A TRAVELER ON THE GENESEE ROAD
Among the many records of travelers on the famous Genesee Road, that of
Timothy Bigelow, as given in his _Journal of a Tour to Niagara Falls in
the Year 1805_,[40] approaches perhaps most nearly to the character of a
description of the old highway which should be presented here:
"July 14th. We proceeded [from Albany] to Schenectady to breakfast,
fifteen miles, Beale's tavern; a good house. A new turnpike is making
from Albany to this place; it is constructed in a very durable manner,
with a pavement covered with hard gravel. That part which is completed
is now an excellent road; the remainder will soon be equally good. It
was not disagreeable to us to be informed that this road, and indeed all
the other turnpikes, and most other recent works which we met with,
which required uncommon ingenuity or labor, were constructed by Yankees.
"Schenectady seems not to be a word fitted to common organs of speech.
We heard it pronounced Snacketady, Snackedy, Ksnackidy, Ksnactady,
Snackendy, and Snackady, which last is much the most common. To
Ballston, Bromeling's, sixteen miles; a most excellent house. We found
here about forty guests, but understood there were upwards of two
hundred at Aldrich's, McMasters's, and the other boarding-houses near.
Bromeling himself has accommodations in the first style for one hundred
and thirty persons.
"We met with but few people here from Massachusetts. Mr. Henry Higginson
and his wife, Mr. Bingham, the bookseller, and his family, were all we
knew. The mineral water was not agreeable to us all upon the first
experiment; but with others, and myself in particular, it was otherwise.
It is remarkably clear and transparent; the fixed air, which is
continually escaping from it, gives it a sparkling appearance, and a
lively and full taste, not unlike to that of brisk porter or champagne
wine, while one is actually drinking.... We slept at Beals's. July
17th, we took the western stage in company with a Mr. Row, a gentleman
from Virginia, who was about to engage in trade at Geneva, on the Seneca
Lake. We crossed over to the north side of the Mohawk soon after setting
out, to Schwartz's (still in Schenectady), a poor house, seven miles;
thence to Pride's in Amsterdam, nine miles. Pride's is a handsome
limestone house, built about fifty years since, as we were informed, by
Sir William Johnson, for his son-in-law, Guy Johnson.... To Abel's in
Amsterdam, situated on Trapp's Hill, opposite to the mouth of Schoharie
River and the old Fort Hunter, to dine. The prospect to the south-west
is extensive and romantic, exhibits an agreeable mixture of hills and
plains, diversified with extensive forests almost in a state of nature,
and cultivated fields scarce less extensive, now covered with a rich
harvest of ripening wheat. The prospect was the principal thing which we
found in this place to recommend it. The tavern is a poor one, and our
dinner of course was miserable. Four miles to Shepard's, in
Canajoharie, to sleep.... The Mohawk in many places was shoal, and
interrupted with so many islands and sand-banks that we were often at a
loss to conceive how loaded boats could pass, and yet we saw several
going up-stream with heavy loads.... July 18th. To Carr's at Little
Falls, to breakfast, twenty miles; a very good house. In this stage, we
passed the East Canada Creek. Observed for the very first time the
cypress-tree. The gloomy, melancholy air of this tree, and the deep
shade which it casts, resulting from the downward direction of its
branches, as well as the form and color of its leaves, have very
properly marked it out as emblematical of mourning.
"On approaching the Little Falls, we observed undoubted marks of the
operation of the water on rocks, now far out of their reach,
particularly the round holes worn out [by] pebbles kept in a rotatory
motion by the current, so common at all falls. It is certain that
heretofore the falls must have been some ways further down stream, and
have been much greater than they now are, and that the German flats,
and other low grounds near the river above, must have been the bed of a
lake. The falls occupy about half a mile. In some spots, the river is so
crowded between rocks, that one might almost pass across it; in most
places, however, it is broken into a number of streams by irregular
masses of limestone rock. There is here a commodious canal for the
passage of boats cut round these falls. The whole fall is fifty-four
feet; and there are five locks, in each of which the fall is ten feet,
besides the guard-lock, where it is four. The locks are constructed of
hewn stone, and are of excellent workmanship; they are almost exactly
upon the construction of those at the head of Middlesex canal. Most of
the buildings in the neighborhood, as well as two beautiful bridges over
the canal here, are also of limestone. Carr and his wife are from
Albany, and are agreeable and genteel people.
