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GIFT OF
A. H. Wright FundHISTORICAL SKETCHES

OF THE
VILLAGE and TOWNSHIP
GAINES
Published by the
CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
19 0 9
Wo“Time speeds away, away, away;
Another hour, another day,
Another month, another year,
A century gone like the leaflet sere.”■4
The Farmer’s Bank of Orleansi

CITIZENS’ MEETING
A NUMBER of the citizens of the town of Gaines
met at White’s hall Friday evening, July 9* 1909*
for the purpose of making preparations for the pro-
posed centennial celebration. The enthusiastic con-
versation being stilled by the singing of “Auld Lang Syne/*
the meeting was called to order by Miss Nellie Briar, Rack-
et Club president, H. Clure White was elected chairman and
Charles Prussia secretary. After introductory remarks by
the chairman and informal discussions, the following com-
mittees were chosen:
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
William Briar, George Bennett and Dr. F. H. Lattin.
GENERAL COMMITTEE.
District No. 1—H. R. Anderson. I
District No. 2—William Lafler.
District No. 3—Eugene Sterling.
District No. 4—C. W. Reed.
District No. 5—George Coloney.
District No. 6—Horatio Swartz.
District No. 7—James Bennett.
District No. 8—Roy Crandall.
District No. 9—Byron Densmore.
District No. 10—Edward Snyder.
District No. 11—S. W. Smith.
District No. 12—Seth Wood.
For Albion, John Bidelman, H. D. Lattin.
5-PUBLICITY COMMITTEE.
Dr. Frank W. Lattin.	H. R. Anderson.
Parade, Sports and Amusements.
O. C. Mather, Mark Cole, Nahum Lattin, Elbert Rowley.
DECORATION COMMITTEE.
George Coloney, John Wilson, William Lafler, Miss Ger-
trude Prussia, Mrs. Isaac Taylor, Miss Georgia Beachtell.
MUSICAL COMMITTEE.
Mrs. George Anderson	Charles Prussia
HISTORICAL COMMITTEE.
H. Clure White	S. T. Church Orrin C. Mather
Miss Alma Lovewell	Mrs. Effie Barnum
Miss Katherine B. Rowley	Miss Mildred Barnum
■6-HISTORY
IT WAS only one hundred years ago that the first set-
tlers came to Gaines, but they found the country cov-
ered with forests, broken only by the Indian trails and
the streams. Still, though it was yet a wilderness in-
fested by Indians and wild animals, the connection of the
white men with it had begun long before.
The states of Massachusetts and New York both claimed
this section, New York, because of the settlements of the
Dutch at Albany in 1623, Massachusetts, according to her
“sea to sea” charter, granted in 1628. It was decided that
the land should be divided, Massachusetts taking the west
half. After several changes in ownership, this part came
into the possession of Robert Morris, the patriot and finan-
cier of the Revolution. In 1793 he sold the greater part of
this land to a company of Hollanders. This tract consti-
tuted the Holland Purchase, and embraced all of New York
west of the Transit line, excepting a strip a mile wide along
the Niagara river, which belonged to the state.
In 1798 the work of surveying was begun by Joseph Elli-
cott. The first survey was of the eastern line of the Pur-
chase, from Pennsylvania to the lake. From the name of
the instrument used this line was called the Transit. After-
wards surveys were made of the two main thoroughfares of
the county, the Ridge and the Ooak Orchard roads.
At the Land Office in Batavia the records of the company
were kept and the business was done. There the settler
on the payment of a dollar, received an “article” for the
land which he had selected. This article, or contract, bound
the company to sell the land designated, the settler to pay
the remainder of the purchase price within ten years. With
■7his last payment he was to receive his deed. These articles
could be transferred from one person to another by “assign-
ment.”
According to the records of the company Elizabeth Gil-
bert^ on March 3, 1807, took out an article for land on I. 39,
T. 15, R. I, one-half mile east of the present village of
Fair Haven. The Gilberts, therefore, were the pioneers
of the town. The next article was taken out by John
Bassett April 15, 1808 for land on the south side of the
Ridge across from the Gilberts.
The history of the town really begins in 1809, as it was
then that the settlers began to come in numbers, and that ar-
ticles were given for a large part of the land along the
Ridge. Among the men coming in that year were: Sibley,
Wilcox, Leach and Burgess, west of the Oak Orchard trail;
Abigail Sager, Crippen and Drake, east. Soon afterward,
James Mather, John Proctor, William Babbitt and Robert
Anderson came. They were all important men in the his-
tory, of the new setlement.
