BOUNDARIES. North by Orange county; East by Hudson river; South by New Jersey; and West by New Jersey and Orange county. SURFACE. The surface of this county is very much broken, rising in the west and north-west into the Highlands, or Matteawan ridge. The Closter mountain, or Palisade range, enters from Bergen, New Jersey, and receding on the west, forms the Nyack Hills. The summits of some of these rise to the height of 1000 feet. Between these hills and the Highlands, is a valley formed by the Saddle river. Dunderberg and Caldwell mountains, are in the north part, opposite Peekskill. RIVERS. Rockland county sends forth the Hackensack river and its branches, draining the Nyack valley, and Saddle river, a tributary of the Passaic. The Ramapo, also a tributary of the Passaic, crosses the county in the town of Ramapo. CLIMATE. The climate of this county is healthy; agreeable in summer, but cold in winter. MINERALS AND GEOLOGY. The Nyack Hills belong to the Catskill group, being based on red sandstone and capped with greenstone. The Palisades are composed entirely of trap rock. The Matteawan range is primitive; granite, gneiss, mica, feldspar, hornblende, &c. are its principal constituents. South of the Highlands, the whole country is underlaid with red sandstone, supposed by some of the Geologists to be the new red sandstone. Limestone is abundant in the valleys, and magnetic iron ore in the hills. The other principal minerals are calcareous spar, serpentine, actinolite, zinc ore, green and red copper ores, datholite, stilbite, asbestus, Prehnite, Thompsonite, &c. VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. Notwithstanding the roughness of the surface, the soil is rich and highly cultivated, amply rewarding the labor of the husbandman. This county is well adapted to the culture of both grass and grains. PURSUITS. Agriculture is the leading pursuit, particularly in the more fertile valleys. Manufactures are also carried on to some extent. Iron wire, nails, sheet iron, and lead, cotton and woollen fabrics are the principal articles. COMMERCE. Some shipping is owned on the Hudson, by the inhabitants of the county, of whom a considerable number are engaged in commercial pursuits. Ice is extensively exported to New York from this county. STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. These are corn, potatoes, oats, buck. wheat, rye, and ice. SCHOOLS. In this county, there were in 1846, thirty-nine com. mon schools, averaging nine months' instruction each, at an ex pense of about $7271, and having 2501 pupils. The district libraries numbered 6418 volumes. There are eight private schools, numbering 149 scholars. RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Dutch Reformed, Presbyterians, Baptists and Friends. The number of churches, of all denominations, is thirty-two; of ministers, twenty. HISTORY. This county originally belonged to Orange, and many of the early settlements were made within its limits. Orangetown was originally the county seat, before its division, and remained so till 1737, when Goshen, now in Orange county, was made a half shire town. In 1774, the court-house and jail in Orangetown being burned, the county seat was removed to New City. During the revolution, this little county was the scene of many thrilling events. On the 27th of September, 1778, Colonel Baylor, the commander of a troop of cavalry, had crossed the Hackensack with his regiment, and taken post at Tappan; on the night of the 28th, they were surprised by a British force, under General Gray, who attacked them in a barn, where they had their quarters, and sixty-seven out of one hundred and four privates were butchered. The orders of the British guard were to give no quarter; about forty were made prisoners through the humanity of one of the British captains. After the capture of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, (the latter of which was in the limits of this county,) by Sir Henry Clinton, in 1777, General Washington directed a fortification to be built at Stoney Point, a commanding promontory on the Hudson, and another at Verplank's Point, opposite the former, on the east bank of the Hudson ;the latter was first completed, and both were garrisoned by the Americans. In May, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton ascended the river; the fortress at Stoney Point being unfinished, the garrison abandoned it at his approach, and the garrison at Verplank's Point, or Fort Fayette, as it was called, being surrounded by a superior force, were compelled to surrender. Sir Henry immediately caused both forts to be strongly fortified, and manned them with efficient garrisons. General Washington determined to recover them, and accordingly despatched General Wayne, with a sufficient corps of light infantry, on the fifteenth of July, to storm the fortress at Stoney Point. The hill on which the fortress was erected, extends into the Hudson, and is surrounded by it on three sides. The other side was a deep morass, passable only at