Issue 2
September 2017
Milan NY Histor MILAN IN THE 1870s
~Five Years After The Civil War ~ Come Celebrate April 7, 2018, 1-4 p.m. Town Hall The Town of Milan Bicentennial Committee is seeking to include Milan artists to display their artwork and volunteer musicians to play acoustically at our initial bicentennial event. If you are interested in participating, please call Wendy at 845.876.3450. We are also producing a printed and digital self-guided scenic driving tour for those interested in experiencing Milan early-American architecture. If you have an antique or very old house with a story about its history (just a paragraph or two), please call Wendy at 845.876.3450. We will include your house in the tour.
Milan, five years after the close of the Civil War—a war that sent men from Milan to fight at Bull Run, Gettysburg, Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain and dozens of other battlefields— showed little apparent change in the 50 years since its formation. It was still an agricultural community without a center, although hamlets abounded. But scratch the records a bit deeper, and the changes become clear and significant. First and foremost was a decline in the town’s population after 1850. In 1830, the population reached a high point of 1,886. It declined a bit in 1840, increased slightly in 1850, and then tumbled by 1860. By 1870, it had fallen to 1,474, a 22 percent decrease from its high point. (By way of comparison, New York State’s population more than tripled and Dutchess County’s increased by nearly 60 percent in the same time period.)
Our History—Milan, New York There are several ways to learn about the history of Milan: ~ MilanNYHistory.org. There you will find documents, pictures and videos. ~ The History Room at the Milan Town Hall. Many original documents and photos are housed here. They may be accessed by appointment on most Sundays from 12-2 pm. ~ Sign into your Facebook account and search for Milan NY History in Pictures and Words, historical records of the town and or Milan Memories, general memories and photos about living in Milan. In addition, the volunteer team is creating an inventory of documents, maps and photos housed in the History Room. When the listing is complete, it will be posted on the website, Facebook, and in print. **Town Historian: Johanna Bard 845.901.2445 **Deputy Historian: Bill Jeffway 917.991.0482 The articles without attribution are the collaborative work of Bill Jeffway, Bobbie Thompson, Vicky LoBrutto and Jack Campisi.
Article continued on page 6 Susie B. Frazier at a house somewhere on Battenfeld Rd. We are not able to establish the exact location. If you have any clues (seen any old foundations during a walk?), let us know.
milannyhistory @gmail.com
The Evolution of Hamlets in Milan New York State laws give a legal form and set of responsibilities to cities, towns and villages. Hamlets do not have that form and status but are legally recognized as areas that can be named as such. As a result, exact definitions of Milan hamlets (boundaries and names) are elusive. Historically, they tended to emerge in New York State in the early 1800s around the creation of a post office, which might be a storefront or frequently the home of the postmaster. Other things that might prompt this kind of designation could be place of work and commerce such as grist or sawmills, tannery, distiller, church, school or a cluster of any of these. When we look at the hamlets of Milan, they are largely understood to have been (or in some instances continue to be) as follows: Along the northern east/west route now referred to as Turkey Hill Road: Cokertown to the west and Jackson Corners to the east. Along the southern east/west route now known as Route 199: Rock City at the “Fork in the Road” and Lafayetteville at North/South Road. From west to east on the Salisbury Turnpike: Milanville/Case’s Corner at Milan Hollow Road and Thorndale at Field Road.
The names of the hamlets are derived from local individuals’ names in the instances of Thorndale and Shookville. We believe Jackson Corners was named for President Andrew Jackson after his death, as is the case we believe for Lafayetteville and General LaFayette who died in 1834. Rock City is frequently described as having been named for the very visible outcrop of rock even visible today. Cokertown was adopted as a name after the railroad was established, and Spring Lake station was changed officially to Cokertown station. There is no certain information on the naming of Enterprise. That leaves Milanville or Case’s Corner. Since this was the post office when the town was formed and so named in 1818, it retained that name for a number of years until Rensselaer Case settled for a number of decades and that area is today known for his family name.
