to: TOWNSSummary History
Town of Granger
From: History of Allegany County, N.Y.; 1806-1879; F.W.Beers & Co; NY;
The central town on the northern border of the county, Granger originally formed a part of the celebrated Morris Reserve. It was formed from Grove, as West Grove, April 13th, 1838. It was renamed in honor of Postmaster General Francis Granger, March 6th, 1839. The first town meeting was held at the house of Orville Hitchings, March 5th of the year last mentioned, "the supervisors and justices of the said town," according to the records, "being present. The expenses and proceedings of the previous year were read by J. Weed, Esq., supervisor, whereupon the following by-laws were voted and passed:
"1st--That neat cattle, sheep and horses may go at large on the highways betwixt the tenth day of April, and the tenth day of November in each year.
"2nd--A lawful fence shall be made of substantial materials, four and a half feet high, and no holes near the bottom exceeding four inches in width.
"3rd--Rams shall not be suffered to go at large after the middle of Augusut in each year, under a penalty of five dollars, to be recovered of the owner after he has had twenty-four hours notice to confine him.
"4th--Any person who suffers any Canada thistles to go to seed on lands enclosed and occupied by him shall forfeit the sum of five dollars, provided it shall appear he has had due notice of the same.
"5th--No cattle shall be permitted to go at large on the highway within half a mile of any tavern, store or mill between the first of November and the first of April, under a penalty of two dollars for each offense.
"6th--The foregoing forfeitures and penalties may be recovered by action of debt before any justice of the peace of the town, with costs of suit, in the name of the overseers of the poor; and when collected shall be paid one half to the overseers of the poor, and one half to the person prosecuting for the same."
Among other ordinances passed it was voted to "pay a bounty of ten dollars for the destruction of an old wolf, and five dollars for a young one;" to "pay fifty cents for the destruction of an old fox and twenty-five cents for a young one;" to pay a bounty of fifty cents "on wildcats to be killed in said town by the inhabitants thereof,: and to "raise all the school money that the law will allow," and "twenty dollars for the use of the highways."
The following named persons were elected to fill the town offices for one year from March 5th, 1839; Isaac VanNostrand, supervisor; Samuel C. Jones, town clerk; John L. Johnson, collector; Rufus Shepard, William Pitt and Salmon Remingtoe, assessors; Moses White and Hosea Haskins, overseers of the poor; Rodolph Snyder, Orville Hitchings and William L. Weaver, commissioners of highways; Thomas Kinne, Ephraim Bullock and Reuben H. Smith, commissioners of common schools; P. B. Richmond, Luzon VanNostrand and Silas Olney, inspectors of schools; John L. Johnston, Forbes H. Oliver and John Utter, constables.---------
---------Settlement was begun in the town in February, 1816, when Reuben Smith and his two sons, Wilcox and Isaac and his sons-in-law, James McCoon and Rufus Trumbull and a man named Ellis, from Vermont, and Elias Smith, from Otsego county, located at Short Tract. Hiram Smith states that his father, Darling Smith, a native of Otsego county, came about the same time with his wife and four sons and a daughter, and took a contract for fifty acres of land. He built his own house and slept in it the first night after it was up. For a time after they came they had no neighbors within three miles north and seven miles south and the same distance or more east and west. Mr. Smith set out the first orchard in the town and helped to open most of the roads through that section of the county.
A year or two later Ira Hopper, from Steuben county, settled at Short Tract, and William White, a New Englander, near the center of the town.
The year 1817 was signalized by the birth, in March of Olive Smith, daughter of Elias Smith, which was the first after white settlement begun. There is some discrepancy of statement regarding both the identity and the date of the first death. ----Either Olive Linee or a negro named Jaquay---in 1817."
Others who came: 1819-Isaac VanNostrand-Lot 20; Isaac Hatch-about the same time; 1819-or before: Thomas Worden from Mass; Samuel Horton from Canandaigua; Oliver Smith; Charles Abbott lot 37; James Osman & man named Allen on lot 28; John Wheeler from Vermont on lot 247; Curtis Coe & John Boughton from Cayuga county on State road; Ebenezer Balch & Joel Pratt from Whitehall, Washington county,NY on lot 21.
The first school meeting was held May 21st, 1819 at which it was voted to build a school-house of logs, twenty two feet long, on lot 36. First teacher was Miss Arzevilla Williams in 1819. Elias Smith kept the first inn at Short Tract in 1819 and the first store at the same place in 1820.---------"
-----------------------------
Other Names mentioned in the History:
Ephraim Bullock, married Electra White, daughter of William;Isaac Hatch married Clarissa Pratt; Charles Mill; Philetus Reynolds; John Bellows; Darius Scovell; Rufus Shepard; Willard Moore; Samuel Moses; Abner Comstock; Enos Baldwin; George W. Baldwin; Ira Parker; Manning Hardy; Solomon Crofoot; Peleg Sweet; Samuel Hurd; Stephen Spencer; Daniel Moses; Enoch Holady; Harlon Holady; Marmaduke Aldrich; Horace Dane; Salmon Remington; Abraham Lampman; 1830: William L. Weaver; James Wilcox, William Ralph; William Pitt; John Bennett; James Bennett; Aziza Reynolds; R. W. Reynolds; Ebenezer Fuller; Alonzo W. Fuller; Benjamin Snyder.
THE VILLAGE OF SHORT TRACT
William Short took up a large tract of land through which the Short Tract road has its course, and which embraces the village of Short Tract. It was conveyed to him by the Ogdens. It was from this purchase that the present village, which extends nearly a mile along the road mentioned, derived its name. It contained in 1878 three stores, two churches, a cheese factor, two wagon shops, three blacksmith shops, a school-house and a commodious town hall, built by Jonas R. Collister in 1872. The population was about one hundred.