These early descriptions of Fair Haven tell their own story
as we follow what was said by those living at the time.
1813 New York State Gazetteer
The original boundaries of Cato encompassed all of what is now Victory, Conquest, Ira, Cato and Sterling. This entry in the 1813 Gazetteer describes this entire area, having been written prior to Sterling becoming self-governing on June 19, 1812. Little Sodus was little known (and would not be renamed Fair Haven for another 40 years).
Cato, a Township of Cayuga County, 14 to 34 miles North of Auburn, comprising the Township named Cato, on De Witt’s Maps, and that part of Sterling which lies in the County of Cayuga ; bounded northerly by Lake Ontario, East by Onondaga County, South by Meuiz, and West by Seneca County. The Southeast corner is in Cross Lake, and there are one or two other small lakes, with many very small streams that run either into Lake Ontario, or South into Seneca River, or that stream formed from the lakes Canandaigua, Seneca, Cayuga and others, by whatever name it be known.
The soil, in general, is fertile, and the surface quite level, except in the West part, which is somewhat hilly, but is mostly arable land, and produces good crops of grain and grass; it is, however, but indifferently supplied with water.
The first settlements were made about 1801-2. [1805 for the first permanent families in the area of Sterling.] There is one Presbyterian and one Baptist meeting-house, and 5 or 6 schoolhouses. The roads are yet new, and but little used. The whole population in 1810, was 1075 persons, when there were 191 families, and 56 senatorial electors. The taxable property was assessed at 97,513 dollars. N. T. & R. P.
1836 New York State Gazetteer
The Town of Sterling established its own town government on June 19, 1812. .
This description of Sterling needs to be transcribed.
1879 History of Cayuga County
From the History of Cayuga County, 1879, Elliot Stork
Fair Haven
Fair Haven (p. o.) is situated in the northwest corner of the town, on Little Sodus Bay, and is the northern terminus of the S. C. R. R. It contains two churches, (M. E. and Reformed,) a district school, two hotels, eight stores, two
saw-mills, a planing-mill, brick-yard and a population of about 700.
The village extends the whole length of the Bay and to some distance above it. It is prosperous, and new enterprises are being rapidly undertaken. The gently sloping shores of the Bay, which is a pretty sheet of water, presents many fine sites for residences.
The Barrus House was built in 1875, by Giles C. Barrus, who had previously , for about six years, kept a hotel at the head of the Bay, in a building now in a dilapidated condition and used as a dwelling-house, and erected about fifty years since by Abijah Hunt, who kept in it for a good many years the first hotel in Fair Haven. Hunt was succeeded by Emer S. Sayles, who kept it four or five years, when Benjamin. S. Patty followed him and kept it a like period, being succeeded by James M. Crozier. Thomas Harsha kept it afterwards for five or six years, until it came into the hands of Giles C. Barrus. Barrus, who was from Hannibal, kept the present house till his death in the winter of 1877-78, when he was succeeded by his son, Giles F. Barrus, the present proprietor.
The Meyers House, a fine large hotel, situated at the “Point,” was opened in the spring of 1873, by Reuben J. Meyers, the present proprietor. Mrs. Jane Hitchcock opened a hotel just east of the old Hunt Hotel; which she kept a good many years, till her death during the war.
The first store at Fair Haven was started by Garrison Taylor, about 1825, in the building he now occupies, on Lake Street.
Seth Turner was next to Taylor. He opened a store about twenty years ago in the building subsequently used as a hotel, at the head of the Bay. He kept it some three or four years, when he went west. David Cole and a Mr. Oakes succeeded him, but neither of them continued long.
Isaac Turner and Rufus S. Welch then opened a store near where the brick block of Mendell & Hitchcock now stands. After a short time Turner went out and Welch continued it alone, but only for a short time.
Oscar F. Miller was the next merchant. He opened the store he now occupies.