These men and women met with all the hardships of
pioneer life. Their homes were log huts, each in its little
clearing. The flesh of the wild animals, together with sup-
plies they had brought from the east, composed their only
food. Their one means of livelihood lay in the forest, not
in selling lumber, but in burning it. When James Mather
first came, he established asheries, to which the black salts
were brought from miles around, and exchanged for bare
necessities. As time went on, more settlers came, the clear-
ings grew larger, some of the log houses were replaced by
frame, schools and stores were opened, then the mail and
stage lines started, and many more industries sprang up.
However, this settlement had its share of trouble and
danger. During the war of 1812, the American fugitives
and British deserters kept the people continually alarmed
by their reports of the skirmishes along the Niagara fron-
tier. After the burning of Lewiston, when the British and
-8'rv
'O'
The First Frame School House in the CountyIndians were marching in triumph down the Ridge, the men
of this town, with Captain McCarthy at their head, went
to meet the invaders, and did valiant service there.
The years following the war were hard ones for the set-
tlers. The harvest of 1814 was barely sufficient to keep off
Starvation. In 1816 the crops were nearly ruined by frosts,
so that many families were compelled to eat roots and herbs.
Even during the fruitful years which followed, the diffi-
culty of access to market was a great drawback.
The new settlements were always afflicted with sickness,
due to the lack of drainage. In some places there were
hardly enough healthy people to care for the sick. As the
country was cleared and the land was put under cultivation,
the health of the community improved.
The town of Ridgeway, which comprised all of the pre-
sent county of Orleans, had its first town meeting in 1813.
Oliver Booth, 2nd, was elected supervisor. In 1816 the
town of Gaines was set off from Ridgeway. Its first town-
meeting was held in Booth’s tavern. For a short time
Gaines was the county seat of Orleans. The first court was
held there in 1825, Elijah Foot being the first judge. The
legislature passed an act in 1832 making Gaines an incor-
porated village. At this time there were about four hun-
dred inhabitants. In 1838 the Farmers’ Bank of Orleans
was incorporated. After several years the bank failed, and
the village in 1854 lost its charter through dis-use.
' Schools.
The regard that the early settlers had for education is
shown by the zeal with which they started and carried on the
schools. As early as 1813 a school was conducted by Orin
Gleason in a log cabin about two miles west (of Gaines
Corners. In 1815 a log building was erected on the west
bank of Marsh Creek, and a school opened by Hannah
Strickland for the summer, and Ira H. Beach for the win-
10’ter terms. About this time a school was kept in a log hut
on Otter Creek. The first frame school house was built
in 1816 for Gaines and Fair Haven. It was situated on the
north side of the road, halfway between the two villages.
Soon afterward the district was divided, and each bulit a
school house. That same year Anna Frisbie taught in a
log building in the Bullard district. In 1817^ Five Corn-
ers had a school in a corn house, with Ruth Haywood as
teacher. In 1818 a board house was built at Otter Creek.
The first school house in Gaines Basin was erected in 1823.
Nancy Bullard taught. The Eagle Harbor school was
started in 1822. The district school at Gaines was kept at
one time in the basement of the church. There were also
several private schools in the village, among them one con-
ducted by Mr. Shafer, a Congregational minister. His
daughter, Miss Helen Shafer, was afterward president of
Wellesley College.
The first opportunity for higher education was given by
the founding of the Gaines Academy in 1827. The land
was deeded to the Academy trustees by James Mather and
wife, and Elijah Blont and wife, to revert to their heirs
when it ceased to be used for school purposes. The trus-
tees were Eldridge Farewell, Orson Nichols, Calvin Smith,
Lathrop A. G. B. Grant, Fitch Chamberlain, Eri Wood,
Jeremiah Brown, Robert Anderson, Jesse Beach, Elijah
Foot, James Mather, John Proctor and Truman Shaw.
The academy was incorporated in 1827 and admitted in
1830 to the Regents of the University of the State of New
York. The school was successful and prosperous until the
founding of other academies in the county drew the students
elsewhere.
Churches.
The Holland Land Company set aside in each town a
tract of one hundred acres, to be given to the first church
organization of the town that applied for it. In 1822 the
11-Congregational Society of Gaines village obtained the lot
for this town. It was situated on the Oak Orchard road,
about two miles from the Ridge. The first church building
between the Genesee and Niagara rivers, and between Ba-
tavia and the lake, was erected in Gaines village in 1824.
This was a union meeting-house, the Baptists and Congre-
gationalists being given the pulpit right. In 1834 the
Congregationalists built a church of their own in the east
part of the village. These were both frame buildings. The
second church building in the town was erected in Eagle
Harbor in 1827- This was a brick structure, owned by the
Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians. In 1834 John
Proctor, of Fairhaven, built, at his own expense, a stone edi-
fice at Fairhaven, and gave it to the Universalists. A com-
pany of Baptists, who had withdrawn from the Holley
church, built a meeting house in 1835 on the Transit, about
a mile from the Ridge.
