Delaware County NY Genealogy and History Site

The following is a Timeline of Delaware County Industrial History compiled some years ago for a conference that never took place. Perhaps it will be of some use for those researching their family and history of Delaware County. --Mary Robinson Sive, November 1, 2016

Note: if the data below does not read properly on your browser, see the alternative pdf file

Before Delaware County became a leading exporter of milk and dairy products in the late 19th century, it exported the products of its fields and forests. Unlike New England, where large red-brick former buildings can be seen along rivers, Delaware County has few such remains. Some of the buildings now occupied by various county agencies in Delhi were originally factories. There are ruins of an acid factory near Hancock and the acid factory chimney below Downsville. More often what remains of the earliest industrial sites is some stonework along a stream that once was part of the dam for a millpond.

Over the years Delaware County had a total of about 500 mills, half of them grist and saw mills. A sawmill often began before grist mill since grain but not logs could be carried to distant mills.

  
Estimates:
	Acid factories		17
	Asheries		15-20
	Brick kilns		10
	Distilleries		30+
	Grist mills		70-100
	Quarries		40-50 (20 in Hancock)
	Saw mills		well over 100
	Tanneries		40 at 1818 peak
	Textile & clothing	38
	Woodworking		20-25


1775	grist mill at Harpersfield   (to ’98)
1778	grist mill at Wattles Ferry (French's 1860 Gazetteer)
1780	Ezekiel Johnson mill in Kortright (Defebaugh, II:309)
1784	sawmill at Margaretville (Munsell)
1786	Jesse Dickinson mill at Trout Creek, destroyed '87 by flood) (Defebaugh, II:309)
1788	Gideon Frisbee saw mill in Delhi (Munsell)
1790	Benj. Ackerly mill in Middletown, Carr (Sidney), Wm Rose(Colchester)
	    (Defenbaugh II:309)
	grist mill at Hobart
1790-1868  Beardsley Sanford, Fergusonville, spinning wheel shown in Homespun to Factory 
        Made: Woolen Textiles in America, 1776-1876 (1977) p. 21 (name not in Google
        Patents or Munsell; Munsell mentions wool factory in W. Davenport, p. 148)
1790s	sawmills at Arkville and on Millbrook (Munsell), grist mill at Stamford
1790s-1820   30 sawmills in Franklin
1791	sawmill at Deposit (Munsell), later became grist mill 
1792	Daniel Prentice mill, Davenport (Defenbaugh, II:310)
	grist mill at Walton (Story of Walton)  
1793	Edmund Rose mill on Roses Brook (Munsell, p. 357, p. 359)
	foundry, 5 blacksmiths at Stamford
1794	grist mill at Deposit (Munsell)
1795	Joseph Warn saw mill, Stamford (Defenbaugh, II:310)
1796	Clark Green cooper in Delhi 
	saw mill in Bovina (Munsell)
	Timothy Dwight thought population too thin for extensive woolen manufacture
     (Cole. The American Wool Manufacture (1969) p. 70
1797	James Tift brickmaking in Delhi (Raitt)
	Isaac Ogden mill in Walton (Munsell 61-62, 324ff.)  
1798	Benjamin Bill made woodenware in Delhi
1798-1800   carding mill at Delhi (Munsell)
1799	Peak & Ward, Hamden, Jos. Bushnell, Masonville (Defenbaugh, II:311)
1800	Isaac and Wm. Ogden fulling mill near bridge 3 mi. above Walton (Munsell 329)
	Oliver Peake, Delhi (Defenbaugh, II:312)
	2 woolen mills, 2 leather factories, 5 grist mills in Town of Colchester
carding mill at Delhi
	2nd saw mill in Bovina
	saw mill at Barbourville (Munsell)
	nail factory in Roxbury (Munsell)
	grist mill in Bataviakill  (Munsell)
1800s	tannery near Bridge Street, Delhi
	carding mill at Clovesville
1800-1830s  distillery at Walton (Story of Walton)
1801	Robert Livingston sent home sheep from Europe
	grist mill in Franklin (Munsell)
1802	Matthew Russell sawmill in Bovina (Fox p. 50)
	tannery in Andes (Munsell)
	grist mills in Bovina (Munsells), Meredith
1803	tannery at Walton (Story of Walton)
1805	Ferris sawmill in Roxbury (Fox p. 50)
	sawmill in Batavia Kill (Munsell)
	tannery at Roxbury (Griffin)
grist mill at Roxbury (Munsell)
	brick kiln in Walton (Story of Walton)
date?	M. Goodrich sawmill in Walton (Fox p. 50)
1806	Samuel Hutchinson sawmill ih Franklin (Fox p. 50)
date?	Col. Harper sawmill in Harpersfield (Fox p. 50)
1807	Robert Livingston promoting raising of sheep and manufacture of wool 
	Kelly grist mill at Halcottsville (Munsell)
1808	sawmill at Grand Gorge (Munsell) 
	fulling mill at Bovina
1810	Edgerton distillery at Franklin, mill (Munsell)
	Dellaware Co. has 13 fulling mills (60,600 yards fulled), 6 hatteries (2,000 hats), 2 
	     naileries 8,960 lbs. nails), 29 tanneries (2,064 hides + 4,140 calf skins), 11 	  
	    distilleries (19,500 gallons), 14 carding machines (52,400 lbs. carded), 1169 looms, 
    70,571 yards woolens made in families (Transactions)
1811	John Vaughan sawmill in Andes (Fox p. 50)