Robinson & Mendell opened a store in the east part of the village about 1873. They separated in the spring of 1877, Robinson opening the grocery store in the east end of the Mendell & Hitchcock block, which was built in the fall
and winter of 1876, and Mendell a stock of ready made clothing and boots and shoes, in the store in the west end of the same block. Both are still in the business. J. B. Chappell & Son opened the central store in the Mendell & Hitchcock block in the spring of 1877, and still carry on business there.
Isaac P. Welch opened the grocery store he now occupies in the spring of 1878. [Where?]
E. E. Austin and Geo. B. Knapp, under the firm name of E. E. Austin & Co., opened their store of general groceries and ship supplies, at the Point, in the spring of 1878.
The steam planing-mill, owned and operated by Knapp & Hemingway, was built by Post, Knapp & Hemingway, in 1872. It is 70 by 50 feet, two stories high, and is capable of planing 20,000 feet of lumber per day. The motive power is furnished by a fifty-five-horse-power engine. Connected with the mill property is a dock, on the Bay, 528 feet in length. The annual sales are about 2,000,000 feet of lumber. In the spring of 1875, the senior partner, Mr. Post, with drew, his interest being bought by the remaining members.
The first saw-mill in Fair Haven was built by Seth Turner, some twenty-five years since, who sold it after three or four years. It has passed through several hands, and is now owned by Mrs. Bottsford, whose husband acquired possession of it some four years since.
Rufus S. Welch built the saw-mill now owned by him about four years ago. Both mills are located at the head of the Bay.
Jacob Hemingway and William Van Hoesen commenced the manufacture of brick a little south of the village, on the line of the railroad, in the spring of 1877. They give employment to eight or ten men, and make 15,000 per day.
Floyd Kelsey, of Auburn, was the first to make brick in this locality. He commenced about 1856, and continued four or five years. Nothing more was done till about four years ago, when David Lester, now of Oswego, manufactured for about one year. The works then remained idle
till operations were resumed by the present proprietors.
Messrs. Reed & Conger built an ice-house of large capacity at the Point in the winter of 1877-’78.
C. W. Austin and the Southern Central Railroad are jointly building a steam transfer elevator at the Point, with a storage capacity of 30,000 bushels, and a transfer capacity of 3,000 bushels per hour.
Poe & Rice are engaged in shipping foreign fish, and are doing an extensive business. Seventy-five tons of fish were entered at this port in 1877, when several parties were engaged in the business.
Several coal companies are doing business at this place, viz : Moser, Hoole & Co. , organized in April, 1878, with headquarters at Buffalo; the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. ; the Butler Colliery Co., with headquarters at Elmira; Wheeler &
Co., with headquarters at Oswego ; for all of which C. W. Austin is shipping agent ; and E. M. Ford, with headquarters in Oswego, for whom C. L. Bloodgood is shipping agent. The railroad company have a coal trestle at the Point, with a stock capacity of 45,000 tons, and a pocket capacity of 1,300 tons. They also own the steam tug E. P. Ross, which is named after the president of the road.
The following statistics showing the magnitude of the business done at this port were kindly furnished by Mr. George P. Knapp, Deputy Collector of Customs of Fair Haven : The receiptsat this office from June 30th to December 4th, 1877, were $24,000; and from March 20th to June 8th, 1878, $729. There were received and forwarded during the year 1877, 140,000 bushels of barley, 1,500,000 feet of lumber, 75 tons of fish, 2,000,000 lath, 1,000 cords cedar posts, 3,000 tons of iron ore, and 65,000 tons of coal.
From April nth to December 4th, 1877, the number of vessels coming into the port was 360, with an aggregate tonnage of 68,5 16 tons.
Little Sodus Harbor is naturally a good one, and has been improved by the general government and the residents of the place. In 1828 Congress appropriated $400 for making a survey and examination of the southern shore of Lake Ontario, between Genesee and Oswego rivers, with a view to the improvement of the most accessible and commodious harbors on the frontier.
