Historians Corner
"History Alive"
"HISTORY ALIVE" will appear during the first week of each month, beginning in October, 2002 and will continue until June, 2003. These essays were written to: 1) provide facts about the history of the Town of Greenfield, 2) to encourage individual interest in the Town's history, 3) to promote a greater understanding about how events in other parts of the nation and in the world had a profound affect upon life in Greenfield and 4) to encourage the use of history books and computers to access historical information in order to form intelligent, well-balanced opinions about local, national and world events.
In June, there will be a brief "Test", for those who would enjoy evaluating their comprehension of the history of our Town as we functioned amid the influence of Saratoga County, New York State, the United States and the World.
October:
IN THE LAND OF THE KAYADROSSERAS
"Greenfield? Greenfield? Uh....where is that? Oh..., is it in Connecticut?"
"No, our little Town is just a couple of miles from beautiful, downtown, Saratoga Springs."
"Oh, in Saratoga County?"
"Yes!"
"How many people live there? How big is the Town? What do the people do for a living? Do you have theaters, stores, pizza places and parks? Are the houses mostly big and old or new and modern?
"Well, well, well......The questions are flying thick and fast; almost as fast as the flock of Canadian geese which flies over the Palmerton Mountains every spring and fall; as fast as the Kayadrosseras spills over the falls; as fast as the crocuses poke up through the snow around the Town Hall each March. Questions! Questions! Questions! It's fun to ask them, but even more fun to get the answers. And, that's just what we will do. We will answer these questions and ask a whole lot more about our quaint, little Town, set on land which makes it geographically, the largest Town in Saratoga County.
"Ready, set, GO!"
First. How many people live here? Right now, in the first half of the second year of the 21st century, there are 7,362 people in Greenfield. But....wait just a minute. Do you know that for most of the history of our town, there were more people buried in our 37 cemeteries than there were citizens working, playing and enjoying life here in our verdant Land of the Kayadrosseras. In the 1820 census, just 27 years after the Town began, there were 3,024 people listed. By 1830 we had gained 120 more citizens, but in 1840, census figures showed a loss of 341 people. Where did these 341 people go and why? Well....some died, of course, but....something else, something very exciting had been happening the New York State during the early 1820's and into the 1830's. Something which would change the course of New York State history forever. What was it? Well.... now it's your turn. Go and get your encyclopedia or sit down at your computer and look for New York State history. Why did the number of people living in Greenfield continue to drop, way back to 1,961 citizens in 1850, a loss of 1,063 residents in just 30 years?
Let me give you a hint. This great change for Greenfield and most especially for New York State, came about from an idea which "roused the imagination" of George Washington, "practical surveyor and engineer" who was one of the first to become an "enthusiastic advocate" of this historical change.
NOVEMBER:
It's water that makes a difference
The distance was over 350 miles, with wilderness, ridges, and swamps in between. It was a great engineering task, but the digging began on the Fourth of July, 1817. This would be the greatest construction job ever started in America.
This was to be the Erie Canal, often called the Barge Canal. This was the exciting, history changing event which caused many things to happen in the State of New York. It also reached out and touched, in a very profound way, our little Town of 3,024 people situated completely within the Kayadrosseras Patent.
"What is the Kayadrosseras Patent? Is it something like an inventor gets when he has a new invention?"
"Well.....this was new all right, but it wasn't an invention like the steam engine or the sewing machine. It was land."
"Land! What land? Where? Whose land?"
"Wonderful questions. Now you're thinking! Very good! Very good! Here is some help for you to get the answers."
It was April 22, 1703. The rain was pelting down. The wind was howling. Anyone brave enough or foolish enough to go outside was clutching their hand knitted sweaters closer to their bodies. If there were a collar, it was turned way up to meet the woolen head covering, to protect delicate ears and neck. Some people had no choice. They simply had to go out in the storm.
"Why would anybody have to go out? Couldn't they just wait until the storm was over or until the next day? What was so very important that it couldn't wait? I can't think of anything which would make me go out in such stormy weather. It certainly must have been a super, important reason. Was it a reason that had to do with Greenfield history?"
"You hit the nail right on the head. It most certainly did! Now, it's your turn once again. This time, instead of getting out your encyclopedia or going to your computer, open your copy of "Greenfield Glimpses" and look through the first few pages until your eyes spot the date of April 22, 1703. Read the next several pages and you will know all about the "tract of land known as "Kayadrossera", a tract of land which serves as the birthplace for our lovely little Town, so quiet, so peaceful and so green.
