History of Columbia County, New York

By Captain Franklin Ellis

Published by Everts & Ensign

Philadelphia, PA

1878

CHAPTER XV.

Pages 135 to 140

MANUFACTURES AND AGRICULTURE.

Statistics of Population, Industries, and Wealth---Agricultural Societies---Farmers' Association.

    [Page 135] The statistics of the census returns for Columbia county make the following exhibit of the population of the territory now included in the county limits at the respective dates given.  In 1714 the returns were as follows:

    Claverack, 1 male above 60 years; 52 males between 16 and 60 years; 54 males under 16 years; 1 female above 60; 38 females between 16 and 60; 51 females under 16; 10 male and 5 female slaves above 16; and two of each sex under 16.

    Kinderhook, 5 males and 6 females over 60 years; 75 males and 57 females between 16 and 60; 83 males and 67 females under 16; 12 male and 7 female slaves over 16; and 6 male and 7 females slaves under 16.

    Coxsackie and the north part of Livingston manor, 6 males and two females over 60 years; 48 males and 53 females between 16 and 60; 62 males and 28 females under 16; 26 male and 11 female slaves over 16; and 10 male and 6 female slaves under 16 years.

    In 1720, "Gerret Van Schijck, high sheriff" of the city and county of Albany, "by order of the court of judicature held for province of New York, June 11, 1720," returned an enumeration of freeholders in the county, from which it appears that in Kinderhook and a part of the manor of Livingston there were 38, in the north part of Livingston there were 28, and in Claverack 35 freeholders.

    The population by towns form 1790 to 1875 is shown by the following table:

    In 1875, the native-born population of the county numbered 41,845, and the foreign-born 5776.  Of these people, 46,370 were white and 1251 colored, of whom 23, 289 were males, and 24,332 were females, 1435 being aliens.  Of the males 13,128 were of the voting age,---over twenty-one years,---of whom 10,486 were native-born, and 1960 naturalized, and 682 were aliens; 9104 males were of the military age,---between 18 and 45; 6254 males and 6224 females were of the school age,--between 5 and 18; 5538 were freeholders; and 785 of the voting age were unable to read and write.

    There were 8592 dwellings in the county, of which 8037 were frame, 493 were brick, 53 stone, and 9 were the primitive log cabins of the pioneer, the value of which was returned at $13,610,592,---the frames being $10,990,347, the brick $2,479,000, the stone $143,815, and the cabins at $430; 52 were returned at less than $50, 121 between $50 and $100, 752 between $100 and $250, 2704 between $250 and $1000, 2004 between $1000 and $2000, 1948 between $2000 and $5000, 392 between $5000 and $10,000, and 129 over $10,000.  Of the latter, Canaan had 1, Chatham 5, Claverack 4, Clermont 6, Copake 1, Ghent 1, Greenport 5, Hudson 76, Kinderhook 12, Livingston 1, New Lebanon 13, Stockport and Stuyvesant 2 each.  The population was divided into 10,121 families, inhabiting 8478 dwellings averaging 4-71/100 persons to each family, and 5 62/100 persons to each inhabited house.  The area of the county is 688 square miles, and there were 69.22 person, 14.71 families, and 12.49 dwellings to a square mile, and 9.25 acres to each person.  The average value of house accommodation to each family was $1333.03.

    On the 11th of June, 1757, Governor Tryon reported to the Lords of Trade, "There are few mines discovered in the Province.  One, of Iron Ore, in the Manor of Livingston, belonging to Robert Livingston, Esquire; another, of Iron also, in Orange county, the property of Vincent Matthews, Esquire; and one the the Manor of Philipsburgh.  The works belonging to the First [Livingston] are carried out to great advantage."  Such was the condition of iron mines and manufactures in the province in 1757; there were but three mines discovered, and but one of these was worked, which was that of Mr. Livingston.  And in all the province there was but one manufactory of iron, which was also that of Mr. Livingston; both the mine and the works being in the present county of Columbia.

    The iron-works of Mr. Livingston were erected in 1748, "at a place called Sober," but which was more frequently termed "Anchoram," being in the present town of Ancram.  A return, made to the Lords of Trade in 1857, of the product of those works during the years 1750 to 1756, inclusive, shows as follows:

BAR IRON.

