Painted Post NY Newspaper Tidbits

PAINTED POST Steuben County
New York

NEWSPAPER TIDBITS

1797

     About the 1st of the year the dwelling of Mr. Stephen Patterson was burnt at the Painted Post, in which three unfortunate babes fell victim's.
Litchfield Monitor (Litchfield, CT) March 1, 1797; page 3.

1860

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT PAINTED POST.
     PAINTED POST, Steuben County, May 8. - A most destructive fire occurred here yesterday, involving the loss of nearly $60,000. The fire was discovered in the foundry of Curtis & Erwin, which with the building attached, was destroyed. The barn and livery stable of the Lowell House, the building known as the Badger block, the dwelling of J. P. Bennet, the dwelling of H. G. Blood, and the dwelling and shop of Mr. Wilder, the dwelling of G. Brown and the dwelling of O. Jordan were also completely destroyed. The fire is attributed to spontaneous combustion from the foundry.
     Curtis & Erwin's loss is $50,000, insured for $12,060; loss of the Badger block $2,000; no insurance. J. P. Bennett's loss $1,000; no insurance, Mr. Wilder was insured for $1,200; G. Brown's loss $600; no insurance.
Trenton State Gazette (Trenton, NJ) May 9, 1860; page 2.
Destructive Fire on the Erie Railroad.
SERIOUS ACCIDENT THROUGH RAILWAY MISMANAGEMENT.
PAINTED POST, Steuben Co. Tuesday, May 8.
     A most destructive fire occurred here yesterday, involving the loss of nearly $60,000. The fire was first discovered in the foundry of Curtis & Erwin, which, with the buildings attached, was destroyed. The barn and livery stable of the Lovell House, the building known as the Badger block, the dwelling of J. P. Bennett, the dwelling of H. G. Blood, the dwelling and shop of Mr. Wilder, the dwelling of G. Brown, and the dwelling of O. Jordon were also completely destroyed. The fire is attributed to spontaneous combustion from the foundries.
     Curtis & Erwin's loss is $30,000, insured for $12,000. Loss on the Badger Block $2,000, no insurance. J. P. Bennett's loss is $1,000, no insurance. Mr. Wilder was insured for $1,200. G. Brown's loss is $600, no insurance.
     [The above report, for which we are indebted to the courtesy of the Erie Railroad Company, which has exclusive control of the telegraphic wires along that route, omits to mention the following not unimportant circumstances, furnished by a local paper:]
     "While the fire was in progress, an order was sent to the agent of the New-York and Erie Railroad at Corning to send up the switch-engine, with the Fire Department, which he did. An engine on the Buffalo, New-York and Erie Railroad was running up and down the track near Painted Post, when this train came up from Corning and ran into it on the bridge, which is used by both companies. The signal-bells were set for the engine which was pumping, hence the engineer in charge of the switch-engine was at fault. The collision was very destructive to the cars, and scattered the men in all directions. Fifteen or twenty were injured, and some of them severyly."
The New York Times (New York, NY) May 9, 1860.

1865

Frightful Accident on the Erie Railroad.
     The express train on the Erie Railroad, which left Buffalo at 6 o'clock on Thursday evening, the 4^th inst., met with a most frightful accident while crossing the bridge over the Conestoga River, near the village of Painted Post, about two miles west of Corning. The train, it appears, broke bodily through the bridge, precipitating the first passenger-car, the baggage-car, and the locomotive into the stream below.
     The train consisted of three cars heavily laden with passengers, one baggage and an express car.
     Three persons were instantly killed, whose names are unknown. Several other passengers were fatally injured.
     Col. Wm. J. Swan, Medical Director of the Department of the East, was severly injured on the head and lower limbs, though not seriously. He was making a tour of inspection of the hospitals in this department with a view of preparing for the new orders from the War Department. Being on the car that went down he was among the sufferers. He will probably be able to resume his duties early next week.
     The people of the village came to the assistance of the passengers, and attended to the wounded, bearing bandages, stimulants, &c.
     Some two or three soldiers, who were on the train, worked like heroes in rescuing the wounded. One lady, with her leg broken, was brought to the shore by them in an old leaky boat. Two of the boys bailing the boat with their hats, while the other rowed to the shore. The cars took fire several times, but these indefatigable soldiers extinguished the flames. The passengers were taken on a train sent up from Corning, and reached New-York about 6 o'clock Friday evening. The bridge was considered to be a safe one by the company, as it was entirely rebuilt about three years ago, after being burned down. The escape of so many of the passengers, with such slight injuries, is remarkable, as the train was running about twenty-five miles an hour.
The New York Times (New York, NY) May 7, 1865.