	tannery at Dunraven (Munsell)
	woolen mill at Stamford (Munsell)
1812	wagon maker at Stamford 
1815	Abraham Ogden prize for woolen cloth (Transactions, Appendix)
1818	Abraham Ogden receives premium for "first best specimen of domestic 
	     manufactured woollen cloth" (Transactions, Appendix)
	40 tanneries (Raitt)
1819	Isaac Ogden (Walton) same award as Abraham - Samuel A. Law 3rd best
   (Transactions, Appendix) 
fulling mill at Halcottsville
1820 	woolen mills at Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Hamden, Sidney, Stamford, Walton
	54 saw mills cut 6 mill. feet, 2/3 white pine, rest hemlock and hardwoods  		
	    (Defenbaugh, I:479)
1820s	machine shop for making tools (Thompson) 
	wagon makers
	2 fulling mills at Walton (Story of Walton)
	carding mill at Andes (Munsell)
1822 	governor's message notes asheries chief export of state (Fox. Decline of Aristocracy
    in the Politics of NY (1919), p. 319
1824	Samuel Sherwood and partners Delaware Woolen Factory Co. in Delhi to 1880s
	2 grist mills at Andes (Munsell)
1826	George Sherwood’s Delhi grist mill
1828	leather factory and bark mill in Bovina (Delaware Gazette ad)
	ashery at Delhi
1830	stone shop with trip hammer at Andes
1830s	hatmaker, fulling mill at Hamden
1830s-40s   Josiah Jones furniture factory at Walton (Hudson) 
1835	260 saw mils, 51 grist mills, 29 fulling mills, 28 carding mills, 35 tanneries,
     18 asheries, 5 woolen factories, 3 iron works, 2 breweries, 1 distillery (Census)
2 tanneries, fulling and carding mill in Andes (Census)
ensus3 grist mills at Andes
1840 	Census not totally reliable (Defenbaugh, II:467)
1840s	tannery at Deposit (typescript at DCHA)
	brick kiln at Delhi (Raitt)
1847	tannery in Colchester
1848	tannery near Deposit
1849	saw mill in Halcottsville 
1850	foundry in Andes  (Munsell?)
	25 tanneries (Raitt)
1850s	leather factory at Hancock
1852	newspaper ads stressing good location for tannery
1855	tannery at Cannonsville (Munsell) 
1859	planing mill at Walton (Story of Walton)
1860	woolen factory in Halcottsville, tannery at Clarks Factory,  grist mill, clothing works 
	     at Brushland (Bovina), cradle and rake factory, 5 saw mills at Davenport Center,
		 woolen factory, 3 sawmills at West Davenport, woolen factory, iron foundry, grist 
	     mill, saw mill at Delhi, mills, woolen and satinet factory at Hamden, shingles, 
	     staves, leather factories at Hancock, grist mill in Meredith, 2 woolen factories at 
	     Stamford,  Clarks Factory tannery - dairying "leading occupation"  (French. 	
	     Gazetteer)
	26 smithies and foundries, 23 tanneries (Census)
1860s	O&W wagon works at Delhi (Mohowski)
1865-77  Hamden woolen mill (DCHA)
1869	shingle and spoke factory at Masonville (Beers)
turning lathe & water-wheel factory in Roxbury (Beers)
	machine shop and foundry in Roxbury & Stamford (Beers) 
	5 grist mills in Harpersfield, 2 in Roxbury (Beers)
	2 foundries in Harpersfield, 1 in N. Harpersfield (?) (Beers) 
	5 sawmills in Harpersfield, 2 in Kortright, 1 each in Masonville, Meredith, Grand 
     Gorge, 36 in Colchester (Beers)
	(Whether mills or factories are shown in these maps varies from town to town, 
	probably reflecting practices of particular reporters and space available).
1870	fewer tanneries 
	1 tannery on Bataviakill (Munsell)
16 woolen mills, 15 men's clothing factories, 26 leather factories, 10 furniture 
     factories, 28 wagon and carriage factories (Census)
1871	planing mill at Stamford (Munsell)
	Delhi brick kiln burned (out of 4 total)
1872-84  Manufacture Book, Hamden (DCHA) 
1874	Glidden patent for barbed wire less expensive and more effective than Michael 
	     Kelly's 1868 patent 
1875-1890s  foundry and machine shop at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1876-1930  Abraham and Thomas Kerry first acid plant at Kerryville (Hudson)
1876	baby carriage factory at Walton (Munsell) 
1876-1930s  Walton Novelty Works (Hudson), to 1905 (Story of Walton)
1880	cigar factory at Downsville
	grist and plaster mill in Stamford ((Munsell) 
	Delancey tannery still in operation, Cannonsville tannery in operation (Munsell)
woolen mill at Delhi (Munsell)
	(Most “leading citizens” portrayed in Munsell are merchants or lawyers, 1 miller).  	
1880s	Penfield Mill (DCHA)
	foundry, wagon shop, paper mill at Sidney (Mohowski)
	shoe peg factory at Russell Brook (Raitt)
1881	steam saw mill in Delhi
1886	Tyler & Hall Chemical Co. acid factory at Readburn to 1920 (Myers)
1887	Rock Rift acid factory (Story of Walton)
1888	Walton Acetate Co. acid plant at Beerston (to 1924 as Beerston Acetate Co.)
	     (Hudson)
	Eugene King acid plant at Butternut Grove, later Treyz (Hudson)
1888-98  acid plant at Burnwood - Brandt Chemical Co., Buckley (Hudson)
