EARLY PATENTS.
While Newburgh is the most important and impressive place in Orange County, Newburgh Town, outside of the city, has its facts and points of interest.
After the annulment, in 1669, of the patent purchased of the Indians by Governor Dongan, and conveyed by him to Captain John Evans in 1684 in which patent was included the territory of the Newburgh precinct, the entire district was conveyed, between 1703 and 1705, in small patents, ten of which were in the Newburgh precinct, and a list of which is given in the chapter on Newburgh city.
All patents were conditioned upon a payment of quit-rent, sometimes in money, sometimes in wheat or other commodity.
The Palatine settlement, including a portion of the present city of Newburgh and a portion of the town, is elsewhere considered. So are the changes and troubles that followed the coming of the new Dutch and English settlers, resulting in a decision of the council which practically terminated "The Palatine Parish by Quassaick." Ruttenber says that when this decision was rendered the original members of the parish had long previously removed from it or been laid away in the quiet church-yard, and adds: "As a people they were earnest, good men and women. Wherever their neighbors of subsequent migrations are met, their record compares favorably with that of immigrants from any other country. No citizens of more substantial worth are found under the flag of this, their native land, than their descendants; no braver men were in the armies of the Revolution than Herkimer and Muhlenberg. Had they done nothing in the parish but made clearings in its forests and planted fields they would be entitled to grateful remembrance. They did more; they gave to it its first church and its first government; and in all subsequent history their descendants have had a part."
As to the other patents: The Baird patent included the settlement of Belknap's Ridge, later classed at Coldenham. It was issued to Alexander Baird, Abraham Van Vleque and Hermans Johnson, and was sold to Governor William Burnet. The Kipp patent included the district east, north and west of Orange Lake, and adjoined the Baird patent on the south. It was issued to Jacobus Kipp, John Conger, Philip Cortlandt, David Prevost, Oliver Schuyler and John Schuyler. It was divided into six parts, and these were subdivided into farms. About 1791 a company of Friends from Westchester County settled on the patent. They were Daniel, Zephaniah and Bazak Birdsall, John Sutton and John Thorne. The first purchasers on the Bradley patent are supposed to have been Johannes Snyder and John Crowell. The Wallace patent, issued to James Wallace alone, was afterwards purchased by John Penny, who sold 200 acres of it to Robert Ross, and settled, with his seven sons, upon the remainder. The Bradley patent was to Sarah, Catherine, George, Elizabeth and Mary Bradley, and was taken in their name by their father, Richard Bradley, who thus secured six tracts, of which that in Newburgh was one. The Harrison patent was to Francis Harrison, Mary Fatham, Thomas Brazier, James Graham and John Haskell. It included the present district of Middlehope, and its settlers were influential in the control of the town during its early history. The Spratt patent was in two parcels, 1,000 acres in Newburgh and 2,000 acres in Ulster. It was issued to Andrew Marschalk and John Spratt, the latter taking the Newburgh tract. This was purchased in 1760 by Joseph Gidney, and took the name of Gidneytown. The Gulch patent was to Melichor Gulch and his wife and children of the original company of Palatines. The Johnson or Jansen patent adjoined the Gulch patent, and was the first occupied land in the northwestern part of the town.
The settlement of these patents resulted in dividing the old precinct of the Highlands in 1762 into the precincts of Newburgh and New Windsor, the former embracing the towns of Marlborough and Plattekill in Ulster County with the present town and city of Newburgh, and the latter covering substantially the same territory as now.
GOVERNMENT BEGINNINGS.
The next April, 1763, Newburgh's first town meeting was held at the house of Jonathan Hasbrouck, now known as Washington's Headquarters, and these officers were chosen: Jonathan Hasbrouck, supervisor; Samuel Sands, clerk; Richard Harper, John Winfield and Samuel Wyatt, assessors; Daniel Gedney and Benjamin Woolsey, poor masters; Jonathan McCrary, John Wandel, Burras Holmes, Isaac Fowler, Muphrey Merritt and Thomas Woolsey, path masters; Nathan Purdy and Isaac Fowler, fence viewers and appraisers.
N. Barns
Ten years later Marlborough and Plattekill settlements were set off as New Marlborough, and left Newburgh with almost the same territory as that of the present town and city. The first supervisor of this reduced town was John Flewwelling and the first clerk was Samuel Sands.
The territory of the present town embraces 26,882 acres in the extreme northeast portion of the county. The soil along the river front for a distance of five miles is warm, productive and well cultivated. The rock formations are largely slate and lime. In 1875 its population was 3,538, and the census of 1905 places it at 4,885 persons.