1868

MISCELLANEOUS TELEGRAMS.
ELMIRA, N.Y., Tuesday, Sept. 22.
     As the funeral procession of Mrs. CARR was crossing the Erie Railway, one mile west of Painted Post, the Rochester Express came along, frightening the horse of Mr. CARR. Mrs. DRAKE, a sister of the deceased, was thrown on the track and had both her feet cut off by the passing train. A child of the deceased was also run over and literally cut to pieces.
The New York Times (New York, NY) September 23, 1868.

1873

BRIEFS.
Here is one more temperance lecture: Mr. Abram Chambers, a miller at Painted Post, was killed by the cars while walking on the track near that station. Whisky did it.
The Tioga County Agitator (Wellsboro, PA) Tuesday, January 28, 1873.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.
Several Stores Burned in Painted Post, N.Y ELMIRA, N.Y., Feb. 23.- About 7 o'clock this evening a fire was discovered in the saloon of Richard Emmerson, on the south side of Maine-street, in Painted Post, near Corning. The extended to the buildings occupied by Carpenter's saloon, Baker's shoe-store, and Perrenbaugh's harness-shop. The Times office, James Welder's blacksmith-shop, H. Bonham's wagon-shop, Owne's blacksmith-shop, R. Bonham's livery-stables, Hurd's wagon-shop, Stout's blacksmith and wagon-shop; also to the Empire Block which contained the dry-goods store of Parkhurst; Co., R. P. Badger's grocery, Robinson; French's hard-ware store, and the Empire House, (Joseph Burst, proprietor.) All were destroyed. The total loss will reach $25,000.
The New York Times (New York, NY) February 24, 1873.

1876

EDITORIAL NOTES.
Dolly Freeman and Mary Fergerson of Savona, N.Y., and Mrs. David Hood of Painted Post, died recently, supposedly from the effects of eating raw ham, and Mrs. Hood's little daughter was dangerously sick. The attending physicians were of the opinion that the ham contained the terrible trichina.
The Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City, Utah) Thursday, June 1, 1876.

Four persons have died of trichmae from eating raw port, at Savona, Steuben county, NY, within a few days, and several others are sick. The four dead are Dolly Freeman, and Mary Ferguson, Savona, and Mrs. David Hood and her little daughter, of Painted Post.
The Daily Southern Cross (Auckland, New Zealand) Monday, July 17, 1876; pg. 2.

