Ontario History and Genealogy, History

History of Ontario County , New York

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Kindly transcribed by Deborah Spencer

From History of Ontario County, NY

Published 1878 Pg 54 - 60

CHAPTER XXI
TRACES, ROADS, AND TURNPIKES---STAGE LINES AND MAIL ROUTES---POST OFFICES AND CANALS.

The Iroquois, like the later Americans, made use of the natural routes through the country. The name trace is associated with a narrow path, ill marked, and of occasional use. The truth is, that intercourse between villages, and travel upon the great central trail from the present site of Albany to that of Buffalo, was frequent and general. Indians had no wheeled vehicles and no commerce. Their traces were well chosen and sufficient for their use. From Hudson to Lake Erie, an Indian highway crossed the finest portions of New York, and along its track came the successive improved roads of the white man. Referring the reader to the "League of the Iroquois" for a full description of this ancient and notable trail, we outline only its course through the bounds of Ontario County. It entered Ontario along the beach at the foot of Seneca lake, and from the present site of Geneva ascended Geneva creek to the Indian village of Ganundasaga, the most eastern in the lands of the Senecas. Thence its course lay through the towns of Seneca and Hopewell to Ga-nun-da-qua, at the foot of our Canandaigua lake. From Canandaigua two trails led. One passed southwest through Bristol to the foot of Honeoye lake. It crossed the outlet, and extended westward through Richmond, over the hill within view of Hemlock lake, and led to the north end of the Connesus lake, and on westward to the village of Little Beard, the largest of the tribe. The other and the main trail led from Canandaigua along the "north road," over the lands of West Bloomfield across the Honeoye outlet, and proceeded to an Indian village, now the site of Lima. This trail, in width from a foot to eighteen inches, was deeply worn into the ground. The depth varied, according to the consistency of the soil, from three to even twelve inches.

Upon the trees adjacent were frequent incisions by the hatchet of an unknown antiquity; it was surprisingly direct, and exercised a controlling influence in the location of settlements now become villages and cities. Along the trails of the Iroquois came the PITTS, the COMSTOCKS, the WADSWORTHS, and thousands of the early settlers of the Genesee valley, bringing with them cattle, household goods, upon the sled or sleigh. For years this trail was the sole line of travel.

A Cayuga chief thus recounts his claim to mention in the history of this region:

"The Empire State was once laced by our trails from Albany to Buffalo,--trails that we had trod from centuries,---trails worn so deep by the feet of the Iroquois that they became your roads of travel as your possessions gradually ate into those of my people. Your roads still traverse those same lines of communication which bound one part of the Long House to the other."

While the Indian trails gave a clue to travel, they knew no labor. The settler was often checked for hours at the steep banks of a miry stream, to construct a temporary bridge. Parties were compelled to travel together to obtain mutual help in crossing streams, swamps, hills, and ravines. In town history, reference is made to large land-owners who constructed roads at very early date to facilitate the settlement of their tracts. In March, 1794, a State road was established by law from Utica, via Cayuga Ferry and Canandaigua, to the Geneva river at Avon. Three commissioners were employed to lay it out six rods wide, and direct as practicable. At first little better than an Indian trail, it was gradually improved, so that a stage which set out from Utica September 30, 1799, arrived at Genesee on the afternoon of the third day, and from that time on a regular stage passed along this route.

In 1800 a law was passed making this a turnpike road; its construction was immediately begun, and completion soon followed. During the year named, a road was made from Avon to Ganson's settlement, now Leroy, and at the same time another road was commenced eastward from Buffalo to connect with it, thus constituting a continuous road from Utica to Buffalo.

The long period consumed in making the journey to the lands of the Genesee was not caused by ox-teams employed and distance, but by obstructions and frequent quagmires, illustrated in the journeys noted. This rude condition of roads was changed; they were advanced successively towards perfection, and from the old trail resulted the broad traveled pike. The various steps upon the roads now grown old had been had been the survey, the cutting of brush, the turning aside of fallen timber from a roadway winding in course, and the blazing of trees. Later, trees were chopped down and removed; corduroy was built over swampy tracts, and the concentrated travel to Cayuga lake stimulated the erection of long and costly bridges, over which for years the endless columns of emigration poured. There were horse- and ox-teams, wagons covered with canvas, marked Ohio, or other Western points, men on horseback and on foot, singly and in parties, flocks of sheep, droves of cattle, and a caravan whose tolls and tavern bills made many rich
Important improvements made in turnpike roads of western New York were greatly attributable to the enterprise of Geneva and Canandaigua citizens. In 1802, an act was passed by the Legislature authorizing the formation of a stock company to open a turnpike road from Canandaigua to Bath. Subscription books for shares in the stock were opened in June, 1803, by John SWIFT, of Palmyra, Moses ATWATER and Abner BARLOW, of Canandaigua, and William KERSEY and Henry A. TOWNSEND, of Bath. In 1806, a company was formed to build a turnpike from the Susquehanna river to the town of Bath. The president of the company was John JOHNSON, Esq., of Geneva. Illustrative of the character of those turnpikes so numerous in time, yet so unremunerative to their builders, we note the conditions of contract upon the Bath and Susquehanna road. "The road must be opened four rods wide, and be thirty-three feet between the ditches on each side; twenty-five feet thereof, when necessary, should be bedded with stone, gravel, sound wood, or other hard substance, well compacted together, and of sufficient depth to secure a good and solid foundation. The greatest ascent should not exceed fourteen inches in any one rod. The bridges to be twenty-four feet wide, and covered with good white oak, white pine, or hemlock plank, clear of sap, and three inches thick." In the estimate, toll-houses, gates, mile-stones, and guide-boards were included, and ten miles was the extreme limit of a single contract. It was at this time that the Seneca Turnpike Company prepared to build their road, and it was expected that teams leaving Canandaigua and Geneva could carry loads one-third heavier than previously, and every team returning light from Utica or Albany might bring a return load of salt, thereby reducing to the inhabitants of Ontario the price of that necessary article. A project was started in 1810 for opening a turnpike road from the court-house, in Canandaigua, through Farmington and Palmyra to Putneyville, on Lake Ontario. On November 3, 1813, a grant was asked to incorporate a company for the construction of a road from Canandaigua direct to the new bridge at the Falls of the Genesee, and to intersect the "ridge road." These are but examples of the mania for speculation in the construction of roads, which had so developed in 1810 that the nominal stock in turnpike and toll-bridge charters was then over eight million dollars. Many lateral roads branched from the main road, and while investments in stock became worthless, the model of construction for the great network of roads to be constructed was of much benefit. The public interest in roads was heartily revived about 1850, and plank roads multiplied as the turnpikes had done. The plank was not durable, the repairs were not kept up, stock depreciated, and the roads, abandoned by the companies, have been divided among road districts as public highways. A single instance will suffice to recall the era of plank roads. The Palmyra and Canandaigua plank road ceased to pay a dividend from May, 1857. The plank was worn out, and no funds provided for its renewal. The road was, like others, a great convenience to the traveling public, but not fully appreciated. It was customary to shun the toll-gates wherever practicable, and the idea seemed fixed that roadways should be free. Upon the bed of the plank gravel was carted, and most excellent roads have resulted; such has been the case of the road used as an illustration, which has long been one of the best in the State. With the abandonment of associative control has come the extinction of offices of turnpike and plank road inspectors, who were chosen to the number of from three to five from persons having no interest in the roads, and whose duties were to protect the public from the imposition of tolls upon neglected roads.

