regularly. In 1792 they united in a corporate body and selected a full board of trustees, as follows: William Cross, Robert Milliken, Jonathan Crawford, Daniel Bull, Andrew Thompson, Nathan Crawford, Abraham Caldwell, Robert Thompson and Robert McCreery. Soon after this they finished their church and called the Rev. Jonathan Freeman as their pastor, who was installed August 28, 1793. This may be regarded therefore as the date of the organization of this church, which began with twenty-one members. Mr. Freeman multiplied this number by five during the next five years and then resigned for another field of labor. The next five years this little pulpit remained vacant. Rev. Isaac Van Doren took up the work there in 1803 and labored most successfully for 21 years, adding some 152 members to the little flock of worshipers during that period. Then, after further changes in the pastorate, a new and more commodious church building was built of stone on another site, which was completed in 1832. Rev. John H. Leggett was then the pastor for the next twenty-three years, when he went to Middletown. His ministerial work in this Hopewell church is highly spoken of in the records, he being a powerful preacher and a man of great activity and influence.
What was known asGraham's Church,associated Reformed, was established by Robert Graham in 1799. A house of worship was erected at once and it was opened for use in August of the same year. Mr. Graham died a few weeks later, but he devised 100 acres of land to this church organization for its pastor. This church was merely a branch of the older organization at Neeleytown until 1802, when it became independent, with Samuel Gillespie and Andrew Thompson as elders. There were then only 28 regular members, and the Rev. John McJimsey still served both this and the Neeleytown church. He left in 1809 but returned ten years later and remained until his death in 1854. Robert Graham, the founder of this church, was a staunch Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, and he left a lasting impress for good upon this people.
The Crawford Methodist Churchis located at Bullville and it was incorporated April 20, 1859. The trustees named were Jacob M. Shorter, Robert Hill and Herman S. Shorter. The original church structure was completed in the summer of 1861 at a cost of $8,000, which was donated by Mrs. Mary Shorter. Rev. John Wardle was the first pastor, being assigned there in response to a request of Mrs. Shorter.
The Methodist Church of Pine Bushwas incorporated November 28, 1870. with the following trustees: William B. Barnes, John Walker, Samuel Armstrong, William H. Cowley and Francis M. Bodine. But there had been religious services there many years before this, especially in the school house. The old Reformed Church over the river at Shawangunk, in Ulster County, had many members in the Pine Bush village, and there was preaching in the little school house nearly every Sunday, either by the pastor of that church or by the Methodist preacher from Bullville. But the Methodist people were not satisfied with this arrangement and they finally built a church for themselves, completing it in the spring of 1871 at a total cost of $8,000, of which only half had been paid. But the balance was pledged at the dedication ceremonies held on the night of April 24, 1871. This building was repaired and improved some ten years later.
HISTORIC POINTS OF INTEREST.
Near the site of the old Slott grist mill on the bank of the river is an old log hut which is said to date back to the ante-Revolutionary period. During that war this hut was on the Van Amburg property, and that family was somewhat closely connected with the noted Anneke Jans, who once owned the ground now covered by the vast estates of Trinity Church in New York City, in which her myriad heirs, scattered all over America to-day, still claim an equitable share, and justly so, perhaps. In this old log structure once lived a stalwart female member of the Van Amburg family, and the story is that during the Revolution a big reward was offered by the British officers for her capture. "Shanks Ben," a noted Ulster County Tory, like Claudius Smith of Orange County, being attracted by this rich reward, planned her capture. He concealed himself in one of the farm haystacks where he knew she would come to feed her cattle at a certain time. But when he saw the huge old-fashioned hay-fork in her hand, he concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, and was in fact glad to escape with his own life, fearing she might chance to puncture his brave anatomy in reaching for the required hay-fodder. If this somewhat noted woman was ever captured by the redcoats the records fail to disclose it.
