CHAPTER II: EARLY SETTLERS

The Indians
The Philipse Family
Tenant Farmers
The Morris Log Mansion
The Red Mills
How the Early Settlers Lived
Anti-Rent Rebellions

 

THE INDIANS
The Indians who lived in this area were the Wappingers, one of the Algonquian tribes. The Wappingers Indians occupied land on the east side of the Hudson River. In fact, the word "Wappingers" means "Easterners."
The Wappingers have been described as being very tall and excellent warriors. They fought fiercely with the early Dutch settlers along the Hudson. By 1720, when settlers started to come into the Mahopac area, the Indians were quite friendly. They even sold land to some of the families for homeseads. One of the main villages of the Wappinger Indians was very near Mahopac. It was in Canopus Hollow in what is now the Town of Putnam Valley. The village was called Canopus after one of their sachems (chiefs). Another village was along the shores of Wappingers Creek, near Poughkeepsie.
At times, some of the people went to live in Stockbridge, Massachusetts where a large village was located. The Wappingers, as well as other friendly Indians, stayed together in this village.
A very famous mission was started at Stockbridge and many of the Indians became Christians.
It is not known whether the Indians, whom our first settlers met around Lake Mahopac, actually lived here or were just staying in the area for a while. Old stories tell us that Canopus Island was sometimes used for council meetings.
At the north end of Lake Mahopac is a very old cemetery. It is located along North Lake Boulevard on land that was once part of George Hughson's farm. Since early times, people have believed that some Indians are buried here. We are told that once, when a grave was dug in this old cemetery, a skeleton was found sitting upright. It was holding a bow and arrow in its hand.
During the French and Indian Wars, the Wappingers moved their families to Stockbridge and about 300 warriors fought on the side of the British. When they returned a few years later, the Indians found that they had been pushed out of their homes and hunting grounds by settlers. Their chief sachem, or king, David Ninham, tried to get the land back from the colonial government. He even went to England to ask the British courts to return it to his people, but the courts did not support his claim. The Indians lost their lands forever.
In the meantime, the tribe was growing smaller. When the Revolutionary War started, King Ninham and sixty of his braves joined with the colonists to drive out the British armies. Finally, in 1778, David Ninham and forty of his braves were killed at Kings Bridge, which is now part of New York City. Their graves are in Cortlandt Park, in a section called the Indian Cemetery.
In 1812, a few members of the once strong and brave Wappingers were known to be living along a creek in the Town of Kent. They are all gone now, but we still have our name, Mahopac, to remind us that they were once here. Standing high in the mountains to the north of us is Mt. Ninham, named after the last sachem of the Wappingers.
The Wappinger tribe has disappeared, but there are still a few people living in Putnam County who can proudly boast of having Wappinger ancestors in their family. Because, at one time, some of our local Indians moved away to settle with other tribes, visitors to Florida and the Midwest sometimes meet members of Indian tribes living there who are known to be part Wappinger.

THE PHILIPSE FAMILY
Putnam County was given as a Land Grant by King William III of England to a man names Adolph Philipse in 1697. This kind of a land grant was called a "Patent." Because there is a chain of mountains called the Highlands running through Putnam County, it was known as "Philipse Highland Patent."
Adolph never made use of his grant and when he died, he left the land to his nephew, Frederick. Frederick, in turn, left it to his 2nd son, Philip, and his two daughters, Mary and Susannah. An older son inherited the family holdings in southern Westchester County. Mary was the wife of Roger Morris and Susannah was married to a man named Beverly Robinson.
In 1754, the Highland Patent was divided so that each of the three owners would have one small lot along the Hudson River, one large lot in the middle, and another small lot along the Connecticut border. Most of the land in the Mahopac area was in Lot No. 5, which belonged to Roger and Mary Morris as you can see by the map.

TENANT FARMERS
Many of the settlers who came into this area were from New England and Long Island. The land here was not for sale, but they could settle on a farm and become tenant farmers. Most of the farmers in Mahopac were tenants on land belonging to Roger and Mary Morris. Those who settled in the eastern part of town, however, were tenants on land belonging to Philip Philipse.
Tenant farmers were people who did not own the land that they lived on. They had to pay rent to the landowners for the use of the farms on which they worked.
A few of the early settlers had bought land from the Indians, but after the Patent was surveyed, they were also considered as tenants. One exception in Mahopac was a large farm which the Morrises had sold to William Hill, after whom Hill Street is named.
In addition to farming, a few of the tenants started small businesses. There were some taverns (inns) located around the area. These were usually part of the tavernkeepers house. There were also some small grist mills and sawmills located along streams. One man near Carmel had a small iron furnace. Another man, in Kent, was a shoemaker.

THE MORRIS LOG MANSION
Many years ago, the State Education Department placed a sign at the corner of 6N and Hill Street in Mahopac Falls. It tells us that before the Revolutionary War, Roger Morris and his wife had a log mansion nearby.
Roger and Mary Morris came here during the summer to check on their lands and to collect rents. The tenants seemed to be very fond of Mrs. Morris. They wanted her to have a nice place in which to stay, so they built her a larger, more comfortable log house. It stood on the little hill behind the garden center of the Red Mills Market.
Mrs. Morris, whose family nickname was Polly, was a kind and gracious lady. She was also very pretty. We are told that George Washington was once interested in Miss Philipse before she became the wife of Roger Morris.
In time, the log summer home belonged to other families. Additions were built onto it, but the original building remained part of the house. Unfortunately, a fire leveled it to the ground. There are still the remains of stone foundations left under the trees. We cannot be sure which stones were part of the original Morris house, but they mark for us the place where it stood.

