GAZETTEER

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

By J. H. French

R. P. Smith, Publisher

Syracuse, New York

1860

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Page 245

and fertile valleys.  A high and nearly unbroken range extends along the e. border.  In the town are several small lakes, the principal of which are Copake Lake in the w., and Robinsons, Snyder, and Rhoda Ponds in the s.  The soil is a gravelly and clayey loam.  Near Copake Station are several iron mines.¹  Copake Station, (Copake Iron Works p.o.,) on the Harlem R. R., contains 1 church, a blast furnace, and 26 houses; Copake Flats (Copake p.o.) contains 1 church and 20 houses; and Baines Station, (North Copake p.o.,)  a station on the Harlem R. R., 15 houses.  The settlement of this town commenced about the middle of the last century.²  A Ref. Prot. D. church was the first church organized, and Rev. Jeremiah Romeyn was the first pastor.³

GALLATIN⁴-was formed from Ancram, March 27, 1830.  It lies near the center of the s. border of the co.  The surface is broken by several ranges of hills, which extend in a n. and s. direction.  The highest point is Mattashuk Hill, s. of Lake Charlotte.  Roeliff Jansens Kil is the principal stream:  its banks are steep and in some places rocky.  Charlotte Lake, in the n. part of the town, is a fine sheet of water, surrounded by gentle slopes cultivated to the water's edge.  The soil is s slaty and gravelly loam, and moderately fertile.  Gallatinville, (p.v.,) on Roeliff Jansens Kil, contains a gristmill and 11 houses; Weaver Hollow, Jacksons Corners, (on the line of and p. o. in Dutchess co., ) and Union Corners, (partly in Livingston) are hamlets.  The town was settled at a very early day by emigrants form Holland and Germany.⁵  A Ref. Prot. D. church was organized in 1748, and the Rev. Mr. Freymoot was the first pastor.⁶

GHENT⁷ --was formed from Chatham, Claverack, and Kinderhook, April 3, 1818; and a part of Stockport was taken off in 1833.  It is an interior town, n. of the center of the co.  Its surface is hilly in the e. and undulating in the w.  The town is watered by several small streams tributary to Kinderhook and Claverack Creeks.  The soil is mostly a gravelly loam, but in some parts it is clayey.  Ghent,⁸ (p.v.,) in the e. part of the town, is a station on the H. & B. and Harlem R. Rs.  It contains 2 churches and 18 houses.  West Ghent (p.v.) contains 1 church and 16 houses.  Pulvers Station is on the H. & B. R. R.  The first settlement was made about 1735, by emigrants from Holland and Germany.⁹  There 4 churches in town.¹⁰

GREENPORT--was formed from Hudson City, May 13, 1837.  It lies upon the Hudson, near the center of the w. border of the co.  Its surface is broken and hilly.  Beacrofts Mt., in the e. part of the town, is nearly precipitous upon its w. side.  Merino Point,¹¹ near the Hudson, has an elevation of 250 feet above the river.  Claverack Creek forms the e. boundary of the town, and a small tributary of this stream and Kahseway Creek are the principal watercourses.  The intervale of the latter is broad and fertile.  The soil is clayey along the river and a sandy and gravelly loam in the interior.  Limestone is extensively quarried on the e. side of Beacrofts Mt. Oak Hill (p.o.) is a station on the Hudson R. R. R. in the s. w. part of the town.  A steam ferry connects this place with Catskill Point on the opposite side of the Hudson.  Settlement commenced in this town about the middle of the last century.¹²  There is but on church (Ref. Prot. D.) in town.

GERMANTOWN¹³--was formed as a district April 1, 1775, and recognized as a town March 7, 1788.  A part of Clermont was annexed, March 2, 1858.¹⁴  It lies upon the Hudson, in the s. part of the co.  The surface is undulating.  Roeliff Jansens Kil forms the n. boundary.  The soil is a rich, fertile loam, sandy in a few places.  Germantown (p.v.) contains 1 church and 19 houses, and East Camp 17 houses.  The first settlement was made in 1710, by German Palatines, under the patronage of Queen Anne.  The first arrival was in 1710; and on the 1st of May, 1711, there were 1178 settlers in town, and the four villages "Hunterstown," "Queensbury," "Annsberg," and "Haysburgh" had spring into existence.¹⁵ A school was estab-

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¹ The ores obtained from these mines are hematites.  A new ore bed, that promises an abundant supply of an excellent quality, has recently been opened to the depth of 13 feet.

² Families by the names of Snyder, Briese, and Lampman were among the early settlers.

³ The census reports 3 churches; M. E. Presb., and Prot. E.

⁴ Named in honor of Hon. Albert Gallatin.

⁵ The Knickenbackers and the Snyders were among the first settlers.  An Englishman, named Ross, was one of the first settlers in the neighborhood of Gallatinville.

⁶ There are 2 churches in town; Ref. Prot. D. and M. E.

⁷ Named from Ghent, in Holland.

⁸ The Indian name of the locality was "Scom-pa-muck."

⁹Among the first settlers were John, Cornelius, Andrew, and Lawrence Sharp, and Abraham Hogeboom, who located near Ghent village.  A man named Cox had settled near the same place a short time before.

¹⁰ 2 Ref. Prot. D., Evang., Meth., and Friends.

¹¹ This point was formerly called "Rorabuck."  Its present name was derived form the fact that a large sheep farm was established here many years ago.

¹² Jacob Johannes Van Hosen and Erneric Plaice settled in the town as early as 1763.

¹³ Named "East Camp" and "German Camp" in some early records.

¹⁴ That part annexed was almost isolated from the rest of Clermont, and lay n. of this town.

¹⁵ A tract of 6000 acres, forming the present town of Germantown, was purchased, on the 9th of Sept. 1710, of Robt. Livingston by Gov. Hunter, for the use of these people.  It was designed to employ them in raising hemp and making tar pitch, and rosin for the royal navy, and they were furnished with provisions and tools.  The management of their affairs was intrusted to a board of commissioners, consisting of Robt. Livingston, Richard Sacket, John Cast, Godfrey Walsen, Andrew Bagger, and Herman Schureman.  John Peter Knieskem was appointed "master" in Hunterstown, John Conrad Weiser in Queensbury, Hartman Windecker in Annsberg, and John Christian Tucks in Haysburgh.  The enterprise was unsuccessful, and many of the settlers removed to the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys.  In the summer of 1711 a company of 25 men from "Hunterstown" volunteered in the expedition against Canada.  In 1725 the tract was granted by letters patent to the inhabitants of "East Camp," to be divided equally in fee after reserving 40 acres for church and school purposes.

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