CASTINGS.

    On the 23d of June, 1755, Mr. Livingston, in a letter which he wrote in reference to a raid of anti-renters who had despoiled his works and carried away some of the workmen, said, "It has put it out of my power to furnish Messrs. Banker & Dire hitherto with the Carriage-wheels, and Mr. William Alexander with the quantity of Shot I engaged to deliver him for the Expedition to Onjagera [Niagara] and Crown Point; and yet, notwithstanding this ill-treatment I have received, as I had the expedition very much at heart, I ordered my Furnace, as soon as I came from New York, to be Immediately repaired at a great Expence of upwards of £400, that I might still be able to furnish the Shott, etc., as soon as my workmen returned, that the Expedition might not be retarded; and I have now had her in good order since Monday last, but no workmen yett;"---which in itself explains that the much larger weight of castings returned for 1755 was for the reason that the works were then furnishing cannon-balls for the army.

    During the Revolutionary war another member of that patriotic family of Livingston (Judge Robert R.,* the father of the chancellor) furnished the American government with munitions of war from a powder-mill which he put in operation near his residence in Clermont, but of whose amount of production we have no definite account.

    On Sauthier's map (January, 1778) the following-named mills are noted within the manor of Livingston, viz."

    Grist and saw-mills near the manor-house, on north bank of Roeloff Jansen's Kill.

    The forge, furnace, grist and saw-mills at Ancram.

    "Unity Mills," on same stream, at outlet of Robinson's pond, in Copake.

    Grist-mill on same stream, two and one-half miles above last-mentioned.

    "Grist-mill Defiance," in Ancram, on "Punch Brook" a tributary of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, and about three miles above their confluence.

    "Mill Success," on Copake creek, west of Copake lake.

    "Maryburgh Forge" (marked as "in ruins"), on Copake creek, site of the new forge.

    "Mill Support," in the northeast part of Livingston, on Copake creek.

    "Mill Revenge," on "Doove Kill," outlet of Lake Charlotte.

    Grist-mill in southwest corner of Germantown, on small stream entering Hudson river.

   [page 137]  The first paper-mill erected in the county was on built at Stuyvesant falls, on the Kinderhook creek, in 1802, by Messrs. Pitkins and Edmonds,† an old grist-mill at the upper falls being transformed into one.  In 1802, George Chittenden bought this mill, from which has probably arisen the statement that Mr. Chittenden was the builder of it.

    The first cotton-factory was built, in 1813, by Nathaniel Wilde and his brother, "two enterprising Yorkshiremen," who gave out their cotton to be carded by the farmers' wives and daughters.

    The first cotton print (calico) works were built, in 1828, by Benjamin and Joseph Marshall, at Stockport village.

    An oil-mill was established by Judah Paddock on mile east of Columbiaville, about 1805.