1888-ca.1909  2 cigar factories at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1889	short-lived overalls factory in old Academy building in Deposit (Hancock Public 
	      Library)
1889-1900s fishing rods manufactured at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1890	Corbett & Stuart acid factory at Harvard to 1910 (Hudson)
	Arthur Leighton Co. acid factory at Methol to 1912 (Hudson)
ca. 1890  Keery acid plant at Tyler's, later operated by Arthur Leighton Co. to 1910s 
	      (Hudson)
1890s	silk mill, glass works, carriage company, novelty works, wooden ware, cigar factory
	     at Sidney (Mohowski)
	sash and blind factories at Davenport, Halcottsville
1892-1900s  Deposit Mfg. Co. (sleds & snow shovels), iron foundry at Deposit
1892-1963  seed company at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1893	Kaufman Dairy & Ice Cream Co. at Fleischmanns and Margaretville (Hudson)
	Sidney Silk Mill, later Julius Kayser Co. (Hudson)
1893-1900  Pearl Button factory at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
date?	Cortland Cart & Carriage Co. in Sidney, later Hatfield Automobile Co. (Hudson)
1894	Corbett & Stuart acid plant at Peakville to 1928 (Hudson)
	wagon maker at Andes (Raitt), Delhi
1895	Hutson Brothers grain mill (DCHA)
1896	Oquaga Cycle Works at Deposit (Hancock Public Library))
1898	George Treyz acid factory at Arkville, sold to Luzerne Chemical Co. (1905 to 1916
    as Arkville Chemical Co.)  (Hudson)
George I. & L.A. Treyz acid factory at Horton (Hudson)
1899-1934   C.W. Peake acid plant at Peakville (Hudson)
1900	Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co. at Walton (Hudson)
	20 quarries in Town of Hancock
	fishing rods produced at Deposit
1900   Gallant silk mill moved to Delhi from Paterson NJ, went bankrupt in one year
	cannery at Deposit (Hancock PL)
1901	French Cheese Co. in Sidney, later Phoenix Cheese Factory (1906) (Hudson)
	Munn Piano Factory at Walton to 1919 or 1920s (Story of Walton, Hudson)
1900s	30 acid factories between Hancock and Livingston Manor
	Cat Hollow important shipping point for stone on D&N-Lordville shipped PA stone
	knitting mill, cheese factory, lawn swing mfg. at Sidney	 (Mohowski)
date?	Beaver Kill Dye Works - Bayard T. Tuttle, Ralph Roosa (Cooks Falls)
   "	Pierson family mill at Piersons (Hudson)
   "	Bartlett Bros. saw mill at Pines Brook (Hudson)
   "	Risley Lumber Co. (Walton) saw mill and acid plant at Rock Rift (Hudson)
   "	acid factory on Trout Brook near Shinhopple (Myers)
1903   quarries at De;hi,  Deposit, Fish's Eddy (3), Franklin Depot,Hamden, Hale Eddy (2), 	
     (Hancock (6), Pineville, Read Creek, Rock Rift, Walton (4) -  stone mills at many 
     docks (Dickinson) 
1903-1909   Oquaga Print Shop at Deposit
1904-1909  Outing Magazine pubiished at Deposit 
1905	Luzerne Chemical Co. buys out George I. & Gottlieb H. Treyz acid factory at Fish's
    Eddy (Hudson)
1906	bindery at Deposit
1908	Hollywood Brothers (lumbering) (DCHA)
1908-10s  printing and binding plant in former cannery in Deposit (Hancock Public Library) 
1910 	Harvard acid plant closes (Hudson)
1910-29  glass factory at Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1910s	acid plant at Tyler's closes
1912	Corbett & Stuart acid plant to 1934 - saw mill to 1948 - Rhodes Bluestone Co. 
     (Myers)
	acid plant at Methol closes (Hudson)
1916	short-lived acid plant at Shavertown (Hudson)
1916 (1917?)-1918   glove factory in Deposit (typescript)
1917-1940s  Cooks Falls Dye Works, 140 Maiden Lane - Hans Bruning, George I. Treyz
silk mill at Deposit 
1918-20s  silk factory in Deposit (Hancock Public Library)
1919	Julius Kayser silk mill at Walton (Mohowski)
1920	Readburn acid factory closes (Hudson)
1920s	silk mill at Hancock
1921	Cooks Falls Dye Works, 80 Maiden Lane, NYC (74 dye-making firms in US. acc. US
    Tariff Commission. Census of Dyes …  (1921))
1922	Th.omas Keery acid plant in Fish's Eddy closes (Hudson)
1924	Cadosia acid factory at maximum capacity (Myers)
date?	barrel stave factory at Arena, Risley Lumber Co. saw mill, shingle mill at Downsville
1928	Peakville acid plant closes (Hudson)
1930	Kerryville plant closes (Myers)
1932	Luzerne Chemical Co. ends (Hudson)
1934	Corbett & Stuart acid plant closed (Hudson)
	Peakville acid plant closes (Hudson)
1938	Rock Rift acid plant closes (Myers)
1939	Walton Woodworking (Story of Walton)
1945	Thos. Keery acid plant at Cadosia closed - Cadosia Mfg. Co. (Myers)
1946	Stanley Smith (lumbering), Cooks Falls (DCHA)
1949	Treyz & Smith acid factory at Horton closes, Susquehanna Chemical Co. produces 
	    charcoal there (Hudson)
1950	Treyz factory in Horton closes after 60 years 
1967 	last acid factory closes (Myers)