"To Trowbridge's Hotel, in Utica, to dine. The house is of brick, large,
commodious, and well attended. We found good fare here; in particular,
excellent wine. From Little Falls to this is twenty-two miles. In this
stage, we passed the German flats, an extensive and well-cultivated
tract of internal land on both sides the Mohawk. The town of German
Flats is on the south of the town of Herkimer, opposite thereto, on the
north side of the river. Notwithstanding the celebrity of this spot for
the excellence of its soil, we thought it not equal to that on
Connecticut River. Having passed the West Canada Creek, the hills on
both sides the river seem to subside, and open to the view an extensive
and almost unbounded tract of level and fertile country, though of a
much newer aspect than any we had seen before.
[Illustration: WESTERN NEW YORK IN 1809]
"At Utica, we passed over to the southern side of the Mohawk. The river
here is about the size of the Nashua, and from this place bends off to
the north-west. We happened to pass the bridge as a batteau was coming
up to a store at the end of it, to discharge its cargo. The water was so
shoal that the batteau grounded before it could be brought to its proper
place. A pair of horses were attached to its bows, and it was not
without the assistance of several men, added to the strength of the
horses, that it was got up to the landing-place at last.
"Morality and religion do not seem to have much hold of the minds of
people in this region. Instances of rudeness and profanity are to be met
with in almost every place, but the people engaged in unloading the
batteau were much more extravagantly and unnecessarily profane than is
common. Several persons also, whom I saw at Little Falls this morning,
told me that they knew full well that Adam could not have been the first
man, or that he must have lived much longer ago than the Scriptures
declare, because they said it must be more than five thousand years for
the Mohawk to have broken through the rocks, as it has done at those
falls.
"Utica was begun to be settled sixteen years ago, and is now a little
city, and contains several elegant dwelling-houses, some of which are of
brick, and a few of stone, together with a great number of stores and
manufactories of different kinds. The Lombardy poplar-tree is cultivated
here in great abundance. The facility of transportation by means of the
Mohawk and Hudson Rivers on one side, and Wood Creek, Oneida, and
Ontario Lakes on the other, together with the extraordinary fertility of
the adjacent country, must at no great distance of time make Utica a
place of great business and resort, and of course its population must
rapidly increase. Moses Johnson, a broken trader, late of Keene, now of
Manlius, a little above this place, whom we saw at Trowbridge's, spoke
of this country as not favorable for traders, and that a very few stores
of goods would overstock the market. It is natural, however, for people
in his situation to ascribe their misfortunes to anything rather than
their own imprudence or misconduct, which others would probably consider
as the true cause of them. Mr. Charles Taylor and his father, whom we
had overtaken at Shepard's, we left at Utica.
"July 19th. To Laird's in Westmoreland, to breakfast, eleven miles; a
very good house. Our breakfast here was garnished with a dish of
excellent honey. Every thing in and about the house was neat, and we
were particularly struck with the genteel and comely appearance of two
young ladies, daughters of our landlord, one of whom, we were told, had
attended a ball in the neighborhood, I think at Paris, the evening
before. This stage was over a tract of very fertile country, nearly
level, but a little ascending; the growth was mostly of rock-maple and
lime-tree. We passed a creek in New Hartford, called Sawguet, or Sogwet,
or Sacada [Sauquoit], and another in a corner of Paris called Kerry, or
Riscana, say Oriskany. The whole country from Utica to this place is
thickly settled. The houses are mostly well built, and many of them
handsome; very few log houses to be seen. Young orchards are numerous
and thrifty, and Lombardy poplars line the road a great part of the way;
and yet we saw not a single field which had not the stumps of the
original forest trees yet remaining in it. Honey is sent from hence to
Lake Ontario, in barrels.
"To Shethar's in Sullivan, eighteen miles, to dine; a good tavern. The
face of the country is not so level here as about Utica, though it
cannot be called hilly, even here. In addition to the forest trees which
we had before seen, we here found the shag-bark nut tree in abundance.
In this stage, we passed through the Oneida Indian village.... In this
stage, we also passed the Skanandoa Creek, the first water we met with
which discharges itself into the ocean by the St. Lawrence, as the
Oriskany was the last which pays tribute to the Hudson.
