TOWN OF COHOCTON. 



247 



THE LUMBERING INTERESTS. 



The lumbering business has been one of the most im- 

 portant, and we may say one of the most lucrative, indus- 

 tries of the town of Cohocton. 



In the year 1854, H. D. Graves, F. N. Drake, and Har- 

 rison Harvey, of Le Roy, came to Liberty and entered into 

 copartnership for the manufacture and dealing in lumber, 

 under the firm-name of H. D. Graves & Co. They built 

 their first mill about three miles from Liberty, between that 

 place and Loon Lake. Some time after this, Mr. Z. Wa- 

 terman became a partner, and Messrs. Graves and Harvey 

 retired from the firm. Mr. Waterman was by no means 

 successful as a lumberman, and, consequently, very soon 

 tired of the enterprise and withdrew, leaving Mr. Drake 

 sole owner. In the spring of 1861 he invited Geo. W. 

 Drake and Thomas Warner to make him a visit and join 

 him in his favorite sport of trout-fishing, these speckled 

 beauties being then plenty in some of the streams. This 

 invitation was accepted, and during this fishing-excursion 

 they became satisfied that there was more money in the 

 lumber business, if sufficiently enlarged and properly con- 

 ducted, than in the hardware trade, in which they were 

 then engaged at Le Roy. 



They accepted an offer from Mr. Drake to become mem- 

 bers of a firm, with a firm-name of F. N. Drake & Co., and 

 immediately extended the business by making large purchases 

 of timber, andjbought the Davis mill, in Cohocton, and the 

 Waterbury mill, at Wallace. This firm manufactured at 

 least 8,000,000 feet of pine and hemlock lumber each year, 

 and having bought their stock low, the rapid advance of 

 prices caused by the war soon made the members of the 

 firm wealthy. 



In August, 1867, F. N. and G. W. Drake sold their 

 interest to Mr. Thomas Warner, who has continued the 

 business to the present time. During this time he moved 

 what was called the big mill to the village, and located it 

 just above the depot, near the railroad-track ; both are now 

 in operation. During the eleven years in which he has 

 been engaged in this business he has given employment to 

 a large number of men, and, consequently, disbursed large 

 sums of money, that have told favorably on the business 

 interests of the village. He has built two elegant dry-goods 

 stores and owns several others, and has also erected at least 

 a dozen dwelling-houses. 



NORTH COHOCTON. 



This village, situated in the northern part of the town, 

 contains a Methodist Episcopal church, two dry-goods and 

 general stores, one grocery, one hardware-store, one hotel, 

 three milliner-shops, one jeweler's-shop, two blacksmith- 

 shops, and one wagon-shop. There are here two large 

 cooper-shops, one of which is run by steam, and manufac- 

 tures 100,000 barrels per year. D. D. Clark and H. S. 

 Shattuck own planing-mills. D. D. Clark manufactures 

 largely heading and staves for cooperage. S. R. AJbrams 

 is a manufiicturer of patent medicines ; J. Tonsett, harness- 

 maker. C. H. Griesa carries on furniture and undertaking 

 business. Theodore Griesa is a practical taxidermist, and 

 has a fine collection of stufi'ed birds. 



There are three physicians practicing here, viz., Dr. A. 



L. Gilbert, Dr. E. S. Carpenter, and Dr. N. F. Wetmore. 



Jasper Partridge, Esq., is justice of the peace. 



A Wesleyan Methodist Church organization exists in this 



part of the town. Their meeting-house is a mile north, 



at the county line. The Free Methodists also have an 



organization, but no house of worship. 



The North Cohocton post-office was established by Eleazer 



Hall in 1853, under President Pierce. He was superseded 



by Asa Adams, who continued to hold the office till April 



21, 1871. A. G. Jockman was his successor, and was 



superseded in 1876 by Ezra S. Carpenter. 



A flourishing union school is situated between this and 



Blood's Station, — H. W. English, Principal; Miss Sarah 

 Sutton, Teacher in the Intermediate Department ; Mrs, 



Mary Arnold, Teacher of the Primary Department. Trus- 

 tees : Milan J. Tyler, President; Horace Stodard, Wm. 

 Sherman, Charles Tiffany ; H. W. Hatch, Secretary. The 

 union school was established in 1872, and the house built 

 in 1874. It is a three-story frame building, and cost $4000. 

 The total expenditure for school purposes the past year was 

 $1500. The assessed value of taxable property in the 

 district is about $200,000. 



Solomon Hubbard was the first merchant in North 

 Cohocton. After his death William A. Gilbert purchased 

 the building and carried on mercantile business for over 

 thirty years. Dr. Blakslee, of Patchings Mills, first prac- 

 ticed medicine here. He died within a few years in Wis- 

 consin, about one hundred and five years of age. 



BLOOD^S STATION. 



This is a thriving little hamlet on the railway, and the 

 point of departure for the stage-route to Naples and Can- 

 andaigua. A post-office was established at Blood's, April 

 21, 1871, through the instrumentality of Mr. Asa Adams, 

 who was the first postmaster. Mr. John D. Hendryx 

 succeeded him in 1877. 



Blood's Station is fifty-five miles from Rochester, by the 

 Rochester branch of the Erie Railway. It has one drug- 

 and grocery-store, and one general and dry-goods-store, 

 L. D. Hodgman ; one hardware-store, Hiram D. Hatch ; 

 one clothing-store, Peter Roeker ; general merchandise, 

 Thos. J. Cornish ; flouring- and grist-mills, David S. Wait; 

 steam saw-mill, A. Van Wie ; planing, moulding, and feed 

 steam-mill, John W. Mattice ; steam saw- and shingle-mill, 

 Hiram G. Clark. There is one hotel, the Mountain Yiew 

 House, kept by Oliver Rice. 



The Baptist Church at this place was organized in 1875, 

 and has a neat framed church edifice and a Sunday-school 

 numbering 75 scholars and teachers. The trustees are 

 Monroe Harris, J. J. Crouch, J. A. Shultz, J. D. Hendryx, 

 and Wheeler Clason. The pastor. Rev. S. T. Dean, settled 

 over the society June 19, 1875. 



Besides the business above mentioned at the station, 

 there are three grain warehouses, owned respectively by 

 Caprin & Fowler, Miller & Co., and H. W. Hatch, doing a 

 large business. 



MILITARY RECORD OF COHOCTON. 



Shattuck, L. Brace, capt., 35th Inf., Co. F ; enl. June 11, 1861, two years ; pro. capt. 

 Hewitt, James C, 1st sergt.,35th Inf., Co. F; enl. June 11, 1861, two years; pro. 



1st sergt., Oct. 21, 1861. 

 Wilcox, Carlos H., 5th sergt., 35th Regt., Co. F ; enl. June 11, 1861, two years ; 



pro. to 5th sergt., Oct. 21, 1861. 