STAGE LINES - were once a great feature of the carrying trade, but the stage of ante-railroad date is known only to the memory of the aged, and preserved but in the files of a few old newspapers. A stage line was established by Levi STEVENS, of Geneva, on May 14, 1804, to run once a week from Canandaigua to Albany. He asserts, in making known his enterprise, that "he has been at great pains and expense to fit up his stages for the accommodation of his passengers." Seats were procurable by application at Taylor's hotel, Canandaigua, or Powell's, Geneva. The rates charged were five cents per mile. Within a short time STEVENS increased his business to two stages per week. A western mail stage was started May, 1808, by John Metcalf. It left Canandaigua on Monday at six A.M. for Niagara, via Buffalo, and returned by Sunday at 5 P.M., thus occupying three days each way. Fare was six cents per mile, and fourteen pounds of baggage were allowed each passenger. Progress in stage traffic is seen in the establishment of a daily line known as the Canandaigua and Utica stage line, opened July 5, 1813, by William POWELL. Few are left to-day who saw the stage drawn up at Taylor's every morning for its passengers, and then start off with crack of whip and rumble of wheels down the street. The rate diminished with increase of distance till a steady gait was taken, and then on for hours, looking out upon the growing villages, the passing travel, conversing with pleasant companions, or settling to a nap, unconscious of jar or jolt, time or distance. A new line was established October 20, 1813, via Cherry Valley, Cazenovia, and Manlius, from Albany to Canandaigua, with a fare for the trip of eight dollars. The office at Albany was at what was known as the Connecticut coffee-house. The proprietors of this route were Messrs. Martin & Branch, Beach & Conde, Beach & Chamberlain, and Z. Patch. A tri-weekly mail stage left the village of Canandaigua for the west in the year 1814. A line starting at the same village on July 20, 1815, via Geneva and Auburn, went through in two days. E.B. DEWEY was a proprietor, and seats were obtainable at Coe's stage house. Samuel HILDRETH ran a biweekly stage, beginning January 4, 1816, between Rochester and this village. A line of stages began August, 1817, to run via East Bloomfield, Mendon, and Pittsford to Rochester. Oliver PHELPS & Co. opened a stage business in May, 1818, leaving Canandaigua tri-weekly for Newburg, which place was reached in three days. The fare from Utica to Albany, ninety-six miles, and from Canandaigua to Buffalo, ninety miles, was in each case but two dollars. Messrs. Faulkner & Fenton began, August 2, 1822, to run a stage coach daily from Gooding's hotel, Canandaigua, to Montezuma, to connect with the canal-packet "Echo," which conveyed passengers to the "Oneida Chief," on the Erie canal, and the stage also made connection with the steamer "Enterprise," then running on Cayuga lake. The stage business increased in extent, and various parties engaged in its conduct during 1822. F. Powell & Co., J. Parker & Co., John M. SHERWOOD, and B.D. COE, on January 20, 1823, consolidated their lines, and put the fare down to two cents per mile. C.H. Hoe & Co. commenced staging January 1, 1826. The firm consisted of C.H. COE, B.D. COE, and Samuel GREENLEAF, and continued until the death of Chauncey H. COE, in 1836, when Captain Asa NOWLEN, of Avon, bought the Coes' interest, and the firm was changed to S. Greenleaf & Co. This firm ran a number of stages until the completion of the Rochester and Auburn railroad. In connection with this last and most notable firm it is pleasent to observe that, in 1840, Mr. GREENLEAF had started a stage-drivers' reading-room and library for his employees. The effort was salutary, and characterized as a godsend to the stage-drivers. A handsome whip was presented on June 4 to the driver who had read most in the Bible during the last year, by Mr. GREENLEAF.

POST-OFFICES, POST-RIDERS, AND POST-ROUTES - were subjects of local and general interest in the ante-railroad days. A suspension of the mail facilities now, for a period equal to the intervals of mail reception in the early days, would be little less than a calamity, so closely has this agency entwined itself in all that concerns commercial intercourse. The inception of mail facilities was the work of private enterprise. In 1791, Luther COLE was employed by Oliver PHELPS and others to carry letters from Canandaigua to Whitestown. He sometimes went on horseback, and often on foot. A week was required to go, and a like period was consumed by the return. This was the first "news carrying" done in the Genesee country. When the first mail that was ever received in Canandaigua arrived, Augustus PORTER stood at the side door of Moses ATWATER's house, and he asked a friend at a later day, "How do you think it was brought?" Answering his own query, he said, "Luther COLE brought it from Utica in a large morocco pocket-book, which he carried in the breast-pocket of his coat." Who would contract at this day to bring the mail from Utica in that way? In 1797, mail was brought from Albany once in two weeks on horseback. Post-riders were engaged later to deliver mail matter and newspapers at the houses of the settlers. Among those post-riders, who usually traveled on horseback on different routes at an early day, were Elisha NYE, Joseph BECKET, and William BADGROW. Jonathan BLAKELY was one of the early news carriers. The establishment of a post-office was of later date.

The only post-office in all the Genesee country in the year 1803 was at Canandaigua. The extensive region embraced in the circuit of delivery is shown by the advertisement of letters addressed to persons in Northfield, Goverment House, Head of Lake Ontario, Sodus, Friend's Settlement, Big Tree, Sodus, Williamsburg, Geneva, and like remote localities. Post-routes were contingent upon the ability of the people to support them. A new post-route was established in the latter part of 1816 from Canandaigua to Lewistown, along the whole extent of the ridge road, and a post-office was established at Black Rock. In the year following, routes were formed from Canandaigua via Richmond, Bristol, Livonia, Genesee, and Warsaw to Sheldon, and from Bath to Naples. In 1822 a route was established from Canandaigua to Penn Yan; and a mail-route from the former place to Manchester, Palmyra, South Williamson, Williamson, and Pultneyville was contracted in January, to run once in two weeks.