    The census of 1840 gives the following exhibit of the industries of the county, other than agriculture, at that date:  Manufactures---iron---5 furnaces made 915 tons cast-iron; 2 forges made 150 tons bars; 1372 tons coal used; 98 men and $51,500 capital employed.  Stone---17 men; $1000 capital; value of product, $10,900.  Machinery manufactured---58 employees; $72,500, value of product.   Small arms---5 men.  Marble---$500, value of product; 1 man.  Brick and lime---27 men; $8100, value of product.  Wool---28 fulling-mills, 19 factories, 181 men, and $93,450 capital; value of manufactured goods, $139,000.  Cotton---11 factories, 18,256 spindles, 1 calico-printing factory, 760 person, and $893,300 capital employed; value of manufactured goods, $475,440.  Silk---3 male and 2 female operatives; $500 capital; 9 pounds made; value, $85.  Mixed manufactures---19 operatives; $6300 capital; $17,800 product.  Tobacco---2 operatives; $1000 capital; $3500, value of manufactured goods.  Hats and caps---36 operatives; $16,450 capital; product, $50,546.  Ten tanneries---89 operatives; $24,550 capital; 1200 sides sole, 5790 sides upper, manufactured.  Nineteen other leather-manufactories, saddleries, etc.---$33,500 capital; $49,700, value of product.  Soap and candles---12 operatives; $12,000 capital; 164,000 pounds, 46,000 pounds tallow candles, 60,000 sperm and wax candles manufactured.  Two distilleries---15,800 gallons; 1 brewery, 15,000 gallons; 10 operatives; $35,300 capital.  $880 value drugs and medicines manufactured; 8 operatives; $1000 capital.  Four paper-mills---$9500, value of product; 16 operatives; $18,000 capital.  Four printing-offices, 1 bindery, 3 weekly newspapers, 2 periodicals---18 operatives; $7000 capital.  Wagons and carriages---182 operatives; $52,650 capital; $76,450, value of manufactured articles.  Twelve flouring-mills---18,250 barrels flour; 39 grist-mills; 41 saw-mills; $170,275, value of product; 62 operatives; $196,200 capital.  Furniture---$42,800, value of manufactured goods; 80 operatives; $16,400 capital.  Sixteen brick or stone, and 76 wooden houses built; 216 men employed; $138,340, value of construction; $38,680, value of all other manufactured articles; capital invested, $18,500.  total capital invested in manufacture, $1,457,050.  Fisheries---37,075 gallons spermaceti oil; whale and other fish-oils, 277,200 gallons; value of whalebone and other product of fisheries, $147,800; 304 men and $330,000 capital employed.  Men employed in commerce, 400, and in internal transportation, 184; capital $156,500.  One commission house in foreign trade---$14,000 capital.  Retail stores of various classes of goods, 228; capital $679,200.  Seven lumber-yards---$36,000 capital.  Product of forests---lumber, $3400.  In 1860 there were 15 paper-mills and 8 cotton-factories in the county.

    The census of 1875 makes no returns whatever of manufactures or commerce.  The census of 1870 makes the following exhibit of manufactures:  There were 483 establishments of all kinds,---28 steam (1523 horse-power), 131 water (3493 horse-power); 3551 operatives, ---2437 males over 16, 742 females over 15, and 372 youth; $5,033,505 capital employed; $3,960,371 value of materials used; $6,737,568 value of products.  These were classed as follows:

AGRICULTURAL.

    The census returns of Columbia county for the year 1840 show that there were 28,149 bushels wheat produced in previous year, 1971 bushels barley, 1,107,702 bushels oats, 323,299 bushels rye, 97,733 bushels buckwheat, 412,032 bushels corn, 242,777 pounds wool, 50 pounds hops, 377 pounds wax, 560,819 bushels potatoes, 56,213 tons hay, 2 pounds silk cocoons, 839 pounds sugar, 11,273 cords of wood sold, $201,566 dairy products, $30,506 orchard products, 34 gallons wine, $31,282 value of home-made or family goods, $9900 value of market garden products, $100 florists' products, $29,606 value of poultry; there were in the county 9064 horses, 32,699 neat cattle, 123,063 sheep, 54,9111 hogs.

    In 1855, 3242 persons in the county made returns of farms, with 304,277 acres improved, and 69,255 acres unimproved.  Value of farms, $19,130,749; live-stock, $1,858,418; tools and implements, $620,499.

    ]page 138]  The census of 1875 shows the following agricultural exhibit:

EXHIBIT OF INDUSTRY AND WEALTH OF THE COUNTY.

