HISTORY OF oUange county, NEW YORK, WITH ILIOSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF ITS PIONEERS AND PROMINENT MEN. COMPILED BY ; WARWICK. I.-SITUATIOW, BOUNDARIES, ABBA, TITLE. phy of the town. Long Pond is partly in Orange Warwick occupies a large portion of the southern County and partly in New Jersey. It is about nine part of the county. It is bounded north by Minisink, miles long and one mile wide. It is used as a feeder Wawayanda, Goshen, and Chester; east by Chester to the Morris Canal, and was formerly celebrated as a and Monroe; south and southwest by the State of delightful fishing ground, especially for pickerel, New Jersey ; west by New Jersey and the town of which were exceedingly abundant. Thompson's Minisink. Pond is mentioned in the chapter upon Chester. The only statement of area that can be given is com- This name is from Judge William Thompson, for- prised in the annual equalization table of the board of merly of Goshen, who owned the pond and had a supervisors, showing 61,380 acres. The assessed val- flour-mill on its outlet. Wickham's Pond is situated uation of the town for 1879 was $3,035,646, and the in the Sugar-Loaf Valley, in the northeast part of the taxes levied upon that basis were $23,621.71. The town. Its outlet is one of the principal branches of title to the soil of the town is derived from the Wa- the Warwick Creek. It had its name from William wayanda Patent. Wickham, Esq., once first judge of the county, to whose estate the pond belonged. Stirling Pond is IL-NATUKAL PBATTJRES. situated in the southeast part of the town, and is of The topography of this large tract is sufficiently in- considerable note in connection with the mines and teresting to justify a lengthy article, instead of the the early manufacture of iron in that vicinity. The brief paragraph appropriated to this chapter. For ad- name was in honor of Lord Stirling, of New Jersey, ditional material reference is made to the General His- prominent in Revolutionary times. Upon the outlet tory. Quaker Creek forms the western boundary, and of the pond are the Stirling Iron Works. has its source principally in Glenmere Lake (Thomp- In the Drowned Lands tract the so-called islands son's Pond). Tributaries of this, flowing generally form a peculiar feature. They are known as Little, northwest, are the following : Pochuck Creek, formed Gardner's, Black Walnut, Pine, Merritt's, and Owens'. of several branches, rising in the southwest part of They are simply small portions of upland in the the town ; a second of little importance empties into midst of what was once low and swampy ground. Quaker Creek, a short distance north of the Pochuck; In the early settlement of the county some of these Wheeler's Creek, formed of several branches, is next islands could only be approached by a boat, but north ; and a fourth unites with Quaker Creek, near under the drainage and cultivation of modern times Florida. East of the higher lands, in which these this would never be suspected, as the Drowned Lands streams rise, is the valley of the Warwick Creek. themselves are now traversed by good roads and This stream has its sources in the north and the centre divided into valuable farms. of the town, and among them is Wickham's Pond. The elevations in the town have special names. It flows nearly south into the State of New Jersey A range in the southeast is known as Warwick has many tributary rivulets from each direction, and Mountains. East of these is Bough Mountain, a drains an extensive tract. It is sometimes called the barren and rugged tract. Still further east is Stirling Wawayanda, but owing to its distance from the town Mountain. Round Hill, near the New Jersey line, short dis- of the same name it is liable to confuse, and should is so named from its circular outline. A give way to the better name, Warwick. Long House tance from this is Taylor Mountain. In the north- Creek is a tributary of the Warwick, and flows from east are the Bellvale Mountains. Near Bellvale the southwest line of the town near Greenwood Lake Corners is Decker Hill. Rock Hills are situated nearly to Wickham's Pond. When uniting with the east of Florida. South of Big Island Station are Warwick its waters flow again to the southwest through Mounts Adam and Eve. These insulated mountain- the Warwick Valley. There are various rivulets that masses are united in location, and we will not sep- of drain a section of country north of Greenwood Lake, arate them in description. They are on the edge and flow into that body of water. The outlet of Ster- the Drowned Lands, in the west part of the town. largest. ling Pond flows southward into the town of Monroe, Adam is the highest. Eve the longest and These and becomes a tributary of the Bamapo. The latter lies east and north of the former. the The ponds form a distinct feature of the topogra- elevations spring up from the bottom-lands on 564 : WARWICK. 