The navigation of the inland lakes, within or bordering upon the lands of Ontario, was an early enterprise. Upon Seneca lake Captain Williamson had a large sloop of forty tons engaged in a carrying trade, and a vessel of the same character was an object of curiosity to the settlers along the banks of Canandaigua lake. The first vessel propelled by steam on Seneca lake was built and owned by the Rumsey brothers. She was named the "Seneca Chief," and was officered by Captain H.C. SWAN; First Engineer, Aaron STOUT; Pilot, Fred. KING; Second Pilot, William ROE; the agent was John R. JOHNSON. She was furnished with four plain cylinder boilers, and a cylinder eighteen inches in diameter with a seven-foot stroke. Her average speed was ten miles per hour. The builders ran her a few years, and sold to John R. JOHNSON and Richard STEVENS of Hoboken, New Jersey. During the winter of 1831-32 she was rebuilt and enlarged, and her name changed to the "Geneva," or familiarly, "Aunt Betsy." In 1835 the "Richard Stevens" was built for a passenger boat. Among others of the old steamboats on Seneca were the "Chemung," "Canadesaga," "Seneca," and "Ben Loder,"--the last built in 1848, at a cost of $75,000. The first steamboat built on Canandaigua lake was launched during the summer of 1823. An association was formed, stock subscribed, and this boat, christened "Lady of the Lake" by John GREIG, was constructed to run on the lake; Isaac PARRISH was her captain, and Moore was engineer. She was in use but a few years and was then laid up, went to pieces, and her engine was sold for other use. A second boat was built by citizens of Naples in 1845, and in September so far completed as to allow her hull to be floated down the lake to the wharf at this village, where her engine was to be obtained. Want of funds delayed her completion until 1846. A third boat was known as the "Joseph Wood." A fourth, built by the Standish brothers, is named the "Ontario," and a fifth, the "Canandaigua." These last-named boats are well patronized by parties of pleasure, and enhance the attractions of the lake and surrounding scenery. On June 23, 1874, a tiny steamboat, named the "Seth Green," was launched on Hemlock lake. She was built at Buffalo; her length is forty feet; width, eight. She has a six-power engine, and can carry forty passengers. Pleasure-seekers can find no more attractive spot than this beautiful Hemlock lake,--its clear waters abounding in fish, its picturesque location among steep, woody hills, amidst whose ravines are living springs of clear, cold water, presenting a refreshing picture, delightful to the eye of the tourist escaping from the close air of the cities during the summer.

THE ERIE CANAL - Touching the county of Ontario, in the northeast corner of the town of Manchester, at a point appropriately designated and known as Port Gibson, is the Erie canal. No work before or since excited such opposition and expectation, gave more satisfaction, or contributed to such a development of the internal resources of the State; and a place in the history of this county, for a record of the inception and progress of the undertaking, is requisite to an understanding of the early prosperity of the Genesee country. The bill authorizing the project became a law on April 15, 1817. Ground was first broken at the village of Rome, on the 4th of July of the same year. The occasion was marked by the roar of artillery, and the cheer of a large concourse drawn to the spot by feelings of curiosity and interest. The work was known in three divisions. The labor upon the middle section ended with its completion in 1819. The western section was finished in October, 1822, from the Genesee river east, and boats ran from Rochester to Little Falls during that month; while the eastern section was completed in October, 1823, and boats passed from the canal into the Hudson at Troy. The aqueduct at Rochester, over the Genesee, was finished in 1823, and boats proceeded west to Holly or Brockport. During the year following, the canal was opened to the foot of the high rocky ridge at Lockport. The difficulties here met and surmounted illustrate the energy and perseverance of its builders, led by canal commissioner Hon. William C. BOUCK, and finally, in the fall of 1825, the route was opened between the ocean and great inland lakes. As in the cable beneath the sea, and like great achievements, the disbelief in ability to do this great work was shared by many who have lived to realize much of their prosperity as a direct result. In arranging for a grand celebration all along the line, the terminus at Buffalo was made the initial point. At the close of October 24, 1825, the last work was done, the guard-gates were raised, and the water began its flow upon its artificial channel, from Erie towards the Hudson. Cannon which had reverberated in action of September, 1813, on Lake Erie, were placed at intervals of ten or fifteen miles along the entire distance to announce a triumph of intellect over obstacles of nature. On the morning of October 26, a procession formed in front of the court-house at Buffalo, then a flourishing village, and, headed by the brass band, and consisting of a military company, civic societies, and citizens, marched down Main street to the head of the canal, where Governor De Witt Clinton, with the State officers, embarked on the "Seneca Chief," drawn by four gray horses gaily caparisoned, and set out upon the expedition. As the boat gained headway, a signal-gun was fired from her deck, a gun in the distance responded, one farther on repeated the signal, and so within eighty minutes the citizens of New York knew that the fleet had started. In the wake of the pioneer boat came the "Perry," the "Superior," and the "Buffalo," loaded with officers, delegates, and citizens. The fleet was joined at Lockport by the "William C. Bouck," "Albany," and other boats. Crowds gathered along the line, cannon boomed at intervals, and bonfires by night illuminated the scene. A grand celebration at Rochester greeted the arrival of the fleet, and Canandaigua was there represented by a delegtion led by Hon. John C. SPENCER, who made a speech on the occasion. "The Young Lion of the West" joined the flotilla at this place, and the boats, meeting ovations at various points, reached Albany November 2. On the morning following, three boats, the "Seneca Chief," "Niagara," and the Rochester boat, were towed by steamers down the Hudson to New York, which was reached next day at daylight. At 9 A.M., the boats were en-route for the ocean, accompanied by a fleet of steam and sail vessels; on their arrival at Sandy Hook a circle was formed, and within its centre lay the "Seneca Chief," having on board Governor Clinton and other officers. In expectation, many eyes watched the governor as he mounted the deck, and poured from a keg water taken from Lake Erie to mingle with that of the Atlantic. The keg was re-filled with ocean water, the return made to Buffalo, and on November 23, this representative water of old ocean was mingled with the fresh volume of the inland sea. Thus was completed a thoroughfare which diverted the tide of emigration, insured the permanence of villages upon its route, and opened up a market to the grain-raisers of the Genesee.

