The Essex County Historical Society and the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabet is the author of the information below. The complete description with their links and more and is available on the internet via The Wayback Machine – Moriah and The Wayback Machine -Westport. An updated version is available here – Moriah and here – Westport. The Essex County Historical Society contributed mining photos to the New York Heritage Digital Collection.
Moriah, NY
Moriah’s industrialized past is evident in its landscape and in its buildings. The level strip of land along the lake was suitable for cultivation, but Moriah’s riches came from the superior quality of iron found in its hills.
Moriah, was a boom and bust town. When the iron arrived, it turned Port Henry, situated on Lake Champlain, into a booming transport terminal. The railroad and Lake Champlain barge routes were established to transport goods to market. Until the great open pit mines of the west were developed, Moriah was a capital of the iron industry.
In its early history, a mill was first built in Port Henry in 1766 with the first permanent settlement in 1785. In that year, William McKenzie settled in what is now the southern part of Port Henry. According to reminiscences printed in the 1873 Port Henry Journal, “he found no white inhabitants other than Mr. Lewis (the mill owner), but plenty of the St. Regis and Swagotchie (Oswegatchie) tribes. The Indians who came there to hunt remained all winter and sometimes through the spring; they were very friendly. Bear, deer, wolves, and rattlesnakes were then very numerous in this region”. In 1804, there were still Indians living in wigwams at Moriah Corners, according to historian H.P. Smith and others who came to hunt.
Timber harvesting and land clearing occurred at a great rate as there were 20 sawmills on the river between Ensign Pond and Lake Champlain in the first half of the 19th century. Docks were built at Port Henry as early as 1820. Lumber was rafted north to Canada, and, when the Champlain Canal opened, to southerly markets.
The oldest iron bed in Moriah is the Cheever bed, located just one and one-half miles north of Port Henry. In its earliest days, settlers would go to the mine, pile the iron on to a sled and drag it back to town. The Cheever Bed’s value was not appreciated until 1853 when it began to be worked seriously. A number of other small beds in that area also were worked for several years. Five or six large companies operated mines in the township, the best remembered is the Witherbee, Sherman Company, whose magnificent headquarters in Port Henry are now used for the town offices.
Larger mining operations, that became Republic Steel, were centered in Mineville and Witherbee. Mineville and Witherbee were company towns. The streets lined with company houses constructed with blocks made from iron ore tailings still exist, as well as the extraordinary Catholic church built from the same material.
Along with the mining companies came the railroad for bringing ore from Mineville and Witherbee to the main line at Port Henry. An aggregate of 230,000 tons was produced from the ore beds in 1868. In 1885, Smith wrote, “It is not safe to attempt to predict the future of the iron industry in this town; but it probably can be stated with confidence, that as long as coal can be transported here, and the ore transported from the mines to the lake with such economy the companies can compete successfully with the prices placed upon the product of other sections, so long will the industry thrive”.
Moriah attracted immigrants of many nationalities to work in the mines. It remains one of the most populated towns on Essex County. Moriah’s industrial past is still evident, reflected in the industrial park located there today and in the tourist industry which is developing around the industries artifacts. The story of its mining past is being collected and exhibited at the Iron Center Museum in Port Henry and at the Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown.
Westport, NY
The earliest history of Westport relates to Essex County’s early settler William Gilliland, as two of his patents were located in Westport. He christened the area Bessboro, in honor of his wife, Elizabeth. It is believed that an early settlement, developed by his brother-in-law existed there, but all signs of it were obliterated by the Revolution.
The town was not settled again until 1804 when Charles Hatch made his way to North West Bay from Elizabethtown. It took four men two days to hack their way through the eight miles of forest between Elizabethtown and the bay.
It was known as Westport in 1815 when the town separated from Elizabethtown. The early character of the town is evidenced by a vote at the first town meeting “to raise double the sum allowed by the State for the support of common schools” and “to raise twenty dollars for the support of the poor”. By then, there existed a considerable settlement, with grist, saw and pulp mills, as well as stores, taverns, a tannery and a cloth factory.
The Westport Pulp Mill Company operated as a saw mill, lathe mill, spool factory, shingle, and grist mill in the last quarter of the 19th century. At that time Westport village had numerous general merchandise stores, hardware stores, tailors, shoe and drug stores.
The iron industry in Westport was based on three beds of ore, the Campbell bed, which became the Norway bed, the Merriam bed and the Jackson bed. Jackson built the Sisco furnace, at a cost of $100,000, which in 1840 was by far the most expensive and technologically advanced furnace of its day. None of these operations were particularly profitable or lasted very long.
Westport’s medicinal springs, located a half mile west of the lake, were celebrated during the mid 19th century for their miraculous power in healing disease. Today, they lie abandoned.
Westport remains the location for the Essex County Fair. The early fairs alternated between Elizabethtown and Westport, but soon settled in Westport. The fairgrounds, the exhibition buildings and the trotting track are still in use today. They can be seen most clearly from the railroad station which is home to the Depot Theatre and the Amtrak station. The Westport Hotel is just below the tracks as is the Champlain Valley Milling Co. The centralized school is just down the road from the fairgrounds. These enterprises form a nucleus on the outskirts of the village.
A visit to the Iron Ore Museum in Port Henry, Moriah is well worth the time and effort to get there. They advise calling before you visit: “Due to the lack of volunteers, we suggest you call before coming to the museum, as we cannot guarantee that it will be open. The Town Historian is in her office, upstairs, on most Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from noon until 2 pm. Ring the bell by the door. For appointments please call 518-546-3587 and leave a message, someone will return your call.”