■12Reminiscences of Almanzor
Hutchinson
The following article, is compiled from unpublished
remininsences of Almanzor Hutchinson.
THE FIRST store was built in Gaines in 1816, on
the spot where Bots ford’s shop now stands,
(N. E. corner) but was soon moved away.
The second, also built in 1816, was owned
by Elisha and Elijah D. Nichols. They later built
the building now occupied by Blake (Appleton). It
was then used by Nichols and Walbridge and later by
Lorenzo Collins. The third store building was erected in
1812 on the site opposite the tavern. The fourth store was
a brick building, west of the tavern, built by Ray and
Walbridge in 1825; Merrill’s failure ruined this. There
was a newspaper building about on the ground where the
Knickerbocker garden now is.
The earliest tavern was a log hut, built by Oliver Booth
previous to 1816, on the present stand. In 1816 he put on
an addition. The second, called the Mansion House, was
put up by Elijah and Elisha Nichols on the N. W. corner
where the blacksmith shop now is. It was a three story frame
building with a Masonic hall in the upper story. This build-
ing was destroyed by fire. Merrill built the third tavern in
1882 or 1833, on ground now owned by Dr. Eaman. As early
as 1824 the Babcock family built the fourth tavern on a
site opposite the Free Methodist church.
The first ashery was built by James Mather prior to
1816, near the S. E. corner of the Oak Orchard road; the
13-second by Nichols in 1816 or 1817 near Richard Andrew’s
house (Briar) ; the third was the old distillery west of Ran-
som Rice’s house, transformed into an ashery;the fourth was
the old store building south of Blake’s (Appleton) store,
used for the purpose in 1840. The first two mentioned were
for making pearline, the last two for potash. Gaines was
said to be the most important ash center in the county and
I have seen teams from Niagara, Genesee and Monroe
counties bringing salts.
The first brick yard in Gaines was opposite the meet-
ing house, about where the Charles Bidleman (Davis) house
now stands. Here the father’s of Nahum Anderson and Nel-
son Hale made brick. James Mather afterwards opened a
large brick yard on the north side of the Mather farm.
Here the brick for the Eagle Harbor church was made.
Afterward a yard was opened up by the old Academy. The
Academy, the brick building south of the Free Methodist
church, and the first Albion court house, were made of
brick from this yard.
In 1816 there was already running a small distillery,
built and managed by McAllister. It was built on the
present Hewitt farm on the north side of the Ridge by the
brook. Another one was built by Tomlinson and Stone as
early as 1820, on the lot now owned by Clure White. A
third did not run very long.
There were several saw mills in the township. One of the
earliest was built by Quaker Smith on Otter Creek near
the canal at Danold’s pond. The Bacons built a saw mill
on Marsh Creek, east of the ston$ house at Five Corners.
Before 1827 Ruggles had built a saw mill on Marsh Creek,
south of the Ridge. To this mill, as a boy of sixteen, I
drew with an ox team, logs for a house built in 1828. Later
Billings, father of D. Billings, built a mill on the creek
sixty rods north of the Ridge. There was a mill at Otter
Creek on the Broadwell farm and one built near Johnson
Brown’s, not far from Eagle Harbor. In 1830 the Quaker
■14'Smithy the Delano and the Gates mills were running a cloth
dressing establishment, also fence manufacturing, etc., was
connected with the Delano mill. Gates afterwards built a
grist mill.
James Mather, father of George, built a double saw
mill just south of the canal in the town of Gaines at Eagle
Harbor, in 1829 or 1830 I think. He used the embank-
ment of the canal as his dam also got water from waste
weir of canal. This mill ran many years. Later a cloth
dressing establishment was built on the south side of the
canal, using water from the canal. That was running dur-
ing the year 1833 and 1834 while I taught there. Still
later there was a turning lathe and other machinery in the
same place. These also used water from the canal. The
cloth dressing establishment had gone out. About this time
|a grist mill was built by General Beach. Johnson Brown
I bought James Mather out, and when Beach wanted to build
|a grist mill, he gave the farm where Brown now lives, for
jhis farm. That mill burned down and Willis P. Collins
built a ne wone. This mill burned. The Danolds mill was
| built by Seaton, who owned the farm and Willis P. Collins.
He failed and the mill passed into Beach’s hands. This
! was a frame building and burned. Then Beach built a stone
mill, which was owned by Rackham and Backus. This also
was burned. The Danolds’ mill was built before the one
; on the canal. The present mill, now owned by Danolds,
was built by him. It is a frame building inside of stone
walls.
At one time there was a horse tread power mill at Gaines.
; Afterwards the cloth from here was fulled at Waterport.
Every village had a full set of mechanics. Gaines had
two tanneries, a newspaper, two or three blacksmiths, hat-
ter, clothier, watchmaker, etc.