    Improved acres, 315,112, unimproved, 50,319 woodland, 11,786 other lands; value of farms, $23,453,394; farm buildings other than dwellings, $3,546,295; stock, $2,217,390; tools and implements, $965,384; cost of fertilizers bought in 1874, $18,753; amount of gross sales from farms in 1874,$2,444,012; area plowed in 1874, 92,457 acres; 1875, 77,412; grasslands, pasturage, 1874, 87,048 acres; 1875, 90,464 acres; 104,220 acres mown 1874; 105,082 acres 1875; hay produced 1874, 122,609 tons; grass-seed, 1874, 535 bushels; barley, acres sown, 36 in 1874, 40 in 1875; bushels produced in 1874, 699; buckwheat, 7042 acres, 86,083 bushels; 4038 acres, 1875; corn 1874, 17,493 acres, 315,430 bushels; 1875, 17,835 acres; oats, 1874, 27,624 acres, 627,614 bushels; 1875; 30,418 acres; rye, 1874, 44,813 acres, 521,155 bushels; 1875 39,952 acres; spring wheat, 1874, 3 acres, 14 bushels, 1875, 2 acres; winter wheat, 1873 21 acres, 1874, 54 acres, 363 bushels; corn sown for fodder, 1874, 245 acres; 1875, 153 acres; beans, 1874, 66 acres, 706 bushels; 1875, 75 acres; peas, 1874, 6 acres, 103 bushels; 1875 6 acres; hops, 1874, 28 acres, 6920 pounds; 1875, 27 acres; potatoes, 1874, 9579 acres, 664,591 bushels; 1875, 11,510 acres; tobacco, 1874, 280 acres; 1875, 200 acres; apple-orchards, 1874, 258,075 trees, fruit, 342,338 bushels, cider, 10,441 barrels; grapes, 1874, 403,292 pounds, 1367 gallons wine made; maple-sugar, 1875, 485 pounds, and 210 gallons syrup made; honey collected 1874, 14,459 pounds; horses on farms, colts of 1875, 371; do. of 1874, 362; 2 years old and over, 9295; mules on farms, 1875, 103; poultry, value owned 1875, $73,856; value sold 1874, $34,226; value eggs sold 1874, $42,467; neat cattle on farms, 1875, heifers, 977 2 years old, 1384 yearlings, 1749 calves, 854 bulls of all ages, 1935 working oxen and steers; milch-cows, 1874, 12,084; 1875, 12,414; cattle slaughtered in 1874, 949; dairy products, cows whose milk was sent to factory 1874, 12; 1875, 4; butter made in families 1874, 1,157,267 pounds; milk sold in market 1874, 482,482 gallons; cheese made in families 1874, 9386 pounds; sheep, number shorn 1874, 29,271; 1875 32,303; weight of clip 1874, 134,054 pounds; 1875, 149,452 pounds; lambs raised 1874, 19,211; 1875, 22,199; slaughtered 1874, 1576; killed by dogs, 266; swine, pigs of 1875, 15,446; of 1874 and older, 15,051; slaughtered on farms 1874, 13,438; pork made on farms 1874, 2,633138 pounds.

    Of farms of all sizes there were 3534, the area of which was as follows:  424 under 3 acres, 311 between 3 and 10 acres, 171 between 10 and 20, 304 between 20 and 50, 544 between 50 and 100, 1768 between 100 and 500, 10 between 500 and 1000, and 20 over 1000 acres.  There was an increase of farms of all sizes over the returns of 1870 of 561; 422 of the increase being on farms under 3 acres, 109 between 3 and 10 acres, 17 between 10 and 20, 11 between 20 and 50, 132 between 100 and 500, and 2 over 1000 acres.  The farms between 50 and 100 acres decreased 137.

    The number of sheep shorn, weight of clip, and average weight of fleece for the years 1855, 1865, 1874 adn 1875, were as follows:

    The average yield per acre of the principal crops in 1874 was as follows:  Tons hay, 1.18; bushels barley, 19.42; buckwheat, 12.22; corn, 18.03; oats, 22.72; rye, 16.63; spring wheat, 4.67; winter wheat, 17.29; hops, 247.14 (pounds); potatoes, 69.38.

    Although the soil of the county has to some extent become exhausted by a peculiar system of agriculture, it is unquestionable that, originally, it was unsurpassed in productive qualities by that of any section of the fertile State of New York.

    When Hudson came, he found that the Indians, even by their slovenly methods, produced not only maize, of which he saw at one place "enough to load three ships," but they had also beans, pumpkins, flax, and a variety of other products, and all in abundance.  He also found apple, plum, and mulberry-trees; and Indian orchards of the former still existed as late as the commencement of the present century in Ghent, and at other points in the county.

    The Dutch settlers found the soil exceedingly productive, as we have before mentioned; and that they raised and shipped wheat in large quantities is evidenced by the journal of the Labadist brethren who came here in the seventeenth century.  Now, wheat is almost unknown, but, instead, waving fields of rye may everywhere be seen throughout the county; and this, by those whose opinions should be entitled to weight, is said to be a more profitable crop than the wheat, which it has superseded.