Aside from the pursuit of farming and lumbering, this town has never been able to boast of any very important industries. Nearly every citizen was engaged in the cultivation of the soil during its early history at least. As already noted, the town was famed for its production of the choicest grade of Orange County butter. In later years, under the changed condition of transportation facilities, the manufactured products of the dairy were almost entirely discontinued and gave way to the natural product of milk, which was shipped to the New York markets in large quantities.
The growth of apples, peaches and other fruits, for which the land is so well adapted, has meanwhile increased in extent and importance, and many of the Crawford orchards that were properly cultivated and cared for have become sources of large profit to their owners.
While many of the more ancient grist and saw mills of the town have now disappeared, some have been greatly improved and modernized and new ones have been built.
MILITARY HISTORY.
On this topic little can be said with reference to the early history of this separate section, as the town came into existence some time after the close of the wars with foreign nations. All such data is hopelessly buried in the ancient annals of Wallkill and Montgomery so far as the Crawford chronicler is concerned. There were doubtless patriots of this section who served in the Continental army of Washington, and others who went out in the military company during the second outbreak in 1812. But the records contain no separate lists of these and this roll of honor cannot therefore be presented here. Philip Decker, David Rainey and Joseph Elder, the only names we can positively identify as being residents of what is now the town of Crawford, who served in the Revolution.
But in the War of the Rebellion the record is more complete. While, like most other towns in nearly every county in the northern States, there were misguided men in Crawford, partisans, politicians and abject followers of that class, servile men with little principle and less brains, who opposed the war on political principle, or through ignorance of the situation, without regard to the safety of the American Union of States, the great majority of the citizens, here as elsewhere, were loyal Union men. And when the first secession gun belched forth on Fort Sumter the old spirit of patriotism which had animated their ancestors was fired anew. The town furnished 188 men for the Union army and navy under the various calls of President Lincoln and the draft. Sixty-nine men went forward at once under Captain Samuel Hunter, who organized a company of volunteers in the town known as Co. H, which was attached to the 124th Regiment. The sum of $525 was raised by subscription in 1862 for bounties paid to 21 volunteers who enlisted in the 168th Regiment, and $50 was raised for a like purpose in connection with the regiment first named. In 1863 $3,000 was raised and $27,610 the following year. Then, under the last call, $16,500 was added to these cash contributions from this town, making the total sum $47,685. On the final settlement with the State after the war, $11,700 of this amount was returned to the town for excess of years and bounties. A tax of $30,000 was authorized in January, 1865, but as is seen above only a portion of this amount was required.
The record contains a detailed list of the men furnished by the town from which it appears that ten enlisted in the 56th Regiment in 1861, one in the 18th, five in the 19th, and twelve in other regiments during the first year. Then in 1862, twenty-one went out in the 124th, and thirty in the 168th. Twenty-nine enlisted in various other organizations in 1863 and 1864, and twenty-nine others were drafted into the service, most of whom furnished substitutes.
As showing who were among the leading farmers in this town in the early part of the 19th century, it will be of interest perhaps to quote a few items from an old list of agricultural premiums awarded at the county fairs held in that period. In 1820 Daniel Bull was awarded $20, for the best farm of 100 acres in the town. He also had the second best fat oxen. The next year Henry Bull got $10 for the second best farm, and Daniel Bull $15 for the best working oxen. In 1822 Henry Bull had the best three acres of winter wheat, for which he was awarded a prize of $10. Moses Crawford then received a like award for 2,051 pounds of butter from twenty cows. In 1823 Moses Crawford received a four-dollar prize for the third best piece of dressed woolen cloth, also various other prizes for white flannel, linen, etc. William Gillespie then had a fine exhibit of sewing-silk, for which he received a prize. These items are taken at random from an old record which, strangely enough, does not contain the first awards in many cases.
The population of Crawford, according to the national census of 1880, was 1,951, which was a decrease from that of 1870 of seventy-three.
