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Rivers, &c. a. Mud Creek. b. Canandaigua River. c. Clyde. Lakes and Bays. J. Ontario. d. Sodus Bay. e. Port Bay. f. East Bay. h. Crusoe Lake.

Villages. LYONS. Palmyra. Newark. Clyde. Pulteneyville.

BOUNDARIES. North by Lake Ontario; East by Cayuga county; South by Seneca and Ontario, and West by Monroe. SURFACE. The surface is much diversified. The Ridge Road extends through the county, from east to west, at a distance of from four to eight miles from the shore of Lake Ontario, and at an elevation of 140 feet above it. North of this road, the descent to the lake is gradual and nearly uniform; south of it, and extending to the mountain ridge, the surface is raised into low hills of gravel and sand, seemingly by the action of the waves of the lake, which, perhaps, at some remote period, covered this whole region.

The mountain ridge forms, here, the watershed of the county,

dividing the waters which flow into the lake from those which run southerly.

RIVERS. The principal streams of the county are Mud creek and the Canandaigua river or outlet. The length of each of these streams is about fifty miles. They unite in the town of Lyons and form the Clyde, a tributary of the Seneca river.

BAYS. The lake coast is indented by three considerable bays, viz: Sodus bay, Port bay and East bay. The first of these affords a very good harbor for vessels of light draft.

Crusoe lake, in the town of Savannah, is a shallow pond, one and a half miles in circumference.

CLIMATE. The temperature is rendered agreeable by the extent of surface exposed to the lake. The county is generally considered healthy.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The Medina sandstone appears on the surface along the shore of the lake. As the land rises, this is succeeded by the Clinton, Niagara and Onondaga groups-all limestones. South of the Ridge-Road, the county is traversed by numerous long, narrow, parallel ridges of sand and gravel, from twenty-five to thirty feet high.

Lenticular iron ore and bog iron ore are found in considerable quantities. Gypsum, marl, gypseous marl, and water limestone are abundant. Sulphur springs and weak brine springs occur in several localities. The latter were formerly of considerable importance. In 1810, 50,000 bushels of salt were manufactured from them. In Wolcott, specimens of heavy spar have been discovered.

SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil of this county is very fertile, and experience has proved, that the process of cultivation renders it increasingly so, by producing disintegration and decomposition of the earths of which it is composed. The timber is similar to that of the other counties on the lake, consisting of beech, maple, elm, black and white oak, white walnut, some hemlock and pine, black and white ash, &c.

PURSUITS. Agriculture is the principal pursuit of the inhabitants. The diversity of the surface renders grazing and the culture of grain nearly equally profitable, and both are practiced extensively.

Manufactures are increasing in importance in the county. Large quantities of flour and lumber are produced, and the manufactures of iron, glass, leather, distilled and malt liquors, pot and pearl ashes, employ a considerable amount of capital.

The commerce of the county is not large, vessels of light draft only being able to cross the bar, at the mouth of the Sodus bay, on which the principal landings are situated.

There are some iron mines, or quarries, as they are denominated, in which considerable quantities of the lenticular iron ore are obtained.

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, flax, wool, butter, cheese and pork.

SCHOOLS. The whole number of school-houses in the county is 227. The public schools were maintained on an average eight months during the year 1846; 15,296 children received instruction, at a cost of $17,635 for tuition. The district libraries contained 25,760 volumes.

There were in the county thirty-one private schools, with 871 pupils.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Friends. Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Dutch Reformed, Universalists, Unitarians and Lutherans. There are in the county seventy-two churches, and eighty-nine clergymen, of all denominations.

HISTORY. The settlement of this county dates since the revolution. About two-thirds of its territory, including one quarter of the towns of Galen, Rose and Huron, and all west of these, was included in the Massachusetts grant to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, and formed a part of the Pulteney estate. The other third belonged to the Military Tract. The emigrants were from New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, England, Scotland, and Germany. During the late war with Great Britain, Sodus, and Pulteneyville, (a village in the town of Williamson,) were invaded by the British, and the former burnt. They were repulsed in each instance, before obtaining the provisions, which were the object of their incursions.

