beautiful villages on the canal. Its streets are ornamented with fine shade trees. Here is an incorporated academy. Pop. 2200. Clyde, on the river of the same name, a village in the town of Galen, is a thriving, busy place. It has a number of manufactories. The high school here is incorporated and comprises two school districts, which have united for greater efficiency. It is in a flourishing condition. Population 1200. Sodus contains within its limits the principal harbor of the county. At the mouth of the bay in this town, the United States government have erected a pier, a mile in length, for the improvement of the harbor. The town was burned during the late war with Great Britain. Population about 500. Pulteneyville, a village on Lake Ontario, in the town of Williamson, was also invaded by the British, but their fears of the American riflemen prevented them from doing much injury. Population 500. 1. Murray, 1808. 4. Barre, 1818. TOWNS. 6. Clarendon, 1821. 7. Carlton, 1822. 8. Yates, 1822. 9. Kendall, 1838. Rivers, &c. a. Sandy Creek. b. Johnson's. d. Oak Orchard. Villages, ALBION. Medina. BOUNDARIES. North by Lake Ontario; East by Monroe county; South by Genesee, and West by Niagara, counties. SURFACE. The county has three distinct terraces, the first rising gradually from the shore of the lake, to the height of 130 feet, is about seven or eight miles broad, and is terminated by the Ridge-Road. The second, from one to three miles in breadth, rises from the ridge more precipitously, to about the same height, and is terminated by a ledge. The third extends into Genesee county; its ascent, of about 140 feet, is quite rapid. The elevation of this highest terrace above the lake, is, therefore, about 400 feet. RIVERS AND CREEKS. Oak Orchard, Johnson's, and Sandy creeks, are the only streams of importance in the county. The first is about fifty miles in length. By an open aqueduct four and a half miles in length, cut for most of the distance through solid rock, the canal commissioners have turned the upper waters of the Tonawanda creek into Oak Orchard creek, thus increasing the volume of the latter, and rendering it more valuable for hydraulic purposes, and for supplying the feeder of the Erie canal. LAKES. There are no lakes or ponds of any importance in the county. Jefferson lake, in the town of Murray, is the largest, but does not contain more than fifty acres. MARSHES. The great Tonawanda Swamp, which extends over portions of Genesee and Niagara counties, lies partly in this county. It is twenty-five miles in length from east to west, and from two to seven in breadth. It is bounded on all sides by plains a little elevated above its surface. CLIMATE. The exposure of the whole northern boundary of the county to the lake, has the effect of producing a more uniformly mild climate, than that of some of the more southern counties. The county is generally considered healthy. GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. In the northern portion of the county, the Medina sandstone prevails, affording in many places, an admirable material for building. In the central and southern portions, the Niagara, Clinton and Onondaga limestones form the surface rock. The mineral productions are principally bog iron ore, and some brine and sulphur springs. SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is mostly clay and argillaceous loam, and is highly fertile. The timber of the county, is beech, maple, linden, elm, red, black and white oak, hickory, hemlock, pine, black and white ash, &c. The southern part of the county is more heavily wooded than the northern. PURSUITS. Agriculture is the principal pursuit, and the attention of the farmers is divided between the culture of grain and the rearing of cattle. The county, however, may properly be ranked among the grain counties. Manufactures receive some attention, particularly those of flour, lumber, leather, fulled cloths, iron, and distilled liquors. There is but one harbor on the lake, and very little commerce, nor are there any mines of importance. THE STAPLE PRODUCTIONS of the county are wheat, oats, corn, potatoes and lumber; a considerable quantity of butter and cheese are also produced. SCHOOLS. There are in the county 134 public schools, taught, during the year 1846, an average period of eight months. In these schools, 9841 children received instruction, at an expense for tuition of $11,226. The district libraries contained 16,895 volumes. There were in the county the same year, sixteen private schools, with 313 pupils; three academies and one female seminary, with 330 students. RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Universalists, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Friends, and Dutch Reformed. There are forty-one churches, and fifty-nine clergymen, of all denominations, in the county. HISTORY. This county was first settled by emigrants from New England. It was all included in the grant to Massachusetts; the towns of Barre, Carlton, Gaines, Ridgeway, Shelby, and Yates were comprised in the Holland Land Company's purchase; whilst Murray, Clarendon, and Kendall, belonged to the Pulteney estate. Murray, the oldest town in the county, was organized in 1808, In a settlement so recent, there is of course little of historical interest. In Ridgeway and its vicinity are remains of Indian fortifications. : VILLAGES. ALBION, a village in the town of Barre, is the seat of justice for the county. It is pleasantly situated upon the canal, near the centre of the county. A flourishing female seminary is here located, and an incorporated academy. It is surrounded by a rich and fertile country, and is a neat and thriving village. Population, 1600. Holley is a pleasant village in the town of Murray. It has some manufactures. A short distance east of the village, is the Holley embankment, one of the largest on the canal, elevated seventy-six feet above the creek. Population 400. Medina, a thriving village in the town of Murray, was incorporated in 1832. It has some manufactures. Population, 1200. Knowlesville, in the same town, is a growing village. Population, 600. Gaines, in the town of the same name, has an incorporated academy. Population, 700. 1. Chemung, 1791. 2. Elmira. Elmira, 1792. 3. Catharines, 1798. 4. Big Flats, 1822. 5. Erin, 1822. TOWNS. 6. Southport, 1822. 7. Catlin, 1823. 8. Veteran, 1823. 9. Cayuta, 1824. 10. Dix, 1835. Rivers. O. Chemung. b. Newtown Creek. c. Catharine's. d. BOUNDARIES. North by Steuben and Tompkins; East by Tompkins and Tioga; South by the state of Pennsylvania; and West by Steuben county. SURFACE. This county forms part of the great table land extending from the counties of Ulster and Greene, to the vicinity of Lake Erie. Its mean elevation is about 1600 feet above tide water, but the northern portion declines gradually toward Seneca Lake, whose waters are but 456 feet above the level of the ocean. The streams which pass through the county divide this otherwise level surface into ridges, their banks being very high and precipitous. RIVERS. The Chemung or Tioga river is the principal stream of the county. The other streams are, Cayuta Creek, forming part of the eastern boundary, Wynkoop, Baldwin's and Newtown Creeks, tributaries of the Chemung, and Catharine's Creek, an inlet of Seneca Lake. LAKES. Cayuta Lake, in the northeastern part, is the only pond of importance in the county. Seneca Lake forms a portion of the northern boundary. CANALS. The Chemung canal connects the village of Elmira with Seneca Lake. RAILROADS. The route of the New York and Erie railroad is laid out through this county. CLIMATE. The climate, like that of the table land generally, is cool, but salubrious. The vicinity of Seneca Lake exerts some influence in modifying it. GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The basis rock is secondary graywacke slate, sometimes mingled with shale, at others compact, and forming fine building stone. It is covered with a fine, close grained sandstone. In the northern part of the county are beds of limestone. The surface rocks belong to the Chemung sandstone, except a small tract around Seneca Lake, where the Helderberg limestone makes its appearance. The mineral productions of Chemung county are few, and generally unimportant. There is some marl, in various parts of the county, and gypsum in Catharines and Catlin. VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is generally fertile; the pine plains in the towns of Big Flats and Elmira, which were formerly deemed worthless, are found by the application of plaster, to yield abundant crops. The timber of the county is white pine, hemlock, spruce, oak, maple, elm, beech, ash, linden, |