The Pine Bush Library Association was organized November 10, 1899, at a meeting held in Wallace Hall for the purpose of considering the practicability of establishing a public library in the village. H. J. McKinney, Mrs. Joel Whitten, J. E. Ward, Mrs. J. L. Acheson, D. T. Bowen, Miss Emma B. Shaper, S. K. Seybolt and Mrs. Nelson Van Keuren were chosen trustees. H. J. McKinney was elected president, retaining the office until his death, September 24, 1907. While ably discharging the duties of the position, he was a liberal contributor to the support of the library. He supervised the construction of the building it now occupies.
The library was incorporated December 21, 1899, receiving from the State University a provisional charter. December 1, 1904, a permanent charter was granted.
Through the kindness of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Pine Bush the library was kept in the rooms of that organization without cost to the association, until the summer of 1907, when it was removed to its present home. This was remodeled from a building presented to the Library Association by H. P. Taylor, a resident of the village, and is a substantial edifice with an attractive interior, admirably arranged for library purposes.
The library, which is free, now numbers more than 2,000 well selected books. The funds for its support are derived from the membership dues, contributions, lectures or entertainments, and the State appropriation.
LOCATION, AREA AND TITLE.
This town is located in the extreme western angle of Orange County. In outline the territory forms nearly a perfect triangle. It is one of the larger towns in the county, having an area of 37,020 acres, according to the latest tax tables of the Orange supervisors, being exceeded only in extent by the town of Warwick. It is also next to the largest in population, having 11,562 inhabitants, according to the State census of 1905. It is also a most important town in several other respects, as will be seen from the comprehensive outline presented in the succeeding pages.
It contains the point of land where three States intersect—New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This precise point is known as the "Tri-States Rock." This solid rock is at the extreme point of the tongue of land lying at the mouth of the Neversink River and between that stream and the Delaware River. A copper bolt has been sunk in this rock to mark the spot which has been agreed upon by the authorities of these States. By standing over this bolt one is therefore in three different States at the same time.
Whether or not the full legal import of this strategic point of vantage has been well understood by certain classes, or made use of in critical emergencies, is not definitely known. It is, however, one of the show places of Port Jervis, and visitors may easily find it by a short walk through Laurel Grove Cemetery.
In 1880 the town assessors reported a total value of taxable property of $2,431,680, upon which a tax of $37,374.27 was levied. These amounts have been increased to $2,509,003, and $41,378.65 respectively, the valuation of the two banks not included, $379,706, on which their tax is levied.
With the exception of the small tracts known as the Arent Schuyler patent, the Tietsort 400 acre patent, and the Cuddeback patent, the title to all the land of Deer Park comes from the Minisink patent. This name was originally spelled "Minnisink." The tribal Indian occupants were first known as the Minquas, and subsequently as the Minsis, from which the present name seems to have been evolved.
Captain Arent Schuyler visited this region in 1694, during that turbulent period of war with the savages, in order to determine how far the influence of the French had effected the aborigines.
The town is bounded on the north by Sullivan County, on the southeast by Mount Hope and Cornwall, {sic} and on the southwest by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the County of Sullivan.
NATURAL FEATURES.
The topographical features of Deer Park are peculiarly marked. There is the broad valley of the Neversink on the east, reaching from northeast to southwest. This soil is exceptionally fertile, and here it was that the early settlers began to build their cabins and blaze their way into the thick forests.
A short, distance from the Neversink stream the old Delaware & Hudson Canal was constructed and operated for many years, the line being nearly parallel to the river. This great coal artery from the mines to the Hudson was, however, abandoned in 1898 after seventy years of successful operation, and the new Ellenville & Kingston Railway took its place.
The Neversink stream has no important tributaries from the east. On the west the Old Dam Kill comes into the main stream at Huguenot. This drains a large portion of the central territory and gives some valuable water power. Basha's Kill is the largest branch entering from the east near Cuddebackville.
The Delaware River separates the town from Pennsylvania on the southwest, and the Mongaup branch of the Delaware divides the town from Sullivan County. Tributaries of this Mongaup stream drain the higher central portions of the town. Still other tributaries of the Delaware flow through the Honesdale region.