one point, and this enfiladed by the batteries of the fort. A passage to the fortress was also practicable at low water, along the beach, but this too was commanded by the guns of the fort. Notwithstanding these obstacles, Wayne and his brave associates commenced the attack a little after nightfall of the sixteenth of July, with unloadel muskets and fixed bayonets, and notwithstanding the terrible fire of the enemy, the two columns which had taken the two routes above described, met in the centre of the fort. The British garrison was captured with a loss to the Americans of fifteen killed and eighty-three wounded, and to the British of sixty-three killed, and 543 taken prisoners, beside military stores to the value of nearly $160,000. The subsequent attack upon Fort Fayette on Verplank's Point, was unsuccessful, and on this account a larger force than could be spared from the American army, being required to defend Stoney Pont, it was abandoned, and soon after occupied by Sir Henry Clinton, who retained it during a considerable period. In 1780, the trial and imprisonment of Andre took place in the village of Nyack, in this county. He was tried in the old Dutch church, since torn down, and confined in the ancient stone mansion adjacent. His execut took place at a distance of about a quarter of a mile from the village, not far from the New Jersey line. He was buried near the place of his execution. In 1831, his remains were disinterred, by order of the Duke of York, under the superintendence of Mr. Buchanan, the English consul at New York, and transmitted to England. Dobbs' Ferry, in this county, was also a place of considerable importance during the revolution. Washington's head quarters were for a time near this hamlet. NEW CITY, in the town of Clarkstown, contains the courthouse, jail, and county offices. It is a mere hamlet. Piermont, on the Hudson, in the town of Orangetown, is a village of recent growth, and is principally distinguished as the eastern terminus of the New York and Erie railroad. This route of travel is connected with the city of New York by a regular line of steamboats. A larger amount of milk is probably sent to New York from this port than from any other on the river. The steamboat pier is about one mile in length. The Palisades terminate here in a steep and precipitous bluff. Population, 1400. Haverstraw, in the town of the same name, is a thriving village on the river, engaged in the coasting trade with New York. The fortress of Stoney Point was in the limits of this town. Nyack, a village in Orangetown, is handsomely situated on Tappan bay, skirted by the Nyack hills on the west. Its celebrity as the place where Major Andre was executed, has been before noticed. Population, about 1000. TOWNS. 1. Whitestown, 1788. 6. Floyd, 1796. 2. Steuben, 1789. 7. Rome, 1796. 3. Paris, 1792. 8. Bridgewater, 1797, 4. Westmoreland, 1792. 9. Western, 1797. 5. Sangerfield, 1795. 10. Trenton, 1797. 11. Augusta, 1798. 12. Deerfield, 1798. 13. Remsen, 1798. 14. Camden, 1799. 15. Vernon, 1802. 16. Verona, 1802. 17. Boonville, 1805. 18. Florence, 1805. 19. Vienna, 1807. 20. Lee, 1811. 21. Utica, 1817. 22. Marshall, 1819. 24. Kirkland, 1827. 25. New Hartford, 1827. 26. Marcy, 1832. 27. Ava, 1846. Mountains. P. Highlands of Black River. i. Hassencleaver moun tains. Rivers and Creeks F. Mohawk river. a. Black. c. Saghdaquida, or Sauquoit creek. d. Lansing's. e. Wood. f. West Canada. j. Oneida. k. Oriskany. s. Fish. t. West branch of Fish. Falls. g. Trenton Falls. Lakes. Z. Oneida. Battle Fields. Fort Schuyler. Oriskany Creek. Forts. Fort Stanwix. Fort Schuyler. Colleges. Hamilton College, in Kirkland. Cities and Villages. UTICA. ROME. WHITESBORO'. Clinton. BOUNDARIES. North by Lewis and Oswego counties; East by Herkimer; South by Madison and Otsego; and West by Madison and Oswego counties. SURFACE. Oneida county has a diversified surface. The valley of Oneida Lake extends eastward nearly forty miles, through the centre of the county, and the streams which water the county so abundantly, flow for the most part, through broad and beautiful valleys. The Highlands of Black river rise to an elevation of about 800 feet, in the northeastern part of the county, and in the eastern section the Hassencleaver has an elevation of 1200 feet. In the southern part, a ridge of no great height divides the waters of the Mohawk from those of the Susquehanna. RIVERS, &C. The Mohawk and Black rivers, Lansing's, Fish, Oriskany, Oneida, Saghdaquida, Wood and West Canada creeks, are the principal streams. Several of these furnish, by their rapid descent, valuable hydraulic power. FALLS. Trenton Falls, on West Canada creek, are much celebrated for their picturesque beauty, and the wild and romantic scenery which surrounds them. The whole descent is 312 feet, and this is accomplished by six distinct falls, all within a distance of two miles. LAKES. The Oneida Lake forms part of the western boundary of the county. Its shores are low and swampy. Its waters abound with excellent fish. |