The Ontario Canal Company is a remembrance of a vigorous but unfruitful effort. The history of the attempted often more fully illustrates local energy than the accomplished. A meeting was held by Canandaigua villagers at Mill's hotel on August 24, 1820, to consider the propriety of making a "lateral canal" from Canandaigua lake to the grand canal. A committee upon route consisted of John C. SPENCER, James D. BEMIS, Asa STANLEY, Dudley MARVIN, and William H. ADAMS. A report was made December 21, 1820, that the length of the canal would be nineteen and one-half miles. Its terminus northward, at the Erie canal, was to be three and one-half miles west of Palmyra village. The descent from the foot of the lake to Mud creek at Garnet's Mill was found to be two hundred and twenty-five feet, which required twenty-three locks. The entire cost was estimated not to exceed sixty-eight thousand dollars. The following committee of fifteen was appointed: N. GORHAM, D. MARVIN, F. GRANGER, T. SHORT, William H. ADAMS, D. COMSTOCK, R.M. WILLIAMS, M.A. FRANCISCO, J. CLARK, G. CODDING, H. CHAPIN, J. BIRDSEY, Chester LOOMIS, Asa STANLEY, and Peter MITCHELL, who were to petition the Legislature for act of incorporation for a canal to connect the points designated. The association was named "The Ontario Canal Company," with a proposed capital of one hundred thousand dollars. An act was passed March 31, 1821, incorporating the company, and books for subscription opened on May 23, at B. COE's hotel, by commissioners N. GORHAM, Z. SEYMOUR, A. STANLEY, P.P. BATES, and William H. ADAMS. The subscription by June 12 was twenty thousand dollars. At a later meeting it was announced that fifty thousand dollars---a sufficient amount---had been raised, and a meeting for the election of nine directors was called at Mead's hotel, January 20, 1824. The following were elected: Evan JOHNS, H.B. GIBSON, Israel CHAPIN, Asa STANLEY, J.C. SPENCER, Mark H. SIBLEY, Robert POMEROY, and H.M. MEAD. The canal was not dug, and a cheap, if slow, means of communication was lost when the measure seemed nearest its consummation.

CHAPTER XXII
RAILROADS OF ONTARIO COUNTY: AUBURN AND ROCHESTER, BATAVIA BRANCH OF N. Y. CENTRAL, NORTHERN CENTRAL, GENEVA AND ITHACA, SODUS POINT AND SOUTHERN.

The railroad has been the lever to advance civilization, enhance values, and develop a diversified industry. Along new lines to-day villages are springing into being, and advancing towards maturity with a rapidity that leaves the record of the past shaded and obscured. To the Empira State belongs the honor of early encouraging this great agency of commerce, and the railroad, in truth, has been a mighty power, conducing to prosperity. In 1826, the first charter in New York to build a railroad was granted to the Hudson River Railroad Company to construct a road from Albany to Schenectady, a distance of sixteen miles. Commencement was made in 1830, and completion effected in 1831. The cars placed upon the track were drawn by horses. During the year 1831 an engine, named "John Bull," was brought over from England, placed on the track, and operated by John HAMPSON, and English engineer. The first steam railroad passenger train in America was run upon this road. The engine weighed four tons. There were two coaches and fifteen passengers. The coaches were modeled after the old stage-bodies, hung above the truck upon leather braces, and contained compartments and seats within and without. Tickets were sold at shops and stores. Brakeman used hand-levers to stop the train. Horses were used to draw the cars up the ascent in Albany, where the engine was coupled on, and at Schenectady there were two tracks, and a stationary engine at the top of the hill; strong ropes were used to haul up one train as the other was let down. The road was finished to Utica in 1837.

THE AUBURN AND ROCHESTER RAILROAD - was authorized by legislative act passed May 13, 1836. The people along the proposed route regarded it as a doubtful experiment, and were not easily convinced that it would be beneficial to the towns through which it passed, or a good investment to stockholders. The capital stock was $2,000,000, which was in shares of $100, and each share was to be deemed personal property. Eleven commissioners were appointed to open books and receive subscriptions to the capital stock, viz: Nathaniel GARROW and Asaph D. LEONARD, of Auburn; Samuel I. BAYARD, of Seneca Falls; Samuel BIRDSALL, of Waterloo; Henry DWIGHT, of Geneva; David McNIEL, of Vienna; David SHORT, of Manchester; Francis GRANGER and Oliver PHELPS, of Canandaigua, and James SEYMOUR and Abraham M. SCHEMERHORN, of Rochester. These proved to be good men for the place. Acts of amendment relative to charges, amounts paid, and extension of time were passed January 26, 1837, April 18, 1838, and May 10, 1841, and the company were allowed to connect with the Auburn and Syracuse road, at Auburn. The first officers of the road were Henry B. GIBSON, president, and Charles SEYMOUR, secretary and treasurer. Installments on shares were made as low as $2.50 to $5.00. A desperate effort was made on the line to secure the amount necessary to make a survey, and this succeeded by selecting the route along the Canandaigua outlet to Phelps, thereby accommodating mill-owners and business men upon that stream. The directors employed Robert Higham as chief engineer, who at once began the survey and location of the road from Rochester to Canandaigua. The contract for grading the first seventeen miles east of Rochester was let to Vedder & Co., who broke ground in 1838 at "Slab Hollow," now called Railroad Mills. Hiram DARROW, of the town of Seneca, was foreman of the workmen, and afterwards a conductor on the road. James BIGGINS, agent at Fisher's Station, boarded the men. Bart. VROOMAN was foreman and track-layer. A "pony engine," named the "Young Lion," built at the Norris shops, was the first locomotive placed on the road. It was brought on a canal-boat to Cartersville, as were the second and third engines, the "Ontario," run by William HART, and the "Columbus," by Mr. NEWELL. Mr. VROOMAN, conductor of the train used in construction, advanced with the completion of the grading, and laid the ties, sleepers, and strap rails. In June, 1840, the annual report of the directors was published, and the early completion of the enterprise promised. The iron for the distance between Rochester and Canadaigua had been procured at one-half less than it could have been in 1836, and the cost per mile of this section was not to exceed $14,000. The estimated income of this twenty-nine miles was put down at $7000 per mile. On September 7, 1840, Mr. VROOMAN, in charge of his train, fell from a platform car under the wheels, which terribly crushed one of his legs. He survived the accident. William WOOD, of Farmington, refused right of away, and the company for some time ran trains upon the track around his farm. By September 9, the road between the two villages was completed, and the Ontario Repository of the 16th, 1840, has the following editorial:
"The Railroad.---A train of cars (composed of the engine Young Lion and one baggage and one passenger car) left Rochester for this place on Thursday, September 10, but did not get through, owing to some hindrances on an unfinished part of the track. On Saturday evening the locomotive, with three cars, came in, and left for Rochester on Monday morning."