The general surface of the town is a mountainous upland broken by many small streams which often flow through rocky ravines. There are steep declivities along the Delaware, Mount William and Point Peter being the most attractive features near Port Jervis. Along Basha's Kill the bottoms are known as the Mamakating valley. Those along the Neversink constitute the Suckapack valley, until the junction with Basha's Kill is reached, when it is called the Neversink valley proper, although also known as the Peenpack. This valley extends to the mouth of the Neversink at Carpenter's Point. If space permitted it would be interesting to trace the origin and significance of these quaint names.
S. H. Gariss
EARLY SETTLEMENT
In 1689 the old town of Schenectady in New York State was captured by the Indians after a bloody fight. Among the residents there who fled from the place was one William Tietsort (now written Titsworth), who came to the land of Esopus first, but soon afterward went to this Minisink region and settled in these forests. After a residence there of some years he sought the right to purchase a tract of land there. This was in 1698, and he succeeded in obtaining the land. His title to this tract, though in dispute for a time, was finally confirmed, and it was excepted from the Minisink patent. This tract was afterward sold to John Decker, and the location is thought to have been near Port Jervis. Thus the honor of being the first settler seems to belong to this William Tietsort.
Other pioneer settlers came into the Peenpack valley and also in Mamakating Hollow. Most of these old pioneers seem to have taken such lands as suited their fancy with very little regard to who the owner might be. Many of these came in from the famous Esopus region, and these were mostly of that thrifty Dutch stock which made that ancient region so famous and important in the formative period of the State and national history. Nearly all settled along the streams where the advantages of fertile soil and level land seemed most attractive and important.
In 1697 Arent Schuyler received his patent, which covered a large tract in the Minisink country called by the natives Sankheheneck, otherwise Mayhawaem, also another tract called "Warinsayskmeck, upon the river Mennessincks before an island called Menagnock, which was near the Maghaghkemek tract and contained 1,000 acres and no more." About the same time another grant of land containing 1200 acres was given to Jacob Codebeck, Thomas Swartwout, Anthony Swartwout, Bernardus Swartwout, Jan Tys, Peter Gimar and David Jamison.
Both these patents were in the Peenpack valley, and they were so imperfectly described in the titles that it was impossible to fix their precise location or boundaries. They were therefore regarded as "floating" patents or tracts, and the grantees were inclined to take possession of most any unappropriated lands in that valley and settle where they saw fit. This led to much difficulty in the succeeding years, and when it became necessary to divide this Minisink patent the commissioners found no end of trouble.
The patentees Codebeck and Gimar were French and came here after a brief sojourn in Maryland. They married into the Swartwout family, which was a sturdy, vigorous stock, well able to cope with the warlike natives and ferocious wild animals and dense forests as pioneers.
The seven joint owners of this patent are said to have come into this region in 1690, although there is no authentic record of any white people there until 1694. The land covered by this patent laid along the Neversink River and Basha's Kill. Mamakating Hollow was then the nearest settlement, some twenty-five or thirty miles north.
In those days the settlement of a new country was indeed a herculean task with the meager facilities then existing. And this was preeminently true of this town, which was still slumbering in a dense primeval forest. Plows and all other implements were of the crudest description. What little grain was grown by these ancient farmers had to be cut with a knife or rude sickle, and then the grain was separated from the straw by the tramp of horses upon the threshing floor. It was afterward winnowed from the chaff by hand-fans made of willow rods. This was the universal practice in this region down to 1760. The first fanning mill was brought in here just previous to this by Peter Gumaer. The wagons were made almost entirely of wood and the harness of flax and tow. During the long winter evenings while the men were making these things the women were spinning and reeling yarn. Not the yarn of the idle gossiper, as now, but the fiber and fabric of utility which went into their clothing.