In the summer of 1816 a school house was built across
the Ridge on Vincent Tomlinson’s land. (This is the build-
ing now occupied by N. G. Barnum). This building was
•1516-
The First Church Between the Genesee and Niagara Riversused for the undivided district; scholars came from Row-
ley’s Corners and from west of the present Anderson school
house. Ira H. Beach, a brother of Dr. Jesse Beach I think,
was the first teacher in the winter of 1816 and 1817. The
boys took turns building the fires. A man gave my father
a chair, for making the fire when his boy’s turn came. In
about two years the district was divided and a school house
was built about 1-2 mile east of Fairhaven, up to this time
there was no school building in Gaines, but a log hut,
standing where the Blake (Sandle) brick house is, was
used. At this time the district division between Gaines and
Fairhaven was made, the division line being placed on the
section here as it now stands. The building in Gaines was
probably erected in 1819 as I attended in 1820. In the
same year Mr. Tracy, grand father of Alvah Anderson, oc-
cupied the old school building as a dwelling.
While going to school in Gaines I told my first political
lie; I was with a boy up by Mr. Knickerbocker’s house.
We could see the tavern sign. We met a man who asked me
who kept the tavern. I told him. He asked whom he would
vote for. I said I didn’t know. I thought if I told him,
he might not stop with father. Father was a Clinton man.
The old Academy building was erected in . 1825 and was
the first academy between the Genesee and the Niagara
rivers. It was opened in 1827 with Huff as the first princi-
pal. Upon my entrance I was promoted to a grade higher
than some of my mates because I could count in Latin. In
the fall and winter of 1827 and 1828 I went to school at
the academy. In 1828 the school was run by the monitorial
system. In the fall and winter of 1828 and 1829 I was sick
but attended school in the spring of 1829- I went to school
that summer but that winter 1829 and 1830 I taught at
Baldwins Corners for $20 per month. In the winter of
1830 and 1831 I taught west of Two Bridges. In the
summer I again attended the academy.
The Gaines academy started with Mr. Huff as principal.
L7-David M. Gazley followed him, with a Mr. Taylor as vice-
principal. In 1830 L. S. Morgan was principal and I vice-
principal a part of the time. Clary, Littlefield and Bates
were some of the most successful teachers and Lyman S.
Lovell was the last teacher. Among the students that year
were Nahum Anderson, Harmin Daniels (afterwards Rev.),
Richardson (afterwards an editor), Kemp from Newfane
also Albright Frisby, of Holley, Ingersoll of Albion, Miss
Caroline Phipps, who started the Albion seminary, and a
Miss Dana, a relative of C. A. Dana editor of the New
York Sun. Of the two students studying Latin with me the
first year, one became a lawyer and settled in Geneseo, the
other was C. Ellis, a poet.
The early religious teachers of the settlement—Congre-
gational missionaries, sent out by their boards; Baptists,
sent by the boards or local elders, and Methodist circuit
riders. The early organizations were too feeble to build
houses of worship. In 1824, when it was hoped that Gaines
might secure the county buildings, a group of business men
felt that a church building would advance the interests
of the town, so formed a building association. and erected
the present Free Methodist church building. The cost was
$1,200 and all the heavy materials were secured in the
county. The pulpit right was given to the Congregational
and Baptist denominations, to be occupied by each on alter-
nate Sabbaths and by other denominations when not used
by them. This was the first house built for public worship
north of Batavia, as it was the first one on the Ridge
Road between Rochester and Lewiston.
In 1817 the first Sunday school was organized by Miss
Charlotte Cummings, later wife of Oliver Booth 2nd. The
Baptist society was probably the first, for tradition says
that while the Baptists were talking about getting the gospel
lot, the Congregational society was organized and as the first
religious society, and secured it. The church was organized
in 1821, and the gospel lot was deeded to the trustees of
18-the First Congregational society of the town in 1822, by
the Holland Land Company.
The Congregationalists and Baptists used the meeting
house in common until 1834, when the Congregationalists
built the church in the east part of the town, and deeded
theif rights in the other building to the Methodist-Episco-
pal society. In 1840 the Methodist interest was deeded to
John Proctor and for several years was used part of the
time by the Universalists. In 1847 the Congregational so-
cieties divided, but united in 1864 to form the present or-
ganization. In 1869 the west church building was deeded
to the Free Methodist society.
--------1.9Stage Coaching on the Ridge
Road
MANY ages ago the Ridge Road marked the south-
ern limit of Lake Ontario. Extending from the
Genesee river on the east to the Niagara on the
west, a distance of about 78 miles, it, from time
immemorial, afforded the Indians a trail through which
they passed from one hunting ground to another. As early
as 1798 the Indians had made known to the white men
that this trail existed, and Judge Augustus Porter had sent
men to trace a road through near its present location. How-
ever, a century ago, the pioneers found this road obstructed
by giant forest trees, and were obliged to ford the streams
as they came to them, as best they might.
