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HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



Brooks sold half of his interest to the late Judge Wash- 

 ington Barnes. Under the superintendence of the late 

 James H. Simmons, of Fairport, N. Y., and until the finan- 

 cial pressure of 1857, it was unsurpassed by any establish- 

 ment of the kind in Western New York, giving employment 

 to nearly 100 men. 



" In the autumn of 1850 the New York and Erie Rail- 

 road was completed between Corning and Hornellsville, 

 passing through this village. In 1852 the Buffalo, Con- 

 hocton Valley and New York Railroad, made a junction at 

 this village with the Erie. The Western Union Telegraph 

 Company completed its line along the Erie road in 1855, 

 and along the Buffalo, Conhocton Valley and New York 

 Railroad in 1857, putting this village in momentary com- 

 munication with all places along the lines and throughout 

 the country. 



" Empire Block was built by A. B. McCuller and Messrs. 

 A. H. and F. E. Erwin, in 1841 . It stood upon the south- 

 east corner of Water and Hamilton Streets, the third story 

 being occupied by Empire Hall. 



" On the evening of Sept. 2, 1850, a lodge of Free and 

 Accepted Masons was instituted in the village. Maj. M. 

 H. McGrath was the first W. M. The order is now in a 

 flourishing condition. 



PLANK-ROAD. 



" In 1852, a company was formed under the name of the 

 Corning, Painted Post, Cooper's Plains, and Monterey Plank- 

 Road Company. A single track was laid from the village 

 of Monterey (now in Schuyler County) through the valley 

 of Mead's Creek, to Cooper's Plains, and thence to the 

 bridge over the Chemung River at Corning, — about fifteen 

 miles, with four toll-gates. Some six years after, the com- 

 pany abandoned the plank-road between Cooper's Plains and 

 Monterey, and, subsequently, by special act of the Legisla- 

 ture, resolved itself into the Conhocton Stone-Road Company, 

 obtaining a charter therefor for a period of thirty years. 

 This road from the Corning bridge, through Painted Post, 

 to Cooper's Plains, has been facetiously called a '-Jordan 

 road,' 2.6., a ' hard road to travel,' during certain portions 

 of the year. The road is not well kept up by the company, 

 and is a free highway only in its poorest condition." 



THE GANG-MILLS. 



About the year 1832, the estate of William Erwin, in 

 this town, was purchased by Isaac Gray, and two lawyers 

 from Owego, Messrs. Piatt and Dana. It embraced an area 

 of some 4000 acres of land, bountifully supplied with 

 groves of superior and valuable pine timber. They built 

 the first mill upon the site of the establishment now known 

 as the Gang-Mills, and after a few years sold the property 

 to Sylvester Smith, Abram Ogden, and Col. Hiram W. 

 Bostwick. A few years later. Judge Smith became sole 

 proprietor, and for some ten or twelve years manufactured 

 lumber, and improved the lands. He then sold to Messrs. 

 John C. Cameron and James D. Weston, two gentlemen 

 who were credited with a long experience, and a practical 

 knowledge of the lumber business ; however, these gentle- 

 men did not long retain possession. In 1846, Rev. Norman 

 Fox, father of A. J. Fox, one of the present proprietors, 



Abijah Weston, and William C. Bronson purchased of 

 Messrs. Cameron and Weston this property. This enter- 

 prising firm immediately rebuilt and enlarged the mill, add- 

 ing gangs, slabbers, edgers, lath, and other improved ma- 

 chinery, and, as the increasing demand required, added 

 steam to their hydraulic power, new buildings, with planing 

 and picket machines, until it has become the most extensive 

 lumber establishment and firm in the town, county, or State, 

 and the nucleus of perhaps the most extensive lumbering 

 business in the United States, when aggregating the various 

 results of the different manufactories over the widely-spread 

 localities in which one or the other of these gentlemen are 

 the principal owners. All of the members of this firni have 

 their residence at Painted Post, and their mills are situated 

 about one mile southwest of the village. 



They have in their possession the title in fee-simple to 

 many hundreds of thousands acres of the best timber-lands 

 in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and 

 Wisconsin, and timber-rights, licenses, ' or Government 

 leases, for more than a million and a quarter acres of the 

 very best timber tracts of Canada. They own and run 

 seven extensive gang-mills, that average each from ten to 

 thirty millions feet of lumber annually, and four large 

 planing-mills, with each a capacity of from 50,000 to 

 250,000 feet of dressed lumber per day, together with the 

 immense and unknown quantities of shingles, lath, and 

 pickets manufactured by them, and the number of their 

 employees is counted by the thousands. 



The firm is now known as Fox, Weston & Co., Mr. 

 William C. Bronson having sold his interest to A. J. Fox 

 and his brother, Maj. Charles J. Fox. 



EXTRACT-WORKS. 



The Extract-Works of this village have applied a new 

 method for the manufacture of the extract of hemlock- 

 bark, an article of great importance to tanners and dyers, 

 and also used in various manufactures. 



In 1856 the Van Orman tannery, on Chemung Street, 

 was purchased by Harvey Bissel and William D. Farwell. 

 These gentlemen established a successful business, which 

 was conducted under the immediate superintendence of 

 Benjamin Farwell, of this village. In 1859, William D. 

 Farwell sold his interest to Mr. Bissel, and about 1864 

 Mr. Bissel sold to Cyrus Pyle & Co., of which firm N. 

 Spencer Thomas was a member. The latter, while con- 

 nected with this firm, successfully completed the. new 

 method for the manufacture of the extract of hemlocl^- 

 bark, and is the patentee and owner of the process, as well 

 as of numerous machines used in making it. Mr. Thomas 

 is now a resident of Elmira. William D. Farwell is a 

 member of the gigantic mercantile firm of John V. Far- 

 well & Co., Chicago. Mr. Harvey Bissel, who spent his 

 last years in Toledo, Ohio, was an important aid to the 

 business interest of this village, where he resided many 

 years, and was indefatigable in his efforts to build up and 

 improve the place. 



The Extract- Works employ some twenty men ; their 

 capacity is from 3000 to 3500 cords of hemlock-bark, and 

 about 400 cords of barrel material per annum, there being 

 an extensive barrel-factory attached. The establishment is 