The old Esopus region was some fifty or sixty miles north and the roads were left to the vagaries of Dame Nature. But these pioneers had to cart their corn and other produce there for sale. Wheat was the staple crop, and Jacob Codebeck of this town was the first to attempt grinding it in a small mill. One of these millstones, about two feet in diameter and three inches thick, is still in the Gumaer cellar near where the old mill stood. This was afterward followed by two other grist mills on the "Old Dam Brook." Then came the De Witt mill in 1770, on the Neversink River near Cuddebackville, and others in later years. These ancient mills had no devices for bolting the flour as now; thus after the grinding process, the whole had to be sifted by hand in order to secure the fine flour for bread-making and other culinary uses.
One of the earliest saw mills was erected in this town soon after 1760.
It should be said in this connection that there is some traditionary {_sic_} evidence of a still earlier settlement in this Minisink region which takes the date back even to 1650. Most of these claims, however, seem based upon certain letters written by Samuel Preston of Stockport, Penn., in 1828. In these letters he gave the recollections of John Lukens, Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, as to this very ancient settlement. His memory extended back to 1730. On this rather hazy authority it is claimed that the first settlement was prior to 1664, when the region was still in the possession of the Dutch, and that the settlement was abandoned at the English conquest. But there are no existing documents to substantiate any such claim, and the entire weight of evidence seems to clearly disprove it.
The records show that in 1714 the only freeholders in Maghaghkemek were Thomas Swartwout, Harmon Barentsen, Jacob Cuddeback, Peter Gumaer and Jacobus Swartwout. To these were added, fourteen years later, the names of John Van Vliet, Jr., Samuel Swartwout and Bernardus Swartwout, Jr. This would show a very small increase in 38 years, assuming that the settlement began in 1690.
This town became important also because of the long dispute over the boundary line between the States of New York and New Jersey. The variance of this line over which the conflict arose was in this township. The owners of the Minisink and the 1,200 acre patents were much disturbed for years by the New Jersey State authorities, who claimed the line ran considerably farther north of the Delaware River than the Deer Park people had established it. The New Jersey people claimed a large portion of this 1,200 acre patent through which they insisted the line ran, they procured a colony title to this disputed portion of that patent. The precise location of the line being vague and uncertain, no action at law could be maintained by either side, but a bitter struggle ensued and lasted for many years. The trouble seems to have arisen over the meaning of the phrase "the northernmost branch of the Delaware River," which was the language used in the description of title. There was a big triangular gore of land in dispute. This conflict lasted nearly seventy-five years, and then it was finally settled by an equitable division of the land in question.
Among the residents on this disputed land was Major Swartwout, and the Jersey claimants planned to oust him from the property by force. He was prepared for such an attack, but in spite of all his loaded guns it seems that about 1730 the Jerseyites routed him from the house and threw out all his goods. But with the assistance of friends in Goshen the major was reinstated, and he afterward successfully repelled another attack made about ten years later. He was, however, captured and imprisoned, together with Johannes Westbrook, another resident of the battleground, some time between 1764 and 1767, by a strong force of Jersey men who surrounded his church on the Sabbath, and seized the two men at the close of the service, after a fierce struggle.
Soon after this a new line was agreed upon and the fight ended by the passage of a royal edict at the Court of St. James in September, 1773. Commissioners of the two States afterward ran the line in accordance with that agreement.
In 1874, one hundred years later, commissioners representing the two States made a resurvey with the assistance of the United States Coast Survey officials, which finally settled the great controversy for all time.
In 1775, an old assessment roll of district No. 3, which was the southern portion of Deer Park, comprising the present territory of Port Jervis and vicinity, contained forty-eight names of property holders. The largest of these was Johannes Decker, who was assessed for 17 pounds 8 shillings and 7 pence. Next in order was Anthony Van Etten, John Wells, Abraham Van Auken and Johannes Decker, Jr.
The De Witt family of this town were descendants of Tjerck Clausson De Witt, who came from Holland and settled in Wiltwyck, now Kingston, at a very early date. It was a very prominent family here and many of its members achieved distinction.
