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7. Lebanon, 1807.

TOWNS.

8. Madison, 1807.
9. Nelson, 1807.

10. Smithfield, 1807.

11. Lenox, 1809.
12. Georgetown, 1815.
13. Fenner, 1823.

14. Stockbridge, 1839.

Rivers, &c. CC. Chenango river. II. Unadilla. k. Oriskany Creek. a. Cowasalon. b. Canaseraga. d. Chittenango. j. Oneida. Lakes. Z. Oneida. e. Cazenovia, or Linklaen.

Marshes. f. Great Swamp.

Universities. Madison University.

Villages. MORRISVILLE. Hamilton. Cazenovia. Canastota. Chittenango.

BOUNDARIES. North by Oneida Lake; East by Oneida and Otsego counties; South by Chenango county, and West by Onondaga and Cortland counties.

SURFACE. Diversified, and generally hilly, except where the great swamp extends for a distance of eight or ten miles, along the borders of Oneida Lake.

The elevated ridge or watershed, which divides the waters of the Susquehanna from those flowing north, crosses this county near its centre. The hills are, however, generally rounded, and susceptible of cultivation. This ridge is about 1500 feet above tide water.

RIVERS. On the south, the county is drained by the Chenango, Otselic and Unadilla rivers. On the north by the Oriskany, Oneida, Cowasalon, Chittenango, and Canaseraga creeks. The Erie and Chenango canals pass through the county.

LAKES. Oneida Lake forms the northern boundary of the county; Cazenovia, or Linklaen lake, called by the natives Haugena, is a beautiful sheet of water, four miles long by one broad, surrounded by a fine waving country. There are several small ponds on the dividing ridge.

CLIMATE. Healthful, but cool, and very subject to untimely frosts.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. Slate is the basis rock of the county. It is, however, overlaid for the most part with limestone, of that formation denominated the Onondaga salt group. Along the Oneida Lake, sandstone appears, and is found in boulders throughout the county. Fresh water limestone, containing fresh water shells, is found near the great swamp.

Argillaceous iron ore occurs in large quantities, in Lenox. and is used for castings; water lime and gypsum are abundant in Sullivan and Lenox, sulphur and brine springs are found in the same towns, and in the former is a magnesian spring, and several others so highly charged with carbonate of lime as to form incrustations on whatever is cast into them. Marl exists in large quantities, in the northern part of the county.

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SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil is generally fertile; in the valleys highly so: adapted to grain in the north, and to grazing in the south.

The timber is similar to that of the adjacent counties, consisting principally of hemlock, maple and beech. The sugar maple is abundant, and yields large quantities of sugar. In the great swamp, cedar, tamarack, &c. are the principal trees.

PURSUITS. Agriculture is the principal pursuit of the inhabitants, whose attention is divided between the culture of grain and the rearing of stock.

Hops, oats, corn and barley, are more largely cultivated than wheat.

Manufactures are considerably extensive, for which the fine water power of the Chittenango and other streams, furnishes ample facilities. Flour, lumber, woollen goods, distilled liquors, leather, iron and potash, are the principal articles manufactured. The commerce of the county is confined to the transportation

of its produce and manufactures, upon the Erie and Chenango canals.

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Hops, cheese, butter, wool, oats, sugar and potash.

SCHOOLS. There are in the county 234 district school-houses. The schools were taught in 1846 an average period of eight months; 13,523 children received instruction at an expense of $15,721. There were 26,456 volumes in the district libraries.

There were, also, in the county, forty-three private schools, with 1072 pupils, and four academies, with 198 pupils. There is one University in the county, chartered in 1846, and called Madison University. It has in all its departments 209 students.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Universalists, Friends, Dutch Reformed, and Episcopalians.

There are eighty-one churches, and ninety-four clergymen, of all denominations, in the county.

HISTORY. Madison county originally formed a part of Chenango county, from which it was taken in 1806. The first settlement in the county was made at the village of Eaton, in the town of the same name, by Mr. Joseph Morse, in 1790.

In 1793, Colonel John Linklaen, agent for a company in Holland, settled in Cazenovia. This Holland Company owned a large portion of the county, and their agent sold most of it to New England settlers. The growth of the county was not rapid until the completion of the Erie and Chenango canals by which a market was opened for its produce.

VILLAGES. MORRISVILLE, in the town of Eaton, is the seat of justice for the county. It is situated on the Cherry Valley turn✓pike. It was settled principally by emigrants from Connecticut, and has some manufactories. Population, about 800.

Eaton, another village in the same town, has a number of manufactories. Population, about 700.

Cazenovia village, in the town of the same name, is pleasantly situated on the south-eastern margin of Linklaen lake. It is well laid out, and has some manufactures and considerable trade. The Oneida Conference Seminary, located here, is under the direction of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a flourishing and well conducted institution. Here is also a high school and a seminary for young ladies. The village contains nearly 2000 inhabitants.

Hamilton village, in the town of the same name, is principally noted as the seat of Madison University, formerly the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. This institution was incorporated in 1819, and commenced operations in 1820. It received a charter as an University in 1846. It is well endow

ed, has an able corps of professors, and is in a highly prosperous conditi ›n.

There is also an academy of some distinction, in the village. Population, about 1600.

Chittenango, in the town of Sullivan, is largely engaged in the manufacture of water-lime, or hydraulic cement. It has also other manufactures. There is a sulphur spring of some note, one mile south of the village. It has also other springs, charged with carbonate of lime, and celebrated for their petrifying quality.

In this village is an academy, under the patronage of the Dutch Reformed Church. Population, 1000.

Canastota, in the town of Lenox, is a thriving and busy village, on the canal and railroad. It derives its name from the Indian appellation, given to a cluster of pines, which united their branches over the creek, which passes through the village. In this village is a high school of some celebrity. Population, about 1300.

De Ruyler is a small but pleasant village, in the town of the same name. Here is located the "De Ruyter Institute," a flourishing literary institution, under the direction of the Seventh Day Baptists. Population, 500.

Madison, in the town of the same name, is a thriving village. Population, 600.

Clockville, in the town of Lenox, and Bridgeport, in the town of Sullivan, are villages of some importance.

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