    It is found that the soil and climate of the county are excellently adapted to the production of fruit, and its cultivation is on the increase, with the best results.  It is believed that the first Newtown pippins ever seen in England (and it is the apple which to-day takes precedence of all others in the English market) were raised in what is now Columbia county; for it is known that, as early as 1767, Robert Livingston (the third lord) sent a barrel of that variety to England, where their beauty and delicious flavor elicited notices of the highest approbation.

    Several members of the Livingston family have at various times taken great interest in matters of agriculture.  It is said that the famous Merino sheep were first introduced into America by Chancellor Livingston, who, it is known, imported some exceedingly fine ones about the year 1801.  They were procured by him from the celebrated flock of Rambouillet in France, and it was estimated that, in the year 1812, 60,000 of the descendants of his importation were in the United States,---the flock at Clermont alone at that time numbering about one thousand.  Horatio Gates Spafford, in his Gazetteer of Columbia county, published about 1823, says, "Unfortunately for themselves and the country, the farmers have overvalued and undervalued in quick succession the Merino sheep, the subject of so much speculation, profit, loss, and twofold regrets;" but after diligent inquiry we have been unable to learn that these [page 139] sheep were ever raised to any great extent in this county, with the exception of the Livingston flock, and that of Beriah Pease, at his "Fonda farm," upon what is now called Mount Merino from the fact that he kept there a fine flock of those sheep.  The raising of the ordinary breeds of sheep, however, has in past times been entered into extensively, but has now greatly fallen off, though the average weight of wool produced, per sheep, has steadily increased, and was great in 1875 than in any year previously reported.

    The earliest reference which we find to the introduction of labor-saving agricultural machinery in Columbia county was in the year 1806, being an advertisement in the Columbia Balance of January 28, in that year.  Following is a copy:

    "The subscriber, finding the principle of his Patent Threshing Machine highly approved of in many parts where they have been well built; but being sensible they have not gone so generally into use as might be expected, owing to inexperienced workmen being employed, and want of proper materials in erecting them; He therefore has proposed, and now informs those Farmers who may think it an object to make application, that he will have them built in Hudson, under his own inspection, and will warrant them to extract at the rate of 50 or 60 bushels per day; that they shall answer every reasonable expectation, or the purchaser may return them at any time within one year.  Having provided proper materials for that purpose, he flatters himself that some patriotic Farmers will embrace the favorable opportunity.  The machines may be easily conveyed on a wagon or sled.  Price, $100.

"C. Hoxie.

"Hudson, January, 1806."

    It is claimed that the first mowing-machine was invented and constructed by a Mr. Beal, of Spencertown, in the town of Austerlitz, between 1830 and 1840.  It is mentioned that "it had a straight scythe, and was at least a good experiment in the right direction."

        The first agricultural society of which we find mention was the "Agriculture Association of Dutchess and Columbia Counties," of which General Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer was the secretary in 1817.  In that year the association held a fair and cattle show "at Loop's, in Red Hook," at which the premiums offered amounted to $200, being in part as follows:

    We have made considerable research in order to discover the names of the fortunate ones to whom were awarded the premiums, but without success.  Neither are we able to trace the subsequent history of the association.

THE COLUMBIA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

    Owing to the loss or misplacement of the old records of the society, the exact date of the organization of the County Agricultural Society has not been determined.  It held its meetings for many years in Hudson, and about 1855 was removed to Chatham.  The fair of 1877 was the thirty-seventh annual one.  In 1856 the society purchased fifteen acres of ground at that village, paying $2400 therefor, and in 1858 a horse fair was held.  In 1859 the following officers were elected:  Peter F. Mesick, president; Peter E. Van Alstyne, vice-president; Hiram D. Ford, secretary; Henry K. Coburn, treasurer; John T. Hogeboom, William D. Steward, Waterman Lippett, Elisha W. Bushnell, Bartlett S. Marshall, William R. Mesick, executive committee.  A fair was held September 28-30, 1859, at which the receipts were $2057.39, and the expenses $1930.15.  In 1865 additional lands were bought, and in 1866 a new floral hall was built.  In 1868 more land was bought, the price paid being $3000.  Besides the annual fairs, several spring exhibitions of horses, sheep shearings, etc., have been held.  The receipts and disbursements since and including 1859 have been as follows:

    In 1868 the gate fees were $2732.25; premiums paid, $2970.42; $1000 being paid for horse premiums.  the State appropriations have been about $325 annually for several years past.

