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History of Orange County
Town of Montgomery
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The surface of this town is pleasantly diversified with hills, rolling and meadow land; but contains nothing dignified by the name of mount or mountain. The meadows are extensive and productive, the plough lands warm and fertile, and when well prepared still yield good crops of wheat.— For varied agriculture the valley along the Walkill is not exceeded by any other lands in the county; for while it is productive in grass, it is equally so in the different kinds of grain when judiciously managed. A large class of farmers in this town are not only well off in this world’s goods, but wealthy and increasing at every returning year. Within a few years past the agriculture of the town in all its various departments, has advanced rapidly. Little attention has as yet been bestowed on stock, farther than to ensure the quantity and quality of milk; the farmers relying principally on the great staples of butter, pork and grains of all kinds. The public roads which intersect this town in every direction are very numerous, and kept in an excellent state of repair, for which there is a large supply of hard material in all directions. There is also an abundant supply of good, pure water, furnished by numerous springs, brooks and creeks. The Walkill River, a durable stream, runs through it from south to north and furnishes the inhabitants with extensive hydraulic power at many points on its course. This has been long and extensively celebrated for its delicious eels and catfish; for the nurture and increase of which the Drowned Lands are admirably calculated, abounding as they do in large quantities of rich black mud. The eels are taken in various ways, but principally by rude dams of stone thrown across the kill, in which is set a rack, at the point where the water issues from the dam. At the milling establishments these racks are set in the race-ways below the mills. In these and other ways, wagon loads are taken in the spring and fall and sold to residents in the vicinity. The eels are a very shy fish and run most numerously in dark nights, during or shortly after heavy rains, when the water is dirty.
This town is wholly destitute of limestone and other quarry for building, and must rely upon the common field-stone for the purpose. There is an equal destitution of good timber, except in a few localities, which have remained untouched for many years, though there is abundance of wood for fuel and farming purposes.
The soil in several places, as in the vicinity of the village of Montgomery and St. Andrews, is loam and sand: the residue of the town generally gravel and loam, and of good depth.
A range of elevated land, called "Comfort's Hills,” divides this town from Crawford, and the farms on its eastern slope are among the best in the town. Through the valley which skirts Comfort’s Hill runs the Muddy kill, and drains off to the Walkill all the surplus waters of the vicinity.— The stream lays very low and has no hydraulic power.— There is perhaps no town in the county more convenient or compactly formed, or which has less land incapable of cultivation. This has not any such. There was an old law passed forty years since, for the benefit of Orange and Dutchess counties, giving power to drain swamps and bog meadows; and the inhabitants of this town for many successive years put this act in rigorous operation, till now there is not a pond or bog meadow to be drained within all her limits. We think the few farmers from England and Dutchess county who came into this town some twenty years since, gave an impetus to agricultural improvement in various ways, which has since spread itself over the town generally, and been productive of extensive benefits.
The soil and locality are well calculated for the production of good fruit, especially the apple and the peach. Many of the best orchards of winter apples in the county are in this town, some of which were planted thirty year since by Mr. Robert Griffith; Mr. John Miller, and Andrew Graham Esq. The old orchards set by the early emigrants have been running out for twenty-five years, and are almost wholly gone. The natural tree lives about seventy-five years in this climate, while the pear will bear fruit one hundred.
This town lost half her territory by the erection of the towns of Crawford and Hamptonburgh and is now of very moderate dimensions, and convenient for town purposes.
Early Settlement of Montgomery and Crawford.
We shall treat of the early settlement of these towns together, as they were originally one, and in consequence of the recent erection of the latter, it has no early history of its own, distinct from that of the former. This course we judge most natural and sensible, and will be pursued with several others which have been recently organized. In all other respects they will be considered separately, and as no offence is intended by the writer, he trusts that no town will consider herself slighted by this mode of historical consideration. We intend that our paper shall know no other difference between the young and the more ancient incorporations. We treat of Orange, and the towns alike are all her children in the view taken of them.
We are as particular in giving date to an early settlement as our information warrants. In some cases we can do it accurately—perhaps to the very year; in others, not—in which latter case it is stated as probabilities may warrant, judging from all the facts and circumstances directly and indirectly bearing upon the point. In all which instances we venture to assure the reader, the error, if any, is in falling short of the true date, and not stating it as early as it really was.
In the remarks of early settlement we observe no particular chronological order, which doubtless would be the best course if warranted by the facts. To a sensible and discriminating reader, the omission of such an order is a matter of little moment, and we hope no one will experience any great inconvenience from it in that respect. We advise him to carry along in his own mind and memory a table of the periods of settlement, and thus constituting himself a co-laborer with us, he may be really benefitted by our omissions. We wish in all kindness to impose some light and agreeable mental labor upon the reader to admonish him that he is reading a portion of the history of his country; to be understood, assorted and recollected, and not skimming the surface contents of a novel.