Capt. T. W. Maurice, Corps of Engineers, was placed in charge of the survey, and commenced work in October, 1828. His report, submitted in January, 1829, adjudged Little Sodus to be of secondary importance, but recommended its improvement and submitted a plan therefor. The entrance to the bay was closed, except at two narrow openings, by a gravelly beach, out of water. The plan proposed to make this beach answer the purpose of a breakwater, to con
struct two channel piers, each 290 yards long, and close one of the openings by a dike 130 yards long, the whole work to be done at an estimated cost of $32,327.59.
A resurvey was made in 1845, when the entrance was found to be in about the same condition as in 1828. With this exception, nothing was done till 1852, when the first appropriation of $10,000 was made; but the beach which cross
ed the entrance and formed the basis of the plan had been swept away since 1845, thus necessitating a new project. Another survey was made in 1853, and it was decided to build piers from the crown of the bar to deep water, and to
connect the south ends with the adjacent shores by rip-rap. Work was begun in 1854, and suspended in 1858 for want of funds. In 1858, the people locally interested formed a company, known as the ” Ontario Bay Harbor Improvement Company.” It proposed to aid the general government in improving the harbor, and had on hand $6,000 in money and materials, with which to build, under the supervision of the engineer in charge, 300 feet of pier. It is presumed that this was carried out, for in 1866, 284 feet of pier
was still in existence, although a portion of the outer end had evidently been destroyed. Nothing further was done till 1866, when Congress made
a further appropriation.
The following appropriations have been made for the improvement of this harbor:
In 1852, there was appropriated $ 10,000.00
In 1866, $33.84041
In 1867, $50,00000
In 1870, $5,00000
In 1 87 1, ‘2, ‘3 and ‘4, in each $15,000, $60,00000
In 1875, there was appropriated $10,000.00
In 1876, $5,000.00
The total appropriations to date are, $173,840.41
At the close of the year ending June 30th, 1877, there had been constructed of the west pier 1,070 feet ; of the west breakwater 500 feet ; of the east pier 512 feet; and of the east break water 780 feet. The only work remaining to be done under the original scheme of improvement is the connection of the inner end of the east pier with the shore. The unexpended balance of appropriations available for that purpose was $5,856.57.
Revenue collected during the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1877 $3,I54.68
Value of imports $22,544.00
Value of exports $86,111.00
Number of vessels cleared 226
Their tonnage, tons 18,258
Number of vessels entered 213
Their tonnage, tons 13,417
The harbor is lighted by a fixed white light of the fourth order, placed near the head of the west pier. A vessel drawing twelve feet can enter the harbor and go up to the coal docks of the S. C. R. R.*
The first physician to locate permanently at Fair Haven was Dr. Crounce, who practiced a good many years. He removed to Guilderland, Albany cdunty, some twenty years ago. The next was Byron Dewitt, who came about 1850
and practiced till about 1859, when he removed to Sterling Center, and subsequently to Oswego, where he is now practicing. Truman F. Brink
erhoff succeeded Dewitt and remained several years. He moved to Fulton some fifteen years ago, and subsequently to Auburn, where he is now practicing. Some ten years elapsed, during which there was no physician here. Dr. R. S. Fields came in 1873 and remained about a year. He was succeeded by Dr. Oliver Bloomfield, the present physician, who came about 1875. Dr. Marsh came to the village in the spring of 1878.
The first lawyer was A. R. Willey, who was born in the town of Victory, and moved into this town some forty years ago. He was admitted to the bar about twenty years ago, and is still practicing in the village. Geo. I. Post, a native of Fleming, in this County, who came into the town from Auburn some sixteen years since and has acquired distinction in his profession, is living at the
Point. He was elected District Attorney in November, 1859, ar>d was Member of Assembly in 1863, 1876 and 1877. Thomas C. Bridges, ex-Supervisor of the Town of Sterling, was born in the eastern part of the town, and in the spring of 1878 moved into the village, where he is reading law with Mr. Post.
The Next Early Documents to be added here…
At this time, the area of Sterling was governed by Cato and Little Sodus was little known (and would not be renamed Fair Haven for another 40 years).
Cato, a Township of Cayu