stones and shales. It has some beds of bog iron ore, and several sulphur springs.

SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. Most of the soil is productive. The uplands are well adapted to grazing. The alluvial flats of the Chemung river comprise the richest lands in the county, and are said to exceed those of the Mohawk in fertility.

The county north of the Conhocton river, and east of Five Mile creek, is covered chiefly with oak, chesnut, hickory, black walnut, yellow and white pine timber; between the Canisteo and Conhocton, beech, maple, white pine, and hemlock, are the prevailing forest trees, except a narrow tract on the Canisteo, where oak prevails. South of the Canisteo, beech, maple, white pine, and hemlock, are predominant. The oak and yellow pine lands produce excellent wheat; the other lands are better adapted to grass.

PURSUITS. Agriculture is the chief pursuit. Grain is largely produced on the alluvial lands. Great numbers of cattle and sheep are raised on the table lands. The lumber business is an important branch of industry.

Manufactures are increasing in importance. Lumber is largely manufactured in the southern part of the county. Flour, leather, and fulled cloths, are also produced in considerable quantities.

The Commerce of the county, by means of the spring navigation of the rivers, the navigable feeder of the Chemung canal, and the facilities afforded by the Corning and Blossburg railroad, is quite large and increasing.

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. wool, and lumber.

Wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, butter,

SCHOOLS. In this county there were, in 1846, 326 district schoolhouses, in which schools were maintained an average period of seven months. The number of scholars in attendance was 19,771, and the sum expended for their tuition $20,918. The district libraries contained 30,125 volumes.

There were also twenty-four private schools, with 626 pupils, and one academy and one female seminary, with 148 students.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Universalists, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. There are seventy-five churches, and 114 clergymen of all denominations, in the county.

HISTORY. This county is indebted to the enterprsie and energy of Mr. Charles Williamson, the agent of the Pulteney estate, for its early settlement and rapid growth. Finding emigrants unwilling to settle upon the elevated lands of this county, while the more alluring flats of the Genesee remained in mar

ket, he resolved himself to set the example of emigration to this section. Accordingly, in 1792, with two companions, he cut his way through the forests, and located at Bath. In 1795, the population in the vicinity had increased so rapidly, that Mr. Williamson established a theatre at his new settlement. The succeeding year, the county was organized, and named after Baron Steuben, the Prussian General. The same year a newspaper was established at Bath, and called the Bath Gazette. The population of the county at this time was about 800. The whole county, except the town of Reading, belonged to the Pulteney estate. The emigrants were mostly from Pennsylvania, except in the town of Prattsburgh, which was settled by New Englanders.

In the present town of Erwin, formerly stood the Painted Post, so famous in our early Indian annals, erected by an Indian chief, (probably during the first French war,) to commemorate his victory over the whites, and the number of scalps and prisoners, he had taken.

VILLAGES. BATH, the county seat, was laid out by Mr. Williamson in 1792. It is on the north bank of the Conhocton, has regular and parallel streets and two public squares, and is regarded as one of the most pleasant villages of western New York. Here is a flourishing female seminary. Population 1500.

Corning, situated on the south side of the Chemung river in the town of Painted Post, is admirably located for trade, being at the junction of the Corning and Blossburg railroad, with the navigable feeder of the Chemung canal, and also on the proposed route of the New York and Erie railroad. Its coal trade is already very great, and its growth has been rapid. Population 1200.

Hammondsport, situated at the southern termination of Crooked lake in the town of Urbana, is a thriving village. A steamboat plies between this place and Penn Yan. It has also a communication with New York, by means of the Crooked and Seneca lakes, Cayuga, Seneca, and Erie canals. Popu

lation 1000.

Painted Post, in the town of Erwin, is a flourishing village at the junction of the Conhocton and Tioga rivers. It has a large amount of hydraulic power, which is in part applied to manufacturing purposes. The painted post above described, is in this village. Population 600.

Hornellsville is a village of considerable importance, situated on the Canisteo in the town of the same name.

Mountains. h. Blue. m. Kaatsberg. u. Pine.

Rivers. G. Susquehanna. H. Delaware. a. Mohawks or West Branch Delaware. i. Little Delaware river. j. Papachton Branch. k. Big Beaver kill. q. Oleout creek. r. Charlotte river.

Villages. DELHI. Franklin. Hobart. Deposit. Walton.