565 west and the beautiful glades around Edenville on " Jamea Thompson, one, a male. " David Shepherd, one, a male. the east without any apparent physical reason, and "Jonathan Elmer, one, a male. ^tand, solitary and alone, like twin islands on the " Henry Wiener, one, a male. " broad expanse of the ocean. Joseph Alson, two, a male and a feftiale. " Richard Alson, one, a male. III.-EARLY SETTLEMENT. " Isiael Parshall, one, a male. " George Carr, one, a mate. of In the division the Wawayanda Patent the por- " Adam Wianer, one, a female. tion which fell to Benjamin Aske received his personal " Matthew Howell, one, a female. Wisneb." attention in its settlement, as did that of Denne and (Signed) "John Cromeline. By deed dated. Feb. 28, 1719, he sold to " May U please His Excellency " According to the act of your Assembly this is a true account of all Lawrence Decker, yeoman, for fifly pounds, 100 acres, the slaves belonging to my District—1755. " part of in the deed described as being the 2200 ** To Cornelias De Kay, one negro slave. acres of land called Warwick,'' showing that previous " To George De Kay, one negro slave. " To Richard Edeall, one negro male and three female slaves, to that time he had bestowed the name of Warwick " To Benjamin Burt, one negro slave. upon his tract. This deed was signed by Mr. Aske, "To Thomas Welling, one negro slave, " of the County of Orange." By deed. May 20, 1721, "To Richard Edsall, Jun,, one negro slav^, he sold 100 acres " of his farm called Warwick" to " To John Allison, one negro slave. " To Peter Clous,* one negro slave. "Thomas Blain, now residing upon the same." The (Signed) "Jacobus Db Kat." third recorded deed from Mr. Aske was to Thomas DeKay, Dec. 8, 1724. The name of James Thompson, probably the same La'wrence Decker having received a deed, as stated, as that in the above list, occurs as quartermaster in made a settlement soon after. It was the opinion of Col. Vincent Matthews' regiment of 1738. Several the late Mr. Henry Pelton, who had investigated of the others appear in the papers of twenty years these early matters, that his location was the Thomas later given below. James Burt, Esq., makes the fol- Welling farm of modem times. It is supposed that lowing memorandum on the above list of 1755 one or two other Decker families came at the same Nathaniel Roe lived in what is now the town of time, and either then or subsequently a family by Chester. He had a son, Nathaniel Roe, Jr. the name of Stagg, a name written " Stage" in sub- William Thompson lived about two miles from sequent years. Thomas Blain's deed mentioned shows Florida, in the present town of Goshen. James that he was already located in the year 1721, and his Thompson, his brother, was settled in the same neigh- farm was the Henry Pelton place of later years, borhood. though Blain subsequently changed to the Samuel David Shepherd was probably living at Amity, an- Dolsen place. Thomas DeKay located no doubt soon cestor of many of the same family name residing in after his purchase on the farm owned in later years that vicinity in later years. by Joel Wood. His son, Thomas DeKay, Jr., suc- Jonathan Elmer was the pastor of the church at ceeded him on the old homestead. Florida, and a brother of Dr. Nathaniel Elmer, men- John Vane must have settled in Warwick soon tioned in the assessment-roll of twenty years later. after. His homestead was on lands adjoining the The name Alson is the Allison of later times, several present Belden Burt farm, on the south, and reaching families of whom were in the west part of Warwick. across the Warwick Creek to the north road. His Capt. John Wisner, the enrolling officer, lived at dwelling was near the creek by the spring, a few rods Mount Eve. Henry Wisner was about three miles northeast of the John Pelton bam of the present from Warwick village, towards Sugar Loaf. Adam time. Wisner was doubtless a relative. settler at The story of early settlement is interrupted for a George Carr was a Amity. Matthew time following the above locations of 1719 to 1725. Howell was in the southern part of what is now There are few traditions of other families until the Goshen.