1880

A NEW PAINTED POST.
ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF THE SOUTHERN TIER - AN OLD-TIME RELIC.
     At a recent celebration to commemorate the erection of a new post in the ML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />village of Painted Post, in this State, Mr. T. F. Minier delivered an interesting historic address, of which the following is an extract:
     From earliest and most authentic accounts this valley seems to have been a thoroughfare for the movement of the red man from the time they first occupied it until the day the last lone Indian faded away on the western horizon. At the time of Sullivan's expedition, this valley was occupied by portions of the Senecas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras, and Canadasaga, their chief, from the Council-house, Catherinetown, issued his edicts with all the dignity surrounding an autocrat; here was the door of their log house wide open, exposing to view the matchless Valleys of the Tioga and Susquehanna. It is pleasant to refer to the history of our particular section. The early inhabitants have crossed the river of time; much has been omitted in the record of events; let us open the door of tradition and notice some of the events that distinguish this locality.
     1788-The valley at this early date was the Indian trail from Painted Post to Tioga Point, over which the braves passed to get their fire-water. In 1789 means were taken to draw the Indians into a council, and the final decision was to hold it at Painted Post, June 17, 1791, but that determination seems to have been changed, for it took place at Newtown and it was here that Red Jacket displayed those transcendent powers for which he became so distinguished. The treaty was held at Newtown, though called in history the treaty of Painted Post, and it may be properly said that this place narrowly escaped a historical greatness. The history of the ancient landmark found on the banks of the Ga-ha-to or Conhocton, Tecanesto, or the post by the river, is somewhat indefinite or conflicting. Stone, in referring to it, says that Painted Post was a noted landmark in the early settlement of Western New-York and in the history of Indian affairs long before. It was literally a post of oak timber planted in the ground upon the banks of the Conhocton Creek, within the boundary of New-York, but not far from the Pennsylvania line; it was painted in the Indian manner, and tradition avers that it was a monument of great antiquity, erected to celebrate the death of some celebrated war chief whose name has been lost in the lapse of ages. The Indians, it is also related, were in the practice, from generation to generation, of erecting new ones on the decay of the old. Another account is that the different tribes of Indians living in this part of the country were accustomed to assemble here and hold their councils and make their treaties. They erected a large post and painted it red, that it might be easily known at what place to assemble, but subsequent history and a thorough investigation has removed all doubts surrounding it, and in Judge McMasters's history of Steuben County appears a recital of facts which have been accepted as authentic.
     In the Summer of 1779 a party of Tories and Indians, under command of a loyalist named McDonald, returned from an excursion into the Susquehanna settlements, bringing with them many of their wounded. At the confluence of the Tioga and Cohocton Rivers, Capt. Montour, son of the famous Queen Catherine, a chief of great promise, died of his wounds. His comrades buried him by the river side, and planted above his grave a post upon which were painted various symbols and rude devices. This monument was known throughout the Genesee forest at "The Painted Post." It was a landmark well known to the Six Nations, and was often visited by their braves and chieftains.
    This account of the origin of Painted Post was given to Benjamin Patterson, the hunter, by a man named Taggart, who was carried to Fort Niagara prisoner by McDonald's party, and was a witness of the burial of Capt. Montour, or at least was in the encampment at the mouth of the Tioga at the time of his death. Col. Harper, of Harpersfield, the well-known officer of the frontier Militia of New-York in the Revolution, informed Judge Knox, of Knoxville, in this county, that the Painted Post was erected over the grave of a chief who was wounded at the battle of Hog Back, and brought in a canoe to the head of the Chemung, where he died. Two sons of Queen Catherine accompanied her on her bloody mission to Wyoming, in 1778, and it is said that her fury on that terrible day was excited by the death of one of them in the fight that occurred near Fort Jenkins, the 2d of July, 1778, two days before the massacre at Wyoming. Gen. Sullivan in his report of the battle of Newtown says that the wounded of the enemy were taken up the Tioga River; among them, no doubt, were Capt. Montour, or Canadasaga, and this noted land-mark erected to his memory. No storied monument or monumental urn could better illustrate their devotion than that rude monument over the grave of their beloved chief; a symbol of affection that has given celebrity to this locality for 100 years; a symbol of affection that gives name to a territory reaching from Big Flats to Genesee, for in the primitive days of the settlers Painted Post was a word susceptible of broad construction. The original post found here in 1792, from a description by those who saw it, was round in shape, from 8 to 10 feet high, and stained red. It was standing in 1792, when Capt. Samuel Erwin and Benjamin Patterson first visited this place in 1803. Capt. Samuel Erwin became a permanent resident at this time. The original post had rotted off or was taken down by persons unknown, and taken to that portion of the town now known as Knoxville, and the attempt made to steal the original location as well as the original post. The first post erected by the whites was in 1803. This post resembled the first, and was erected near the original location. It was larger and higher than the original, having a diameter from 18 to 20 inches, and being from 30 to 40 feet in height. It was, perhaps, the most novel, and at the same time the first and probably the only register for the Painted Post Hotel; the entire surface as far as could be reached from the end of the old watering trough, which was near it, and some four or five feet above the ground, was covered with initials, names, and marks carved upon it. This second post, in danger from decay was, to avoid the fate of the fist one, cut down. Probably a piece may have been for some time kept in the loft of the old log hotel. This post, like its predecessor, has lost the date of its standing, but very probably it was about 1820 or 1824.
The New York Times (New York, NY) August 30, 1880.
1884