A Close‐up Look at the Hamlet of Milanville/Case’s Cor er Although the intersection of the Salisbury Turnpike and Milan Hollow Road would be the most visible and classically named hamlet (Milan or Milanville), the influence of the Thorne family who built their first home and two mills at the intersection of the Turnpike and Field Road cannot be understated (see last newsletter). Even prior to Milan’s founding, Stephen Thorne was postmaster of what was called “West Northeast” at this junction. Stephen Thorne and several of his children were very active in the town. Rensselaer Case took over from Thorne as Postmaster in 1849. He served as hamlet store owner and Postmaster, Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, Town Justice and Dutchess County Justice of Sessions. In addition, he ran a commercial wagon or carriage making business relying on the water of the stream that can be seen today. Of the 96-year tenure (1812-1908) of a post office at this location, we find that the names Thorne and Case account for 48 of those years.
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The Hamlet of Shookville The hamlet of Shookville was one and one-half miles north of Rock City, at the intersection of St. Paul and Shookville roads. As described by Burton Coon, whose father, William, owned a small farm (78 acres) at the end of what is now Webster Coon Road (named after William’s grandson), the hamlet in the 1820s
Shookville Church Then and Now
. . . . could boast of a general store, a blacksmith shop, a tannery and a distillery. The distillery and store were under one management, whiskey and cider brandy being sold in the store. . . .The tannery was located farther down the road. The tanning in those days was done altogether with bark, either oak or hemlock and the gathering of bark for this purpose was quite an industry. . . . . . . [T] he place got its name from the fact that three brothers by the name of Shook owned and occupied three farms quite near each other. Jacob ran the store and distillery, George had the tannery and Peter was just a farmer. They were all prosperous men and a little later, in 1834, Jacob and Peter built the old stone church which is still standing. The blacksmith shop was owned by a man name Becker. . . . It was on the hill, just below the crossroads corner. The schoolhouse was located a half mile or so southeast of the church. Burton Coon, who was born in 1869 and lived on the family farm—called, appropriately, Trail’s End– mused about the decline of Shookville in one of his many articles. The store and shops were gone and Shookville had become a farming community before he reached adulthood. As he saw it, waterpower was the key to growth, which Shookville lacked and Rock City had. “The process of development is very simple,” he wrote, “first water, then a mill, then a blacksmith shop, then a store, then a group of dwellings and each followed the other quite naturally.” In contemporary parlance, Burton Coon nailed it.”
The cent r ‐plus Shookville home o f the Coon family
Coon, Burton Barker. Recollections of Red Hook Upper Red Hook. . . . Compiled by John and Clara Losee
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THE JOURNEY OF THE SHOOKVILLE CHURCH TABLET You can view the 1834 Dedication Tablet at Milan Town Hall, preserved in a display in a wall. The earlier photo of the Church shows that its location was just below the middle, arched window. October 13, 1939, Burton Coon wrote in the Rhinebeck Gazette that the tablet had been stolen from the abandoned Church. On July 30, 1981, it was reported that Mary Cioffi of Spring Lake Road had come to discover that a stepping stone in the backyard facing down was actually this tablet. She donated the tablet to the Town for safe keeping.
THE HAMLETS OF MILAN IN THE 1800S
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An Old Fashioned Doctor Dr. Herrick was what we use to call “an old fashioned country doctor.” He worked seven days a week, 24 hours a day and made house calls with a horse and buggy. In one case, it was a new patient, and he made a note in his ledger that it was in Lafayette and a red house. Milan’s historical archives has been the recipient of Dr. Herrick’s ledgers from the year 1872 to the first month of 1877. In these ledgers are the names of his Dr. Herrick and his family. patients, the dates of treatment and sometimes what medicines were given. The entire book can be viewed at milannyhistory.org under “People/Individuals.” Dr. Herrick was the third child of eight children born to Ephraim Herrick and Phoebe Albertson on 17 December 1820. Presumably his early education was at a one room schoolhouse in District 6. In 1842, he entered Albany Medical College. He received his medical degree from Berkshire Medical College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1849. Berkshire Medical College was a medical department of Williams College and became a college itself on 1823, only to be disbanded in 1867. He first practiced in Pine Plains and married Helen Sherwood 21 January 1864. About a year or so later, he moved to his own office in Case’s Corners at the junction of Milan Hollow Road and Salisbury Turnpike where he stayed for the rest of his doctoring years.