December:
Water still makes the difference
Throughout Europe, communities had grown up around waterways which had provided food, water power and most especially a good means for transportation. England, completely surrounded by water, grew steadily to a population of 4 million people in 1603 and many landowners turned from raising crops to the raising of sheep because they could make a great deal of money from exporting raw wool and woolen cloth. Much of the land was occupied by herds of sheep, so many people who had worked to raise crops now had no job. This growing unemployment caused great distress and many English people began to feel that England had either too many sheep or too many people.
"Well......all of this sounds interesting, but what does it have to do with Greenfield?"
"When any country gets to the point where it has unemployment, people become uneasy about how to feed their children. Gangs roamed the countryside, stealing what they needed. Merchants who were producing woolen goods needed more and more places to sell them."
"So.....what happened to the people who had no jobs and the men who had so much wool to sell?"
"The word colonies began to be used. If the people who had no jobs could somehow get to the New World then they could grow food to feed their families because the soil there was much like that in England. Something even better would happen for the English merchants. These people who had gone to the New World would buy their woolen goods and everyone would be happy."
"Did that happen? Did people from England come to live in this country? Did they buy woolen clothes and blankets from English merchants? What happened to the people and the merchants?"
"What happened to them makes a great story. Yes, they did come to America but what a surprise they had when they found someone here to greet them when they arrived. Neither group knew then that all their lives would be changed forever. And now once again, it's your turn! Go to your encyclopedia or your computer and look up Colonial America. It's a fascinating, exciting and often sad story. Much of it happened right here if our own backyard, right here in Greenfield, right here in the Land of the Kayadrosseros.
January:
And now, it's the land
The April 22, 1703 signing between Samuel Broughton and the Mohawks provided a license for the purchase of the land known as "Kayadrossera", the "country of the lakes and the crooked stream." This was followed by a grant from Queen Anne, the English Monarch, to Nanning Hermance and ten other people. As you have read from Greenfield Glimpses, the final settlement did not take place until "after the French and Indian War in 1763:, when Sir William Johnson, a trusted friend of the Mohawks and Sir Henry Moore, Governor of the Province, intervened. Finally, the Mohawks were paid $5,000 and they gave up their claim to this land.
Well.....what a big step this was! But wait just a minute.....Remember, it is still 1763 and even though the Mohawks officially had given up the land known as the Kayadrosseros Patent, that did not mean that everything was peaceful and friendly. For the next ten years, there was a great deal of resentment, bitterness and fighting. The Mohawks, who lived in this part of what is now New York State, had lost a large tract of land. Sure, they had received $5,000, but many of them felt they had been cheated so they tried to do everything possible to make it difficult for white settlers to come to this area to live. At this time, there were about 125,000 Indians who lived along the Atlantic Coast, mostly in Southern New England and down near Chesapeake Bay. The largest group of Native Americans were the Algonquins, who were scattered from Canada south to Virginia and spoke the same language. The next largest group was the Iroquois, sometimes called the "five nations".
"Oh, I know about the Iroquois. There is an Iroquois long house in the State Museum in Albany. But what about the five nations? Does that have something to do with the Mohawks? Were the Mohawks good to other people who tried to come here to live or did they try to drive them away? Um......the "five nations", the Mohawks, oh... and the Mohawk River which we have right here now."
"So....what happened. Did some people try to come here to live in the 1700's? If they did get here, could they build homes, schools, churches and mills? What was it like back then? Were there roads?"
You know what I'm going to suggest right now, don't you? You have the words right in your brain. That's right. Go to you computer or your encyclopedia and look up New York State History, the Woodland Indians and the Iroquois. You'll find great stories about Native American life, stories about some great Indians and stories about white men and Indians. Be sure to find out about Sir William Johnson. His life makes a most interesting story. Oh....if you happen to have some time and transportation, the State Museum in Albany is a wonderful place for enjoyment and information.
February:
And the People
The word "unrest" is the polite way some Historians have described what was happening during the second half of the 17th century and the early years of the 18th century in the "Land of the Kayadrosseros", the area known today as the Northeastern part of the United States, the hunting and fishing grounds of the Mohawks. The Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida and Onondaga tribes, along with the Mohawks formed the "five nations", known as the Iroquois, which later included the Cherokees and the Tuscaroras. On February 17, 1693, the Battle of Wilton was fought near the Eastern boundary of Greenfield as "Colonial troops and Mohawk Indians caught up with a raiding band of Algonquins and their French allies". Other dangers arose to threaten the peace and security of the English settlers. Spanish ships would often attack along the coast. The French, who also wanted a settlement in America, persuaded the Algonquins to join their cause and bloody battles were fought. Soon the Dutch arrived to get their share of the riches of the New World.