Subsequent to the incorporation of the city of Newburgh, April 25, 1865, the town of Newburgh was invested with the government of its own officers. The following supervisors have been elected:
Nathaniel Barns, 1866; C. Gilbert Fowler, 1867; Nathaniel Barns, 1868 to 1870; W. A. Pressler, 1871; John W. Bushfield, 1872 to 1877; Henry P. Clauson, 1878 to 1880; W. A. Pressler, 1881 to 1885; Oliver Lozier, 1886; John W. Bushfield, 1887; Oliver Lozier, 1888 to 1801; William H. Post, 1892 to 1899; Henry P. Clauson, 1900 to 1906; Fred S. McDowell, 1907 and 1908.
EARLY PATRIOTISM.
But little need be added to what has elsewhere been sketched regarding Newburgh's part in the war for independence. Its people were prompt in patriotic response to the non-importation resolutions of the Continental Congress. It was one of the five precincts to publicly burn the pamphlet assailing those resolutions, entitled, "Free Thoughts on the Resolves of Congress," and on June 27, 1775, at a public meeting, appointed a Committee of Safety: Wolvert Acker, Jonathan Hasbrouck, Thomas Palmer, John Belknap, Joseph Coleman, Moses Higby, Samuel Sands, Stephen Case, Isaac Belknap, Benjamin Birdsall, John Robinson and others. When the pledge to support the acts of the Continental and Provincial Congress was ready 174 names were voluntarily signed to it and twenty-one of the fifty-four men who refused to sign afterward made affidavit that they also would abide by the measures of Congress and pay their quota of all expenses. Some of the thirty-three Tories who stood out were imprisoned and some were executed. The Newburgh patriots as promptly reorganized the militia of the precinct. They furnished two companies for a new regiment in September, and in December helped to constitute a regiment of minute men, and provided its colonel in the person of Thomas Palmer. They also, in 1776, organized as rangers or scouts to prevent attacks from hostile Indians. Throughout the war the citizens of Newburgh were conspicuous as volunteers in the regular army and as local militiamen in the cause of the Revolution, and were subjected to much inconvenience and many privations in consequence of the presence of other troops, as elsewhere stated. Many of them were killed and many more taken prisoners in the defense of the Highland forts, after which the poor taxes were increased from 50L to 800L and special donations were collected for those who had been deprived of their husbands or parents.
The history of Washington's doings and sayings in and near Newburgh is so familiar that they need not be repeated here.
EARLY ORGANIZATIONS.
The Benevolent Society of the County of Orange was formed in January, 1805, with the following officers: Hugh Walsh, president; Gen. John Skey Eustace, vice-president; John McAuley, treasurer; William Gardner, Secretary.
In the sketch of Newburgh village and city mention has been made of the charter provision for a Glebe fair. This fair is believed to have been held occasionally as late as 1805, as there has been found in an old newspaper notice of one to be held in October of that year, with an offer of $125 as a premium to the jockey riding the best horse on the course of Benjamin Case, $50 to another jockey riding the best horse on the following day, and $25 to the jockey riding the best filly on the third day.
The Newburgh Bible Society was organized September 9, 1818, at a meeting held in the Presbyterian Church of Newburgh village, after a discourse by Rev. James R. Wilson. The first article of the constitution declared that its "sole object shall be to encourage a wider circulation of the Scriptures, without note or comment." The following officers were elected: Jonas Story, president; Isaac Belknap and Joseph Clark, vice-presidents; Rev. John Johnston, corresponding secretary; Charles Miller, recording secretary; Benjamin J. Lewis, treasurer.
In 1823 the Newburgh Society for Aiding Missions was formed. The report said: "Its design is to be auxiliary to the cause of missions in general; its funds, at the disposal of a board of managers, are to be appropriated from time to time to such societies or other missionary objects as may seem to have the most pressing claim to assistance."
The Newburgh Sabbath School Society was organized in 1816, and the following officers are found recorded, as chosen in 1823, sixteen years afterward: Superintendents, Mrs. Agnes Van Vleeck, Mrs. Mary G. Belknap, Mrs. Harriet M. Bate, Miss Joanna Schultz; secretary, Miss Louisa Lewis; treasurer, Miss Jane Carpenter. The secretary, in her report, stated that the school then consisted of more than 300 scholars, the average attendance being 200, and that there were thirty-two classes instructed by forty-six teachers and assistants. She stated that the number of verses committed to memory during the year was 21,440 and of divine songs 8,684.
Eager reports a meeting of the Orange County Medical Society in Newburgh in October, 1823, which invited the members of the Newburgh Lyceum to attend. Medical and scientific essays were read by Drs. John M. Gough, Francis L. Beattie and Arnell, other essays by George W. Benedict and Rev. James R. Wilson, and "the merits of each underwent an able discussion."
LOCALITIES.