Painted Post Burning Up.
CORNING, N. Y., July 17. - A disastrous fire broke out late last night in the town of Painted Post, N. Y., two miles northwest of this place, and is still raging. Numerous dwellings and business places have already been destroyed. The town has no fire department and requests for assistance have been sent to this place and Elmira. No estimate of the damage can be given at presten, but from the outlook it will be heavy.
New Haven Register (New Haven, CT) July 17, 1884; page. 1.

1886

EIGHT YEARS OF LITIGATION.
ELMIRA, N.Y., Jan. 27. - A lawsuit that has attracted much attention for several years has just been terminated - that of Alexander S. Turner of Elmira, against William W. Weston, Orrin Weston, and Abijah Weston of Painted Post. The Hon. Charles E. Parker, Referee, has reported, and judgment has just been entered for $66,114.34. The litigation has just been in progress about eight years, and was for lumber to which the plaintiff was entitled and not accounted for by the defendants. The plaintiff and defendants bought a tract of several thousand acres of timber in Potter County in 1863, the removal and manufacture of which was in charge of the Weston Brothers. The costs of the action will amount to several thousand dollars.
The New York Times ( New York, NY ) January 28, 1886

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. ;
ELMIRA, N.Y., July 26. - During a heavy thunder shower this morning at Painted Post, N.Y., lightning struck and set fire to the barn of W. S. Erwin. The flames quickly spread to the adjoining buildings, and the dwelling house alone was saved by the heavy rain which fell throughout the fire. Five valuable horses were burned to death. The barn also contained large quantities of hay and wheat, buggies, and some harness. The loss is about $15,000; insurance $2,100.
The New York Times (New York , NY ) July 27, 1886.

1887

WHISKY CAUSED HIS DEATH.
ELMIRA, N.Y., May 25. - The 10-year old son of J. C. Hadley, of Little Flats, a few miles south of Corning, met a drunkard's death at Painted Post, Steuben County, this afternoon. In company with another small boy, a cousin, he rode on a load of bark with his father. Hadley was provided with a bottle of liquor, which he freely drank, giving the boys liberal draughts. When near the village of Painted Post Hadley's son, having become stupefied by the liquor, fell beneath the wheels, and the heavy load passed over and crushed him to death. The other boy was clinging to the edge of the load when discovered. Hadley was so drunk that he did not realize the situation. A Coroner's jury will investigate the matter, and the authorities, who are very indignant, will act accordingly.
The New York Times ( New York , NY) May 26, 1887