It was not until April, 1814 when by an act of the legis-
lature, $5,000 was appropriated and commissioners appoint-
ed to superintend its construction, that the Ridge became a
fairly good wagon road. In 1815 under an act passed by
the legislature, the Ridge road was regularly laid out and
established.
In the early days the pioneers were obliged to go either
to Batavia or Clarkson for their mail, but in 1815 a mail
was carried over the Ridge road twice a week on horseback
by James Brown. The first post office in the county was
established at Gaines, July 1st, 1816, through the efforts
of Wm. J. Babbitt. He was the first postmaster and the post
office was located in the log house in which he lived, on the
farm now owned by O. C. Knapp.
The first daily stage route was established in 1816, and
the mails were carried through three times a week in car-
20riages, drawn by.two horses. This route ran west from
Canandaigua to Buffalo, via the Ridge road, Lewiston and
Niagara Falls, and was controlled by the Coe brothers. It
was later owned by a man named Hildreth. Among other
early proprietors of the stages were Hiram Hubbard, S. A.
Childs & Co., of Rochester, and Silas Walbridge, of Clark-
sop. The Pioneer line was established in 1828. This route
left the Ridge at Wrights Corners for Lockport. It met
with much competition and was. discontinued in about two
years.
The coaches used were the old-fashioned elliptical box
pattern, resting on longitudinal leather springs and con-
tained four interior seats. In the winter season a coach
box of different pattern was used, resting on bobs. This
was rectangular in form with side doors and windows, and
with the same seating capacity as the former.
The passengers paid both first and second class fares,—
a first class ticket insuring the owners an inside seat. As
there was room for only twelve'passengers on the inside of
the coach, the top wopld often be crowded, as well, the bag-
gage furnishing seats for the travelers. *
As the country became settled and population increased,
more taverns were needed to accommodate the tide of travel,
and many, more or less pretentious, were erected along the
route. The town of Gaines at one time .contained at least
ten, each one doing a flourishing business.
Often the stage drivers might be seen racing their teams
for the nearest tavern, the one arriving first securing the
largest number of passengers.
On entering Gaines from the east, the first stop was
made at the Five-mile House, or Huff’s tavern, which was
erected by John Huff 4n 1816, and afterwards occupied by
Wm. Huff, Jerry Dunn and Horatio N. Ball. Here the
mail carriers between Canandaigua and Lewiston used to
stop over night.
After the death of Mr. Ball in 1873, the hotel was closed,
-------------------------21 - —1
22
The Five Mile Houseand has never been re-opened. It is now occupied by his
daughter, Mrs. B. Swart and her sons. Many gay paring
bees, quilting parties and balls were held in this old inn.
Of one of these paring bees Mrs. Swart relates the follow-
ing incident:
One evening a gay paring bee was in progress in the old
Five-mile House, and when the fun was at its height, sud-
denly it was announced that a wedding iwould take place.
Accordingly, Esquire who was present, stepped forward
and united the happy couple for life. T^ee astonished
guests not to be outdone in providing entertainment for
the evening, hastily summoned musicians and forthwith pro-
ceeded to celebrate the event by a ball.
The East Gaines hotel or Perry House, was erected by
Peter Runion in 1826. It was a two-story wooden build-
ing with a veranda in front and stood on the south side
of the Ridge, just east of the corners. At one time one of
the most popular stopping places along the Ridge, it has
long since disappeared. Successive proprietors were Silas
Perry, Hugh Doyle and D. S. Rockwell.
The first tavern at Fair Haven was kept by Noah Bur-
gess. It stood on the south side of the Ridge about 1-4
mile west of the corners. It was subsequently occupied by
Wm. McCollister, Ebenezer Hutchinson, (father of Hon.
Alamanzor Hutchinson,) and Gershom Proctor. The pre-
sent Fair Haven hotel was built in 1824 by Samuel Percival.
Travel had now increased to such an extent that from
eight to ten coaches passed through daily, carrying emi-
grants, business men and visitors to Niagara Falls. Gaines
was probably at this time, the most important village on
the Ridge, and when the stage driver blew his horn
as he reached the eastern boundary of the Hutchinson farm,
and, cracking his whip over his six-horse team, made a
grand entrance into the village, a general bustle ensued.
The crowd usually centered around the Mansion House,
■23-which was erected by Wm. Perry in 1816, and stood on the
northwest corner of the Ridge.