"We next passed the Oneida Creek, which unites with the Skanandoa. The
earth in some places here is of the same color with that on Connecticut
River, where the red freestone is found. In the Oneida village, the
fields are free from stumps, the first to be met that are so from Utica
to this place.... To Tyler's in Onondaga Hollow, to sleep, twenty-one
miles. The last sixteen miles are over a very hilly country; the
Canaseraga Mountain, in particular, is four or five miles over, and very
steep....
"The country, as we approached Onondaga Hollow, we found had been
longer settled than nearer the Oneida village, because the last cession
of the Oneidas on the west, and immediately contiguous to their present
reservation, was made but six or eight years ago, whereas the country to
the westward of that had begun to be settled some time before. The town
of Manlius, in particular, has the appearance of a flourishing
settlement. This town is the first in the _Military Tract_, which is the
lands given by the State of New York as a gratuity to the officers and
soldiers of their line in the Revolutionary Army. As we were descending
into the Onondaga Hollow, we saw to the north-westward the Salina or
Onondaga Lake....
"The Onondaga Creek, which is of a convenient size for a mill-stream,
runs along the Hollow from south to north, as do all the other streams
in this country. This creek passes near the celebrated Onondaga salt
springs, which are situated about five or six miles northward from
Tyler's.... July 20th. Rose at half past two o'clock, and proceeded to
Andrew's, at Skaneateles, to breakfast, sixteen miles; a good tavern.
The country is still hilly, but very fertile. The soil is deep,--a
mixture of loam and clay. The roads here must be very bad in wet
weather. It rained last night for the first time since we commenced our
journey; and the horses' feet, in consequence thereof, slipped as if
they were travelling on snow or ice.
"Rising out of Onondaga Hollow is a long and very steep hill. The road
is constructed on the southern side of a precipice, in such a manner
that, as you approach the top of the hill, you have a tremendous gulf on
your left hand, at the bottom of which you hear the murmur of a brook
fretting among the rocks, as it is passing on toward the Onondaga Creek,
which it joins in the Hollow. There is a kind of railing or fence,
composed of logs secured with stakes or trees, which is all that
prevents the passenger, and even the road itself, from falling to the
bottom of the gulf. On the hill we found the embryo of a village. A
court-house is already built, and the frame of a hotel is raised. The
hotel, we were told, is to be kept by one Brunson. It is an
accommodation much needed by travellers on this road.
"To Harris's in Cayuga, fifteen miles, to dine. We here had an excellent
dinner of beefsteaks. Mr. Harris told us that they could keep beef fresh
four or five days, in hot weather, by hanging it upon the
trees--wrapping it in flannel--as high as was convenient. Flannel is
better to wrap it in than linen.
"The village of Cayuga is small, but pleasant and lively. It is in the
township of Marcellus, on the eastern bank of the Cayuga Lake, within
one or two miles of its northern extremity. This lake is about two miles
wide in general, and almost forty miles long. Nearly north and south
from the village, there are about fifteen miles of the lake in sight.
The shores are mostly of hard land, except at the northern extremity,
where there is a great deal of marsh, which is an unfavorable
circumstance for the village, as it is not only disagreeable to the
sight, but, I think, also to the smell. There is a wooden bridge across
the lake, leading from Cayuga village towards Geneva, one mile long,
wanting three roods. It suffered so much by shocks of the ice last
winter, that in some places it is hardly safe to pass it. This forenoon
we had passed the outlet of the Owasco Lake, but did not see the lake
itself, which we were told was about a mile south of the road. The
country hitherto is somewhat uneven, though by no means so much so as
near the Onondaga Hollow. The soil, however, is excellent in many
places, and is of a reddish color.
"To Powell's Hotel in Geneva, to sleep, sixteen miles; excellent
accommodations. At Harris's we had met with a Mr. Rees, a gentleman in
trade at Geneva, who took passage in the stage with us for that place.
From this gentleman, whom we found very intelligent and communicative,
we learned many particulars concerning the salt springs, discovered
about five years since upon the Cayuga outlet. These springs are about
twelve miles below the Cayuga bridge, and are on both sides the outlet:
that on the western side is in the township of Galen, and belongs to Mr.
