TOWNS AND VILLAGES 



OF 



STEUBEN COUNTY. 



ADDISON. 



■4» » 



GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION. 



Addison is situated in the southern part of the county, 

 and lies upon both sides of the Canisteo River. It is 

 bounded north by Thurston, east by Erwin, south by Tus- 

 carora, and west by WoodhuU and Rathbone. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



The surface of the town is chiefly a hilly upland, broken 

 by the valley of the Canisteo and its tributaries. The prin- 

 cipal valley is one mile wide, and is bordered by steep hill- 

 sides ranging from three to four hundred feet in height. 

 The chief streams which intersect it are the Canisteo River, 

 the Tuscarora, Elk Lick, and Goodhue Creek. Goodhue 

 Lake, in the northwest corner of the town, covers an area 

 of about 100 acres. The alluvial soil of the valleys is rich 

 and productive ; on the hills it is clay, mixed with the 

 debris of broken shale, and produces a fair yield of the 

 various kinds of grain, grass, and fruit. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 



The first settlement in the town of Addison was made by 

 Samuel Rice in 179L Reuben and Lemuel Searles, Oliver 

 Miller, George Goodhue, John Martin, Jonathan Tracy, 

 Abel White, James Benham, Asahel Stiles, Silas Morey, 

 Elisha Gilbert, William Wombough, and Martin Young 

 were among the first settlers. 



William Wombough settled on a farm about two miles 

 southwest of the village, on the road leading to Troups- 

 burgh. He was the father of William and Henry Wom- 

 bough, the former still a resident of the town. Henry 

 died some years ago at Addison. He was a prominent man, 

 and owned a large milling interest at one time in Minne- 

 apolis, Minn. 



John Helmer and John Martin settled on farms about 

 a mile above the village on the river. None of their fami- 

 lies now reside in town. 



Samuel Colgrove was a surveyor, and settled in the town 

 at an early day. He resided on the road between William 

 Wombough's and the village. He afterwards removed to 

 Arkport. 



138 



The first saw-mill was built by George Goodhue about 

 1793. William Wombough also built a saw-mill in 1805, 

 and the year following a grist-mill. Samuel Smith opened 

 the first store. Stephen Rice, son of Samuel Rice, was the 

 first white child born in the town, and the first persons 

 married were Brown Gillespie and Miss Gilbert, daughter 

 of Elisha Gilbert. James Martin, brother of John and 

 Isaac Martin, was the first person who died among the early 

 settlers. The names of many of the pioneers of the town, 

 and those who took a leading part in its civil and industrial 

 afi*airs, will be found in that part of our history copied from 

 the early records, under the head of " Organization." 



Martin Young, one of the earliest settlers, came into the 

 county with Col. Arthur Erwin, and settled at the junction 

 of the Tioga and Canisteo Rivers. In 1793 he cut a pine- 

 tree on the bank of the Canisteo, near its mouth, and from 

 the stump there sprouted up three other trees, which are 

 now standing. They measure about twenty-two inches in 

 diameter. The old stump from which the tree was cut eighty- 

 five years ago is still plainly to be seen, although a portion of 

 the top of it is somewhat decayed. Mr. Young moved to 

 Minnesota about 1850, and hearing of the singular circum- 

 stance of the growth of these trees requested his son, Fran- 

 cis E. Young, to investigate the matter and inform him of 

 the facts in the case. Mr. Francis E. Young proceeded to 

 examine and measure the trees, and in the winter of 1875 

 had a sign put upon them setting forth the fact of the 

 cutting of the tree by his father in 1793, and of the 

 sprouting and growth of the three trees from the stump. 

 That sign is still remaining there, and has been read by 

 hundreds of curious visitors. 



Martin Young drove the first wheeled vehicle into Ad- 

 dision, — a cart drawn by a yoke of oxen. Francis E. 

 Young, a son of Martin Young, was born in Addison in 

 1812, and was one of a family of sixteen children. Al- 

 though sixty-six years of age he is still hale and vigorous. 



ORGANIZATION. 



This town was one of the original towns of the county, 

 and was known as Middletown till April 6, 1808. At this 

 date it was changed to Addison, in honor of Joseph Addi- 



