CAKISTEO 



^•»- 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



Canisteo was one of the original towns of Steuben 

 County, formed in March, 1796. A part of Troupsburgh 

 was taken off in 1808, Hornellsville in 1820, and parts of 

 Jasper and Greenwood in 1827. A part of the town was 

 annexed to Troupsburgh in 1818. It is an interior town, 

 lying a little southwest of the centre of the county, being 

 bounded north by Howard, east by Cameron, south by 

 Jasper and Greenwood, and west by Hartsville. Its sur- 

 face is chiefly a hilly upland, broken by the deep valleys of 

 the streams. The Canisteo River runs throusfh the north- 

 ern part, with a valley half a mile wide, and with hills 

 450 feet high on each side. The principal creeks running 

 from the south into the Canisteo are Bennett's and Col. 

 Bill's Creeks, flowing through narrow, deep valleys, sur- 

 rounded by steep hills. The soil is chiefly a clayey and 

 gravelly loam, with rich alluvium in the valleys of the 

 streams ; some of the richest lands in the county being the 

 Bennett Flats, at the mouth of Bennett's Creek. 



early settlement. 



The Canisteo Valley was among the earliest-settled por* 

 tions of Steuben County Early in 1788, Solomon Ben- 

 nett, Capt. John Jamison, Uriah Stephens, and Richard 

 Crosley, from the Wyoming region in Pennsylvania, started 

 on an exploring expedition up the western tributaries of the 

 Susquehanna. They passed up the Chemung and the 

 Conhocton, but finding no land to suit them, crossed over 

 the hills and discovered the beautiful valley of the Canisteo. 

 This valley, about half a mile wide, was bordered by steep 

 hill-sides from 400 to 500 feet high, inclosing a forest of 

 heavy timber for a considerable distance, but terminating in 

 an open flat of several hundred acres, covered with grass 

 " so high that a horse and his rider could pass through it 

 almost unperceived." The explorers decided to purchase 

 two townships on the river, which included the open flats. 

 In the summer of 1789 a company was sent to the flats to 

 cut and stack hay for the cattle which were to be driven on 

 in the fall. The first settlers conveyed their provisions, 

 baggage, and families, from Newtown (Elmira), on a seven- 

 ton boat, while four sons of Mr. Uriah Stephens drove the 

 cattle along the shore. The ascent of the river was no 

 easy task, as frequently they were obliged to cut away the 

 trunks of trees and dams of driftwood to clear a passage 

 for their boat. Sometimes they encountered rapids, when 

 all hands were obliged to go on shore and tow their craft by 

 means of a long rope. Having gained the upper flats, the 

 cattle were turned loose to feast upon the luxuriant grass, 

 while the pioneers proceeded to build a house of logs 26 

 feet long and 24 feet wide. There was only one room 

 below. Four fireplaces were excavated in the four corners 

 28 



of the room, and with plenty of wood the settlers passed 

 the winter quite comfortably. Two families spent the 

 winter in this log palace, and in the spring two others were 

 admitted, each occupying a corner and arranging their 

 domestic afl*airs in their own way, with as much good-humor 

 as if their apartments had been separated by brick and 

 mortar. 



In the spring of 1790, Solomon Bennett, Uriah Stephens, 

 Jr., and Col. John Stephens, with their families, joined the 

 new settlement. They immediately commenced breaking 

 a portion of the open flats. Four yoke of oxen were neces- 

 sary to force the old-fashioned plow through the thickly- 

 matted roots of this miniature prairie. After sowing their 

 wheat and planting their corn, they constructed an enormous 

 log fence, inclosing about 400 acres of land. From the 

 present site of the village of Canisteo down to the next 

 township, about six miles, they laid out twelve lots across 

 the valley, and assigned them by lot to the several proprie- 

 tors.* The first house was built on what has since been 

 known as the Bennett or Pompelly farm. The first families 

 who occupied the place were those of Uriah Stephens, Sr., 

 and Richard Crosby ; then, as we have said, came Solomon 

 Bennett, Uriah Stephens, Jr., and Col. John Stephens, in the 

 spring of 1790. These were followed the same spring by 

 Jedediah Stephens, John Bedford, and Andrew Bennett, 

 making quite an important addition to the settlement. Sol- 

 omon Bennett was one of the leading spirits. He built the 

 first grist-mill on the Canisteo in 1793. It stood on Ben- 

 nett's Creek, about half a mile from its mouth. It was 

 burned in a year or two. Before this mill was built, the 

 settlers carried their grain to Shepard's mill, on the Sus- 

 quehanna, nearly one hundred miles. After the burning 

 of the mill, Mr. Bennett went to New York to procure 

 machinery for another, but became engaged in other busi- 

 ness, and failed to supply the wants of his neighbors 

 George Hornell, afterwards known as Judge Hornell, set- 

 tled in the upper township, now Hornellsville, in 1793, and 

 was induced to build a mill on the site since known as 

 Hornell's Mills. The settlers were so impatient for its 

 erection that they turned out and prepared the timber vol- 



* The lots in Canisteo and Hornellsville were drawn as follows: 



Canisteo. 



No. 



Arthur Erwiu 1 



Christian Keiss 2 



Solomon Bennett 3 



Solomon Bennett 4 



Joel Thomas 5 



John Stephens 6 



John Jameson 7 



Uriah Stephens 8 



Uriah Stephens^ Jr 9 



William Wynkoo}).. 10 



James Hadley..... 11 



Elisha Brown 12 



Hornellsville. 



No. 



James Hadlej 1 



John Jameson 2 



Arthur Erwin 3 



Christian Keiss 4 



Joel Thomas 5 



Uriah Stephens, Jr 6 



John Stephens ,. 7 



William Wynkoop...., 8 



Uriah Stephens, Sr ,,.,, 9 



Solomon Bennett 10 



Elisha Brown 11 



Solomon Bennett 12 



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