Chenango Canal, Eaton, Ellis Morse, and New History

Some interesting information on the Chenango Canal!

     “Dear Sir: I am waiting very impatiently for instructions from the committee whether to remain here and try to get the bill through or return home and let it take its course.”  This excerpt is from a newly discovered letter written on March 18, 1835 from Albany by Robert Henry of Eaton.

     Eaton had introduced an Act in Assembly on March 13, 1835 to make the proposed West Branch Feeder of Chenango Canal navigable to the Hamlet of Eaton.  In a letter to Ellis Morse and others from Carbondale, dated January 23, 1835, we find that Mr. William McAlprin had made an estimate of the cost involved and found that of the two routes proposed, one using “Pettis’s Pond” the other the proposed feeder, that they would be about the same both in distance and in lockage and in cost. ($20,000 for one $21,000 for the other.)

     A main factor involved with the success or failure of this plan, however, must be somehow realized, it was politics.  Though this feeder would certainly benefit the public interest (which was a main criteria in the Legislative Act), the politics that were still somewhat in power at that time and involved with the Chenango Canal (though supporters of this venture throughout) was the Anti-Masonic Party.  

The Anti-Masonic movement in New York State had gathered great political force and power, and it was well known that Ellis Morse and Eaton had remained a hot bed of loyal Masons who had remained active while other lodges and orders had closed from political and public pressure.  This canal improvement would have made it easy for Ellis Morse’s (high ranking Mason) large distillery in Eaton to get needed grain and for him to ship his product.  I believe that this is why the act was not passed!

     Eaton would latter connect to the canal via Peck’s Port and an area now referred to as “Fiddler’s Green.”  Peck’s Port in its prime had as many as four barges docked at one time.  Peck’s Port was literally the most active port on the canal because of the Town of Eaton goods and businesses.

     The Chenango Canal opened in May of 1837 with limited success which gained and waned as the years went on.  Some of the original problems included porous canal walls which had to be sealed (flooding occurred in the basements of some communities where the canal was put through its many streets because of the loose soil.) higher loses of water through lock gates that became less than tight when closing because of sediment and loose gravel and, the inability of the Canal Authority to accurately gauge the tonnage of the canal boats, since there was no weight locks on the cnal and the shipper’s figures had to be used.

     In spite of this all, before 1859 the canal ran quietly with ordinary repairs and maintenance of its bridges and tow banks.

     The 1860’s, however proved costly as extensive repairs could not be more to the dilapidated locks.  J. P. Goodsell the Resident Engineer of the Middle Division of the State Canals in his 1861 report said: “I have made a personal and thorough examination of all the locks upon this canal and find that those from the summit (Peck’s Port) North which are built of lime and sandstone of that vicinity, have retained their original proportions entire, with the exception of a few of the lower wings.

    

This historic week in Eaton, a bit of history, and a plea to help our Old Town Museum

Another morning in this little historic town.  The Fourth of July has passed and it is only about 7 or 8 weeks until the first frost.  This week I have had a fire every night... incredible.  One year in the 1800 Ellis Morse recorded scraping frost off of the plants in his garden.  I had one 4th of July here... where we all sat around the wood stove with it blazing, eating our picnic indoors.

The history of Eaton Village and the Town of Eaton have continued now for 220 years, in a way it is just a pebble in the sand of time just like so many of the rural communities here in southern Madison County.

The horses and the wagons that carried people to this once wilderness have disappeared and in their place have sprung up horse facilities and horse farms of all variety…but these for more pleasant enterprises than hauling people and their belongings up the steep old trails.

The hills that surround the town are still steep but huge tractor-trailers whiz over them with little thought of the heavily burdened ox carts that once served the same purpose.  The wood fires are still burning, yet coal, wood pellets, and oil have overtaken their importance.

The memories of the town’s famous inhabitants have now faded, and the young do not have the time to remember their wonderful historic roots.  It seems it is not until they reach the age of retirement that they are suddenly filled with the nostalgia needed and the wish to find out about their past genealogy.

The cell phone and Internet have brought the outside world to a place where young Samuel Chubbuck stood testing and developing the pony key and sounder for S. B. Morse’s telegraph, an invention that would change the way news was transmitted across the world in the 1800s.

Gone is the factory of Wood, Taber and Morse, who developed four-wheel drive equipment that we think little of today as we watch huge John Deere equipment plowing the fields using the sisters of the first four-driver traction engines they developed.

The church is still standing and open… seeming to follow the historic past, but all the many denominations have spread out of the small villages and into the surrounding area, where stood three now stands one.  Famous preachers are now replaced with musical groups who tour to raise spirits in the ever-more connected and depressing world.

Missionaries like the Deans, Emily Judson, and the Wades have faded but some still go out via the local churches as missions, but it is not the same.

The promise of gas lights and heat at a cheap rate has gone away, though today there are more gas heads and gas lines crossing the town than ever before… yet no gas is delivered to a majority of its rural population.

Cows are really no longer family with pictures and names that are revered…now they are part of a mechanical business we call production.  Herds that once roamed free have expanded to hundreds, fed and milked, in barns, never to see the light of day.

Children no longer walk to school and return home with lunch pails in hand talking about their day to their friends along the way.  Local education that was the pride and care of the community has disappeared… replaced by central schools and huge buses that run around the town mostly empty… back and forth, back and forth.

Yes, things have changed, we now drive miles to stores rather than walk “over town” to shop locally. We spend our money at institutions run by millionaires and foreign countries rather than keep our money local, helping the butcher, baker and candlestick maker.

Doctors no longer make house calls and you can’t stop at Mrs. Chase’s for a remedy or liquid cure…now we have specialists and travel to big complexes in Syracuse. Our children leave for college and a better way of life, to never return in many cases…but sometimes I wonder… are we really better off in the modern world?  Only history will tell.

****Preserving our history is another thing this little town is trying to do.  We have put out a great little history book for its 220th official birthday, the book is available on line at www.historystarproductions.com for $10 plus shipping or you can pick it up in person from Dougherty's Pharmacy in Morrisville or Perry's in Hamilton.  Stories in the book include the history of the canal, reservoirs, and the different mills located along the Eatonbrook in West Eaton.  Also are stories on the Irish Settlement, Hooks Wilsey and a ton more.  So help us keep our history alive and well.