Just outside the legal boundary line north of the city of Newburgh is the fashionable suburb of Balmville, named after a large Balm of Gilead tree, which is estimated to be one hundred and fifty or more years old, and nearly twenty-five feet in circumference. The population is large and wealthy, inhabiting charming country seats. Continuing northward about two miles is the village of Middlehope, formerly known as Middletown. It is the center of a prosperous fruit section where many varieties of fruit originated with men foremost in pomology. North of this settlement is Cedar Hill Cemetery. The grounds are from the design of August Hepp, and are under the control of the Cedar Hill Cemetery Association, which was organized in 1870, mainly through efforts of Enoch Carter. Roseton, four miles north of Newburgh, on the banks of the Hudson, was named after John C. Rose, who established extensive brick yards here in 1883. Brick yards have multiplied in this section, and destroyed the natural attractions of a once pretty cove. The Dans Kammer, a promontory just beyond, marks the northern extremity of Newburgh Bay. Hampton, now known as Cedar Cliff Post-office, is a landing on the Hudson, adjoining the Ulster County boundary line. Savilton, formerly Rossville, is a small district eight miles northwest of Newburgh city, named from Alexander Ross. Gardnertown is a small settlement four miles northwest of the city, and was named from the old and numerous family of Gardners who settled there.
Orange Lake, now a noted summer resort, was called by the early settlers Dutch Bennin Water, and later Machen's Pond, from Captain Machen, an engineer employed by Congress in 1777 in erecting fortifications in the Highlands and stretching the huge obstructing chain across the Hudson. It was also called Big Pond as distinct from Little Pond in New Windsor. The lake covers about four hundred acres and is kept well fed by creeks and large springs. Numerous cottages dot its shores, and an amusement park is conducted under the management of the Orange County Traction Company. Extensive improvements were made in 1907, including the erection of a large theatre and other buildings.
Quassaick Creek is a fine stream entering the Hudson between Newburgh city and New Windsor, and is formed by the united waters of Orange Lake outlet and Fostertown and Gidney's Creeks. It has supplied many mills and factories with power.
King's Hill is a high boundary elevation in the northwest part of the town affording an extensive view in all directions. Bacon Hill is another, north from King's Hill, at the edge of the town. Limestone Hill is a ridge running north and south two miles northwest of the city.
Fostertown Creek, one of the tributaries of Quassaick Creek, is a small stream which rises in Ulster County and drains a narrow valley several miles in extent. Bushfield Creek also rises in Ulster and is one of the streams which feed Orange Lake.
EARLY INCIDENTS.
Among the "remarkable incidents" of early times mentioned by Eager, are the following: In 1803 the formation of a Druid society, composed, it was said, wholly of deists, whose proceedings were secret. In January, 1805, a son of Warren Scott, 14 years old, was torn in pieces by wolves in the west part of the town while feeding his father's sheep. The wolves at this time also came down and killed sheep near the village of Newburgh. In 1816 the owners of the Newburgh ferry first used a horse boat, and on August 13th of that year the boatJason Rogerscrossed the river with two horses attached to a coach and a wagon, seventeen chaises and horses, another horse and fifty passengers. In 1817 government officers inspected ninety tons of cannon made by Mr. Townsend on Chamber's Creek, and all proved good. They were the first manufactured in the State, and were of sterling ore from the town of Monroe. November 24, 1824, the schoonerNeptune,on the way from New York to Newburgh, was upset and sunk, and the most of her fifty or more passengers were drowned. She had forty or fifty tons of plaster on board, and the heavy wind shifted it, which caused the accident.
Aymar Van Buren
Newburgh, the chief city of Orange County, with a population of nearly 27,000, is also the largest commercial city on the Hudson between New York and Albany. It is located on the side hill of a bay, 57 miles from the river's mouth, has a deep and spacious harbor, with good docks, and its scenic views and contiguous territory are peculiarly attractive. The inviting bay and river are in front, and the mountains southward and westward have been characterized as "Nature's arm thrown lovingly about us." In the landward distance mountains are visible in several directions from the upper town, and adjacent are fruit and dairy farms on undulating fields, with a ten-mile plain known as "Highland Terrace." A recent local pamphlet says of the City of Newburgh: "As a home-city there is little to be desired. It is metropolitan and suburban. It has broad thoroughfares, good streets, and provision is now perfected for having $100,000 expended annually in new pavements. There are numerous breathing spots. One of the most magnificent views obtainable anywhere in the Hudson Valley is from Downing Park, where from the observatory the city appears to be almost beneath your feet. The Hudson River presents an unobstructed view for miles, and a half dozen ranges of mountains appear to view. The Catskills at the north, Fishkill and the Beacons on the east, Storm King and Crow Nest on the south, Schunnemunk at the southwest, and the Shawangunk range far to the west. At the north end of the city is LeRoy Place, one of the coziest and most inviting of the city's little parks. It is especially referred to as a resting place for those who find it convenient to take a walk to the famed 'Balm of Gilead' tree, one of the oldest monarchs of its class to be found for many miles around."