man that came in for treatment such as Henry Ostrander, self, or Stephen Thorn, wife or Charles Dykeman, children, George Tallman, babe. There were sisters, nieces, babies, children, brothers-in-laws, wives, a boy or girl all with the name of the person who brought them in. There were quite a few tooth extractions with follow-up visits. In case of serious illness, Dr. Herrick made follow-up visits to determine the health of his patient. Vaccinations began with just a few in 1872 and by 1875 not just the children but adults too were being vaccinated. This was an early type of serum against smallpox. Another part of his practice was obstetrics. He would have the name of the man with wife such a Ben Scism, wife. The notation would be every day or every other day for a month of maybe two months, then disappear. One patient was treated with pepsin powder once a week for about two months, then evidently was cured. Another patient was treated with tincture of arnica, another with a balsam medicine. Several had “plaster” and one with “strengthen plaster.” He was a man for all ailments. Payment was another matter altogether. Most visits were paid at the time—$1.50, $2.00. Some payments were left “on account,” then paid up, as was the case of Rensellaer Case who debited his account with a $19 payment. Then, of course, we had payments in goods; for instance, Jeremiah Link paid for his medicine with four lbs. of buckwheat, 1/2 bushel potatoes, 40 lbs. ground rye, 20 bushels of buckwheat and 11 lbs. of lard. James Herrick gave him 15 gallons of ider. Mark Row made 3 1/2 lbs. of butter, 1/2 cord of wood and one ton of hay. Meat was also included. Peter Allendorf provided nine lbs. salt pork. John Kilmer gave 42 lbs. beef. George Thurst handed over two pigs and three bushels of corn.
There were other notations in his ledger where he paid to Charles and George Wyant for shoeing Dr. Herrick’s Office his horses and repairing a wagon and to Philip Allendorf for shoeing horses, for 20 chestnut pots and 400 wt. of coal. Such was the era of medicine in Today we have specialists for every conceivable type of the late 1800s. Dr. Walter Herrick died on 13 January ailment or problem. You go to one doctor and he refers 1895, and was buried in the Milan Christian Cemetery on you to another, then after another exam, you go to another Milan Hollow Road. and you end up paying for each. In the 1870s, with a few exceptions, there was one specialist for all types of ailments and accidents, this was the type of medicine that Dr. Herrick practiced. In his ledgers, he usually wrote the name of the -5 -
Milan in the 1870s from Page 1...
