The History of Cayuga County 1789-1879 page 416
Town of Ledyard/Black Rock

1844; Sylvester H. Brown, 1845-'6; Benajah Mason, 1847; Lewis G. Weaver, 1848-'9; Benajah Mason, 1850; Alonzo Wood, 1851-'2; J. W. Pratt, 1853; Doctor Lamkin, 1854-'5; Wm. N. Cobb, 1856-'7; Sylvester Minier, 1858-'9; Thomas D. Wire, 1860-'1; Albert Ensign, 1862-'3; Samuel T. Tackabury, 1864; Reuben C. Fox, 1865-'7; Ellis D. Thurston, 1868-'9; Elias Hoxie, 1870-'71; Phineas H. Wiles, 1872-'3; Richard H. Clark, 1875-'7. The present pastor is Francis M. Warner, who commenced his labors with this church in October, 1877. This charge includes the church at Bell Corners or West Genoa.

The present number of members is 141. The number attending Sabbath School is 100; the average attendance being fifty.

The first church edifice erected by this society is now occupied as a carriage and blacksmith shop; the second was burned February 8th, 1873; the present one was built and dedicated in 1875. The church is valued at $7,000; and the parsonage at $2,000.

BLACK ROCK

About one and one-half miles from the south line of the town, and midway between its east and west bounds, is a place known as Black Rock, which derives its name from the color of the shale rock, over which the waters of Paines Creek are poured, with a perpendicular fall of nearly eighty feet, into the gorge below. About 1800, a Mr. Anway built in the gorge below the falls, a grist-mill, small in dimensions, but sufficient at the time for the demands upon it. Soon, however, with the rapid increase of settlers, it proved inadequate, and the mill now in use, standing upon the east side, near the brink of the falls, was built and a dam raised above the falls. He also built a saw-mill upon the west bank of the stream. This after a few years service, together with the dam and the highway bridge were carried over the falls by a freshet, demolishing and carrying with them the little mill below. The saw-mill, dam and bridge were rebuilt, and about 1816, a small furnace was erected and put in operation by Jedediah Morgan and John Harris. About the same time or soon after, Anthony Squires opened a store, but how long he continued the business we are unable to state. Other parties since his time have carried on the business at different periods. Seth Swift erected the first frame dwelling, which is still standing and doing service as such. He also built a blacksmith shop, which has its representative at the present time. A man named Hall had a chair factory there, but it, like its owner, fulfilled its mission and passed away.

The mill and the blacksmith shop are the sole representatives of the various branches of business carried on there when Black Rock was in its glory. Mr. Anway sold the mill property to the late Eleazer Carter, who, after using it several years, sold it to David Thomas, who to accommodate the increasing business, built another mill about ten rods north, and a little lower down the bank of the gorge, using the water from the first mill. He also built and operated a distillery some twelve or fifteen rods south-east of the mill now standing. He subsequently resold the property to Mr. Carter, who, after a time, in consequence of mills having been built at Genoa, Union Springs, and other places, and his increasing age and infirmities, which rendered it undesirable to keep the whole establishment in running order, removed the north mill, or one last erected, to the shore of the lake, where it has since been used as a warehouse. For the same reason the distillery was either removed or suffered to go down. He finally sold the remaining grist and saw-mill to Reuben Smith, in March, 1849. In August, 1854, Mr. Smith sold the property to Joseph R. Swift, who, in March 1855, sold it to Nelson King. King sold it to Reuben Smith, April 1st, 1859, and ten years from that date Smith sold it to James Glanister, who held it till his death in 1874. In 1875, it was sold on foreclosure of mortgage to Elijah Anthony, E. T. Brown and James B. Smith. Before the mill was put in operation Messrs. Brown and Smith sold their interest to Mr. Anthony, who afterward sold an interest to Slocum Howland. The foreclosure sale was the beginning of a new era for the old mill. When repairs on it were commenced, it was found to be so completely dilapidated that no portion of it could be utilized, except those old French burr stones, which made the Black Rock mills so famous long years ago, and everything has been made anew and modernized. A new ten inch Little Giant turbine wheel, with a head of from seventy-five to eighty feet, drives the machinery.

Messrs. Howland & Anthony have found it necessary to build a twenty feet addition to the

The information on this page was transcribed to a digital format by Roger A. Post

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