The near suburban villages tributary to the city have a population of nearly 50,000, as follows: Fishkill and Matteawan, 1 mile, 13,016; Cornwall, 1 mile, 4,258; Marlborough, 6 miles 3,478; Milton 10 miles, 1,500; Walden, 10 miles, 5,939; Highland Falls, 10 miles, 4,519; Cold Spring, 8 miles, 2,067; New Hamburgh, 10 miles, 500; Washingtonville, 10 miles, 1,118; New Windsor, 3 miles, 2,392; Newburgh Town, 3 miles, 4,246. The little hamlets in the vicinity probably have a population of 3,000 more.
THE EARLIEST DAYS.
The territory embraced in the town and city was a part of the lands purchased from the Indians by Governor Dongan in 1864, [sic] and conveyed by him to Captain John Evans in 1694. The conveying patent was annulled in 1699, and the district was afterward conveyed in small tracts at different periods, of which ten were included in the precinct of Newburgh as it was constituted in 1762. These were: No. 1, German patent, 2,190 acres, issued December 18, 1719; No. 2, Alexander Baird & Co., 6,000 acres, February 28, 1719; No. 3, Jacobus Kip & Co., 7000 acres, October 17, 1720; No. 4, Ricard Bradley and William Jamison, 1,800 acres, May 17, 1729; No. 5, James Wallace, 2,000 acres, January 25, 1732; No. 6, Bradley children, 817 acres, March 26, 1739; No. 7, Francis Harrison & Co., 5,600 acres, July 10, 1714; No. 8, John Spratt & Co., 1,000 acres, April 12, 1728; No. 9, Melchior Gulch 300 acres, October 8, 1719; No. 10, Peter Johnson, 300 acres, October 8, 1719.
The original settlement was in 1709 by a party of Germans from the Palatinate—a strip of German territory along the middle Rhine. In 1708 Louis XIV gave warning to the people of the Palatinate that it was to be devastated in order to cripple the enemies of France, and this caused a company of twelve families and two bachelors—fifty-three persons in all—to flee to London. Here Queen Anne interested herself in their welfare, and sent them to New York, with a guaranty of 9 pence each for twelve months, and of a grant of land on which to settle. From New York they were moved in the spring to "Quassaick Creek and Thau-hammer." Of the heads of families there were seven husbandmen, a minister, a stocking maker, a smith, a carpenter and a cloth weaver. One of the bachelors was a clerk and the other a husbandman. They were Protestants and of "good character." as certified by officials in the villages where they had lived. Their promised land patent was not issued until 1719, when it granted to each of the different families from 100 to 300 acres, with 500 acres set apart for the support of the minister. The settlement was generally called "The German Patent," but its official title was "The Glebe." The lands for each family extended from the Hudson River west one mile. No. 1 was bounded on the south by Quassaick Creek, and covered the present site of Newburgh.
The immigrants erected a church, cultivated portions of their lands and maintained their settlement several years. Then sales were made to newcomers, and there were changes in ownership and population. After twenty or thirty years the later Dutch and English comers were largely in the majority, and in 1747 elected trustees of the Glebe, closed the church to the Lutheran minister, and in 1752 obtained from the governor and council a new charter whereby the revenues might be applied to the support of a minister of the Church of England, with the title of "Palatine Parish of Quassaick" changed to "The Parish of Newburgh." At this time there were forty-three real estate lease holders in the settlement. Ruttenber characterizes as prominent among them the following: Alexander Colden, son of Lieutenant-Governor Colden; Duncan Alexander, brother of William Alexander, the Lord Sterling of the Revolution; James Denton, son of Daniel Denton, the first historian of New York; Jonathan Hasbrouck, from the Huguenot settlement of New Paltz. Colden, Denton and Hasbrouck erected grist mills, and in 1743 Colden obtained a charter for the Newburgh ferry. "The names of Hasbrouck and Colden have never been absent from the list of inhabitants since 1750," says Ruttenber.
The trustees elected in 1747 were Alexander Colden and Richard Albertson. When the first service was held after the Church of England was substituted, the Lutheran minister and his flock made public protest at the door, and afterward went away and had service in a private house. Tradition says that the Lutherans attempted a forcible entry, and there was a fight in which the church door was torn from its hinges and one Lutheran was killed. This was after the election of trustees in 1847, and previous to the receipt of the new charter.
The new trustees, Colden and Albertson, established a public landing, started agricultural fairs, took temporal charge of the church, erected a parsonage, a residence and school-house combined for the schoolmaster, and did much other work which contributed to the growth of the settlement.
In 1762 Newburgh was set off from the precinct of the Highlands and made a precinct by itself. In 1767 a petition was granted for licenses for more taverns, as being necessary "to accommodate the country people, travelers and passengers." In 1769 a petition asking for a charter of lands for the Newburgh mission, signed by missionary, vestrymen and wardens, was granted. In 1770 another petition to the governor for "a royal charter of incorporation of St. George's Church" was granted.
