The History of Cayuga County 1789-1879 page 507
Town of Locke

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Over two hundred soldiers went from Genoa during the war of the Rebellion, and twenty-seven were procured elsewhere and sent by citizens of the west part of the town who were drafted. About $ 10,000 were raised by the town for bounties. "Of those who went forth at their country's call, thirty-eight came not back. In southern prisons, at Gettysburg and other historic battlefields, they laid down their lives that the nation might live."

CHAPTER LII..
TOWN OF LOCKE.

LOCKE lies upon the south border of the County, east of the center. It is bounded on the north by Moravia, east by Summer Hill, west by Genoa, and south by Tompkins county. It was formed from Milton, (now Genoa,) February 20th, 1802, and originally comprised the Military township of Locke, the south half of which was set off on the organization of Tompkins county in 1817. The north-east quarter was set off to form the town of Summer Hill, April 26th, 1831.

The surface is broken by the deep, narrow valley of Owasco Inlet, which flows through the central part of the town, bordered by hills, whose summits range from 200 to 400 feet above its level, and widen into a beautiful, undulating region, with a mean elevation of 1,000 feet above tide. Dry Creek crosses the north-east corner of the town, its head waters being in close proximity to the east line of the town. It flows through a deep, narrow, rocky gorge, whose steep, and occasionally almost perpendicular banks, covered with primitive forests, tower upward to a height of more than two hundred feet above the bed of the stream. It plunges over a succession of falls, the principal of which is the lower one, in the town of Moravia. The banks of the stream are singularly rugged along its entire course, and possesses at various points the elements of grandeur. During continuous rains and freshets it is an object of terror to the inhabitants of the flats, and has caused the destruction of much valuable property. Several other small streams flow into the outlet.

Limestone of a good quality exists in the town, and is used for building purposes. It crops out along the ridge which forms the east boundary of the valley of the Inlet, and appears in places on the surface in large, rugged masses, especially near and east of the road to Moravia. It is also seen to good advantage along Dry Creek, where it forms the bed of the stream in various places, the crests of its falls, and the perpendicular masses of its banks, being associated in the latter instance both above and below with the shales of the group. Sulphur springs exist in various localities in the flats, and the water of many of the wells in the village is so strongly impregnated with it as to be unfit for culinary purposes.

The soil upon the highlands consists of a gravelly loam interspersed with clay. In the flats it is a deep, rich, loamy alluvion.

The Southern Central R. R. crosses the Central part of the town, its course lying through the valley of the Inlet.

The first settlement was made in 1790, by Ezra Carpenter, James Cook, James Durell and Solomon Love. James Cook settled about three miles south of Milan, on the place now owned by Abram Westcott. He removed with his family to Ohio. Samuel Cook, a grandson of his, is living in the town. Cook was the first inn-keeper, in 1810. James Durell built the first grist-mill in 1810. It is still standing and in use, forming a part of the mill owned by Wm. W. Alley, Jr., in Milan village. Before Durell's mill was built, however, a small mill was put up on the Carpenter place, in a ravine a mile south of Milan, on the farm owned by Lavern Green. The stones were made from common sandstone, and were driven by a small stream emptying into the Inlet. Here the settlers were accustomed to grind their own corn, without having to pay the miller's toll, each being his own miller. A daughter of Durell's was the first child born in Locke. Solomon Love settled first in Groton and removed thence to Locke. lie settled a mile and a half east of Milan, where Franklin Murphy now lives, and died in the town. Daniel Carpenter was one of the first settlers. He was from Rhode Island, and located on a farm adjoining that of Joseph Harris on the east, where he died. His family moved from the town long ago.

Silas Bowker came in from the eastern part of the State previous to 1802, in which year he was

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