    The presidents and secretaries of the society since 1859 have been as follows:

    Presidents.---Peter F. Mesick, John T. Hogeboom, Nathan S. Ashley, Peter S. Pulver, Staats D. Tompkins, J. Wesley Jones, Lewis F. Payne, Stephen G. Bushnell, George L. Morris, Isaac M. Pitts, John D. Shufeldt, Silvester Van Deusen, J. N. Garner.

    Secretaries.---Hiram D. Ford, Abraham Ashley, E. Backus, Charles A. Belden, Nathan H. Thomas, A. Ashley, Jr., Joseph P. Hogeboom, H. M. Ford, J. Wesley Jones, Chalres H. Beale, James Smith, Charles E. Clark, W. H. Ten Broeck.

    Officer for 1878.---S. Van Deusen, President; P. F. Mesick, vice-president; J. W. Boright, secretary; W. H. Ten Broeck, treasurer; Directors:  John Harmon, Ezra Lasher, term expires 1879; H. C. Pinson, G. L. Morris, term expires 1880; James Bain, M. L. Hanor, term expires 1881.

THE COLUMBIA AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION

was incorporated March 4, 1861, and has its grounds just outside the limits of Hudson City, where it holds its exhibitions.  The incorporators were J. Van Ness Philip, Henry S. Van De Carr, Peter Bogardus, George H. Power, P. S. Wynkoop, Samuel T. Du Bois, P. P. Rossman, R. B. Shepard, F. A. Gifford.  The capital stock was $12,000, at $10 per share.  The first officers were as follows:  Henry S. Van De Carr, president; Silas W. Tobey, Samuel A. Miller, David Crapser, Hiram P. Hoysradt, David Miller, vice-presidents; Robert B. Shepard, treasurer; Frederick A. Gifford, secretary; Directors, George H. Power and Samuel T. Du Bois, 1860-64; Peter S. Wynkoop, Peter [page 140] Bogardus, 1860-65; Peter P. Rossman, William A. Carpenter, 1860-66.

    On June 11, 1860, the directors voted to purchase grounds, and appointed committees for purchase, and survey and grading, and on buildings.  The Mellen lot was purchased, and buildings were erected on the plan of those of the Troy Agricultural Society.  In 1860 the first fair was held, and was reported by the press as "a splendid success," with a "larger and finer display of stock than ever exhibited before in the county," and also a "very fine exhibition of agricultural implements."  The attendance was very large.  The second fair was held Sept. 25-27, 1861, the receipts of which were $2200.62.  Annual fairs and annual horse show have been held every year since the first year, 1860.  In 1866 the receipts were $5587.57, and the premiums paid were 1263.  In 1867 the capital stock was increased $15,000, and in 1868 additional grounds were bought.  In 1869 a new building, 16 by 16 feet, two stories, was built.  In 1870 the Hood property was bought at $5000, and the covered amphitheatre built at a cost of $1186.50.  In 1873 a portion of the Hood property, some 4 acres and over, was sold for $2500.  In 1876 Floral Hall was burned, and a new one erected at a cost of $5000.  The new hall is 50 by 150 feet, 45 feet high in the clear, and surmounted with a cupola, from which a charming view of the surrounding country is obtained.  The grand stand has a capacity of 2500 covered seats.  A fine half-mile track is inclosed within the grounds, and well-built stalls for cattle and horses, sheds for sheep and swine, coops for fowls, and rooms for agricultural implements, attest the successful management of the association and its popularity.  The grounds, some 25 acres in area, are kept in fine condition, as are all of the buildings.  The latter are not excelled by any county society, and equaled by few.

    The receipts of the fair---1877---were $3850, and premiums paid amounted to $1700.

    The presidents and secretaries have been as follows since the organization of the society:

    Presidents.---Henry S. Van De Carr, 1860-61, and 1863-68; Jacob W. Hoysradt, 1869-78.