On September 22 the time-table was issued; there were "for freight and passengers three daily lines." A rude depot was built west of H.B. GIBSON's residence at Canandaigua. The old Tonawanda railroad depot was near the United States Hotel, and the Auburn and Rochester depot stood on the site of the present depot. The Rochester depot was a wooden structure, and the engine and four passenger coaches were stored therein at nights for months. The turn-table was at this depot. The first conductor upon the road was William FAILING, and the first baggage-man was Heman G. MILLER. The first baggage-man and depot-master at Canandaigua was Walter CORCORAN. The fare to Rochester was, at first, nine shillings, then five, and again advanced to six. Each car had three compartments, and when another coach was added, passengers then, as now, sought seats at the rear end of the train. Incidental to running the first trains, it is said of Mr. GIBSON, president of the road, that he was always at the depot to meet the train, and one day, excited, he told the engineer to "blow his bell and ring his whistle," to let the town's people know the train was coming. The train stopped one day at Freedom Station and took on "somebody's wood." Next day, when rushing along at ten miles an hour, the express was halted by a woman waving her apron and standing near that station. FAILING asked "what was up?" The woman said the conductor owed two dollars for wood." She was paid, and, as the train moved on, she cried after, "When you are out of wood, call again." Proposals to complete the road to Geneva by May 15, 1841, were next in order. The work was carried rapidly forward, and the first passenger train east from Canandaigua was an excursion to the terminus at Seneca Falls, on July 4, 1841. The bridge over Cayuga lake was finished the last of September, and during November the road was completed to Auburn. A gravel train was occupied during the winter of 1840-41 filling the Padelford embankment, which was at first crossed on trestle-work. Two tracks were built between Canandaigua and Geneva. One was soon taken up, and the other, the old "strap rail," was found sufficient for the business. Later, the Auburn and Rochester and Auburn and Syracuse roads consolidated. In 1853, the direct line from Rochester to Syracuse was completed: at first a single track, then consolidations, and a double track. Another consolidation, and the "New York Central" was established, and yet another, and Buffalo was linked with New York city, under the grand consolidation of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company, with many lateral branches all along the line.

THE NORTHERN CENTRAL RAILROAD - originated as the Canandaigua and Corning Railroad. On March 12, 1845, publication was made of application for incorporation. The bill passed May 11, 1845. The capital was to be one million six hundred thousand dollars. Time was extended April 16, 1847, and again March 24, 1849. An adjourned meeting was held at the town-house at Canandaigua on May 30, 1845. J. M. WHEELER, M. H. SIBLEY, Jared WILSON, John A. GRANGER, and Oliver PHELPS, a committee appointed February 27, submitted a favorable report, and another committee was appointed to procure a survey of the route. Marvin PORTER was the engineer employed, and his work was completed in July. The total cost of building and furnishing the road was estimated at nine hundred and fifty thousand one hundred dollars. It long remained doubtful if the amount required could be raised. Meantime, meetings were held and the subject kept in mind. At an election held in 1849, among the directors are found the names of Francis W. PAUL, W. M. OLIVER, E. SMITH, James HARRIS, and Judge PHELPS. In 1850 the contract for the construction of the whole road was let to John S. KING, who agreed to take one hundred and fifty thousand dollars stock in part payment. The breaking of grounds toward the commencement of work took place at Penn Yan on July 4, 1850. In 1851 the enterprise was under full headway. On June 25 one thousand men were employed laying rails from Penn Yan to Jefferson, and grading near Canandaigua. The road was opened from canandaigua to Jefferson (now Watkins) in September, 1851, the New York and Erie Railroad furnishing engines, cars, etc., for a specified rate per mile. The first engine, No. 94, with passenger cars attached, was run over the road, a distance of forty-six and seventy-four one-hundredths miles, on September 15. Time, two hours. Marvin POTTER was the first superintendent, and three trains per day were run each way. A depot building was erected by Judge PHELPS at Canandaigua, and this, on December 23, was burnt in a large conflagration which destroyed much valuable property. The road connected with the Chemung Railroad at Jefferson, and changed name September 11, 1852, to Canandaigua and Elmira Railroad. The directors met at Penn Yan during September to appoint employees and to arrange to run the road on their own account. They appointed Coddington, of Canandaigua, and GILLETT of Congden, of Elmira, conductors on the passenger trains. A. CROZIER was conductor of the freight train, and the baggage-masters were Samuel CHISSOM and John WAKEMAN. William G. LAPHAM was the superintendent, and proved an energetic and efficient officer. On January 1, 1853, the company began to run their own trains. They had purchased six engines and a sufficient number of cars. The Chemung road was leased and under the control for an indefinite period. Two passenger and two freight trains were run the round trip daily. The road was sold to parties in Elmira, Penn Yan, and Providence, R. I., on April 23, 1857, and possession given May 1. Price, $35,000 subject to a half million dollars due bondholders. The name was changed to Elmira, Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad. The total cost of the road, equipments, and other expenses, September 30, 1858, was two hundred thousand dollars. Earnings, seventeen thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine dollars and forty-six cents. Transportation expenses, eleven thousand nine hundred and forty-seven dollars. During the year, fifteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-two passengers had been carried, and $4,293 tons of freight. The road is now run as a part of the Northern Central, terminus being at Canandaigua.