Rees and his partner in trade. These springs had long been known to the
Indians, but they had always been reserved in communicating their
knowledge of the state of the country to the white settlers. It was not
till most or all of those who lived near this outlet had died or moved
away, except one, that he mentioned the existence of these springs; and
for a reward he conducted some persons to the place where they are
situated. The persons to whom he communicated this information
endeavored to purchase the favored spot before the owner should be
apprised of its inestimable value; but he accidentally obtained a
knowledge of his good fortune, and of course refused to sell....
The road from Cayuga to Geneva is for a few miles along the southern or
south-eastern side, and the rest along the northern or north-eastern
side of the Seneca outlet. The face of the country near the road is more
level; but the soil is more sandy and uninviting than we had lately
seen, till we approached near to Geneva. The land there is excellent, as
we were told it was, through all the tract which extends between the
Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. This tract rises in a kind of regular glacis
from each lake, so that from the middle of it one can see both. It wants
nothing but inhabitants and cultivation to make it an elysium. The
Seneca outlet flows into the lower end of the Cayuga Lake. Towards its
mouth there is a considerable fall, or rather rapid, which it is
contemplated to lock, whereby a water communication will be opened
between the two lakes. The stream is about half the size of the
Winnipiseogee, and has a bluish-white appearance.
"We were within half a mile of Geneva before we came in sight of the
Seneca Lake. This charming sheet of water extends southerly from this
place to Catharine Town, forty miles, being from two to four miles wide.
There is not a foot of swamp or marsh on its borders, from one extremity
to the other; but it is everywhere lined by a clear, gravelly beach, and
the land rises from it with a very gentle and graceful ascent in every
direction....
"Not far from Geneva are some of the Indian orchards, which were cut
down by General Sullivan in his famous expedition, scarce less barbarous
than those of the savages themselves. The trees now growing in these
orchards sprouted from the roots of those which were cut down, and
therefore grow in clusters, six or seven rising from one root. We saw
Indian fields here free from stumps, the only ones which are to the
westward of Utica, except those belonging to the Oneidas. We were told
that, at this season of the year, the wind at Geneva blows constantly
from the south in the forenoon, and from the north in the afternoon. We
here quitted the stage, which runs no further than Canandaigua, and
hired an open Dutch wagon and driver, and a single horse, to carry us to
Niagara.... The turnpike road ends at this place [Canandaigua]. The
whole length from Albany is two hundred and six or seven miles: it may
properly be called two turnpikes, which join each other at Utica. A
project is on foot for still extending the turnpike even to Niagara, a
direct course to which would not probably exceed one hundred miles.
"Mr. Rees told us yesterday that he was engaged to proceed to-morrow
with certain commissioners to mark out the course of the road, and that
the proprietors will begin to work upon it next year. The road may not
be very good property at first, but will probably soon become so,
judging from the astonishing rapidity with which this country is
settled. It is ascertained that one thousand families migrated hither
during the last year, two thirds of whom were from New England.
"To Hall's in Bloomfield, to sleep, twelve miles; very good house. We
had an excellent supper and clean beds. The town of Bloomfield has been
settled about fifteen years, and is now in a flourishing state. Here is
a handsome new meeting-house with a tasty steeple. The vane on the
steeple is rather whimsical. It is a flying angel, blowing a trumpet
against the wind.... To Hosmer's in Hartford, to breakfast, twelve and a
half miles. Between Bloomfield and this, we passed through Charleston,
which has but recently been reclaimed from the wilderness. It is
perfectly flat, the soil is pretty good, though better, and more settled
at some distance from the road than near it. The reason of cutting the
road where it goes was because the country in that direction was open,
when it was first explored, between this place and Lake Ontario, which
is but twenty-eight miles distant, or to Gerundegut [now Toronto] Bay,
but twenty-two miles....
"Hitherto we have found better roads since we left the turnpike than
before, except that the bridges and causeways are mostly constructed
with poles. Hosmer, our landlord, is an intelligent man and keeps a good
tavern. We had for breakfast good coffee, excellent tea, loaf sugar,
mutton chop, waffles, berry pie, preserved berries, excellent bread,
butter, and a salad of young onions. I mention the particulars, because
some of the articles, or such a collection, were hardly to be expected
in such a depth of wilderness.