"My goodness, people from many countries wanted to come here, didn't they?"
Yes, it was like a group of people crowded around a big candy jar and they all had their hands in the jar, trying to grab some for themselves. And.....with all of these groups grabbing and pushing and fighting and stealing and killing others whom they saw as their enemies, it's no wonder there was "unrest", so much "unrest" that it was way too dangerous for settlers to come here until after the Revolutionary War, when, little by little, some soldiers who had become used to the fighting during the War, came here and made their homes. This was a difficult decision and during the first few years, these former soldiers needed a great deal of courage to stay here. But they did. And...in spite of the poor soil, the constant threats from hostile groups and the ever-present wild animals in the forests, they made a home, a permanent home for themselves and their children.
"But how could they do it? How could they survive the attacks, and the wild animals? How did they build their homes and get food? Oh, I'd be scared to live out in the thick forests like that. Did they have guns and tools and boats? How did they get the clothes and shoes they wore, and the furniture and dishes?
Just trying to imagine how they survived brings many questions to mind, doesn't it? So...once again, I'm going to suggest that you go to your computer or encyclopedia and find "Colonial New York." Be sure to read about the Battle of Wilton. Find out why many people began to leave Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and come here. And then, finish up with the most important reading of all. Go to your "Greenfield Glimpses". Skim through the first few pages until you come to the date, March 12, 1793. When you come to that date, the page will light up, bands will play and you'll hear a great, booming voice shout, "You have arrived! This is it! This is THE date of the century! This is the BEGINNING; the great, auspicious BEGINNING! For now and for ever after this will be ___________________________! (And now, you can fill in the blank.)
March:
Ah, Yes! March 12, 1793! The date written in gold on the calendars of those who live along the Kayadrosseros Creek in a little Town stretching from Ball's Town (now Ballston Spa) to the Warren County line (then Washington County), a distance of twenty miles; a little Town which was called Fairfield at first and then began to use its legal name of Greenfield. About 3000 people came here and nobody really knows why they chose this particular spot. Was it the fine forests full of wild life for food and trees for building homes? Was it the Creek for food and transportation and power for mills? it's a mystery which has never been unraveled. But.... they came and began to build their community.
An April 1, 1794 a Town Meeting was held. Colonel William Scott, who had fought at Bunker Hill, became Supervisor. Zenas Winsor was the first Town Clerk. And they were off! Roads were planned and built. Schools and churches were established.
"How did they do all of this? Did they have lots of tools and machines? How did they get enough food to eat while they were doing all of this work? Did the children work, too? Did they take vitamins? Were there doctors?"
These questions certainly come to mind as we think about how so few people did so much with so little, don't they? And some of them may be answered by looking in GREENFIELD GLIMPSES, beginning on page 15 where it tells about the first Town Meeting, roads and travel, agriculture and stone walls.
Since almost everyone who came to Town in the early years was a farmer, things went along quietly and peacefully with homegrown food and farm products for food and clothing and the plentiful trees for homes, churches and schools.
But.......as the Town began to move along into the 1800's, the pace of life accelerated. Other things began to pop up! "That sounds like popcorn when you say "pop up!" What other things could possibly "pop up" when there were just farmers and their families and farm animals and some wild animals still in the forests?"
If just doesn't seem possible that many exciting things would "pop up" out of that mixture. You're right! However, some other people and some other things were added, just like adding yeast to a bowl of biscuit dough. And.....in the middle of the 1800's things really began to pop!
"What things? Did some other people move into Greenfield? What did they want? Did they have lots of money? What did they bring with them? Why did they decide to come here anyway?"
Get your copy of GREENFIELD GLIMPSES again and begin looking on page 24 and keep going and going and going. You'll see some exciting things happening. But...don't stop there. Go to your computer or your encyclopedia and find out all about the many, many exciting events going on in Saratoga County, New York State, the United States and the World in the 1800's. And we, right here in our own little town, were a part of these exciting happenings. What a story!
April
The Genie Is Out of the Bottle
Samuel Slater came from England to America in 1790, disguised as a farm boy. This is the only way he could leave England because he had skills as a mechanic and a textile weaver. The Industrial Revolution had begun in England in the middle 1700's and the English demanded that anyone with such skill remain and work in that country. With his disguise, he was able to get out of England and come to Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
"That's a funny story but why is it in the story of Greenfield history? Why should we care that Samuel Slater had to dress like a poor farm boy to get on a boat in England?"
