HAMILTON COUNTY 



This county lies in the great wilderness region in the north- 

 eastern part of the state. It has an area of 1,088,000 acres; its 

 extent from north to south is approximately 60 mihs, and from 

 east to west 30 miles. The various townships are populated as 

 follows : 



Population by Townships 



(Census of 1915) 



Arietta 319 Long Lake 1,058 



Benson 155 Morehouse 133 



Hope 250 Wells 842 



Indian Lake 1,086 



Inlet 219 Total 4.491 



Lake Pleasant * 429 = ~ 



* Lake Pleasant, in the town of Lake Pleasant, is the county Beat. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 



Hamilton County was formed from Montgomery, February 12, 

 1816, and named in honor of Alexander Hamilton. The region 

 occupied by the Ausable Mountains, which extends also into St. 

 Lawrence and Herkimer counties, was known by the natives as 

 the " dismal wilderness." 



Most of the territory in the county is included in the Totten 

 and Crossfield purchase of 1773. Grants within the limits of 

 the county were made in colonial times to Sir Jeffrey Amherst. 

 Henry Balfour, and Thomas .Palmer. Arthursboro in More- 

 house was granted to Arthur Noble. The first settlement was 

 made at about 1790. 



In the early days of the county, Andrew K. Morehouse 



purchased large tracts of Adirondack forest land, among which 



were the tracts at Arietta and Morehouse. In 1832 he began to 



dispose of his holdings to settlers, and this part of the county 



became important as an agricultural section. At Piseco, in the 



town of Arietta, where a tract was laid out in village lots, a 



grist mill was erected. Previous to this time the settlers had 



a obliged to spend several days in taking their grains to the 



milks at Amsterdam or Schenectady, and even at certain times to 



Albany. 



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