FRANKLIN COUNTY. 
325 
FRANKLIN COUNTY. 
The great length of Franklin county, and its situation as it regards water communication, 
are somewhat peculiar. It only touches upon one of the great outlets of trade and commerce, 
the St. Lawrence river, on its northwest angle. 
Contrasting or comparing the general geological features of Franklin with Clinton, I find 
that the former is, as it were, the counterpart of the latter. In Clinton there is a great pre¬ 
ponderance of sedimentary rocks, while in Franklin the primary are by far the most predo¬ 
minant ones. Extending south to the vicinity of Long lake, I find there is an uninterrupted 
range of the primary system for more than fifty miles, while the sedimentary rocks occupy a 
length north and south of about ten miles only. 
The southern part of Franklin is known to be mountainous and broken, and to partake of 
the same general characters which have been described as existing in the adjacent parts of 
Essex. The most lofty of these elevations is Mount Seward. It is situated in the township 
of Tipperary, at the southeast corner of the county. Its elevation is supposed to be five 
thousand feet. As yet no one has succeeded in reaching the summit: the only attempt which 
was made during the survey, failed in consequence of the distance of the mountain from 
settlements. 
The physical features of Franklin which arrest the attention more particularly, are the 
multitude of lakes which are sprinkled over the whole surface of the southern part of the 
county. Of these, the Saranac lakes are the largest and most important. They are, how¬ 
ever, so generally known, that I deem it unnecessary to occupy time and space in the descrip¬ 
tion. They belong to the largest class of lakes in the northern district; and like all the 
other clusters of lakes, they occupy that portion of the country which is near the summit 
level. 
Primary Rocks. 
The primary rocks of this county are, 1, Hypersthene ; 2, Granite ; and 3, Gneiss. 
The former occupies the southeastern corner of the county, in the neighborhood of Mount 
Seward. Its boundaries I am not able to state with accuracy. The rock, however, is known 
to be limited to this part of the county. 
Granite and gneiss form the surface rocks over the largest part of Franklin ; and as they 
intermingle with each other, I deem it unnecessary to speak of them as separate and distinct 
masses, except in a few instances. 
One of the extreme northern limits of the primary, is a prolongation of a few ridges of 
granite, which come up from the south, about three or four miles west of Malone. In Cha- 
teaugay, we find the primary extending farther north by some miles than in Malone. 
The boundary of the primary, as it comes in from Clinton to Franklin in a northwest direc 
tion, runs a mile or two south of Chateaugay corners, and from thence southwest, or nearly 
