Schohabie County 641 



tar, turpentine, and resin. As the necessary pine trees were lack- 

 ing in the Schoharie valley the Palatines were at first established 

 at " the camps" on both sides of the Hudson. Feeling a serious 

 grievance at not being located in the promised " Schorie," their 

 discontent became so great that, when insistent petitions failed of 

 the desired effect, they undertook the journey by themselves dur- 

 ing the winter of 1712-13, following the Indian trails through the 

 forest and settling on the present site of Middlebuxgh village. 

 Soon after, the Dutch settled at " Vroomansland," two or three 

 miles above the German settlement. 



In the early days of these settlements, corn, which, with 

 potatoes, formed their chief article of diet, could be ground no 

 nearer than Schenectady, the men carrying it in bags on their backs. 

 After some years the first grist mill in the county was built on 

 Mill Creek, near Fox Creek. At about 1806, two Yankees put a 

 machine in the old mill for carding wool. This was a great 

 improvement over the old method of hand carding. They carded 

 200 pounds of wool in twenty-four hours and were obliged to work 

 night and day to handle their business. 



Repeated attempts at establishing railroads in the county hav- 

 ing failed, a number of plank roads were built about 1850. In 

 1S65 the first railroad cars passed through the county, and the 

 railroads proved to be very important to its industrial progress. 



During the Revolution several conflicts took place within the 

 limits of the county, and the inhabitants were continually exposed 

 to the attacks of small parties of Indians. 



DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY 



Wheat and corn were among the first crops grown in Schoharie 

 County. The production of grain was of great importance until 

 the competition of the large grain-producing sections of the West 

 made it unprofitable. 



In the early part of the nineteenth century the growing of hops 

 became one of the leading industries. During the last quarter- 

 century the low prices, competition of the West, and plant diseases, 

 have forced the growers to reduce their acreage and turn to diversi- 

 fied farming. At the present time hop-growing is confined to the 

 best soils along the Schoharie and Cobleskill valleys. Dairying is 

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