Oak Orchard Watershed State Of The Basin Report

of the watershed protection alliance began the process of bringing stakeholders togetherto formulate ideas on how to manage the watershed while protecting it at the same time.6. Potential benefits (environmental, economic, social or institutional)This effort is the first of its kind in Orleans County to examine natural resource issues atthe watershed level as opposed to a village, town or county basis. Improvedcommunication between private citizens, local municipalities, and county, state andfederal government agencies within the watershed will allow a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the current water uses and future needs. This collaborative effort willeducate each stakeholder on how they are affecting the water resource and what they cando to enhance the resource. Ultimately, knowledge is power. The effective managementand conservation of a resource as dynamic and diverse as the Oak Orchard Watershedwill require proactive thought and action by its leaders and inhabitants. The benefit ofthe Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation Districts’s prior experience withwatershed collaboration will be a great help in this planning effort. They will be able toshare their knowledge in the formation and direction of this watershed alliance. Thewatershed alliance is the first phase of a multi-phased watershed project that will benefitthe watershed community as a whole. Another benefit of collaboration and buildingpartnerships within the watershed is the ability to share information and work oncommon goals and objectives. For example, the Orleans County Water QualityCoordinating Committee has water quality data from watershed monitoring and streamsegment analysis. The Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge has water control structuresthat guide water levels for designated wetland areas. These water control structurescontrol the flow of the Oak Orchard River at the border of Orleans and Genesee County.The Refuge has historic flow and rainfall data that can be combined with segmentanalysis and watershed monitoring information from the same sampling dates andcorrelations and conclusions may be drawn regarding the combinations of the two sets ofdata. This report will inventory assets and assess problems that the watershed is facing,which will be the first “stepping stone” to a watershed-wide plan.7. Funding and administrative supportFunding for the State of the Basin Report was made possible through a Finger Lakes Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance (FL-LOWPA) Special Projects Fund grant.The Water Resources Board (governing body of FL-LOWPA) administers thecompetitive Special Projects Fund to encourage multi-county collaboration andwatershed-based programming. Many other organizations and individuals are alsoproviding in-kind support for the development of this project.c. Historical Events Impacting the Oak Orchard Watershed“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”Norman MacleanWater has been instrumental in developing our communities. Our towns and villagesgrew next to the mills. The streams provided us with food and took away our waste.6

Potable water was important to sustain life as well as to make whiskey on the Ridge.Ancillary information, such as historical buildings and sites along these waterways, willhave to wait for another phase of this study.1. Geological HistoryGlacial Lake Iroquois: The Oak Orchard Watershed was once covered by the glacialLake Iroquois. Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end ofthe last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago. The lake was essentially anenlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence Riverdownstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet near the present ThousandIslands. The level of the lake was approximately 100 ft (30 m) above the present levelof Lake Ontario. The lake drained to the southeast, through a channel passing nearpresent day Rome, New York. The channel then followed the valley of the MohawkRiver to the Hudson River. http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/Lake Iroquois.htmGlacial Lake Tonawanda: Glacial Lake Tonawanda was a prehistoric lake that existedapproximately 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, in Western New York.The lake existed on the southern (upper) side of the Niagara Escarpment east of thepresent course of the Niagara River between Early Lake Erie to the south and GlacialLake Iroquois (the ancestor of Lake Ontario) to the north. During the retreat of theglaciers, the water levels of the Great Lake were higher. Lake Tonawanda was createdand fed by the elevated waters of Lake Erie. Lake Tonawanda itself was drained intoLake Ontario by a series of falls over the escarpment, including one at present dayLockport, New York. The lake evaporated when the waters of Lake Erie dropped belowthe level of the feeder streams to the lake. Subsequently Lake Erie drained over theescarpment entirely through Niagara Falls, which marks roughly the western terminus ofthe former lake bed. The remains of the previous falls, which rivaled Niagara Falls ingrandeur, can be seen along the escarpment. The Tonawanda, Alabama and Oak OrchardRiver Swamps are within the lakebed of Glacial Lake Tonawanda.http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/Lake Iroquois.htm2. Early Occupation of the AreaBefore recorded history, the Hopewellian "mound builders" lived in the region nowknown as Genesee County. We know little of these prehistoric people, except e earliest known occupants of the Niagara Region of Western New York were a largeand powerful tribe of Indians known variously as the "Kahquahs," and the "Attiwondaronks," or the "Neuter Nation." In the 14th Century, the Neuter Indians occupied FortNeuter (West of the Town of Shelby). A peaceful nation, they lived in villages on bothsides of the Niagara River and as far east as the territory of present day Orleans County.Neighboring tribes included the Erie, Algonquin, and Huron, and the five nations whichthen comprised the Iroquois Confederacy.The Seneca (Keepers of the Western Door) are one of the original members of the "FiveNations" of the Iroquois Confederacy. The other members are the Mohawk, Oneida,7