It is fair to ask why: What could have caused such a precipitous decline? The factor that comes to mind is the improvements in transportation, starting in 1807 with the introduction of steamboat travel on the Hudson River. This was followed in 1825 with the opening of the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo, which reduced the cost of shipping by as much as 90 percent. The Erie Canal had hardly been finished when, starting in the 1830s, railroads spread along the banks of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, culminating in 1853 with completion of the New York Central connecting Buffalo and points west to New York City. The transportation systems had two impacts on Milan and other inland towns. First, they drew people to the Hudson River where the jobs were, depopulating the towns to the east. For example, while Milan lost residents between 1820 and 1870, Red Hook nearly doubled, going from 2,714 to 4,350. Second, the developing transportation systems opened up cheap, fertile land in the western part of the state and provided an inexpensive means to get crops to markets. In the first decades of the 19th century New York governors aggressively (and illegally) purchased most of the land belonging to the Oneida, Onondaga and Cayuga tribes and then sold to settlers, stimulating the move west. The overwhelming majority of those who remained in Milan were born in New York State. Only 12 came from other states and 52 from other countries: 32 from Ireland, nine from Germany, eight from France and one each from England, Scotland and Canada. There were six black families in the town containing 17 individuals. The surnames included Cesar, St. Paul, Frazier, Williams and two Jacksons. Three additional black women lived in other households as servants. Farming was still the main occupation in Milan, with the 1870 federal census showing 142 farmers and 167 farm laborers. However, farms were no longer principally subsistence based; by 1870, they were larger and deeply involved in the cash economy. Take, as an example, the Henry A. Feller farm. Feller (age 51) and his wife Catherine (age 50) had eight children living at home, four boys and four girls ranging in age from eight to 28. Feller owned 490 acres, of which 430 were under cultivation. The value of his property—land, buildings, equipment and tools—was set at $19,750. According to the 1875 New York State Census, Feller raised the following crops for market (in bushels): oats— -6-
700, rye—128, buckwheat—358, corn—250 potatoes—150, apples—400 plus 35 barrels of cider and 400 pounds of butter, along with hogs, chickens and sheep. Feller’s farm was not unique. Milan farmers produced for market 48,236 pounds of butter (but no milk and only 300 pounds of cheese), 19,020 bushels of apples, 772 barrels of cider, 12,247 bushels of potatoes, and 22,075 bushels of corn, along with other grains. Absent from the crops raised were wheat, which had been decimated by the Hessian Fly, and flax. Wool production declined significantly with the shift to other cash crops. While the number of those engaged in agriculture declined over the half-century, non-agricultural occupations increased in number and type. One hundred and fifteen Milan residents made their living providing a range of products and services. Most common were domestic servants (33), followed by shoemakers (10), carpenters (9), blacksmiths (7), wagon makers, millers, house painters, and brick masons and stone masons (4) each. The town had five resident teachers, three doctors, two tailors and one lawyer. In addition, the town had a dressmaker, a butcher, a distiller, a harness maker, two hotel keepers, two mail carriers, two storekeepers and an insurance agent. Thus, by 1870, Milan had become a more diversified, self-sufficient community as far as services were concerned, while being fully involved in agrarian cash economy.
SOURCES
Ahlquist, Roy. A Postal History of the Town of Milan. 1992. Complete Record, as Required by Chapter 690, of the Laws of 1865. Related to Officers, Soldiers and Seamen, Composing the Quotas of the Troops Furnished to the United States by the Town of Milan, County of Dutchess, State of New York, In the War of Rebellion, and covering the period from the 15th day of April, 1861, to the date of Certificate of the Town Clerk [Oct. 7, 1865], attached to this Record. Prepared by Cyrus Couse, Town Clerk
New York State Census—Enumeration, 1875.
Ninth U.S. Census—Enumeration, 1870.
Smith, James H. 1683 History of Duchess County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers. D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, NY: 1882.
THIS 1876 MAP BY BEERS WAS PART OF AN EFFORT TO DOCUMENT THE ENTIRE STATE AT THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL, SHOWING HOMEOWNER NAMES.
A WIDE RANGE OF 19TH CENTURY MAPS CAN BE FOUND AT
MILANNYHISTORY.ORG/PORTFOLIO/MAPS
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CELEBRATE 200 YEARS APRIL 7, 2018 INSIDE : MILAN IN THE 1870s and THE EVOLUTION OF HAMLETS IN THE 1800s Former Town Historian Bobbie Thompson discusses Milan. Check MilanNYHistory.org for more videos.
COMING MARCH 2018: THE CHURCHES OF MILAN AND THE HAMLETS OF JACKSON CORNERS, LAFAYETTEVILLE AND ROCK CITY
milanNYhistory.org Facebook.com/groups/milanNYhistory milanNYhistory@gmail.com
Wilcox Memorial Town Hall 20 Wilcox Circle Milan, NY 12571
Town of Milan Bicentennial Committee