    Secretaries.---Fredk. A. Gifford, 1860-64; John C. Hogeboom, 1864-64; Chas. W. Macy, 1866-75; W. H. Traver, 1876-78.

    The present officers are:

    Jacob W. Hoysradt, president, H. S. Van De Carr, S. T. Du Bois, H. W. Rogers, I. W. Tobey, Lemuel Holmes, vice-presidents; B. S. Johnson, treasurer; W. H. Traver, secretary; Cyrus Macy, John E. Gillette, D. M. Haviland, T. H. Gantley, Richard Kidney, Cyrus Groat, directors.

THE FARMERS' UNION ASSOCIATION,

which has it headquarters at East Chatham, was organized March 20, 1874, with Ira A. Smith as president; H. W. Ellsworth, vice-president; A. C. Bradley, secretary; Jay N. Preston, treasurer; George S. Harger, salesman; C. C. Campbell, superintendent; and now has forty-five members, mostly farmers.  The principal object of the association was to enable its members to secure, at the least expense, an advantageous market for their products, more especially hay and straw.  For that purpose they erected in the village of East Chatham, during the summer of 1874, a building forty by one hundred feet in size, in which to press and store hay and straw, using he "P. K. Dederick Perpetual Baling Press," run by a six-horse steam-engine, and able to press from ten to fifteen tons per day.

    The association presses and markets about two thousand tons of hay and straw yearly, and has made East Chatham one of the best hay-markets in the county.  It also enables its members to purchase coal, seed, flour, and other articles at wholesale, and to save largely on commissions by so doing.  It is not organized under the State Grange of Patrons of Husbandry, but is an independent organization, in which its members are general partners.  The cost of its building and fixtures was $4500, and the Boston and Albany Railroad company has laid tracks to it, so that the labor of loading upon cars is reduced to a minimum.

    The present officers of the association are Ira C. Smith, president; H. W. Ellsworth, vice-president; A. C. Bradley, secretary; Jay N. Preston, treasurer and superintendent; George S. Harger, salesman.

    The economical pressing, bailing, and shipment of hay and straw are items to be considered by the farmers of this county, as hay and rye form two of the chief agricultural products.  Vast quantities of unpressed straw are sold to the numerous paper-manufactories of the county, but large quantities are likewise required to be baled; and nearly all the hay product is sold in that condition.  Besides these two, the other principal crops produced by the farmers of the county are oats, potatoes, and Indian corn.  The slaty solids are thought the best for the production of rye, but the limestone lands are preferred for most other crops.  "Granite and granular limestone give the constituents of the soils on and among the Taghkanics, whilst graywacke and blue limestone, much of which is shelly, and much metalliferous, superimposed on slate, form the very various soils of the remainder."  Nearly the whole of the county belongs to the transition formation; the prevailing rocks are the Hudson river shales.  Nature has furnished abundant store of limestone as a means of tempering such soils as are cold and clayey, and in many places the lime in the form of marl requires no burning to form a stimulant.

    Professor W. W. Mather, in his report on the geology of New York, remarked as follows concerning the usefulness of marl as a fertilizer:

    "Shell or lake marl, so very useful on some soils as a manure, is continually forming.  It is abundant in some parts of the district, more particularly in that which forms the valley of the Hudson.  . . .  The value of fresh-water shell-marl is well known among our intelligent farmers; but few know it when they see it, and still fewer know in what situations to seek it."  He mentions, however, only seven different points where he discovered it in Columbia county, viz.:  in a pond four miles north of Kinderhook (sixty acres); at a point (which he had not visited) one or two miles west of Malden; Crysler's pond, Copake, seven acres; Rhoda pond, Copake, ten acres; Woodward's pond, Copake, eight acres; Hillsdale, in pond on Mrs. Burton's farm; and on lands of Mr. Mitchell and Judge Loop.  To identify the two last-named points it will be necessary to remember that the professor's report was made in the year 1843.

* Judge Livingston died about the commencement of the war, but the powder-mill was continued in operation by his son John R. Livingston.

† Father of Hon. John W. Edmonds.

‡ Steam, 7 horse-power; water, 4 horse-power.

§ Above ground, 7 men; under ground, 15 men.

¦¦ 7000 tons.

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