1890

A Wreck at Painted Post.
PAINTED POST, N.Y., March 7. - Last evening, as the Rochester express was passing this station, the rear truck of the last passenger coach went off on the main line on switch, instead of keeping on the branch. Swinging around, the coach collided with an engine standing on the main track, and eight seats in the car were swept out clean. The injured are: Charles L. Blackeslee, of Albany, who had his shoulder blade broken, and another gentleman and lady, names unknown; the former being bruised about one leg and the lady being struck with the water tank. No lives lost. < Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Saturday, March 8, 1890; page 6, col. 7.
PAINTED POST?S COMPLAINT.
ALBANY, April 26. - In a decision in the matter of the complaint of the residents of Painted Post against the New-York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad Company; alleging that Painted Post was twice seriously flooded last year because of the railroad embankment maintained there by this road, the Board of Railroad Commissioners recommends that the railroad company open its embankment for a distance of about one hundred feet at the point where it now intersects the freshet channel of the Chemung River, said point being at a distance of about seven hundred feet from the Chemung River Bridge and span the said opening with a bridge. The board also recommends that the channel of the Conhocton River be cleared of obstructions from a point about three hundred feet above the Erie Railroad Bridge to its confluence with the Chemung, the expense thereof to be born by the townships benefited.
The New York Times (New York,NY) April 27, 1890.

1893

THE STORY OF PAINTED POST
A HUMBLE MONUMENT OF THE OLD INDIAN WARS.
How a New-York Town Came by Its Peculiar Name-Movement to Preserve the Curious Mark of History- The Legend of the Origin of the Post-Memories of the Wars of the Six Nations Revived-The First White Permanent White Settlement in Steuben County.
Aug. 12. - The citizens of Painted Post, a small village at the mouth of the Conhocton, in Steuben County, are about to erect a monument at the Four Corners or business centre of the hamlet to take the place of the present painted post. This post is the latest substitute for the original post set up by the Indians at that place as early as 1779, and possibly long before that year, and from which the village took its name. More than half the sum desired - $300 has been subscribed, and the design for the monument has been practically agreed upon. It is proposed to have it built of granite blocks rising 8 feet above the base, the shaft to be 5 or 6 feet square and surmounted by the bronze figure of an Indian Chief. It will be placed in the centre of the Four Corners. The first permanent white settlement in Steuben county was made at the Painted Post in 1780 by Samuel Harris, an Indian trader. There was at that time an important village of Seneca Indians established on the banks of the Conhocton river, near the junction of the waters of the Tioga, Canisteo and Conhocton rivers, which here form the Chemung and pass on to the Susquehanna. Beyond a doubt the Six Nations appreciated the strategic importance of the Painted Post, where three long valleys came together, bringing water, which leaves no trail. Through this gateway the war cloud from the Geneshago, or Shiniug valley, descended in July, 1778, upon an errand of savage vengeance to the Wyoming. By the same route, as well as by the waters of the Conhocton, the former lords of the soil retreated from the battlefield of Newtown, where General Sullivan and his yeomanry on Aug. 29, 1779, dealt a deathblow to the power of the great Indian confederacy. The first white man found a name made to order for the place, and that name still remains the most interesting feature of the locality. The advantages of river and valley have dwindled away before the superior enterprise and courage of men who many years later settled in the narrow bottoms at Corning, two miles distant. The latter is now a city of 12, 000 inhabitants, while Painted Post has been incorporated a village with a population of 1,800 persons. The present Painted Post stands at the southeast corner of the cross roads. It is about 18 feet hight and octagonal in shape, painted