In 1829 or 30, the Mormon delusion originated at Palmyra, in this county. Joseph Smith, the reputed prophet and founder of that system, resided in the town of Manchester, in Ontario county, and his leading disciple, Martin Harris, was a thrifty farmer of Palmyra. By money furnished by this man, Smith was enabled to publish the first edition of the book of Mormon, or the Mormon Bible, as it has since been called. In the autumn of 1830, Smith removed to Kirtland, Ohio, afterward to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois.

VILLAGES. LYONS, the county seat, is a pleasant village in the town of the same name. It was first settled in June, 1798, by Mr. Van Wickle and about forty other emigrants from New Jersey and Maryland. It has a fine hydraulic power, obtained by a canal of half a mile in length, from the Canandaigua outlet. The mill privileges afforded by this canal are well improved. The High school here is an excellent institution, surpassed by few academies in the state. Population about 2000.

Palmyra, one of the earliest settled towns in the county, has a village of the same name within its limits, situated on the Erie canal. It is a place of considerable business, and extensively engaged in the lumber trade. It is considered one of the most

beautiful villages on the canal. Its streets are ornamented with fine shade trees. Here is an incorporated academy. Pop. 2200.

Clyde, on the river of the same name, a village in the town of Galen, is a thriving, busy place. It has a number of manufactories. The high school here is incorporated and comprises two school districts, which have united for greater efficiency. It is in a flourishing condition. Population 1200.

Sodus contains within its limits the principal harbor of the county. At the mouth of the bay in this town, the United States government have erected a pier, a mile in length, for the improvement of the harbor. The town was burned during the late war with Great Britain. Population about 500.

Pulteneyville, a village on Lake Ontario, in the town of Williamson, was also invaded by the British, but their fears of the American riflemen prevented them from doing much injury. Population 500.

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Rivers, &c. a. Sandy Creek. b. Johnson's. d. Oak Orchard.
Lakes. J. Ontario. c. Jefferson.

Villages. ALBION. Medina.

BOUNDARIES. North by Lake Ontario; East by Monroe county; South by Genesee, and West by Niagara, counties.

SURFACE. The county has three distinct terraces, the first rising gradually from the shore of the lake, to the height of 130 feet, is about seven or eight miles broad, and is terminated by the Ridge-Road. The second, from one to three miles in breadth, rises from the ridge more precipitously, to about the same height, and is terminated by a ledge. The third extends into Genesee county; its ascent, of about 140 feet, is quite rapid. The elevation of this highest terrace above the lake, is, therefore, about 400 feet.

Rivers and CREEKS. Oak Orchard, Johnson's, and Sandy creeks, are the only streams of importance in the county. The first is about fifty miles in length.

By an open aqueduct four and a half miles in length, cut for most of the distance through solid rock, the canal commissioners have turned the upper waters of the Tonawanda creek into Oak Orchard creek, thus increasing the volume of the latter, and rendering it more valuable for hydraulic purposes, and for supplying the feeder of the Erie canal.

LAKES. There are no lakes or ponds of any importance in the county. Jefferson lake, in the town of Murray, is the largest, but does not contain more than fifty acres.

MARSHES. The great Tonawanda Swamp, which extends over portions of Genesee and Niagara counties, lies partly in this county. It is twenty-five miles in length from east to west, and from two to seven in breadth. It is bounded on all sides by plains a little elevated above its surface.

CLIMATE. The exposure of the whole northern boundary of the county to the lake, has the effect of producing a more uniformly mild climate, than that of some of the more southern counties. The county is generally considered healthy.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. In the northern portion of the county, the Medina sandstone prevails, affording in many places, an admirable material for building. In the central and southern portions, the Niagara, Clinton and Onondaga limestones form the surface rock.

The mineral productions are principally bog iron ore, and some brine and sulphur springs.

SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is mostly clay and argillaceous loam, and is highly fertile. The timber of the county, is beech, maple, linden, elm, red, black and white oak,

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