Onondaga, and Cayuga. About 1715, the Iroquois Confederacy adopted the sixth nation,the Tuscarora, after they were forced out of North Carolina. During this early period theIroquois freely roamed from New England to the Mississippi River and as far south asTennessee.By the mid-1700’s, their main territory was New tmIn 1932-1933, Charles Wyman Palmer excavated an ancient mound built by theAlgonquian Indians of the second period or the polished Stone Age, on the bank of whatis known today as Oak Orchard River, Northeast of Waterport, New York.Also, before the construction of the boat launch on the western edge of the Oak OrchardRiver at Point Breeze, there was a major excavation by NYS agencies of a significantIroquois fishing camp.A large Iroquois village and small campsites have been identified near Oakfield.Early European Visits to the Area: According to Crisfield Johnson's Centennial History ofErie County, published in 1876, three French Catholic Missionaries were the firstEuropeans to visit the region. The French Catholic Missionaries came from Frenchsettlements in Canada. The visit occurred around 1620, the year of the Mayflower landingin Massachusetts. st1.htm During thesecond half of the 1600’s, various European adventurers visited the area and even erectedseveral forts, but no permanent white settlements were established.Holland Purchase and Pioneer Settlement: In the later part of the 1700's, bothMassachusetts and New York claimed Western New York. In 1786, an agreement gavegoverning rights to New York, while allowing Massachusetts to retain title. In 1791, RobertMorris purchased four million acres of land from Massachusetts. Morris then sold the land,with the largest parcel being sold to the Holland Land Company. The Holland LandCompany was comprised of six banking houses of Amsterdam. Before the territory couldbe opened for settlement, it was necessary to obtain land rights from the Senecas. TheSullivan-Clinton Expedition of 1779, followed by the Big Tree Treaty of 1797, served thispurpose. Land sold for about 2.00 per acre and partial payment could be made by workingon road or mill construction. Many immigrants and New Englanders took advantage of theopportunity offered, clearing, settling, and developing the region that is now called GeneseeCounty. In 1802, Joseph Ellicott established the Holland Land Office in Batavia, New Yorktaking the Seneca word meaning "Beautiful Valley". Also in 1802, Genesee Countyseceded from Ontario County. On November 11, 1824, Orleans County was created afterbeing a part of the large Genesee County (the whole of Western New York). In 1835, theHolland Land Company sold all the remaining lands to the new company composed chieflyof citizens of Batavia. http://www.hollandlandoffice.com/history.htmFirst European Settlers: Some of the first settlers of this territory north of TonawandaSwamp came from Canada, in boats across Lake Ontario. Others from New Englandand the East came by boats along the south shore of the lake. For example, as noted inthe Democrat and Chronicle story dated June-25-2004), “in 1804, Bathshua Brown, herhusband, and 12 children traveled by boat from Sodus, Wayne County, to a newly8

purchased 100-acre plot so thicketed with trees that the area was known as the “BlackNorth Woods.” The farm is located just up from the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek. Thefarm Orchard Dale Fruit Farms/Brown’s Berry Patch recently celebrated their 200thyear in operation”.Those who came in on foot, or with teams, usually crossed the Genesee River atRochester, and then took the Ridge Road West. The Ridge was used as a highway eversince white men traversed the county and was a favorite of local Indians. Crossingstreams and creeks along the Ridge was difficult because bridges had not been built atthis time.The Oak Orchard River was named for the beautiful oak trees, which grew along itsbanks, as seen by the first discoverers. In its natural state Orleans County was thicklycovered with trees. On the dry hard land, the prevailing varieties of timber were beech;maple; white, red, and black oak; white wood or tulip trees; basswood; elm; hickory; andhemlock. Swamps and low wet lands were covered with black ash; tamarack; white andyellow cedar; soft maple; and large sycamore or cotton ball trees. Some pine grew alongthe Oak Orchard River and in the swamps in Barre, New York. A few chestnut treesgrew along the Ridge in Ridgeway, New York and in other places north of the Ridge. Ithas been estimated by the first settlers, that from seventy-five to one hundred cords ofwood of 128 feet each, stood on each acre of land on an average over the county.Fish were plenty in the streams, coming up from Lake Ontario in great numbers. In highwater, salmon would run up the Oak Orchard River into the tributaries. Large tracts oflow land and marshland are now cultivated to grass and grain. These areas were too wetto grow trees because of the occasional beavers that would dam the area causingflooding of the land and destroying the timber. As the beaver were hunted anddestroyed, the dams were opened or wore away with the ponds in time becomingcultivated fields.During this time (about 200 years ago), it was a swampy wilderness where “Indianscame only for hunting and fishing.” The Indians knew this area as the “sick country”and early settlers were plagued by fever and ague (alternating periods of chills, fever,and sweating).Soon after clearing began to be made in the forest, peach trees were planted and grewluxuriantly, which ripened the choicest fruit, in great abundance. The peach crop wasnever a failure. In addition, apricots and nectarines were grown successfully. Thecultivation of apples received early attention, and some orchards, now in full health andbearing, are almost as old as the first settlement.For many years before and after the opening of the Erie Canal, wheat was the greatobject of cultivation among the farmers. Between 1830 and 1840, the quantity of wheatraised and exported yearly from Orleans County was immense.The Pioneer History of Orleans County, New York, By Arad Thomas; Transcribed byHolice B. Young, HTML by Deb, January 2002, Online Edition by Holice & Debhttp://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/orl/9

3. The Erie CanalOn July 4, 1817, the work in digging the Erie Canal began on the middle section nearUtica, New York. In November 1825, a fleet of boats from Buffalo passed the entirelength of the Erie Canal, carrying passengers to the Grand Canal Celebration in NewYork, New York.Before the Erie Canal: Although the soil was fertile and productive, and yieldedabundant crops to reward the toil of the farmer, its inland location and great difficulty oftransporting produce to market rendered it of little value at home. Settlers, who hadlocated here, in many instances, had become discouraged. Others, who desired toimmigrate to Genesee County, were kept back by the gloomy accounts they got of life inthe wilderness, with little prospect of easy communication with the old Eastern States tocheer the hope.After the Canal Opened: As soon as the Canal became navigable, Albion, Knowlesville,and Medina - villages on its banks - were built up. New settlers took up and cleared allof the unoccupied lands. New speculators came here and bought large tracts of land andleft them wild, to rise on the market. The lumber of the count

the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation Districts’s prior experience with watershed collaboration will be a great help in this planning effort. They will be able to share their knowledge in the formation and direction of this watershed alliance. The watershed alliance is the first phase of a multi-phased watershed project that will benefit