red, it is 8 inches in diameter, tapers at the top and is surmounted by a sheet iron Indian Chief grasping a tomahawk and bow and dressed in a red jacket and buckskin trousers. The original post stood near the center of the present highway leading from Painted Post to, and a few rods east of the Four Corners and the sight of the present post. It was an oak post 10 or 12 feet above the ground and from 10 to 14 inches in diameter. It was square to a height of four feet above the ground and then octagonal to the top. Samuel Cook of Lindley thus described it to the late Charles H. Erwin of Painted Post, as detailed by the latter in his manuscript "A History of Painted Post and Other Towns," now in the hands of his executors: "When in 1792 I saw it for the first time, it had no marks or paint upon it, and it had the color of a weather beaten oaken rail. There was neither mark nor carving upon it. I have many a time sat near it and with others talked about it and speculated about its history." It stood on the banks of the Conhocton river at the side of a well beaten trail from the village to Tioga Point, Pa. This post remained until 1801 or 1802, when it is said to have been dug up and carried down the Chemung river two miles to Knoxville, whether for the purpose of founding a museum or for the more serious object or purloining the fame which encircled the oak post is not clear. It was afterward returned but in the meantime a new oak post had been erected by the whites in the settlement near the original site. What became of the old post is not known for certain. It is said to have remained in the garret of the first log tavern, and chips from it were furnished to relic hunters until one day in a moment of impatience Colonel Erwin, the landlord of the tavern, adjudged it a nuisance and ordered it thrown into the river. In the course of the next 20 years the new post, which was much larger than the old one, was chipped to pieces by relic fiends, and a few years later a new post was raised with a sheet iron Indian at the top.
The generally accepted legend concerning the post makes a very pretty story. It is said that Captain Roland Montour, a half breed and a son of Queen Catharine of Wyoming fame, was seriously wounded in the fight at Newtown and died on the retreat up the Conhocton. He was buried under a large elm tree, and the "Te-can-nes-to," as the post was called by the Delawares, was set up as an imposing monument to his memory. This legend was confirmed by the statement made by the Seneca Chief Cornplanter to Captain Samuel Adams in an interview had at Cornplanter's eddy on the Alleghany river in 1833. Cornplanter, being asked about the post, said through his interpreter, as related by Captain Adams, that a great chief and brave was there taken sick, died and was buried under the shade of an elm on the north side of the Conhocton river (at the same time mapping it out on the ground floor and marking with his knife the place of the grave), and that he (Cornplanter) was one of the council that placed over the grave a post, stained with the juice of the wild strawberry, to mark the spot. He would not state the name or tribe of this great chief. It was not Captain Montour, for he, with his brother John, appeared at the military post of Major Taylor, near Pittsburg, in December of the same year. Two years later the two brothers were with Colonel Broadhead on the Muskingum, in Ohio. Charles H. Erwin, in a pamphlet published as late as 1874, accepts Captain Montour as the hero and martyr, but in his more recently prepared manuscripts cites the facts which show that the captain and his brother were active in the flesh for several years later at least. Mr. Erwin in his latest work scouts the idea that the post was intended as a monument at all. Such a tribute to the dead was contrary to Indian nature and to any known custom among them. It seems highly improbable that so unusual an exception should be made very shortly after a battle in which the Indians had been worsted and when their white enemy might be expected to appear among them at any time. It is true, however, that excavations for cellars or wells in the neighborhood of the post have frequently unearthed Indian bones and relics. The New York Times (New York, NY) August 13, 1893.