John Schoonmaker
The old patent of the Highlands, after serving its purpose 50 years, had given way in 1762 to the precincts of Newburgh and New Windsor, the latter being constituted nearly as now, and the former embracing the towns of Marlborough and Plattekill in Ulster County as well as the present town and city of Newburgh.
In 1776 the Glebe hamlet comprised about a score of houses, and three boats owned in town made trips between it and New York.
TROUBLE AND REVOLUTION.
Passing to the events just preceding the War of the Revolution, when the bold and significant non-importation agreement was adopted by the Continental Congress, and a pledge of association in its support was opened in every town and precinct, supervised by committees, Wolvert Acker was chairman of the committee for the precinct of Newburgh. When the signing was finished he made return of 195 signatures and names of thirty-nine who had refused to sign. The names of the signers follow:
Non-Importation Pledge Signers of 1776.
The lists of those who signed and those refusing to sign embraced all males over 16 years old.
The "old town" was at this time a forlorn looking place, and the side hill was mostly covered by orchards. A tavern built in this year of 1776 by Adolph De Grove, on the southwest corner of Water and Third streets became Lafayette's headquarters.
When the war became a certainty the control of Hudson River navigation became important, and to this end Forts Montgomery, Clinton and Constitution were built. Two out of every five of the male population became militiamen, were almost constantly in service, and leviesen massewere frequent. In 1779 Washington established his headquarters at New Windsor in the William Ellison house, and here they remained until the movement which resulted in the siege of Yorktown in 1781. After its surrender his army returned to the Highlands, and Washington then made the Hasbrouck house in Newburgh his headquarters, retaining them as such until August, 1783.
Before the beginning of hostilities in the Revolution two companies were organized in Newburgh for a regiment formed in the southern district of Ulster County, of which Jonathan Hasbrouck, of Newburgh, was colonel, and Arthur Smith and Samuel Clark captains of the companies. In the next December a regiment of minute men was organized, of which Thomas Palmer, of Newburgh, was the colonel. In the summer of 1776 a convention directed the general committee to organize three companies (201 men) of rangers to guard against and fight Indians. Of one of these Isaac Belknap, of Newburgh, was captain. At this time the aged and those who ordinarily would be regarded as exempts were pressed into the service. In 1778 the people were asked to form companies to repel invasions and suppress insurrections, and a company of this kind was formed, with Samuel Edmonds as captain. Figures show that the militia of Newburgh was not sleeping during the Revolution, for in 1776 they were called out on alarms twenty-seven days, and between that time and April, 1788, 305 days. Newburgh was made a general rendezvous for troops, and frequently the soldiers were billeted on the inhabitants. Although the precinct escaped direct devastation, many of the men were killed or taken prisoners in defense of the Highland forts.
When the British sailed up the river in 1777, and burnt Kingston, after capturing the Highland forts, the Newburgh women hid their valuables in the woods, nearly all the men having gone to the defense of the forts.
While Washington's headquarters were at New Windsor his main army was in and near the Hudson River forts, and in 1782, after the surrender of Yorktown, was again encamped along the Hudson, numbering about 8,000 men. Washington at Newburgh, meanwhile, during the progress of peace negotiations, kept careful watch of Sir Henry Clinton's movements. Many interesting stories have been told about Washington during his long stay at New Windsor and Newburgh. At Newburgh he battled with discontent, and even mutiny, in the army, and here he proclaimed the cessation of hostilities. This was on April 19, 1783, eight years after the beginning of the war, when general rejoicing followed. The first battalion marched southward June 5th, and the last June 23d. On July 12th Washington went up the Hudson to Albany, where he was joined by Governor Clinton and a small party. On August 17th he issued the last general orders from army headquarters, announcing his intention to depart and meet Congress at Princeton, and left West Point the next day. July 4, 1850, the ancient house that had been his headquarters in Newburgh was dedicated as a monument of the events of the war. General Winfield Scott was present to raise the flag, and Judge Monell made an address. The building is owned by the State and controlled by trustees appointed by the Governor.
For some time after the war the Newburgh people were almost poverty-stricken. Their Continental money was almost worthless; they lacked means for the cultivation of their lands, and business was at a standstill. In 1785 they petitioned the Legislature for relief, giving as reasons the supplies they had provided for the war, their many losses caused by the war, their large personal service, and the depreciation of the paper currency, all of which rendered it impossible for them to cultivate their farms or pay their just debts, while many families were reduced to want for the necessities of life.
Soon, however, the vigorous population recuperated, was increased by newcomers, and the period of prolonged prosperity began in earnest. From the position of the lowest in 1780 the precinct passed to the fourth in 1790, with a population of 2,365, and in a quarter of a century to the first rank in population.