It certainly doesn't seem to be a very important story, does it? How could one person in disguise effect the story of our little Town, so small and so far away from England? But Samuel Slater did change the story of America and the story of Greenfield. "My goodness! How could only one person do that?"
He did it by building the very first cotton spinning mill in the United States in 1790 and adding a machine to weave woolen cloth in 1815. This one mill was used as a model for thousands and thousands of mills, each one bigger, better and faster than the others. The names of Eli Whitney, Robert Fulton, Samuel Morse, Cyrus McCormick, John Deer, Elias Howe, Charles Goodyear and many other inventors began to appear with the various devices they had made. As these changes, known as the Industrial Revolution, became widespread in America, many, many other changes had to occur in the way they traveled, what kind of clothing they wore and how their homes were built. As all of these changes were occurring, another event in the story of our Nation took place from 1861 - 1865; an event so powerful and so far-reaching that the Nation would never be the same again.
"What happened between 1861 and 1865? I'll bet it was some big invention. That's probably what it was, since so many new things were being made in the 1800's. Let's see, what could it be? Something gigantic? It would have to be, if it changed the country forever."
Yes, it was gigantic and here is the perfect spot for me to suggest that you go to your encyclopedia, your computer or better still, to the Public Library and look up "America in the 1800's". You will also find out about something which came to Greenfield in 1863-1865 and changed the way people here lived and worked. You will be amazed at the inventions and the changes which came "thick and fast", as our Nation moved through the 1800's. You will be saddened as you learn about the event which had such a drastic affect on our country. The History Channel is also an excellent source of information and enjoyment as you watch the stories from our history dramatized right before your eyes.
May:
Changes Along the Kaydrosseros
(and in other places, too)
Just a few months before 1800, Ebenezer Fitch built the first frame house in Greenfield and Benjamin Grinnell and Jared Weed built stores. On February 27, 1801, the New York State Legislature took 60% of the Northern part of Greenfield and formed the Town of Hadley, Corinth and Day. St. John's Masonic Lodge began on the 20th of February, 1802. In 1813, the Town laid out sixteen school districts. James Bank began in 1836 and Oscar Granger's Glass Factory began making bottles for Saratoga Springwater in 1844. These events were like the trickle of the first few drops of lava from a volcano ready to burst forth. And burst forth they did!
But......while events and inventions were changing the look and feel of our little Town, our State and Nation were experiencing similar changes. Citizens of our young Country were looking at themselves and what is even more important for our future was the fact that other, much older countries were looking at us and talking and thinking about our "different" ideas about people and how they are governed.
"Well, what were these different ideas? Weren't they doing things pretty much like the English? Most of our early settlers came from there. How come they didn't do the same things here?"
You are exactly right to think that since our first citizens came from England, they would simply carry on the same traditions they had known there. But for many reasons, that didn't happen.
"Why? Were the changes good or bad for the people and the country? Did their children change, too? Are we doing some of the things today which they started?
The answers to your questions are, "good, yes and yes". Many of the men and women in 19th century America felt that this Country was a land of Utopia. They believed they lived in a "wondrous age of ease and plenty" and some of them thought that progress in inventions, which was happening very fast, would automatically lead to progress in government and in society.
"Did it? Was the government better? Were people treated better? In England small children had to work, didn't they? And some people were slaves, too. Some people were hated for their religion. I read about it. Was it like that here in the 1800's?"
We had made great progress in many areas. New ideas helped us govern the people more justly and new inventions gave more people jobs and money to buy nice things. But.....we still had a number of things that still needed changing in order to be fair to everyone.
"Even in Greenfield? Were some changes needed here too?"
Yes, many very good things had come about in our Town but there were some things which needed changing and there were many very capable, very kind people who worked hard to make our little Town a better place in which to live.
"Did those good changes happen here in Greenfield?"
Get your copy of GREENFIELD GLIMPSES. Look at the population numbers and you'll have your answer.
June:
A New Century. A New Direction
"Look! Look! Look at this! How did this happen? Why? I can't believe it! Look at this chart!"
GREENFIELD POPULATION
1820: 3024 1850: 2890 1950: 1961
1830: 3144 1860: 2970 1960: 2548
1840: 2803 1870: 1698 1970: 5000
"The population jumped to 5000 in 1970. We never had 5000 in all of our history. All of those changes must have been very good for this many people to come to Greenfield to live. Were they all still farmers? Is that how they made a living?"