It has been described as a large three-story wooden
buildings with high Grecian columns; and was one of the
oldest and most imposing structures of the kind between the
Niagara and Genesee rivers. At this hotel the stages stop-
ped for refreshments and to change horses. Among the
many noted guests entertained under its roof; perhaps the
most distinguished were Gen. Scott and Henry Clay, the
latter of w|iog*i gave an informal reception in its parlors to
many leading men of the county. The proprietors of the
Mansion House were Wm. Perry; Selah Bronson; P. Mc-
Omber; E. Curtis,- Bronson & Collins; Sam. Scoville; E. S.
Butler; PI. C. White; (formerly of the Frontier House at
Lewiston) and S. D. Walbridge. This hotel was burned in
1844.
The first tavern in the village of Gaines was built by
Oliver Booth in 1811; and stood near the site of the pre-
sent hotel. It was a log structure one and a half stories
high; with a big chimney in the middle and two front en-
trances—one leading into the bar room; the other into the
general reception; dining and sleeping room and
containedin all five rooms. In this tavern was held
the first town meeting; April 2, 1816. It was soon
replaced by a frame building having two large chimneys at
each end; which jvas afterwards lengthened on the east side,
giving it the present shape. Booth was succeeded by
Chauncy Woodsworth and Pemberton. Martin and Starr,
Lewis, Butler, John Hutchinson, S. D. Walbridge, D. Wal-
bridge, E. C. Belote, G. S. Hutchinson, L. S. Palmer, L.
Whitney and A. Thurber were some of the subsequent pro-
prietors.
Other hotels in the village were the Pioneer House, built
in 1825 or 1826, west of the Oak Orchard road on the south
side of the Ridge, and run by Mrs. Agrippa Furman, and
■24*one kept by Dr. Babcock in a brick dwelling erected about
the same time on the southwest corner of Academy avenue.
It is said that Wm. Sibley in 1809* built the first tavern
north of LeRoy, Genesee Co., on the Ridge road near West
Gaines. This primitive structure, built of hemlock boughs
with a thatched roof, was soon replaced by a log tavern,
built by the wayside for the road was not yet completely
cleared. In 1825 Reuben C. Gunn built a hotel on the south
east corner of the cross roads at West Gaines, and another
was built in about 1826 by Zelotus Sheldon on the south-
west corner, and was afterwards kept by John Bannister
and E. Durkee. In about 1829 Harvey Noble built a hotel
further east, which was kept by W. Durkee, and afterwards
by the owner, H. Noble. This hotel was burned in 1900.
Stage coaching gradually declined until about 1850, when
it was superseded by the railroads, and one after another
these old taverns closed their doors to the public and became
private residences, until now in 1909* only one, the Thurber
House, built on the site of the old Booth tavern in the vil-
lage of Gaines, keeps open.
The glory of the stage coach has departed, and in its
place huge automobiles suddenly appear and as quickly
disappear, enveloped inclouds of dust blinding the behold-
er, but the grand old Ridge still remains—bordered on
either side by magnificent shade trees, beautiful villages,
and productive farms, whose orchards are said to yield the
best apples in the world.
•25Land Marks
MANY of the first public and business buildings
erected in the village of Gaines still remain,
viz:—the two churches, the first meeting place
of the Baptists, the academy, three hotels,
Gaines Tavern still in use as such, Pioneer House
and American Hotel.	The old grist mill built by
Perry Davis who installed the first steam engine in this
county, the saw mill on whose log car so many of the young-
sters rode back and forth; the first bank building in the
county, three store buildings, the brick on the north side of
Ridge, now kept by H. Knickerbocker and the wood build-
ing on the south side now kept by A. A. Appleton, the
Hawkins store on the southeast corner, now used as a dwell-
ing and the office of Dr. Beach.
The Masonic Hall in the second story of the Charles
Prussia residence where the first Chapter of Royal Arch
Masons in the county had a home, still remains just the
same, but the companions have all departed to that celes-
tial Lodge above, from whose bourn no traveler ever re-
turns. Here it was the notorious Mr. Morgan on his way
west paid his respects to Mr. Elihu Mather.