"To Gansen's in Southampton, twelve and a half miles, to dine. Within
about a mile of Hosmer's, we passed the Genesee River. The outlet of the
Conesus Lake joins this river about a mile above, or to the south. Where
we crossed, there is a new bridge, apparently strong and well built; and
yet the water last spring undermined one end of it, so that it has sunk
considerably....
"Gansen's is a miserable log house. We made out to obtain an ordinary
dinner. Our landlord was drunk, the house was crowded with a dozen
workmen, reeking with rain and sweat, and we were, withal, constantly
annoyed with the plaintive and frightful cries and screams of a crazy
woman, in the next room. We hastened our departure, therefore, even
before the rain had ceased.
"To Russell's in Batavia, twelve miles, to sleep. One mile from
Gansen's, we crossed Allen's Creek, at Buttermilk Falls, where there are
mills, and five miles further the Chookawoonga Creek, near the eastern
transit line of the Holland purchase. This line extends from the bounds
of Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, a distance of near ninety-four miles.
So far, the road was the worst of any we had seen; and none can be much
worse and be passable for wheels. Within six miles of Batavia, the road
is much better, and the land of a good quality, heavily timbered all the
way, but especially near the settlement. It is but three years since
this spot was first cleared, and it is now a considerable village. Here
is a large building, nearly finished, intended for a court-house, jail,
and hotel, under the same roof. The street is perfectly level, and is
already a good and smooth road. Here is also an excellent mill, on a
large and commodious scale, situated on the Tonawanda Creek, which is
the first water we saw which passes over Niagara Falls. Russell's is a
poor tavern. We were told that our sheets were clean, for they had been
slept in but a _few_ times since they were washed.
"July 23d. To Luke's in Batavia, to breakfast, five miles. We intended
to have stopped at McCracken's, one mile short of this, but we were told
that we could not be accommodated. The exterior appearance of both
houses was very much alike; they are log huts, about twelve feet square.
Luke's consisted of a single room, with a small lean-to behind, which
served for a kitchen. It contained scarce any furniture, not even
utensils enough to serve us comfortably for breakfast....
"It was but eighteen months since Luke began a settlement here, and he
was the first who made the attempt between Batavia and Vandevener's, a
distance of eighteen miles, though in that distance now there are
several huts. Taverns like Luke's are not uncommon in this vicinity;
almost every hut we saw had a sign hung out on a pole or stump,
announcing that it was an inn. Perhaps such complete poverty did not
exist in them all as we found at Luke's, yet, judging from external
appearances, the difference could not be great.
"We passed the Tonawanda near Batavia court-house, and then kept along
its southern bank to this place. The woods are full of new settlers.
Axes were resounding, and the trees literally falling about us as we
passed. In one instance, we were obliged to pass in a field through the
smoke and flame of the trees which had lately been felled and were just
fired.
"To Vandevener's in Willink, thirteen miles. We had intended only to
dine here; but by reason of a thunder shower, and the temptation of
comfortable accommodations, we concluded not to proceed till next day.
Our last stage was through the Batavia woods, famed for their horrors,
which were not abated by our having been informed at Russell's, that not
far from here a white man had lately been killed by the Indians. We
found the road much better than we had anticipated; the last four miles
were the worst. A little labor would make the road all very good, at
least in dry weather. There is another way to come from Batavia here;
but it is six miles further, and probably little or no better than this.
"It was but three years since Vandevener began here. He at first built a
log house, but he has now a two-story framed house, adjoining that. His
whole territory is five hundred acres, one hundred of which he has
already got under improvement....
"July 23d. To Ransom's in Erie, to breakfast, fourteen miles. Ransom
came from Great Barrington in Massachusetts, and settled here last
September.... The last three miles from Ellicott's Creek to Ransom's is
a new road cut through a thick wood, and is as bad as any part of the
road through the Batavia woods.
"To Crow's at Buffalo Creek, eight miles. In this stage, we passed
the Four Mile Creek. Half the distance from Ransom's was over open
country, ... in which many young chestnut-trees are just sprouting from
the ground. The rest of our way was through a thick wood, where the
growth is the same kind as in the interior of Massachusetts....
"From Buffalo we passed along the beach of Lake Erie, to the ferry
across its outlet on the Niagara River, at Black Rock, so called, three
miles...."