THE BATAVIA BRANCH OF THE NEW YORK CENTRAL - was originally known as the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad. A meeting was held on March 4, 1851, at Lima, relative to the construction of a railroad having six feet gauge, from Canandaigua to Niagara Falls, distance ninety-eight and one-half miles. The capital stock was to be one million dollars. At this meeting Henry Allen was chosen chairman, and E.S. GREGORY, of Canandaigua secretary. Articles of association were drawn up, and stock to the amount of $100,000 being subscribed, ten per cent was paid in. The following was the first board of directors: Of New York City, Wm. H. TOWNSEND, E.C. HAMILTON, Moses MAYNARD, Jr., H.A. JOHNSON, I.P.G. FOSTER, and John I. FISK; Isaac SEYMOUR, of Peekskill; Augustus S. PORTER, of Niagara Falls; Benjamin PRINGLE, of Batavia; Samuel RAND, Mendon; Francis W. PAUL, Canandaigua; George WRIGHT, East Bloomfield; and Ira GODFREY, Lima. William H. TOWNSEND was chosen president, and Isaac SEYMOUR, treasurer. Marvin POTTER was appointed superintendent on December 10, 1851. Various notices of the road appear in the State press. The country along the line is eulogized, and the route is especially noticed as direct. The average grade along the whole distance is seventeen feet to the mile. The estimated entire cost was two million five hundred thousand dollars. On March 18, 1852, a new board of directors elected Benjamin PRINGLE, president; Wm. H. TOWNSEND, vice-president; Samuel RAND, secretary, and Isaac SEYMOUR, treasurer. The road was opened to Batavia, fifty miles, January 1, 1853. Messrs. Douglas & Co., of Buffalo, took the contract from the Genesee river to Batavia, and broke ground at Stafford. The road was completed to Niagara Falls July 1, 1853, and to Suspension Bridge, one and one-half miles, on April 1, 1854. The first passenger train ran as an excursion train over the completed road on July 28, 1853. The passengers were the invited guests of John S. King & Co. Speeches were made on the occasion by various parties, of whom Lapham, of Canandaigua, seemed to be the most eloquent, and whose remarks were printed in the papers of that day. The road was sold March 22, 1857, to James M. BROWN and others, and the name changed to Niagara Bridge and Canandaigua Railroad. It is now leased and run by the New York Central Railroad, and designated as the Batavia Branch.

THE GENEVA AND ITHACA RAILROAD COMPANY - was organized at Ovid, May 6, 1870. Nestor WOODWORTH, of Covert, was chairman. The following directors were chosen: Thomas HILLHOUSE, William HALL, and Frederick W. PRINCE, of Geneva; Robert J. SWAN, of Fayette; C.H. SAYRE, of Varick; R.M. STEELE, of Romulus; I. N. JOHNSON, of Ovid; C. H. PARSHALL and J.C. HALL, of Covert; N. NOBLE, of Ulysses, and C.M. TITUS, A.H. GREGG, and John RUMSEY, of Ithaca. Although the line of road is not in Ontario, yet its terminus at Geneva reaps the full measure of the enterprise, as was anticipated by its projectors. Work was begun and continued from Ithaca and Geneva until September 13, 1873, the working gangs met at Romulus, Seneca county. Trains ran to this point from both villages; the ceremony of driving the last spike was performed by C. M. TITUS, president of the road. W. B. DUSINBERRE and F. PRINCE, of Geneva, were of the notables present. The first accident transpired October 9, 1873, at Romulus. Two construction trains collided, whereby several platform cars were smashed, and several persons made narrow escapes.

THE SODUS POINT AND SOUTHERN RAILROAD - was projected in the fall of 1851, from Great Sodus Bay to Seneca, a distance of thirty-four miles. Survey was made, directors appointed, and Dr. COOK was president. The difficulty attending the enterprise prevented its consummation, but the parties interested kept it alive until, during the summer of 1876, the work was completed, and trains placed on the track.

THE GENEVA AND SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD - has had an experience similar to the pioneer roads of the county. The grading is well along, and the work approaches completion. The road, beginning at Geneva, traverses Middlesex in Yates, Naples in Ontario, and continues southwestward to Hornellsville, on the western border of Steuben county. While these roads have been built, and thereby enhanced the valuation of real estate, other projects have, from time to time, been canvassed and dropped. It speaks volumes for the enterprise of Canandaigua and Geneva that so many efforts, partially successful, should have been made to link them to other thriving villages.

CHAPTER XXIII
ONTARIO BANKS: STATE, INDIVIDUAL, NATIONAL, AND SAVING

Banks are to business what the heart is to the body,---the reservoir of surplus vitality, and the means of its dissemination. The system has been in vogue in the State of New York since the incorporation of its first bank, in New York city, on March 22, 1791. The capital was $900,000. Its charter was thrice extended, and it expired January 1, 1853.

The pioneer bank of Ontario County was organized at Canandaigua, on March 13, 1813, as the "Ontario Bank," one of the most successful institutions during its existence of its class, and a highly lucrative investment. Preliminary to its operation, Stephen BATES, Asahel WARNER, Ebenezer F. NORTON, James B. MOWER, Oliver L. PHELPS, Micah BROOKS, Lemuel CHIPMAN, Phineas T. BATES, Thaddeus CHAPIN, Reuben HART, John A. STEVENS, John C. SPENCER, Matthew WARNER, John GRIFFIN, John GREIG, and John BROCKLEBANK gave notice of application to the Legislature, asking a charter for the Ontario Farmers' Bank, to be located in Canandaigua. No action followed. Again, on December 1 of 1812, notice was published, signed mostly by the same persons, for the incorporation of the Ontario Bank, with a capital of half a million. The act of incorporation passed March 13, 1813, and the charter continued until January 1, 1856. Nathaniel GORHAM was elected president, and William KIBBE cashier. The bank opened for the transaction of business in October, 1813, and appointed Tuesdays and Fridays as discount days. The first discount given at this bank was taken by Ebenezer HALE, the money being employed in building a house, which stood upon the site of the Congregational chapel. Mr. KIBBE was succeeded as cashier by Henry B. GIBSON, in 1821. The affairs of the bank were found in a troubled state, but Mr. GIBSON, who had been attached to a bank at Utica, and to Manhattan Bank, New York city, soon infused new life into the institution, and so revived business relations and combinations that Canandaigua became the reputed home of wealth and prosperity. John A. GRANGER was elected director, on March 23, 1852, and was chosen vice-president. The company was allowed to establish a branch at Utica, on April 10, 1815, and this continued, until the charter expired, as the Ontario Branch Bank of Utica. Up to 1830 the bank paid no taxes on its capital. The village trustees consulted John C. SPENCER, and asked from him a written opinion of the bank's liability to pay taxes. He affirmed the trustees' right to levy a tax upon the bank, which resisted, and appealed to the Supreme Court. Mr. SPENCER was sustained, and the bank after that paid taxes. The building used for the transaction of the bank business is yet standing on Upper Main street, and is occupied as a residence by the widow of Henry B. GIBSON.

The Utica Branch Bank was established in Canandaigua as the result of an application made by the same parties who applied for the Ontario Bank, together with others. Notice was given December 1, 1812, by James S. KIPP, on behalf of these gentlemen and the Bank of Utica, that such an application would be made. Bank opened April 10, 1815. The institution was known as associate, and continued in successful business for a number of years, under the direction of William B. WELLES and H.K. SANGER.