BOUNDARIES. North by Otsego and Schoharie; East by Schoharie and Greene; South by Ulster and Sullivan, and the state of Pennsylvania; and West by Pennsylvania, Broome and Chenango counties.

SURFACE. Delaware county has three distinct ranges of mountains passing through it from southwest to northeast, rendering its surface very rough and broken. The southeast ridge is a continuation of a range of the Kaatsbergs. The second ridge runs between the Papachton and the Mohawk branch of the Delaware river; while the third, from twelve to eighteen miles in width, is bounded by the Charlotte river and the Susquehanna. The two latter are collectively known as the Blue mountains. A part of the eastern ridge has received the name of the Pine mountains. The surface of the summits and sides of the hills are extremely irregular, and broken by numerous streams.

RIVERS. The Mohawks, or main branch of the Delaware, has its source in Schoharie county, running thence in a southwesterly direction nearly 70 miles, through the center of the county, to Port Deposit, where it takes a southeasterly course, and forms the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania. Its principal tributaries are the Little Delaware and the Papachton branch; the latter is sixty-five miles long and receives the Big Beaver kill. The Charlotte and Susquehanna form portions of the northern boundary.

RRILROADS. The New York and Erie railroad is in process of construction, through the southeast corner of the county.

CLIMATE. The climate of this county is subject to sudden and extreme changes of temperature, yet it is not unfriendly to health. The cold is severe in winter.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. The surface rock of this county is the old red sandstone of the Catskill group underlaid by the shales and sandstone of the Portage and Chemung group.

Its minerals are few. Bog iron ore has been discovered in considerable beds; copper extensively diffused, but in small quantities. There are several mineral springs, and a brine spring near Delhi.

VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is as varied as the surface, but generally of a good quality. On the hills it is a sandy loam, and in some places stoney. In the valleys is a rich deep mould, and of lasting fertility. It is better adapted to grass than the raising of grain. The county is densely timbered with beech, birch, maple, ash, elm, basswood, pine, wild cherry, butternut, hemlock, and small quantities of oak.

PURSUITS. Agriculture chiefly engages the attention of the people of this county; considerable quantities of grain are produced, and it is exceeded by few counties in the number of cattle reared. It is second only to Oneida in the manufacture of butter.

Manufactures. The water-power of this county is abundant, but little improved. Its principal manufactured articles are leather, flour, lumber, and fulled cloths. The lumber is floated to market on the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers.

The Commerce of the county is not large, its rivers being only navigable in the spring.

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Butter and cheese, oats, potatoes, rye, wool, and lumber. Increased facilities for conveying them to market will be afforded by the railroad now constructing.

SCHOOLS. In 1846, there were 288 public schools in session, on an average, seven months each, expending for tuition $14,013, and numbering 12,501 pupils. The district libraries contained 24,027 volumes.

There are twenty-three unincorporated private schools, attended by 342 scholars, and two incorporated academies with 124 students.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Dutch Reformed, and Unitarians. The whole number of churches, is fifty-eight, of clergymen seventy-seven.

HISTORY. The county, west of the Mohawks branch, was originally held by several proprietors, but east of that river was comprised in the Hardenburgh patent. In 1768, William, John, Alexander, and Joseph Harper, with eighteen others, obtained a patent for 22,000 acres of land within its limits. The Harpers soon after moved from Cherry Valley, and founded the settlement of Harpersfield.

In the spring of 1780, a party of Indians and tories under the command of Brant, destroyed this settlement. Most of the inhabitants had previously fled, a few only remained to make sugar. Several of these were killed, and nineteen made prisoners and carried to Niagara. After the war the place was rebuilt, and Colonel John Harper, who had distinguished himself by his bravery and humanity during the war, spent the remainder of his days there.

VILLAGES. DELHI Village is the county seat, and contains, besides the county buildings, two churches, an academy, and a number of manufactories. Population 800.

Franklin is the seat of the Delaware Institute, incorporated April 25, 1835. Population 700.

Hobart, in the town of Stamford, is a village of some importance. It has some manufactories.

Deposit, in the town of Tompkins, is a great lumber mart. Much of the lumber which is floated down the Delaware during the spring freshets is deposited here. It is on the proposed route of the New York and Erie railroad. Population 600.

Walton, in the town of the same name, is a small but thriving village on the Delaware.