LATER EARLY DAYS.
The charter of 1752 of the Glebe was complied with down to 1793. From 1793 to 1815 there was only a temporary church organization, and no regular minister. Then a legislative enactment was obtained dividing the income from the Glebe between the Newburgh Academy and such other schools as existed or might exist in the territory. It is remarkable that the early academy instituted by the Glebe served the community educationally for nearly a century.
The "old town," situated on a plot opened by Cadwallader Colden before 1730, was located between present Front street and Broadway, and named Newburgh. This was extended by Benjamin Smith in 1782, who laid out streets and lots from a part of his farm lying east of Montgomery street and between First and South streets. After the disbandment of the army in 1783 Newburgh's population increased somewhat rapidly by the settlement there of some of the soldiers of the dissolved army and of families who had fled from New York City when it was captured by the British. But up to 1790 it was a disjointed settlement, the three township plots of which it was composed having no connection except through Liberty street and a few cross-lot roads. None of the lateral streets intersected each other, and in 1790 other highway commissioners formally connected them. The general legislative act of 1788 changed the name "precinct" to "town."
Newburgh quickly became the first shipping point of importance on the west bank of the Hudson north of New York, because of its fine harbor, and of being the natural outlet for the trade of a vast section of country previous to the advent of the canals and railroads. South of the Highlands the Palisades and other mountain ranges were a barrier to easy access to the river. Therefore in the early days transportation became the most important business of Newburgh. The lumber business was especially heavy, and large quantities of ship timber, planks and staves were forwarded to New York. Shipbuilding was also carried on, and Newburgh ships entered into the Liverpool and West Indies trade. Ruttenber mentions many mills that were erected in Newburgh and vicinity after the war, and says: "Besides mills and hamlets there were many well-cultivated farms, and substantial dwellings which had supplanted rude log cabins."
Samuel Grimes
The early millers and boatmen of Newburgh kept goods of various kinds to sell to the farmers. The first regular store was opened by Benjamin and David Birdsall, and the second, immediately after the Revolution, by John McAuley. Hugh Walsh opened a store about the same time. The other principal merchants up to 1801 were Wm. Seymour, Leonard Carpenter, John Anderson, Cooper & Son, George Gardner, James Hamilton, James Burns, Robert Gourley, Robert Gardiner, George Monell, Robert W. Jones, Denniston & Abercrombie, Wm. W. Sackett, Alexander Falls, John Shaw and John Brown. A considerable number of these were connected with the forwarding business, among them John Anderson, John Anderson, Jr., Hugh Walsh, Benjamin Case, Jr., Jacob and Thomas Powell, Jacob and Leonard Carpenter and George Gardner. Trade on the river was conducted by sloops until 1830, when the first steamer, theBaltimore,was purchased and started on regular trips by Christopher Reeve.
Before the war Great Britain would not allow the colonists to engage in much manufacturing, requiring them to import or supply themselves by domestic substitutes. Therefore, there was much spinning and weaving by wives and daughters, and making soap from refuse fats, and dipping for candles, while the farmer made his own sleds and carts and generally constructed his own dwelling and outhouses. These practices were continued to some extent long after the war for economical reasons.
Some of the first men to start things in Newburgh are here named:
John Haines, hat manufacturer, 1795; Richard and Joseph Albertson, shoe making, before the Revolution; Cooper, tailor, at the close of the war; Joseph Reeves, watchmaker, 1798, took up whip-making in 1804, and was followed in watch-making by George Gorden and Ebenezer Ayres; Hugh Spier, cabinet-maker and undertaker, 1798; Selah Reeve, earthenware manufacturer, 1799; James Patterson, tin plate worker and coppersmith, 1797; Mrs. DeGrove, baking, 1791, and succeeded by John and Joseph Hoffman; Peter Bannen, soap and candle making, 1804, preceded by Abel Belknap; Matthew DuBois, tobacconist, 1799; James Renwick distiller, 1790; John Cooper, father of the famous Peter Cooper, ale brewer, 1794; Benjamin Roe, saddle and harness maker, before 1800; Phineas Howell, tanner, before 1800; Sylvester Roe, painting and glazing, 1804; Henry B. Carpenter, iron and brass foundry, 1821; Richard B. Phillips, brush manufacturer, 1831, preceded by Daniel Berrian; Henry B. Ames, fancy and family soaps, 1852; stock company, with Hiram Bennett, president, cotton goods manufactory, 1844; George Gardner, Jason Rogers, William Seymour, Richard Hill, earliest ship builders, and Walter Burling, Daniel Bailey, Wm. Holmes, Samuel Wright, earliest ship carpenters; Drs. Isaac Brown and Robert Morrison, regular physicians in 1776; Phineas Bowman, first lawyer, settled in Newburgh at close of Revolution, and his contemporary lawyers were Thomas Cooper, Solomon Slight and Jonathan Fisk; Lucius Carey; first newspaper, NewburghPacket,1775, bought by David Denniston, and name changed toMirror;E. W. Gray, first daily,News,1856; Hezekiah Watkins, schoolmaster, 1752; John Nathan, teacher during Revolution and founder of "Hutchin's Family Almanac"; Rev. Jonathan Freeman and Sylvanus Haight, private school, 1801.