Among other prominent settlers in this region were Peter Gumaer, Jan Tyse, Bernardus Swartwout, Jacob Cuddeback, Anthony Swartwout, David Jameson, and Hermanns Van Inwegen.
The very earliest physician in this region was Doctor Chattle, and he settled near Carpenter's Point and practiced there until his death, many years later. He came in at the opening of the nineteenth century.
CIVIL ORGANIZATION.
Just when the civil organization of Deer Park was formed is not definitely known. The Legislative act of October 18, 1701, provided that the "people of Maghachemeck, the Great and Little Minisink, should vote in the County of Ulster." This would imply that they were outside of that county. This territory covered what is since known as Cuddebackville and vicinity. Eight years later the boundary between the counties was more definitely fixed by the Legislature. Soon after this the territory went under the name of Maghachemeck, remaining under this jaw-breaking title until 1743, when the precinct of Mamakating was erected, which was at least a slight improvement upon the old name.
This continued until 1798 when the town of Deer Park was organized. The first Mamakating precinct meeting was held at the house of Samuel Swartwout. This territory then included "all the land to the southward of the town of Rochester as far as the County of Ulster extends, and to the westward to the precincts of Wallkill and Shawangunk."
While the name Minisink was applied to the territory above named, it has been contended by some writers that there was in addition a precinct of Minisink, and there are documents which seem, to establish this fact even as early as 1739. But this precinct seems to have been erected along the Delaware River below what afterward became Carpenter's Point.
The territory now in Deer Park south of the old county line comprising Port Jervis and vicinity was a part of the town of Minisink from 1789 to 1825.
The first supervisor of the Mamakating precinct elected in April, 1774, was Benjamin Dupuy. The first supervisor of Deer Park elected in April, 1798, was James Finch, and he remained in that office by successive elections until 1810, when Peter E. Gumaer succeeded him. But Mr. Finch was again selected to serve the town in that capacity on three different occasions.
The earliest assessment roll of the town now preserved in the town clerk's office, which was the first roll of Deer Park after the division of the territory, is that of 1825. This shows a total valuation of $114,820, and there were fifteen persons on the list for over $2,000, the highest being Peter E. Gumaer at $6,230.
CENTERS.
With the exception of Port Jervis the centers of population in the town are small and unimportant. Among them may be mentioned Westbrookville on the line of the old canal, northeast of Cuddebackville; Port Orange, a short distance south on the canal line; Cuddebackville, in the northeastern part of the town, named in honor of the pioneer settler, Jacob Cuddeback; Rose Point, a station on the Monticello Railway; Port Clinton, still further down the valley; Gumaers, also on the old canal line, and Huguenot, between this and Port Jervis. Near this point are valuable mineral springs, discovered in 1860. In 1880 a pipe line for the transmission of petroleum oil to tide water was constructed through this section, with stationary engines and a power plant for forcing this oil to market.
Carpenter's Point is a very old locality, named for an early settler, who established a ferry across the Delaware River there at a very early period. It is near Port Jervis on the south and the famous "Tri-States rock" is located here at the extreme point. This rock marks the junction of the States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There are several stores, an old grist mill, and many dwellings. A bridge here spans the Neversink River which was built in 1868.
Sparrowbush is another hamlet and post-office on the old canal line. Bushkill is in the western part of the town, and Quarryhill is a local mining district still farther west. Shin Hollow is a neighborhood on the slope of the Shawangunk Mountain where the Erie Railway crosses the town line into Mount Hope. Paradise is a small hamlet on the Sullivan border northeast of Cuddebackville, and Honesville and Bolton are other small hamlets born of the canal enterprise.
CEMETERIES.
The Gumaer graveyard is believed to be the oldest burial place in the town. Some of the old stones have inscriptions which show that burials were made there very early in the eighteenth century.
The old Maghachemeck graveyard is in the southern section of the town at Port Jervis. Previous to 1907 this ground was much neglected, and its condition was anything but creditable to the citizens of that growing village. Interments were made there long prior to the Revolution.