By Miss Marion Roberts / Edited by John D. Miles

The State then sold this uninviting land to land speculators and it remained uninhabited, as far as we know, until 1795. At that time a survey was conducted by Cochran and Ransom, assisted by Benjamin Roberts of Ferrisburg, Vt., and Samuel Beman and his son, Nathan, of Plattsburgh, N. Y.

The result of that survey was the turning point in the lives of Mr. Roberts and Mr. Beman, who were so attracted by the quality of the soil and the vastness of the wilderness, that they determined to return and establish a settlement. Benjamin Roberts was the first to return. He left his home in February 1796, and, with his family and goods, arrived safely in Plattsburgh where he left his family and attempted to proceed with part of his goods to his destination, but had to abandon this undertaking because of the depth of the snow.

In March, he again set out with a young man whom he had hired, and following a mere path cut through the woods arrived at their destination and commenced Chateaugay's first industry--sugar making.

In the early part of April he again started with his family and several hired men. Their outfit consisted of a yoke of oxen attached to a sled and a pair of steers for leaders. When they had proceeded about a mile beyond the home of the last settler in Beekmantown, one of the oxen gave out. He was unyoked and left to provide for himself. Mr. Roberts proposed to his wife that she return to the settlement with the young children, but she insisted upon sharing the hardships of the undertaking.

The husband, having placed in a rude bark saddle such provisions as the odd ox was able to carry, took upon his own back one of the boys and led the way, driving the cattle before him, followed by his wife who carried an infant in her arms, his men and two other boys--each carrying as heavy burdens as their strength allowed.

The remaining distance to be covered was about forty miles, and they were from Monday until Saturday completing the journey. The party commenced a clearing on the south bank of the Marble River about a half-mile north of the present village. During the summer of 1796, about forty acres were cut and partly cleared and a small patch of potatoes and turnips was planted. Mr. Beman made several trips in during the summer and moved his family there in the fall. Mrs. Beman was a sister of Benjamin Roberts.

The Roberts children, who accompanied their parents on the journey, were William, aged 9; Samuel, 6; Elikiam, 3; and John, an infant. Six other children were born to them: Alanson, the first child, born in Chateaugay; Theodorus (my great grandfather) and Michael; Catherine, who married Oel Sunderland of Chateaugay; Susan, who was the wife of The Honorable William Andrus of Malone; and Harriett, the wife of Jonathan Thompson, the pioneer stagecoach driver of Malone.

In the first few years, several men and their families came in and settled permanently, and by 1800 the inhabitants numbered 443. Some of these early settlers were Lewis Ransom, Jacob and Thomas Smith, Peleg Douglas, Obed Rust (great grandfather of the late Dr. Aloney Rust of Malone), Justin and John Day (ancestors of Mr. Henry Doud of Malone), Jonathan and Ralph Shepard, Elisha Howard, Gates Hoit (an ancestor of Mr. Herbert McCoy of Chateaugay), and Samuel Stoughton.

Chateaugay was erected as a town in Clinton County on March 15, 1799. In 1801 the boundaries were extended by act of Legislature in include all of the territory now comprising Constable, Ft. Covington, Bombay and the northern parts of Malone, Bangor and Moira. In 1802 another change was made, by which the town came to include all of what now comprises Franklin County.

From a well-preserved "Record Book" which was rescued some years ago from a rubbish heap (by the late Frank Ferrell, editor of the Chateaugay Record), I gleaned the information that the first town meeting was held at the home of Lemuel Haskins, on Tuesday, the 2nd day of April, 1799. Lewis Ransom was elected supervisor and town clerk. It was voted that a sum, not to exceed $3, be raised to purchase a blank book for the use of the town. If the book -- now a prized relic -- was the one purchased, it was money well spent.

In 1805 the following law, which I thought was rather interesting, was enacted: If any person having thistle or tory weed growing in any part of his improved lands, or in the highway passing those lands and by him occupied, he shall by the first of July cut or destroy the same to prevent them from going to seed, on penalty of $5 for each neglect.

From the census of 1875 we learn the following facts regarding the town: Number of dwelling houses, 517; value, $366,395; number of acres of improved lands, 21,729; unimproved lands, 7,027; cash value of farms, $915,527; cash value of farm building, $118,017.

David Mallory erected the first gristmill on the Marble River during the second year of the settlement. Before this, the principal milling was done in Plattsburgh and the trip required a week. The first paper mill in northern New York was erected by William Bailey in 1802. The late Adam Bennett owned the first butter factory in Chateaugay. His daughter, Mrs. Floyd Shufelt of Chateaugay, who is past 95, remembers taking a slice of bread to the factory for her grandfather to spread with new, fresh butter. His granddaughter was told that her grandfather built the first butter factory in the United States.

On October 1, 1850, a new era dawned for the town. The Northern Railway was finished, connecting Ogdensburg with Rouses Point, at a cost of #3,500,000 and two years' labor.