The Ontario Savings Bank was incorporated on April 30, 1830. The corporators were N.W. HOWELL, H.F. PENFIELD, John GREIG, Jared WILLSON, William B. WELLES, John C. SPENCER, Oliver PHELPS, Phineas P. BATES, and Walter HUBBELL. In 1832 Thomas BEALS became treasurer, and under his management the institution flourished until 1855, when it was wound up, and Mr. BEALS continued the business of banking as an individual until his death, in 1864.

Geneva National Bank was first incorporated on March 28, 1817, as the Safety Fund Bank of Geneva, with four hundred thousand dollars capital. Henry DWIGHT was the first president, and James REESE the first cashier. The charter expired December 31, 1852, and on the following day, January 1, 1853, a new organization was effected, with a capital of two hundred and five thousand dollars. It was changed to a national bank April 1, 1865. The following is a list of the officers of this institution from formation to the present: Presidents, Henry DWIGHT, Charles A. COOK, William E. SILL, William T. SCOTT, S.H. Ver PLANCK; Cashiers, James REESE, Benjamin DAY, Charles A. COOK, William E. SILL, William F. SCOTT, S.H. Ver PLANCK, Samuel SOUTHWORTH, and M.S. SANFORD. Operations were commenced in the building now occupied by Z.T. CASE as a dwelling, immediately south of Trinity church. It was afterwards moved to the present residence of the Misses SUTHERLAND, on the south side of the square, and subsequently located in the building now occupied by Dr. DORCHESTER on Main street. In 1863 it was changed to its present location, on the corner of Seneca and Exchange streets. This bank was one of the most important institutions in western New York, and tradesmen of Rochester and Auburn, then scarcely villages, transacted business at the old Geneva Bank.

The First National Bank of Geneva was organized November 17, 1863, with fifty thousand dollars capital; William RICHARDSON president, and Thomas RAINES (subsequently State treasurer) cashier. In April, 1864, a controlling interest was purchased by A.L. CHEW, Congdon WHEAT, and Phineas PROUTY. Mr. CHEW became president, and Mr. RAINES remained cashier till 1865, when he was succeeded by the present cashier, William T. SCOTT. This bank has been a prosperous and paying institution since its organization. Stockholders have received a dividend of ten to twelve per cent. annually, while a surplus of twenty thousand dollars has accumulated.

Among banks which have closed their career prior to the inauguration of the national system, and which once contributed to supply the country with the current paper of the day, a few are briefly recalled. The Farmers' Bank of Geneva, an associated institution, began business with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars on July 18, 1839, at Geneva. The Merchants' Bank of Ontario County, located at Naples, was conducted as an individual concern from March, 1846, till its closure. At the same village the White Plains Bank began June, 1844, as an individual enterprise, was in 1860 closed, and its notes redeemed by the banking department. The Ontario County Bank, at Phelps, began business in Novembember, 1855. On October 13, 1857, all the banks of New York city failed, with the sole exception of the Chemical Bank, and this was speedily followed by the suspension and failure of the State banks generally. Specie payment was resumed in sixty days, but the Phelps bank was of brief existence, its failure having occurred March, 1858. Its bills were redeemable at par until August 11, 1864, at the Union Bank, Albany.

The national banking system marks an era unexcelled for convenience and security. Adverse to the ruinous speculation of a former date, the currency of the present, redeemable in "greenbacks," and secured by bonds deposited, while it affords material for political opinion, answers as none ever did before it,---the design of a circulating medium.

The First National Bank of Canandaigua was established during the early part of 1864. Articles of association were drawn February 17, to carry on the business of banking under act of Congress, entitled, "an act to provide a national currency secured by a pledge of United States stocks, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," approved February 25, 1863. The name and title of the association is the "First National Bank of Canandaigua," and the place of business is No. 180 Sibley's block, Main street. A board was formed consisting of thirteen stockholders. The first meeting for the election of directors was held February 3. The annual meetings thereafter were appointed for the second Tuesday in January. The capital stock of the bank is seventy-five thousand dollars, in shares of one hundred dollars each. There is a surplus fund of twenty-five thousand dollars. The circulation is sixty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. The first board of directors, nine in number, are named as follows: E.G. LAPHAM, E.G. TYLER, N. GRIMES, Harvey JEWETT, M. LEWIS, R.D. COOK, M.D. MUNGER, H.W. HAMLIN, and George COOK. The last-named was elected president, E.G. TYLER, vice-president, and M.D. MUNGER, cashier. Duties connected with Brigham Hall compelled a resignation of Mr. COOK on February 8, 1869; he was succeeded by Lucius WILCOX, in January, 1870; then Edward G. TYLER became president, March 10, 1873, and still holds the position. On the resignation by Mr. TYLER of the office of vice-president the place was filled by the election of Robert CHAPIN. There has been no change in the office of cashier.

Banking houses have been established at convenient points throughout the county. The office of John C. DRAPER was located within a building erected by him during 1871, upon the corner of Main and Chapin streets, where he conducts a general banking business.

The George N. Williams' banking house was originally conducted by G.N. WILLIAMS and Emery B. REMINGTON, as the firm of Williams & Remington. They began the business of banking in 1868, within the present office, located in Jackson block, Main street. Mr. REMINGTON died on April 19, 1875. Mr. WILLIAMS, senior member, succeeded to the business, which he still continues as banker, and Myron H. CLARK (ex-governor) has been cashier since 1874. Interest is paid on deposits, collections made on all points, and a general banking business is transacted.

The banking office of William C. MOORE, formerly and for ten years a banker in Rochester, was started during 1870, where now is Whalling's store, in Victor village. In 1872, Mr. MOORE completed the large brick block on whose first floor he located and carries on the business indicated. The building, erected by Mr. MOORE at a cost of about seventeen thousand dollars, is an ornament to the village and a credit to the projector.