By the end of the 1800's many inventions had already been made and many more were rapidly being developed. In 1903, the Wrights flew their first plane. U. S. Radio Broadcasts began in 1909 and in 1913, Henry Ford began an assembly line to manufacture Ford cars. The Panama Canal opened in 1914 and this greatly increased the shipping of manufactured goods. Women in the United States won the right to vote in 1920 and this gave the female half of the population and increased interest in government. Penicillin was developed in 1928 and this brought great changes in medicine and in life expectancy. An extremely powerful force for change was developed in 1941. It was television, and the atom bomb was dropped in 1945. These events brought changes to the health of our citizens, to the way government decisions were made, to our ability to deal with people in other parts of our Country and in the World and in the way our manufactured goods were shipped. Because of all of these changes and many more new ideas, people no longer had to stay on the farm to grow their own food and make their clothes. They could work in factories which made cars, television sets, medicine, radios or the countless new products that a growing population demanded. So.....the answer to your question is, "No". Most of these new residents were teachers for new schools being built, engineers for companies like General Electric, scientists working on new drugs and many other skilled professionals employed in a wide variety of jobs.
"So....were there any farmers left?"
A few "Old-timers" stayed on their farms, milked the cows and delivered milk, butter and cream to those who had no farm; those who lived in Greenfield but drove their new cars to Albany, Troy, Schenectady and other places to work during the day. Because these people slept here and worked elsewhere, we got to be known as a "Bedroom Community." And that's what we are today.
"These people don't live the same as those in the past did, do they?"
Not quite! So...instead of going to your computer this time, do this. Drive all around our Town. Look at the big new homes. Get a list of the 37 cemeteries and visit them. Go downstairs in Town Hall and read lists of names of all the men from Greenfield who fought in all of our Nation's Wars. Get information from the Town Historian's files about our Town's past. These adventures will be enjoyable, informative and revealing about our Town's past.
Bibliography
Aldrich, Alexander; Hutchinson, Sandra; Kingsburg, Carol; Robinson, Paul; Walsh, James. "Greenfield Heritage Resource Inventory." Anthony, Leaver, Holman and Associations
Brown, Clayton. "Greenfield Glimpses." Greenfield: Greenfield Town Board. 1976
Current, Richard; Freidel, Frank; Williams, Harry. "American History." New York: Alfred A, Knopf. 1979
Dunn, Violet. "Saratoga County Heritage." Saratoga County. 1974
Sylvester, Nathan. "History of Saratoga County". Philadelphia, PA: Everts and Ensigh Publishers. 1978
TEST
We promised at the beginning of our "History Alive" program, that there would be a short "test: for all of those who would enjoy evaluating their comprehension of the very brief introduction to Greenfield History as we functioned amid the many influences of events in Saratoga County, New York State, the United States and the world.
So......here it is, with 10 questions. Each one, as you know, is worth ten points. Complete the quiz and give yourself a mark. Then complete the questionnaire and mail it to the address below or drop it off at Town Hall. Your response will help guide us as we plan for the next phase of our website History Program, which will begin in September. Thank you for all of the compliments you have given us about the Greenfield History Program. We sincerely value your interest and your excellent suggestions.
Are your pencils sharpened? Do you have a piece of paper on which to write your answers? Ready....Set....Go....!!!
1. Name one of the four objectives for this History Program.
2. Give one reason for the loss of 341 people in the 1840 census.
3. What happened in Greenfield on April 22, 1703?
4. What product did the English want to sell to the Colonists?
5. Name the Colonist who had become close friend of the Mohawks.
6. Name the largest group of Native Americans in Eastern USA.
7. What caused a 30 year delay in settling this area?
8. Why is March 12, 1793 an important date in Greenfield History?
9. How did Samuel Slater change the U.S. and Greenfield History?
10. Name two 20th century events which affected our Town.
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Cut on the dotted line and mail to:
Mary DeMarco, 311 Daniels Road, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
or
Drop off at the Town Hall.
Please check your answers to the statements below.
(include your name and address, if you wish)
1. I watch the History Program each month. Yes____ No____
2. I'd like to see it again next year. Yes____ No ____
3. I'd like to see new chapters on Greenfield History. Yes____ No ____
4. What did you use as you studied the History Program? "Greenfield Glimpses" Yes____ No ____
Library Yes____ No ____ Computer Yes____ No ____ State Museum Yes___ No ____
Driving tour of Greenfield Yes ____ No ____
Call 587-1927 with questions, suggestions, comments. THANK YOU !!!