The History of Orange County New York

by Unknown

It was not uncommon for a successful orchardist to realize from $5,000 to $10,000 for his crop in a single season. The land soon became exhausted, however, the San Jose scale attacked and killed the trees, and the business declined as rapidly as it had sprung up. About the present date (1907) a new find in the land is receiving much attention—limestone in unlimited quantity in most of the farms. Prospectors are finding zinc and other valuable minerals, which indicate wealth for those who still possess the soil.

Bellvale.

Bellvale village, known in Colonial times as Wawayanda, is situated on the lower rapids of Longhouse Creek, which here enters the meadows and flows a mile and one-half to Stone Bridge station, where it enters the Wawayanda, which has its source in Clark's Lake, and then loses its name when merged in the smaller stream. Longhouse Creek has its source in a swamp in New Jersey a short distance east from Wawayanda Lake. It has a large watershed at an elevation above tide water of about 1,100 feet, and in its descent of six or seven miles runs through several fine storage basins and down numerous rapids and falls. For a distance of 500 feet options were taken on some of the storage basins by the Ramapo Water Company during its active days, with a view to conducting the water into the headquarters of the Ramapo River.

This stream is well adapted for the generation of water power for electrical or manufacturing purposes, and we learn from colonial history, was utilized by Lawrence Scrauley in 1745 to operate a forge of tilt-hammer for a plating and slitting mill. This was the only mill of this kind in the State of New York, and in 1750 was not in operation. Under the Crown we were not allowed to advance the manufacturing stage of iron beyond the pig and bar iron stages. It seems Scrauley took his chances in this secluded portion of the valley to furnish more convenient sizes of iron to meet the wants of the blacksmiths and builders of that day, and thus avoid paying tribute to the manufacturers of the mother country. The ruins of the hearth where the ore was melted, the raceway, and the pit for the wheel that operated the tilt-hammer, are still visible, as well as the mudsill of the foundation of the dam.

During the War of 1812, a Mr. Peck had an establishment upon the stream, near the home of William M. Mann, where he manufactured bridle-bits, stirrups, buckles and saddle trees for our cavalry. As well as agricultural implements generally.

The old forge site and the lands along the rapids up to the line of the Chesekook patent were bought by Daniel Burt in 1760, and soon after he built a flouring mill and a saw mill, both of which were washed away by the breaking away of the dam during a very unusually heavy shower of rain. The present flouring mill is situated near the site of the earlier one. A saw mill was built in 1812, by John Bradner and Brower Robinson, and rebuilt by Thomas Burt, who operated it and a turning shop for about twenty years. The dam has been washed away and the mill is in ruins. A wool carding factory was built by Nathaniel Jones about 1810. and subsequently enlarged for the manufacture of broadcloths by Joseph Brooks, but is not now in operation. James, the son of Daniel Burt, about 1812 settled three of his sons at Bellvale in the milling and mercantile business. They established shops for a blacksmith, carpenter, wagon-maker, cooper, tailor, shoemaker and the manufacture of red earthen pottery. Benjamin Bradner had a tannery before 1812 where the ruins of the old saw mill are situated. The vats were located where is now the old raceway, and the bark was ground in a circular curb upon the flat rock back of the saw mill rolling a heavy mill-stone over the bark, as at one time apples were reduced to pumice by cider makers.

About 1808 the Bellvale and Monroe turnpike was built to make a shorter route to the markets along the Ramapo for the produce of the farmers of Warwick. It was nine miles long and shortened the distance previously traveled by about one-half.

The road was maintained above fifty years and the charter then surrendered to the State, and the road divided into districts—a fund on hand of about $500 was spent in putting the road in order before the charter was surrendered. The stockholders never received any money for their investment. The massive stone bridge over the channel at Bellvale was built in 1832, to take the place of the old wooden one then unsafe for travel. Recently the old bridge site, as well as nearly all the land along the Longhouse Creek for four or five miles, has passed into the hands of one owner, also all the mills and about 3,000 acres of land lying along the stream. The probable development of the water power for electrical purposes and an early completion of the State road from Pine Island to Tuxedo promises a brighter future. Tradition accounts for the name of the stream from the long house that stood on its bank near the residence of the late C. R. Cline. The Indians that settled there built their houses end to end and, as their families became more numerous, a long house was built instead of the isolated circular wigwams of many tribes. That there was an Indian settlement at this place is highly probable from the nearby streams for fishing, swamp and mountain for hunting, and the fertile prairie-like land for their crops of corn and tobacco. In the part where the land has been cultivated plenty of flint arrow heads and large chips of flint with sharp edges have been found. The flint chips were used by the squaws in cultivating corn and tobacco.

In 1841, in digging a cellar for an addition to the house, the skeleton of an Indian of immense size was found, if the writer mistakes not, in a sitting posture. This may have been only one of a great many buried there and might have been their chief.