In the late eighteen hundreds, the lumberyard at Chateaugay was the largest in the United States. It covered several acres and was about one half mile in length, intersected by three lines of sidetracks.

Another industry (if one may call it such) was potatoes. In the digging season it was nothing to see 50 or 60 double loads of potatoes in the depot yard waiting to be unloaded and shipped to New York and Boston.

In 1891 the Douglas Tannery, employing 150 men, was burned, with a loss to the owners of $65,000 and a loss to the village of an industry whose payroll was $500 a day, and which added much to its economy.

About seven miles south of Chateaugay on 374, there was once a flourishing community known as the Forge. All that is left today is a church, school, store and a few houses. Opposite the store is a New York State sign, which reads: On this Site Was Built in 1874 The World's Largest Catalan Forge Abandoned in 1893.

Alanson and John Roberts built the building now known as Hotel Chateaugay in 1873. It was formerly known as the Roberts House Ladd's Hotel and The Chateau.

The Union House, which was famous for over a century for its excellent service, was torn down a few years ago. It was originally the residence of Theodorus Roberts, and fronted on Main Street. Later it was moved to the south and made to face Depot Street. Some famous people known to have stayed at this hotel are General U. S. Grant, P. T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey's Circus, ex-President Theodore Roosevelt and R. M. Macy, head of the large New York City store.

Both hotels ran a bus to meet all passenger trains arriving at the depot. In the early days of this century, there were three passenger trains daily, going in each direction, and a milk train, which also carried passengers. The train bus was an enclosed carriage with a rear entrance, which could hold around a dozen persons on seats along the side.

"Duel" Roberts was a clerk at Ladd's hotel and also drove the train bus. If a strange drummer got off the train and asked him which was the best hotel, he would say, "If you went to one, you would wish you went to the other!" (We lived just across the road from the depot, and quite often my brother and I would get a ride down to the hotel on the bus which we though . . .. [Manuscript ends at this point, but continues:]

The Chateaugay Record is the second oldest newspaper in the County. The first issue was published in February 1877. In 1890 that late Warren Thayer started the Chateaugay Journal, which was politically Republican, The Record being Democratic. He sold the paper to Will Roberts (my father) who published it until his death in 1908. It was then purchased by W. C. Murray and moved to the Kissane block. The paper went out of existence when this block was destroyed by fire.

The first school in Chateaugay was taught in 1799. The first school money, received from the State, was in 1815, the amount, $21.62. In 1820, there were seven school districts with over 200 pupils.

One of the early schools was a brick building on the corner of Church and Franklin Streets, later used as a fire station. In 1879 a new school was built and an academic department was established. The first class graduated in 1882 and consisted of two members, Willard Mitchell and Henry Stevens (a grandson of John Roberts, who became a prominent attorney in Los Angeles, California, and was guest speaker at Chateaugay High School alumni Reunion in 1927).

A Presbyterian minister held the first religious service in 1801, by the name in Huntington, in the home of Judge Bailey. The first church building was begun in 1827 and dedicated July 4, 1842 by the Reverend Ashabel Parmelee.

The Chateaugay Post of the G.A.R. was originally named for Benjamin Roberts; later was changed in honor of Admiral Theodorus Bailey who was the hero of the taking of New Orleans in 1863. He was born in Chateaugay in 1805. It is rather paradoxical to note that while Theodorus was a rabid abolitionist, his father was the only person in Chateaugay to ever own slaves.

Social life had its place even in the early days. The late Jessie Beman Campbell could remember her grandmother telling how a number of women would meet--first a t one home, and then at another - and spend the time filling a large tub with sliced potatoes. Water was poured over them and they were allowed to stand a certain time. When the water was drained off, each hostess in turn found her yearly supply of starch in the bottom of the tub.

During the War of 1812 Chateaugay was a scene of military maneuvers of both American and British troops. After the evacuation of Chateaugay by American troops, the British entered the town. At their departure it was found that the desks in the Masonic Lodge rooms had been looted, and the jewels and carpet had been stolen. Gates Hoit, in an effort to recover the jewels, followed the Army to a place below Cornwall and left a note with the Commanding Officer. The note, regarding the incident, was forwarded to a Lodge in Montreal. Later, the Montreal Lodge presented jewels and carpet more valuable than the ones that were stolen.

The elements seemed determined to keep Chateaugay from becoming too large, and indeed, a couple of times almost succeeded in completely leveling the community. In the year 1856 a tornado struck the village and wrecked 128 houses, four stores and the Catholic Church. The Methodist and Presbyterian Churches and three schoolhouses were injured. The damage done by this storm left hundred destitute, but much-needed supplies and help from Malone relieved the suffering.

On Tuesday, January 10, 1893, fire destroyed on half of the business section. The damage was estimated at $150,000.

On September 22, 1915, the entire business block on the north side of West Main Street and part of River Street was destroyed by fire, with a loss of $30,000.