The Memorial Day Celebration is coming up and I decided this year we would honor the Revolutionary War Veterans who settled the area, including Smith's Valley.
One of the more interesting aspects of our area is the old historic marker that stands on River Road marking Madison Counties Early history. One such marker lies just below the Old Town of Eaton Museum and lists the first clearing in what is now Madison County.. 1788...The Bark Hut.
If one takes the time to pick threw Mrs. Hammond's History of Madison County you will note many stories on our early founding where men forged into what was still considered" indian country" and upon arrival made a rudimentary hut to stay in. This area actually formed what was eventually a set of log homes that stretched from Lebanon to Eaton then dubbed "Log City".
Most of these men and those that came later were veteran's of the Revolutionary War and some had followed Col. William Smith to his land patent set up by Joshua Smith (not a relative) who served under him. Joshua was sent by Col. Smith to find him the best tract of land in the area...which Joshua did and where upon he built a bark hut.These actual squatters were indeed our first settlers and ironically today over two hundred years latter, many of these families names still live on here today.
To honor these men we decided to do a talk on the Revolutionary War to open our Memorial Day Event on Wednesday, the 23rd with a lecture, Ice Cream Social with raffle baskets and pie pre sales. This to gear us up for the Memorial Day Parade and regular "Eaton Day"Pie Sale Event.
So Mark it on your calendar and enjoy the night the ice cream and learn some local history. Our Rain date is Thursday night! All proceeds to benefit the Old Town of Eaton Museum.
You know history does march to a different drummer
in Eaton.I live here and marvel at the
fact that on every corner of the Hamlet... once called “Eaton Village”… history
lived.
The very spot where we will be hosting part of our
event on Memorial Day Monday - Eaton Day…serving up an Ice Cream Social, Bake
Goods, Book Sale etc.…is one of the town’s historic places…a placeof national importance actually…for it is the
site of the birth of the Camelback Key and Sounder for Morse’s telegraph!Yup.. in old Eaton, New York.
If you go behind the old auction barn building you
will find the spot where Samuel W. Chubbuck did all his experiments … a place
that was his father’s Mechanic Shop.Samuel Chubbuck and his family moved to Eaton, then called Log City, very
early and his son Samuel it was said could fix anything.
Samuel eventually became noted for his many ideas,
which include not only telegraph equipment but also the modern battery post
used in our cars, lift bridges, and so much more.If an idea came to him in a dream he took no
patent on it as he believed in came from God.
His camelback key is actually patented to his
cousin Charles Chubbuck?I have always
wondered if he gave it to Emily Chubbuck’s father to give him some income… (His
family was very poor.) Oh yes did I mention Emily Chubbuck Judson…the
missionary known also as the famous writer “Fanny Forrester”… was his cousin. And
yes, the brook that wanders behind Samuel’s work spot is the brook that she made
famous in her “Alderbrook Tales!”
Anyway Samuel went on to become a very famous and
rich man who gave lectures all over the USA as Professor Chubbuck.It is interesting to note that one of the men
he influenced with his theories on “electricity” who gave him credit was Thomas Alvah Edison.Chubbuck’s company made all of the early equipment
for Morse’s Telegraph…something that modernized news and communication.
A humorous piece on his family is noted in Luna
Hammond’s history of Madison County:
“After the Skaneateles turnpike went through,
there was need of better tavern accommodations; Mr. Samuel Stow, therefore,
built and kept a tavern on the corner opposite the lower hotel. Samuel
Chubbuck, living opposite to him, carried on a blacksmith shop. These two men
had by some disagreement become violently opposed to each other. In a spirit of
competition, Mr. Chubbuck was a staunch Democrat, and this was a time soon
after the war of 1812; so upon one side of his attractive sign board was
displayed the dying words of Commodore Lawrence, as a motto, --- "Don't
give up the Ship!" --- and on the other side, "Free Trade and
Sailor's Rights!" Mr. Stow immediately erected another blacksmith shop to
match Chubbuck's, which stood very near where Coman's store is, and swung out
his sign directly opposite to Chubbuck bearing these words: "Don't give up
the Shop!" and on the reverse side, "Free Trade and Mechanic's
Rights!" --- alluding to his neighbor's giving up blacksmithing for tavern
keeping. Those unique signs hung out for many a year. “
****So come out to Eaton Day on Memorial Day Monday…visit
the Old Town of Eaton Museum and enjoy the front street (Rt. 26) activities and
savor history!
PS If you didn’t ever hear of this piece…it was
because S F B Morse was and ego-maniac and took credit for everything he could!
