Info On Parish
Karen Oakes the woman i contacted about Parish has just sent me some info so I thought i would be nice and share.
Jessica,
Parish is first settled in 1804, the same time as much of the rest of the
county, which is
later than much of central New York. This area had been inhabited by Indians
for
centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans, but a series of treaties betwen
the state of
New York and the Iroquois Confederacy relocated almost all of the Indians to
reservations in the late 1700s. There are a few reasons why this area is
settled a bit later
than neighboring regions: one certainly is the climate, which as you know can
be pretty
intimidating; another big reason was that the British occupied Fort Ontario in
Oswego
until 1796 (13 years after the end of the Revolutionary War). That means both
the British
and the Americans claimed the area, and it simply wasn't a very hospitable
place to
settle. Once the British are finally removed by a treaty agreement in the
late 1790s, the
area opens up to American settlement, but it's a pretty slow trickle at first.
The earliest
settlements are in the western end of the county--Oswego, Granby, Hannibal,
etc. There
simply aren't roads or other good transportation routes available in the inner
regioins like
Parish until somewhat later.
The 1804 settlement in Parish consists of only a few families--it's pretty
sparse for a long
time. People begin to come in more substantial numbers by the 1820s. At that
point, the
whole county is growing (the county itself is incorporated in 1816; before
that it's part of
Oneida County) a great deal. The Oswego Canal opens up, linking much of the
county
to the larger transportation networks that were so important for trade. The
County and
the town of Parish grows continually throughout the century until 1870 when it
begins to
decline.
Hope that gives you a good start. Let me know if you have more questions.
Karen