Seneca County History
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Before the Revolutionary War, the area now covered by Seneca County was the home of the Cayuga and Seneca Indians. The boundary line was between the village of Waterloo and Seneca Lake. The first in-depth historical data on the area can be found in the journals of the men of the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition. The men entered the region September 3, 1779. They traveled along the east shore of Seneca Lake to Canada-saga, now Geneva. Although no more than 40 people died as a result of the expedition, the destruction of the Indian villages and farms was so complete that it helped drastically to strengthen the position of the Americans at war.
When the war ended there was no money to pay the men’s wages. A law was enacted to give each man land. Seneca County became the westernmost county in the Military Tract. Hundreds of veterans settled in the area after the war, but it is believed that only three actually settled on the lot they received.
Near the turn of the century, two major accomplishments helped to develop the area. An act to incorporate the Cayuga Bridge Co. was passed March 28, 1797. The bridge became a connecting link in the Genesee Road between Utica and Canandaigua. It crossed Cayuga Lake from Cayuga Village to Bridgeport (part of Seneca Falls.) It was more than a mile in length and wide enough for three carts to drive abreast. At that time it was the longest bridge in the United States. Made of wood, the bridge often needed to be repaired or replaced. It was abandoned in 1859.
The Seneca Lock Navigation Co. was incorporated April 6, 1813. Work started to make a canal between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. On June 14, 1818, the first loaded boat passed through Seneca Falls and Waterloo. In 1913, the canal became part of the New York State Barge Canal.
In June 1825, Gen. Marquis de Lafayette came trough the area during his tour of the United States At that time, Waterloo had more than 500 people and 100 buildings. The remainder of the county showed similar expansion. Seneca County was organized March 29, 1804.
Court was first held in Ovid, then Waterloo. Because of its unusual shape, long and narrow, it became a two-shire county. The validity of this type of government has been questioned throughout the years. As late as 1921, the two county seat system was dropped but officials returned the county to a two shire system a year later.
Ferry service across the lakes was initiated the first years of settlement. The first steamboat company on Cayuga Lake was incorporated in 1819. The time of passenger boats ended about 1917, shortly after the Frontenac burned off the east shore of Cayuga Lake and 14 people died in the fire.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (the Mormon Church) was organized at the home of Peter Whitmer in Fayette, April 6, 1830.
An agricultural college was started in Ovid in 1857. The building was opened, but closed soon after because students and teachers were participating in the Civil War. At the end of the war the college was relocated to Ithaca, New York, the beginning of Cornell University. The original building is still in use. It is part of Willard Psychiatric Center. Willard Asylum opened October 12, 1869.
The first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls in the Weslayan Chapel, July 19 and 20, 1848. Today Seneca Falls is the home of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. The first observance of Memorial Day took place in Waterloo, May 5, 1866. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Governor Nelson Rockefeller, officially proclaimed Waterloo as the birthplace of this holiday.
Seneca County is a rural area, loved for its natural beauty by residents and visitors. In the 1930’s the Federal Government bought thousands of acres of land in the northern end of the county and created the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. It also bought land in the southern areas and created the Hector Grazing Land.