26Anecdotes
EXTRACTS from a letter from W. Oakley Rug-
gles, read at the Semi-Centennial Meeting of
Gaines Congregational churchy August 26, 1874:
Burnham’s connection with this church happen-
ed in this wise—somewhat irregular, but perhaps worth
mentioning. With his usual astuteness, and with an eye to
economy, he stabled his cow under the churchy which he
found no difficulty in doing, as the door had long been
broken down, and the “black hole,” as the boys called it,
was open to all comers from the outside world. Burnham
waxed fat and prosperous in those days, for his cow had
yielded him a sturdy bull calf, now growing to a two-year-
old. It so happened about those days that there was what
was called a protracted meeting of evening sessions held in
the church. People came from far around, and filled the
house. The interest was great, and much good was done;
conversions were many, and folks lived better lives. On
one of those nights, when the house was crammed to suffo-
cation, and after the clergyman had preached a fervent
sermon, and given out a hymn, he called on repentent sin-
ners to come forward for prayers. In the midst of tjie
singing and deep solemnity of the hour, the two-year-old
underneath raised his voice. He started off on a high key-
a split soprano—then a cracked tenor—rand finished with a
droning bass,—which performance he repeated several
times to the dismay of the preacher, quite upsetting the
gravity of the elders, on whose faces twinkled broad grins,
while the youngsters revelled in downright laughter. Meet-
ing closed early and the bull-calf was summarily ejected
from his comfortable shelter, thus closing Burnham’s pseudo
connection with this church.■28
The Mansion HouseDeacon Perry Davis was one of the most enterprising
men that Gaines ever had. He built a grist mill and a small
iron foundry. A part of these buildings now stand north-
west of the corner. There works were driven by a steam
engine—the first ever brought into Orleans county. He
soon after added a tin-shop to the works, and imported a
skillful tinman—one who could tin sheet copper—for in
those days that was a part of a tin-worker’s trade. The
tinman answered expectations, and he signalized his ad-
vent by making a big tin whistle about the size of a half
bushel measure. The tinman, one Friday evening, together
with the engineer and Romeyn Ostrander, fitted a steam
escape pipe from the boiler to and through a window in
the engine room, and put the big whistle on the end thereof.
That evening there was a prayer meeting at the old church,
and John Anderson, as usual, was leading in prayer. Sud-
denly there came a noise. Never before had the like been
heard—no, not from Rochester to Lockport. It blew—and
screeched-—and yelled—and roared with tearing and rend-
ing roar. Uncle John was dumbfounded—he stopped and
stood stock still. The seven rams horns before the walls
of Jericho were nowhere. It “shouted with a great shout,”
then held its breath, and shouted and roared again. The
people looked at each other in amazement. When Uncle
John opening his eyes said, “Why, deacon, what’s the mat-
ter at the mill?” Deacon Davis shook his head, said noth-
ing, but took his ivory-headed cane and went to see about
it. All bolted out of the church, Uncle John with the rest,
and went to the mill, where half the village were already
looking at the thing. The big whistle was suppressed.
Told by Miss Alma Lovewell—In 1812 Zaccheus Lovewell
moved his family up from Oak Orchard Creek and settled
in the house built by Mrs. Burgess. At this place Lyman
Lovewell, who taught in the old academy, was born. While
the family was living in this house, word was brought that
•29the Indians and British were coming down the Ridge.
Everybody was frightened and two of the Lovewell boys,
who were quite small, ran to a large snow drift and dug a
hole to hide in, never thinking that their tracks could be
easily discovered.
Mr. James Calkins, eighty-six years of age, now
residing on the farm his father took up and where
he was born, tells of the sharp practice of some
West Gaines youths in about 1832, Harve Noble,
being one of them. As circuses had to get between
stands in the night, one was due to pass there with an ele-
phant, in the wee small hours. Like all boys they wanted to
see this special one by daylight. They had heard the
monsters are fond of sweet apples and, as boys always
know where apples grow, had supplied themselves with a
goodly number and had scattered them in the road together
with all the brush they could collect before the circus came.
Mr. Elephant scented the apples among the brush and no
amount of prodding with the keeper’s staff, profanity nor
coaxing could budge that elephant from those sweet apples.
It is needless to say the boys won out and saw the elephant
by daylight.
He also tells of Mr. Kizer Wilder’s yoke of oxen that
could out-run a pair of horses. He was on the Ridge road
at one time with them when the stage coach came along.
Their horses were used to running and could usually beat
the best of them, so the driver did not hesitate to tackle this
yoke of oxen. Crack went the whip and a race was on
for Noble’s Tavern. Rattle to bang sounded the old lum-
ber wagon as the long horned racers tore down the road.
Traveleis, with heads out of the coach windows, the bet-
ter to enjoy the sport, soon saw the four horses were no
match for these gay roadsters, who, with tails erect, waving
•30high in the air, were getting the best of the race at every
jump and soon ran around the stage and up to Noble’s
Tavern. The stage driver, Mr. Chamberlain, gave up his
job, saying he would never again draw rein over horses that
could not out-run oxen.
From the same source we get this item, Mr. John Nichols,
merchant at Gaines, wanted to purchase a yoke of oxen.
Knowing Mr. William Bullard always had the best, he ap-
plied to him for a yoke. The latter saying he had a yoke
he would sell if they suited Mr. Nichols. One was as good
an ox as God’s sunlight ever shown on and the other was his
mate. Mr. Nichols made the purchase, but soon found
mate did not necessarily mean what he thought it did, and
was the laugh of the town.
