Jefferson County History
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A formidable frontier wilderness without settlement
The section of New York State now comprising the county of Jefferson was a formidable frontier wilderness without permanent settlement either by Native American or European settler until after the Revolutionary War. Ownership was claimed by the Oneida Indian nation but because of exposure to frequent raids from hostile tribes across the St. Lawrence River, not even the Oneida tarried very long in the region while on occasional hunting or trapping expeditions.
With the end of the Revolutionary War, New York State acquired title from the Oneidas and in 1791 sold this section to Alexander Macomb who headed a syndicate of land speculators.
James D. LeRay did much to promote the settlement of his lands which lay north of the Black River. From France, he imported blooded livestock, skilled artisans, and progressive ideas which greatly benefited the early development of this region. LeRay’s mansion was located in the town of LeRay. It is in a good state of preservation and is used as a residence for the commanding officer of Camp Drum, which became an army reservation of some 100,000 acres on 1940.
Attracted by the abundant water power afforded by Black River, Henry Coffeen, Hart Massey, Johnathan Cohan, and a few other industrially minded pioneers from New England settled the site of Watertown in 1800 with the avowed purpose of founding an industrial and trading center which would supply the needs of the pioneer settlers. They erected a bridge to bring traffic through the town and dammed the river for power to drive grist and saw mills.
By 1805, small settlements were scattered throughout the area and additional settlers were coming by the hundreds. At this time the region was part of Oneida County. A movement led by Henry Coffeen culminated in the creation of Jefferson County by enactment of the state legislature on March 28, 1805. Watertown became the county seat. The boundaries between Jefferson and Lewis Counties as created at that time were slightly adjusted in 1808 and again in 1813. In 1815, the islands in the St. Lawrence River and the eastern end of Lake Ontario were added to Jefferson.
The first Board of Supervisors met October 1, 1805 in a schoolhouse which stood on the site of the present Electric Building located of Public Square in the city of Watertown. The first county building, a frame two-story structure 40 x 60 feet was constructed in 1807-08 on land donated by Henry Coffeen in lower Court Street. The first floor was used as a jail. A few years later a second building was added to house the county clerk’s office and public records. These buildings were destroyed by fire in 1821. In re-building, a separate structure was erected to house the jail. The present courthouse was erected in 1861.
The inadequacy of transportation and communication facilities between this section and downstate threw the early settlers largely upon their own resources. Subsistence farming and manufacturing for local consumption featured the economy of the region. Cash income was derived to a great extent through trade with England via Canada and the St. Lawrence River. Potash made from the ashes of the trees cleared from the new farms was the principal exportable product. The War of 1812 cut off this trade. It also paved the way for establishing a thriving textile industry which lasted for better than 40 years. Cotton came up the Mississippi and via the Great Lakes to Sackets Harbor from whence it was teamed to Watertown where it could be made into cloth cheaper than the product could be transported here from New England.
While the handicaps which faced the county in those early years created hardships, they also favored local invention and ingenuity which stimulated a spirit of self reliance and developed a resourceful people. The founders of our present day communities and their outstanding public and private institutions provided an inheritance which has been enduring.