94 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



guished personages on it, besides the speakers, were Glen. 

 Henry W. Slocum, of Brooklyn, who commanded the left 

 wing of Sherman's army on the march to the sea, Rev. 

 Father Farrell, of St. Joseph's Church, and Mr. Grady, of 

 New York City, Rev. Henry Hyland Garnett, and ex- 

 Lieutenant-Governor John C. Robinson. Fully fifteen 

 thousand people were on the ground. In the distance 

 could be seen Frank Leslie's artist, with his big camera, 

 photographing the scene. 



E. C. Parkinson, President of the Board of Trustees, 

 introduced Hon. Sherman S. Rogers, of Buffalo, who acted 

 as presiding officer. Eloquent addresses were made by the 

 chairman, by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, and Depart- 

 ment Commander Tanner. Mr. Albert Clark, Superintend- 

 ent of Construction at the time, spread the mortar, and the 

 corner-stone was lowered into its place and formally laid by 

 Comrade Tanner, amid the cheers of the crowd. 



TRANSFERENCE TO THE STATE. 



In pursuance of an act of the Legislature, passed March 



a meeting held November 13, was appointed Superintendent 

 of the Home. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE HOME. 



The farm upon which the Home is located consists of 

 two hundred and forty-one and one-half acres, and lies 

 about a mile and a half northwest of the village of Bath. 

 It is in the beautiful Conhocton Valley, which at this point 

 is about half a mile wide, and is shut in by hills which rise to 

 a height of from six to eight hundred feet. The Conhocton 

 River runs through the easterly portion of the farm, drain- 

 ing the land thoroughly, and with its swift current carrying 

 away all the drainage and sewage from the buildings. 



The soil is a rich alluvium, with clay and sandy loam. 

 About ninety acres of the farm lie in the valley, and the 

 balance to the westward consists of high rolling land. It 

 is all tillable with the exception of thirty acres of wood- 

 land, situated in the northwest corner of the property. 



There is an excellent quarry on the farm, from which all 

 the stone used in the foundations was taken, and sufficient 

 may be taken from it to build foundations for any building 



NEW YORK STATE SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME, BATH, N. Y. 



11, 1878, the Home was transferred by deed to the State, 

 and the following Board of Trustees appointed by the 

 Governor, to hold office for one, two, and three years re- 

 spectively, from the 15th of January, 1879 : 



Board of Trustees. — The Governor, ex-officio ; the At- 

 torney-General, ex- officio ; Henry W. Slocum, Brooklyn, 

 N. Y. ; James McQuade, New York City ; Isaac F. Quinby, 

 Rochester, N. Y. ; William F. Rogers, Buffalo, N. Y. ; 

 Nirom M. Crane, Hornellsville, N. Y. ; Byron B. Taggart, 

 Watertown, N. Y. ; Ansel J. McCall, Bath, N. Y. ; Jona- 

 than Robie, Bath, N. Y. ; John F. Little, Bath, N. Y. 



Officers of the Board. — Henry W. Slocum, President; 

 Isaac F. Quinby, Vice-President ; Nirom M. Crane, Treas- 

 urer ; John F. Little, Secretary. 



Executive Committee. — William F. Rogers, James Mc- 

 Quade, A. J. McCall, B. B. Taggart, Jonathan Robie. 



E. C. Parkinson was appointed Superintendent of Con- 

 struction June 7, 1878, to complete the buildings, and at 



that may be required in future. This quarry is a valuable 

 acquisition, as it has already saved, and will in future save, 

 a large sum in construction expenses. 



The water-supply is practically unlimited. At several 

 points on the land are springs of beautiful water, which even 

 in the hottest summer weather is delightfully cool, pure, 

 and palatable. The main spring, from which the buildings 

 are supplied, is located on the land of C. Lang, adjoining 

 the Home farm. The spring, and the right of way to it, 

 were purchased from Mr. Lang. A stream sufficient to fill 

 a three-inch pipe issues from the spring, and is conducted to 

 a reservoir located on the Home farm, about one thousand 

 feet from the spring and fifty feet below its level. This 

 reservoir will hold three hundred thousand gallons of water, 

 and is one hundred and thirty feet higher than the water- 

 table of the buildings, thus furnishing a water-supply suffi- 

 cient for all purposes, with sufficient " head" for use in case 

 of fire, and to carry the water over the top of the buildings. 



