TOWN OF DANSYILLE. 



281 



known thej were yet safe. The last death was that of 

 Darius Decker, which occurred September 21, eighteen 

 victims having fallen before the terrible scourge. 



On Oak Hill, the high land forming the western part of 

 the town, a settlement was made in 1816-17 by Moses 

 Hulburt, Joshua Williams, Daniel, George, and Hubbard 

 Grriswold, William C. Rogers, Thomas Buck, George But- 

 ler, and Joshua Woodard. 



In this settlement, two miles west of Bogersville and 

 commanding a view of some 3000 acres of cleared farms 

 directly east, was located the old log church, where elec- 

 tions were held alternately with the taverns at Rogersville 

 and Beachville, and here the first couple were joined in wed- 

 lock, — Cyril Buck, son of Thomas Buck, marrying Philena 

 Hall, June 16, 1818. The children of this couple, D. S. 

 Buck, Mrs. H. A. Kuder, Mrs. Edward Kridler, and their 

 grandson, Hon. Fred. M. Kridler, are still residents of 

 Dansville. 



Of the Griswold family, Laduli, grandson of Daniel 

 Griswold, still occupies the old homestead. From the 

 western summit of this hill, near the Methodist Episcopal 

 church, a triangular opening in the valley far below presents 

 itself to view, surrounded by high and precipitous hills. 

 The apex, extending four miles across the valley and pene- 

 trating the hills on the opposite side, is occupied by the 

 village of Canaseraga, in Allegany County. 



Through this valley, extending beyond the range of 

 vision north to the old village of Dansville, and past the 

 village of Burns, just visible four miles to the south, 

 across the valley, once ran the main line of local com- 

 merce before railroads were known. The old marsh has 

 disappeared. In 1832 a ditch ten feet in width was cut 

 from Burns to Arkport, redeeming the greater portion of 

 this beautiful valley, which is now a level body of fine 

 cultivated farms, only a narrow strip being still occupied 

 by a growth of white ash and aquatic shrubbery. Just at 

 the foot of the hill, two miles from Burns, at the Healy 

 Mansion, in the Doty's Corners post-office, the first estab- 

 lished in the town. Its former name of Dewitt Valley, 

 given it in 1825, caused confusion in the mails, and the 

 present name was substituted. Joshua Healy, the pro- 

 prietor of this beautiful farm, is a son of Joshua Healy, 

 one of the boys who, with Elisha Robinson and Charles 

 Oliver, started in 1815 from the Green Mountains of Ver- 

 mont with one horse between them, and made themselves 

 homes in the then far distant West. The taverns are all 

 gone, and the store, kept by an unknown adventurer in 

 1820, has been replaced by the little hamlet of Burns; a 

 railroad station on the Lake Erie and Northwestern Rail- 

 way, which is divided by the western line of the county. 

 The post-office, store, hotel, and some twenty residences 

 are in Steuben County, while the depot is in the county of 

 Allegany. The post-office was established at this place" 

 after the opening of the railroad in 1850. 



Dr. Thomas M. Bowen, from Washington County, settled 

 east of Beachville, on the hill, a quarter of a mile distant, 

 in 1819, and was the postmaster of South Dansville. Eli 

 Carrington, Timothy, Nathaniel, and Meyer Wallace, from 

 Vermont, joined the settlement in 1820, and Arad Sheldon 

 opened a tavern, south of Mr. Bowen's, in which election 

 36 



was held in 1825. This soon became a business centre 

 under the management of Aaron W., Robert, and John 

 M. Beach, three brothers, who bought the principal inn 

 and opened a store. In 1834, a hurricane swept over the 

 place which destroyed buildings and did much damage. 

 Aaron W. Beach represented his district in the Assembly, 

 in 1842. 



Beachville declined with the transfer of business to 

 'Rogersville, and now consists of some 15 houses, occupied 

 by farmers and farm laborers, a blacksmith- and wagon- 

 shop, and the abandoned Baptist church. A mile over the 

 hill, to the northwest of Beachville, is Rogersville, sur- 

 rounded on three sides by sloping hill-side farms and open 

 to the northwest, showing the hills of North Dansville and 

 the second range of hills far beyond in Livingston County. 

 Choice groves of sugar-maple and old apple-orchards vary 

 the scene on every side. 



Gently sloping down the point between Ganong and 

 Stony Brooks, for nearly a mile, runs the main street of 

 the village. Near the upper end of the street, on the left, 

 is the old homestead of the Stevens family, where Hum- 

 phrey Stevens settled in 1822. Just beyond, the crown- 

 like dome of the Dansville academy rises above the sur- 

 rounding maples which hide the village beyond. Beside 

 it is the little Universalist church, abandoned years ago for 

 more modern innovations. Passing down the broad, shady 

 avenue, we find the academy to be a fine three-story wooden 

 building, and beyond, on either side, a succession of fine, 

 modern residences. Just above the hotel was opened the 

 first store by the founder of the village, William C. Rogers, 

 a native of Rhode Island, who opened his store in the 

 dwelling-house of Prosper Booth, in 1829, afterward build- 

 ing across the street, where his son-in-law, Hon. D. L. 

 Kingsley, still continues the business. 



The first settlers in the village were Jonas Bridge, Pros- 

 per Booth, and Daniel Handy, who, in company with John 

 Miller, built the flouring-mill, in 1822. The post-office was 

 moved from Beachville to Rogersville, and, in 1848, Mr. 

 Rogers moved the old store down from Beachville, and 

 opened therein a select school which soon after became the 

 academy. In 1850, a foundry was established by R. W. 

 & D. Dans, near the store, for the manufacture of stoves 

 and farming implements which continued in operation seve- 

 ral years. A cross-road, leading from Dansville to Hornells- 

 ville, 12 miles distant, passes through the centre of the 

 village. Just below rises the tall spire of the Methodist 

 Episcopal church beside the fine residence of Charles Oli- 

 ver, Esq., son of the Vermont pioneer. Farther down the 

 street the old stone mill stands cornerwise to the street, 

 where the land breaks ofi* abruptly with a descent of 25 

 feet, the walls continuing for half a mile below as though 

 torn out by the action of some terrible flood. Since a 

 blacksmith with his family were swept away in his house 

 by a flood, some years ago, this lower valley has been nearly 

 tenantless. 



Rogersville contains between fifty and sixty residences, 

 and is one of the neatest looking villages in the county. 

 Among the business houses. are two stores, an unoccupied 

 block of stores, hotels, three blacksmith- and two wagon- 

 shops, and broker's office, and flouring-mill. There are also 