When the second war with England came, Newburgh was paying nearly one-fourth of the taxes of the county. Again she was prominent in zeal for the national cause. A convention was held in which it was resolved to resist "the attacks of domestic enemies and the insolent aggressions of foreign powers." Local military companies were ordered on duty at Staten Island, and later Newburgh was made temporarily the rendezvous for grenadiers, light infantry and riflemen of the 34th Brigade. Its citizens celebrated Perry's victory on Lake Erie with enthusiasm. The embargo act detained Newburgh vessels, among others, in foreign ports, and Newburgh merchantmen were captured and confined in Dartmour prison.
Colden's first dock was built in 1730. Isaac Belknap sailed a sloop from Newburgh before the Revolution which made trips to the West Indies. William Harding, Richard Buckingham and Lewis Clark also sailed sloops before the war, and later conveyed troops on them for the Revolutionists. As early as 1798 there were four lines of sloops from Newburgh.
Arthur Young
In the thirties Newburgh's river and land trade was very large. The streets were frequently blocked for hours with farmers' loaded wagons. The completion of the Erie canal diverted the most of this trade, and later the Delaware and Hudson canal cut off another source of wealth. Then the construction of the Erie Railroad from Goshen to Piermont, and its subsequent extension in other directions, finished the old transportation business of Newburgh, and it has taken many years to bring about the present prosperity, with railroads extending from many directions, large and varied manufactures, superior public institutions and other conditions to correspond.
AFTER INCORPORATION.
The village of Newburgh was incorporated March 25, 1800, by an Act of the Legislature, and in May seven trustees, three assessors, three fire wardens, a collector and a treasurer, were elected. John Anderson was chosen president of the board of trustees. In 1801, the Newburgh and Colchester turnpike was incorporated, with a capital of $125,000. "Both measures," says Ruttenber, "were largely instrumental in influencing the prosperity of the village." The latter, by opening a new route of travel westward, brought a trade which in the main had previously reached the Hudson by way of New Windsor, as up to that time nearly all the wagon roads led to this place. The turnpike so reversed conditions, by giving to the western part of Orange County and Sullivan County a better and shorter route of travel, that Newburgh came up and New Windsor went down, and the merchants of the latter place moved their stocks of goods to Newburgh. Other turnpikes followed, and the village grew rapidly. From the close of the Revolutionary War to 1825 its population increased 1,100 in each decade, and its commerce was proportionately extended. Connecting turnpikes stretched to Canandaigua Lake, and were traversed by lines of stages, and a steamer on Cayuga Lake facilitated travel. Subsequently connections with Buffalo permitted a trip of sixty-five hours between that place and New York, and this was advertised as "the shortest and most expeditious route from the Hudson River to the western country."
INTERESTING PUBLIC EVENTS.
The city of Newburgh was incorporated in 1865. Of its patriotic celebrations two were of surpassing enthusiasm and interest. These were the Centennial celebration of 1876 and the Centennial celebrating the close of the Revolutionary War, of October 18, 1883. In the former there was a great nocturnal parade, and the noise and commotion were unprecedented in Newburgh from cannon firing, engine whistling, fireworks, band playing, songs and shouts. At Washington's headquarters the procession paused awhile and sang, "My Country 'tis of Thee."
The celebration of 1883 was less noisy, but more imposing. The memorial monument or "Tower of Victory," at Washington's headquarters, had been completed at a cost of $67,000, and the event was of national and State as well as local significance. Congress had appropriated $25,000, the State Legislature $15,000, the Common Council of Newburgh $7,500, and the citizens of Newburgh had subscribed $5,000. Many thousands of people came from far and near on railroads, steamboats and wagons. The river front was lined with steamers. The procession of the military, firemen, and societies was three miles long, and included quite forty brass bands and a score of drum corps. It was headed by a company of New York City police, and within it rode Peter Ward, mayor of Newburgh; Joel T. Headley, president of the Washington Headquarters Commission; Thomas Bayard, president of the day; William M. Evarts, orator, and William Bruce, poet. The inscription on the monument gives the sufficient reason for the parade and accompanying ceremonies:
"This monument was erected under the authority of the Congress of the United States and the State of New York, in commemoration of the disbandment under proclamation of the Continental Congress of October 18, 1783, of the armies by whose patriotic and military virtue our national independence and sovereignty were established."