CHAPTER XXIV
EARLY AND LATER MANUFACTORIES AND PRODUCTS

The colonists depended for machinery and goods upon the mother-country. She was no "alma mater" to them, and denied to their tradesmen the exercise of their calling. When the restraint was removed, associations and establishments sprang into being, and a commencement was made of that American invention and production which has given the republic a name among all nations. The early settlers of Ontario, consulting convenience, gave their attention chiefly to tillage of the soil, and therein found their greatest profit. From the earth was drawn food and clothing. Flax from the field, wool from flock, and cotton from the south, were manufactured into cloth by the industrious matrons and maidens of the early day. In 1810 there were fourteen thousand families residing in Ontario County, and distributed among this population were nineteen hundred and three looms. There were twenty fulling-mills and clothieries, twenty-two carding-machines, and thirty-seven tanneries. The household manufactures in that year produced five hundred and twenty-four thousand five hundred and thirty yards of woolen, linen, cotton, and mixed cloths. There a diffusion of labor in household manufacture, which resulted in the aggregate shown, but which was opposed to successful tillage. Those parties who have invested capital, and sought to localize products needed in the community, are deserving of encomium and mention. Ontario, while containing no extensive factories, has many of moderate size, and a summary gives a creditable showing. The forerunners of manufacture were the blacksmiths' shops, rude mills, and humble tanneries. Wherever a fall of water could be obtained, there saw- and grist-mills were erected, and the town of Manchester was fortunate in having within her limits this natural power. Theophilus SHORT, in 1804, became the pioneer of lumber and flour manufacture at the place which bears his name. In 1822, the business warranted the erection of a large flouring-mill. During 1811, William GRIMES erected, near Short's mill, a woolen-mill. It was fifty by thirty-six feet on the ground, two stores, and contained sixty-four spindles. Eight workmen were employed. In 1818, Stephen BREWSTER became the purchaser. By him the capacity was doubled, and a durable and lucrative business conducted.

THE ONTARIO MANUFACTURING COMPANY - was organized in 1811, by residents of Manchester village and vicinity, for the erection of a woolen-factory. Lands and water-power were purchased September 18. The first trustees of the association were Joseph COLT, Nathan COMSTOCK, Jr., Jonathan SMITH, Ananias WELLS, and Isaac LAPHAM. Buildings were erected and ready for operation by the fall of 1813. The main building was about sixty feet square and three stories high. Within this structure were placed one spinning-jenny with seventy-five spindles, one jack with forty spindles, six looms worked by hand, with rooms for fulling, dyeing, and other accessories to the production of finished cloths. The factory at one time employed thirty to forty hands. After three or four years activity the enterprise, proving a loss, was closed out. The buildings were sold to T. SHORT and others, and rented to Stephen BREWSTER and Addison BUCK. The latter became sole owner, and remained in business until the property was consumed by fire in 1824. They were not rebuilt.

A PAPER-MILL - was established in 1817, by E.K. CASE, Jet ABBEY, and Alvin WEST. Their mill was the one now known as the Jones property. The business first employed eight hands. Exclusive attention was given to the manufacture of writing-paper. The process was effected by hand, in a laborious and crude manner. Stephen BREWSTER became one of the proprietors, and during his connection with it the Mormon Bible was printed from paper made here.

IRON-WORKS - were started in 1819. A stock company was organized, and buildings erected. J.N. STEBBINS was manager. Business was done only four or five years, but during that time there was no lack of energy. Nearly a score of workmen were kept employed night and day at the works. Teams were employed mainly in winter to draw ore from the Ontario mines, twenty-four miles distant. Thirty to forty loads were often brought in one day. Pig iron and various descriptions of hollow iron ware were produced.

HONEOYE WOOLEN-MILLS - at the Honeoye Falls, passed from the hands of A.C. Allen to the control of the Hunt brothers, who, from 1867 until 1875, had been running a mill at North Bloomfield. Their mill is supplied with two sets of machinery and eight hundred and thirty-two spindles. A variety of goods there finds manufacture.

J. & A. McKECHNIE'S BREWERY - at Canandaigua, is one of the largest in the State of New York. James and Alexander McKechnie emigrated to Canada in 1830, to Rochester in 1837, and in 1843 came to Canandaigua, and purchased a small brewery built some sixty years ago by Mr. WAGONER. The capacity was about 500 barrels yearly. In 1871, all buildings were reconstructed. The malt floors cover an area of 40,000 square feet; the kiln floors, 6000 square feet. There is a capacity for storing and malting 100,000 bushels of grain. The brewery consumes 70,000 bushels of malt and 30 tons of hops annually. Six hundred tons of coal and 500 cords of wood are used in the furnaces. Within three ice-houses, 60 by 60 feet, 100 by 40, and 20 by 20 feet, are annually stored 2000 tons of ice. The total cost of material is over $80,000. The buildings cover over five acres of land, and consist of the brewery and storage block, four-storied, and 58 by 112 feet; malt-houses, 170 by 60, and 90 by 40 feet; cooper-shop, wood-sheds, barn, and stabling for ten span of horses. Over fifty hands are employed, whose annual wages reach $25,000. To keep up the establishment requires the growth from 5000 acres of barley and 60 acres of hops. The capital in real estate is $50,000; the machinery, fixtures, and apparatus, $20,000. The motive machinery is a fine twenty-five-horse-power engine; boilers, two fifty-horse-power. The capacity of the brewery is 1000 barrels per week. About 5000 barrels are kept on hand. About 200 barrels are sent to Rochester each week. The brewing of lager beer was begun in March, 1875, and promises a heavy increase of facility and consequent capacity.

MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURES

From the census of 1865 we find the following statistics of manufacture:
Agricultural tool and instrument manufactories--Rakes, at Phelps, $2000 capital; value of product, $3000. Sowers---East Bloomfield, capital, $5000; product, $5000. Manchester, $13,000; product $19,000. Manufacture of metals, thirto-two establishments; capital, $15,000; product, $28,000. There were three iron-foundries at Canandaigua, Richmond, and Seneca. Their capital, $33,500; value of product, $202,000. Tinsmithing had six establishments, whose product is valued at $21,000. There were fifteen carriage and wagon shops, two spoke and hub factories, thirty-two grist-mills, thirty-five lumber-mills. The total number of establishments was one hundred and ninety. There were 699 persons employed; men, 592; women, 56; boys under eighteen, 44, and girls under eighteen, 7. Four men were employed at $18 per month, 90 at $35, 50 at $40, 55 at $50, and 2 at $65. Thirty-one grist- and flouring-mills reported an invested capital of $244,300. Twenty-eight of these report the cost of grain ground at $689,371. The mills employed about 70 men, and had over 100 run of stone. The census of 1875 gives agricultural implement manufacture at the town of Manchester as an important and growing interest. The report of some forty miscellaneous manufacturing establishments in Ontario gives a capital invested of over $176,000. Value of income therefrom derived, over $200,000. In these establishments 184 men, 19 women, and 30 boys are employed.

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