1894

INDIAN MONUMENT UNVEILED.
Famous Post from Which the Town of Painted Post Took Its Name.
PAINTED POST, N.Y., June 22. - The new Indian Monument was unveiled yesterday. The monument is 20 feet in height, the base being of granite, mounted by a life-size bronze figure of an Indian chief. The ceremony of unveiling was performed by the great-great-great-granddaughter of the original purchaser of the site. The address to the statue was made by T. F. Minier, one of the oldest residents of the place, and orations were delivered by A. J. Fox of Detroit, Mich.; William Rumsey of Bath, A. J. McCall of Bath, John L. Sexton of Blossburg, and C. D. Baker of New-York City. The new monument is to take the place of one in the form of a tall post, which, as told in legend, was painted with Indians? blood. The town of Painted Post was the first in Steuben County to be settled. In the Summer of 1779 a numerous party of Tories and Indians, under the command of a Loyalist named McDonald and Hiagatoo, a renowned Seneca war chief, returned to the north by the way of Pine Creek, the Tioga, and Cohocton, from an incursion among the settlements in the west branch of the Susquehanna. They had suffered from severe conflict with the borderers, and had with them many wounded. Their march was also incumbered by many prisoners, men, women, and children, taken at Freeling?s Fort. A party of rangers followed them in a few days, journeying into the wilderness, and found at their abandoned encampment abundant proof of the manfulness with which the knives and rifles of the frontiers had been used in repelling its foes, in the heaps of bark roots which had been pounded or steeped in preparing draughts and dressings for the wounded warriors. Under the elms of the confluence of the Tioga and Cohocton, Capt. Montorus, a half-breed, a fine young chief, a gallant warrior, and a favorite with his tribe, died of his wounds. He was a son of the famous Queen Catherine. His comrades buried him by the river side and planted above his grave a post on which were painted various symbols and rude devices. The monument was known throughout the Genesee forest as the "Painted Post." It was a landmark well known to all the Six Nations. This account of the origin of the Painted Post was given to Benjamin Patterson, the carrier from Fort Niagara, by a man named Taggert, who was in McDonald's party, and was a witness to the burial of Capt. Montorus, or at least was in the encampment at the mouth of the Tioga at the time of Capt. Montorus's death. Col. Harper of Harpersfield, the well-known officer in the Revolution, informed Judge Knox of Knoxville, in Steuben, that the Painted Post was erected over the grave of a chief who was wounded at the battle of Hog Back and brought in a canoe to the head of the Chemung, where he died. At all events, it was well understood by the early settlers that the monument was erected over the grave of some distinguished warrior who had been wounded in one of the border battles of the Revolution and afterward died at this place. The post stood for many years after the settlement of Steuben County, and the story goes that it rotted down to the butt and was preserved in the barroom of a tavern until 1810, and then disappeared unaccountably. It was also said to have been swept away in a freshet.At the Painted Post the first habitation of civilized man erected in Steuben County was built by William Harris, an Indian trader. Harris was a Pennsylvanian and not long after the Revolutionary war pushed up the Chemung a cargo of Indian goods to open traffic with the hunting parties of the Six Nations, which resorted at certain seasons to the northwestern branches of the Susquehanna. Harris was known to have been Painted Post as early as 1787. He disappeared for a time, but returned with his son to live there for a few years, when he again went back to Pennsylvania. One or two other persons have been named as the first civilized residents of Steuben County, but all evidence indicates that Harris's residence at Painted Post entitles him to the distinction. The old town of Painted Post comprises the towns of Hornby, Campbell, Erwin, Painted Post, Caton, and Lindley. Eli Mead was the first Supervisor of the town and he went on foot to Canandaigua to attend the meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Ontario County. Gen. McClure, in speaking of the early settlers, says: A man by the name of Fuller kept the Painted Post hotel or tavern. He mentions other families about or after 1794, as Thomas McBurney, Capt. Samuel Erwin, Frank and Arthur, his brothers; Capt. Howell Bull, John E. Evans, and Englishman, and others.
The New York Times (New York, NY) June 23, 1894.