Another noteworthy celebration was the unveiling of the statute of General George Clinton, October 6, 1896. The exercises consisted of a military and civic parade. The presentation address was delivered by Rev. William K. Hall, D.D. and Mayor Odell, in behalf of the city, made the address of acceptance. The statue stands in Clinton Gore, at the junction of Water and Colden Streets. It shows General Clinton resting on his sword, which he holds in his right hand. It was modeled by the late eminent sculptor, Henry K. Brown, and his nephew, Mr. Bush-Brown, had the statue cast and the pedestal carved. The cost to the people of Newburgh was only $3,000, raised by subscriptions undertaken by the local Historical Society, and finished by Mayor Odell. Upon the granite pedestal is this inscription:
GEORGE CLINTON
Member of Continental Congress, 1775-1777. Brigadier-GeneralContinental Army, 1777. Governor of the State of New York,1777-1795, 1801-1804. Vice-President of the United States,1804-1812. Cara Patria Carioe Libertas.
George T. Barnes
The Newburgh Municipal Centennial was fittingly observed May, 1900. The parade, in which about twenty-eight hundred persons took part, marched through the city's principal thoroughfares, after which the people assembled at Washington's Headquarters, and Mayor Wilson called the gathering to order. The Rev. W. K. Hall, D.D., eloquently reviewed the events of a century in this village and city. Benediction was pronounced by Rev. Father Salley.
Another event of unusual interest was the visit of Lafayette, in 1824, to Newburgh, the place of his headquarters in the Revolution. He was given a great reception, Francis Crawford, President of the village, presented him to the corporation in a brief address, and he was afterwards received with Masonic honors by Hiram Lodge, F. & A. M., where he replied eloquently to an address by Rev. Dr. John Brown. He was banqueted at the Crawford Hotel, with about 100 citizens at the table.
Newburgh's growth has been steady and healthy in recent years, in consequence of civic enterprise and better knowledge of the advantages and attractions of her location. Her compact buildings, mostly of brick, her charming suburbs, with fine country seats, the good and delightful roads extending into the country for carriage drives and automobiles, her excellent harbor and easy access to the Metropolis by rail and steamer, her good schools and churches and her busy manufactories, are enticements which are drawing many new residents. Apart from its population it is the center of trade for many thousands of people.
MANUFACTURES.
The following is a partial list of leading industries:
Newburgh Bleachery, bleachers and finishers of fine cotton fabrics; Sweet, Orr & Co., overalls and working-men's garments; Coldwell Lawn Mower Co.; Coldwell-Wilcox Co., iron founders and machinists; T. S. Marvel & Co., iron shipbuilding and engineering works; Newburgh Steam Boiler Works; Fabrikoid Company, imitation leathers; Newburgh Ice Machine and Engine Co.; Newburgh Lumber Co.; Newburgh Planing Mill Co.; Belknap & McCann, soap; Lackey Manufacturing Co., lace curtains; Harrison & Gore Silk Co.; Hudson River Woolen Mills; Staples & Hanford, wire goods; Newburgh Reed Co., reed chairs; Stroock Plush Co.; Stroock Felt Co.; Little Falls Paper Co.; Granite City Soap Co.; Newburgh Steam Mills, cotton goods; John Turl's Sons, iron works; Cleveland & Whitehill, overalls; Ferry, Weber & Co., hats; Abendroth & Root, spiral pipe, etc., automobiles; Muchattoes Lake Ice Co.; Higginson Manufacturing Co., cement; Newburgh Light, Heat & Power Co.; Pennsylvania Coal Co.
Of the industries which have been listed, some should be more fully noticed. The Newburgh Ice Machine and Engine Company was known at the time of its establishment, in 1824, as the Newburgh Steam Engine Works. The present company was organized in 1890 with a capital of $500,000 to manufacture Whitehill-Corliss engines and ice-making and refrigerating machines. Extensive shops were completed that year, to which additions have recently been made. Mr. Edgar Penney is vice-president and general manager.
The Muchattoes Lake Ice Company's business was started in the winter of 1859-1860 by James R. Dickson, and was bought in 1863 by Benjamin B. Odell, when he organized the company named. The officers are: B. B. Odell, president; B. B. Odell, Jr., secretary and treasurer; H. B. Odell, superintendent.
Sweet, Orr & Co. are the pioneers and most extensive manufacturers in the country of overalls and other working-men's garments. In 1876 their weekly product was about a thousand dozen pairs at their Wappinger's Falls factory, where they kept 250 employees busy. Seeking increased quarters they started another factory in Newburgh in 1880. The factory has a frontage of 150 feet on Broadway and 275 feet on Concord street. In 1882 they opened a factory in Chicago, and in 1900 another at Joliet, Ill. Sixty traveling salesmen cover the entire United States with their product. Mr. Clayton E. Sweet, head of this concern, resides in Newburgh.