TOWN OF WOODHULL. 



447 



To the north, Mr. Hornocker and James Williams at- 

 tempted a settement on the present Bebout place, but find- 

 ing it too far back, and water scarce in the dry season, Mr. 

 Williams moved down on the Tuscarora Creek, and made 

 the first permanent settlement between " Rowley's" and 

 Woodhull village, selling his place on the Hill to Asel 

 Bears in 1825. The same year (1826), Worcester Perry 

 moved on to the place where he still lives, at the foot of 

 the hill south overlooking Hedgesville; Thomas Hedges 

 coming the same week. The Peirce road does not appear 

 to have been used previous to this time, as Mr. Perry spent 

 a whole week in opening it so that he could get through 

 with his wagon. 



Building a log cabin 16 feet in length, and flooring jt 

 with two lengths of rough puncheons split from a pine near 

 by, Mr. Perry worked through the first year surrounded 

 by difficulties. A friend stopping with him, late in the 

 fall, went out in the night to shoot a bear, and killed one 

 of his cows. The other one soon became injured in the 

 woods, and had to be killed. In the depth of winter, during 

 a terrific snow-storm, while his neighbor, Mrs. Hedges, was 

 awaiting her husband's return from the mill, a large maple- 

 tree he was chopping near the house fell crosswise of the 

 kerf, and striking upon his house, broke in the entire roof, 

 throwing the debris upon the women and children, and de- 

 molishing his winter's supply of provisions which were stored 

 in the loft. In their haste to escape, the two choppers fell 

 over each other beside the stump, and barely escaped being 

 buried beneath the huge trunk. Happily no one was in- 

 jured. Moving his family to neighbor Hedges', he found 

 employment for the winter in rebuilding and preparing for 

 the coming work of spring. 



There were then but the families of Samuel Smith, Mar- 

 tin Harding, and Henry Harding, a mile west; and no 

 other family between the Canisteo and Woodhull villages 

 in the north part of the town. 



As early as 1825, Andrew Colgrove bought and made 

 shingles to run down the river, making them on his land 

 and drawing them north to the South branch, and thence 

 down the Tuscarora to Addison. This was the only lum- 

 bering done previously to 1833, sawed boards being drawn 

 from the Cowanesque Valley at that late date. Immense 

 quantities of good timber were burned while clearing. 



Woodhull did not become a business centre until Joseph 

 Tubbs, who kept the first tavern a mile up the point at the 

 old cross-roads, moved down to the present locality in 1833, 

 and Sylvester Tousey, John Stone, and Calvin Searle 

 opened the first store in the town, when it began to assume 

 some importance to the surrounding country. In 1835 a 

 blacksmith-shop was opened, and Ichabod C. Leach built 

 and opened the first permanent store ; S. V. Lattimer, 

 Col. Jefi"rey Smith, and his brother, Alfred Smith, being 

 the principal movers in developing the resources of the 

 town. 



In 1844 a foundry for the casting of farming implements 

 was established by Warner & Gardner, and in 1851 the 

 village boasted three stores, one of which was conducted by 

 Hamilton Marlatt, son of one of the early settlers, who is 

 still in business ; a church, a post-office, and about a dozen 

 residences, witliin a stone's throw of the woods on three 



sides. A mail- route was established before the organiza- 

 tion of the town, Isaac Goodsell carrying the mail through 

 by way of Woodhull once a week on horseback. 



At the head of Elk Creek, a branch of the Tuscarora 

 from the south, in the east part of the town, is the Free- 

 Will Baptist church, and beside it is the old cemetery 

 where were buried the earlier settlers in the southern part 

 of Tuscarora and Woodhull. The first settlement in the 

 southern part of the town was made in this beautiful little 

 valley, in 1827, by John Brimmer, whose log cabin has dis- 

 appeared, and in its place part way up the hill stands the 

 handsomest residence in that part of the town, whose owner 

 and occupant, Adolphus Harrison, is the son of one of the 

 early pioneers. Daniel Christeon came the next year, and 

 opened a clearing near the Hurd place, half a mile farther 

 south. 



In 1832, when Alvinza Foote came into the valley, there 

 were but five or six families in the region, Wm. Lewis 

 being the last one towards the State line. In the valley 

 were Eli Terry and James Christeon. It was impossible 

 to get wagons through the roads, and all travel was done 

 on sleds. Mr. Foote, one of the early religious workers 

 and the first deacon of the church, still lives where he first 

 settled. He is father of Truman B. and Albert Foote, who 

 are well-known citizens. Toward the centre of the town, 

 on the higher land, there was no settlement previous to 

 1835, except the old Rozier Mill, until you reach Peirce's 

 road ; most of the southern part of the town having a very 

 recent date, and the greater portion of the clearing having 

 been done in the last twenty years. The telegraph road 

 from Addison to Osceola, Pa., passes up the valley of this 

 creek. 



Caleb Smith, who was seven years a magistrate before the 

 formation of the town, was the first postmaster. Joseph 

 Tubbs was succeeded at his death by his son, Silas H. Tubbs, 

 whose influence is as much felt in business circles as any 

 man in that part of the county. The village was laid out 

 in lots, in 1834, by Henry Wombough, Sr. Col. Jeff'rey 

 Smith, who has been intimately connected with the town 

 since his early manhood, was successively ensign, paymaster, 

 adjutant, major, and colonel, in the old days of general train- 

 ing, first town clerk of the town of Woodhull, and twice elected 

 to the State Legislature, — in 1844 by the Democrats, and in 

 1860 by the Republican party. Possessed of great firmness 

 of character and temperance habits, he well sustains the 

 weight of his seventy-eight years, still occup}'ing the farm 

 upon which he started in life. He is a son of Caleb Smith. 



VILLAGE OF WOODHULL. 



The present village is located just below the point formed 

 by the high land between the two creeks, and contains some 

 450 inhabitants. Looking from this point down stream to 

 the east, the valley is visible for two miles down the Tus- 

 carora Creek, the sloping hill-sides dotted here and there 

 with modern farm-houses, occupying the entire scope of 

 vision. Far off" in front is a dark strip of hemlock timber 

 upon the top of the highest ground in sight. Near by, 

 just beyond the village, a knoll projects from the hill-side 

 half a mile away, its top at the height of the tree-tops in 

 the valley. This is the cemetery, white with the marble 