Sources:

F. W. Beers,  Atlas of Delaware Co., New York : from actual surveys 1869

Defebaugh. History of the Lumber Industry of America, 2d ed. 1906

Harold T. Dickinson. "Quarries of bluestone and other sandstones ……" 
New York State Museum Bulletin, #61.  March 1903

Wm. F. Fox. History of Lumber Industry in NY. (USDA Bureau of Forestry) GPO 1902

J.H. French. Gazetteer (1960)

Irma Mae Griffin, The history of the town of Roxbury. 1975

Historical Souvenir of Delhi (1796-1826 Delhi data)

Sue Hudson. “A Delaware County Primer” @UDRRHS.org
     
Robert Mohowski. The New York, Ontario & Western Railway and the dairy industry 
in central New York State: milk cans, mixed trains, and motor cars
 
W.W. Munsell. History of Delaware county, N.Y. with illustrations, biographical
sketches and portraits of some pioneers and prominent residents 1880

Myers, Frank Daniel, III. The wood chemical industry in the Delaware Valley 1986

John E. Raitt. Ruts in the Road. 1982  
The Old Watering Trough. 1993
 
The Story of Walton 1785 to 1975.  Walton Historical Society. 1976

Transactions. Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts. (1816)

Hall. The Story of Brick (1905)