Mr. Charles Prussia remembers Mr. Bullard’s telling how
he was treed by a bear in the early days, just south of
where Mr. Prussia’s orchard*now is, and that the panthers
had a den a little to the west in the gully.
H. C. White remembers Mr. Elijah Bacon’s telling him a
few years since at Waterport, about his father’s sending
him on horse back from Five Corners to Waterport to mill.
Since he was not able to get his small grist ground until
afternoon, he thought he would ride on to Oak Orchard
Harbor, as there had just been a road cut out. Boy-like, he
tarried there longer than he ought. The dense woods on
either side of the road made it quite dark before he got
far on his return trip, when he heard the wolves howl on
his trail, he took to the creek and rode his horse in the mid-
dle of the stream, the wolves accompanying him along the
bank to Waterport. There, getting his grist on behind him,
and having a better road, he was not long in reaching home,
where he found his parents very much worried about him.
-31-The “First Things” of the Town
of Gaines
1807
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1815
1816
1817.
1820
1822
1st article—Mrs. Gilbert....Geo. Murray farm
1st child—-Samuel Crippen, Jr., east of Fair Haven.
......................one mile west of Gaines
1st apple orchard, Noah Burgess .............
1st death—Mr. Gilbert.......east of Fair Haven
1st marriage—Sally Wing and Andrew Jacobs.
1st	tavern—Wm. Sibley.............West Gaines
1 st asheries—James Mather..............Gaines
1st sawmill—Henry Drake...........Otter Creek
1st burying ground*.....................Gaines
1st school...............Eagle Harbor Corners
1st teacher—Orin Gleason. .Eagle Harbor Corners
1st town meeting of Ridgeway............Gaines
1st supervisor—Oliver Booth, 2nd........Gaines
1st blacksmith shop—Wm. Babbitt. .Rowley’s Cor’s
1st physician—Dr. Jesse Beach. .... .Prussia farm
1st	distillery^—McAllister........Hewitt farm
1st town meeting of Gaines........Booth’s tavern
1st	postmaster....................Wm. Babbitt
1st	postoffice, Knapp farm........O. C. Knapp
1st frame school house......N. G. Barnum’s res.
1st store—Wm. Perry ....................Gaines
1 st tannery—Houghton ..................Gaines
.1st Sunday school..........N. G. Barnum’s res.
1 st Sunday school teacher, Miss Charlotte Cummings
1st brickyard—Wm. Babbitt. . . . .Rowley’s Corners
1st triphammer and axe manufactory......Gaines
1st attorney*—Orange Butler.............Gaines
1st printing press*—Seymour Tracy.......Gaines
1 st newspaper*—Orleans Gazette.........Gaines
1st grist mill—Jonathan Gates.....Otter Creek
■32-1824?	1st	church building*..................Gaines
1st circus*—Hunter’s.............Mather farm
1825	1st	court*............................Gaines
1st judge*—Elijah Foot ................ .Gaines
1827	1st	academy* .......................  Gaines
1830	1st	steam engine*—Dea. Perry Davis. .... .Gaines
1st gunshop*—Romeyn Ostrander.........Gaines
1832	1st	incorporated village* ............Gaines
1st bank*—Farmer’s Bank of Orleans....Gaines
Item marked (*) were also the first in the county.
The Pioneers of 1809
As they took out articles from the Holland Land Company.
Township 15—Range 1.
(Between Fair haven and the west town line.)
May 10. Abigail Sagar
June 24. Isaac Bennett
28. Samuel Cripepn
28. Elijah Downer
28. Oliver Hamblin
July 28.. Jabez Deming
28. Henry Drake
28. Levi Leach
Nov. 2. Orin Gleason
Township 15—Range 2.
(Between Fair Haven and the west town line.
Apr. 24. Wm. Sibley
24. Henry Wilcox
28. Whitfield Rath-
bone
May 10. Whitfield Rath-
bone
June 26. Cotton Leach
July 12. Daniel Gates
14. Darias Crippen
17. Noah Burgess
Sept. 22. Daniel Pratt
Nov. 2. Cass and McCarty
•33*The Original Owners of Land in Gaines
With Their Decendants, Who Are
Still Living on the Same Farms
James Mather
Robert Anderson
Betsey Hutchinson
John Rowley
Joseph Winch
David Calkins
Kizer Wilder
Walter Fairfield
Amos Clift
Roswell Lewis
Alfonzo Sterling
O. C. Mather
George Anderson
5 Mary A. Hutchinson
Mrs. Effie G. Barnum
Katherine B. Rowley
Jerome Winch
Janet Calkins
Mrs. Frank Brooks
Mrs. Elizabeth Beach
Amos Clift
Betsey and Mary Lewis
Eugfene Sterling
■34THE ORLEANS REPUBLICAN, Print.