1895

THE PAINTED POST.
A HUMBLE MONUMENT IN NEW YORK OF THE OLD INDIAN WARS.
How a Town in the Empire State Came by Its Peculiar Name - The Legend of the Origin of the Post - Some Conflicting Stories of the Indians.
The first permanent white settlement in Steuben county was made at the Painted Post in 1780 by Samuel Harris, an Indian trader. There was at that time an important village of Seneca Indians established on the banks of the Conhocton river, near the junction of the waters of the Tioga, Canisteo and Conhocton rivers, which here form the Chemung and pass on to the Susquehanna. Beyond a doubt the Six Nations appreciated the strategic importance of the Painted Post, where three long valleys came together, bringing water, which leaves no trail. Through this gateway the war cloud from the Geneshago, or Shiniug valley, descended in July, 1778, upon an errand of savage vengeance to the Wyoming. By the same route, as well as by the waters of the Conhocton, the former lords of the soil retreated from the battlefield of Newtown, where General Sullivan and his yeomanry on Aug. 29, 1779, dealt a deathblow to the power of the great Indian confederacy.
     The first white man found a name made to order for the place, and that name still remains the most interesting feature of the locality. The advantages of river and valley have dwindled away before the superior enterprise and courage of men who many years later settled in the narrow bottoms at Corning, two miles distant. The latter is now a city of 12, 000 inhabitants, while Painted Post has been incorporated a village with a population of 1,800 persons.
The present Painted Post stands at the southeast corner of the cross roads. It is about 18 feet hight and octagonal in shape, painted red, it is 8 inches in diameter, tapers at the top and is surmounted by a sheet iron Indian Chief grasping a tomahawk and bow and dressed in a red jacket and buckskin trousers. The original post stood near the center of the present highway leading from Painted Post to Corning, and a few rods east of the "Four Corners" and the sight of the present post. It was an oak post 10 or 12 feet above the ground and from 10 to 14 inches in diameter. It was square to a height of four feet above the ground and then octagonal to the top.
     Samuel Cook of Lindley thus described it to the late Charles H. Erwin of Painted Post, as detailed by the latter in his manuscript "A History of Painted Post and Other Towns," now in the hands of his executors: "When in 1792 I saw it for the first time, it had no marks or paint upon it, and it had the color of a weather beaten oaken rail. There was neither mark nor carving upon it. I have many a time sat near it and with others talked about it and speculated about its history." It stood on the banks of the Conhocton river at the side of a well beaten trail from the village to Tioga Point (Athens, Pa.).
     This post remained until 1801 or 1802, when it is said to have been dug up and carried down the Chemung river two miles to Knoxville, whether for the purpose of founding a museum or for the more serious object or purloining the fame which encircled the oak post is not clear. It was afterward returned but in the meantime a new oak post had been erected by the whites in the settlement near the original site. What became of the old post is not known for certain. It is said to have remained in the garret of the first log tavern, and chips from it were furnished to relic hunters until one day in a moment of impatience Colonel Erwin, the landlord of the tavern, adjudged it a nuisance and ordered it thrown into the river.
     In the course of the next 20 years the new post, which was much larger than the old one, was chipped to pieces by relic fiends, and a few years later a new post was raised with a sheet iron Indian at the top.
     The generally accepted legend concerning the post makes a very pretty story. It is said that Captain Roland Montour, a half breed and a son of Queen Catharine of Wyoming fame, was seriously wounded in the fight at Newtown and died on the retreat up the Conhocton. He was buried under a large elm tree, and the "Te-can-nes-to," as the post was called by the Delawares, was set up as an imposing monument to his memory. This legend was confirmed by the statement made by the Seneca Chief Cornplanter to Captain Samuel Adams in an interview had at Cornplanter's eddy on the Alleghany river in 1833.
     Cornplanter, being asked about the post, said through his interpreter, as related by Captain Adams, that a great chief and brave was there taken sick, died and was buried under the shade of an elm on the north side of the Conhocton river (at the same time mapping it out on the ground floor and marking with his knife the place of the grave), and that he (Cornplanter) was one of the council that placed over the grave a post, stained with the juice of the wild strawberry, to mark the spot. He would not state the name or tribe of this great chief.
     It was not Captain Montour, for he, with his brother John, appeared at the military post of Major Taylor, near Pittsburg, in December of the same year. Two years later the two brothers were with Colonel Broadhead on the Muskingum, in Ohio.
     Charles H. Erwin, in a pamphlet published as late as 1874, accepts Captain Montour as the hero and martyr, but in his more recently prepared manuscripts cites the facts which show that the captain and his brother were active in the flesh for several years later at least.
     Mr. Erwin in his latest work scouts the idea that the post was intended as a monument at all. Such a tribute to the dead was contrary to Indian nature and to any known custom among them. It seems highly improbable that so unusual an exception should be made very shortly after a battle in which the Indians had been worsted and when their white enemy might be expected to appear among them at any time. It is true, however, that excavations for cellars or wells in the neighborhood of the post have frequently unearthed Indian bones and relics. - New York Times.
Wilkes-Barre Times (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Thursday, June 20, 1895; page 6, col. 1.

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