THE RED MILLS
Did you ever visit the bank in Mahopac Falls? If you have, you probably stepped over a round, flat stone set in the sidewalk in front of the stairs. It has a hole in the center and little ridges all over it. This is a millstone. In this spot once stood one of the most famous buildings in the county - the old Red Mills.
From the time of the first settlements, the corner where 6N, Hill Street, and Myrtle Avenue meet was a very important location. Here was one of the best supplies of water power in the countryside. The outlets from Lake Mahopac and Kirk Lake join to form a fast-moving, powerful stream. It was a perfect place to build a mill. Running water was used to turn the water wheels that moved the grinding stones.
Early in the 1700's, a small mill called "Kirkham's Mills" had stood on this spot. Later, when the Morrises began to take an interest in the land, a very large grist mill was put up. It was probably the largest building in the entire countryside.
During the Revolutionary War, this mill was called "Robinson's Mills." Historians believe that Roger Morris and his brother-in-law, Beverly Robinson, may have been business partners in running the mill.
Roger Morris also built a store somewhere nearby. A sawmill was located a little upstream from the grist mill. Because all the buildings on this corner were painted red, the mill and the little settlement around it became know as Red Mills. On March 21, 1868, the name of the little town of "Red Mills" was changed to Mahopac Falls. There is no real, natural waterfall here. Behind the mill was a 20 foot high dam. The "falls" was the water that flowed over the edge of the dam and tumbled down to the stream below.
People from miles around brought their grain here to be ground. The Red Mills became one of the best-known landmarks of that time. When the mill was finally torn down in 1881, pieces of the building were carried away as souvenirs. There was one piece that no one wanted. It was too heavy to carry easily. A mill stone was left lying in the fields for many years and only adventurous neighborhood boys know that it was there.
Later, a house was built near the spot where the mill had stood. When the house was turned into a bank a few years ago, the stone was found and made part of the sidewalk. This stone is all that is left of the famous Red Mills.
If you look carefully, you can see that the millstone has a small piece broken off one side. Not too long ago, the missing piece was discovered unexpectedly. It had been in Mahopac Falls all the time, serving as a stair for a house on Myrtle Avenue. The lady who now owns the house had the missing piece of the millstone removed and taken to the bank.

HOW THE EARLY SETTLERS LIVED
As you look around at all the comfortable new homes and busy streets, try to imagine how different your life would be if you were living in Mahopac when the settlers first came.
At one time, there were no real roads. There were only narrow, dirt trails. Many of them followed the early Indian footpaths. You would have brought everything you owned in a wagon pulled by oxen. If you were lucky, you might even have a cow and a horse to bring with you to your new home.
After your family had found a place to settle, your house would have been a log cabin. Most cabins had, at first, only one room. They were heated by a fireplace. Your mother would have to cook your food in the fireplace also. One of your jobs might have been to help bring in wood to keep the fire burning.
There were few neighbors, and the woods were the home of all kinds of wild animals. Not only squirrels and rabbits, but deer, wildcats, and wolves wandered in the forest. You might have met, once in a while, a few visiting Indians.
There was a great deal of work to be done. Each family had to raise its own food and make its own clothes. Trees had to be cut down and the stumps removed. Rocks had to be taken out of the fields so that the land could be used to grow crops. Your farm animals would have to be fed and looked after.
For a long time, there were no schools and no churches in Mahopac, The nearest church was an old log meeting house near Brewster. People who wanted to attend services used to travel the long distance on horseback. It was a hard, busy life.


ANTI-RENT REBELLIONS
After a while, the settlers became unhappy with the tenant-farmer arrangement. They wanted to own the land on which they worked. Some of them felt that the rents they had to pay were too high.
At times, the landlords were very unkind. When tenants could not pay the rent, they were forced to leave. Their farms were rented to other people. Some of the farmers were given only one year leases (contracts). The farmers could never be sure that they would be allowed to stay the following year. In Philipse Patent, Beverly Robinson, especially, was not a popular landlord.
Trouble started over land ownership, not only here but in other areas. Most of the land along the Hudson River belonged to rich landowners. Rioting broke out. This was known as an "Anti-Rent Rebellion."
A man named William Prendergast lived near Pawling. He became a leader of the rebellion. Groups of men went around and drove off anyone who tried to rent a farm from which someone else had been forced to move. They destroyed crops and made trouble for the landlords. If one of their leaders was captured, they broke into the jail and rescued him.
Finally, troops were sent to stop the rebellion. William Prendergast was arrested at Quaker Hill near Pawling. A trial was held at Poughkeepsie and he was sentenced to hang. Other rioters were also arrested. After thinking it over, the British government decided to try to make peace with the colonists. Prendergast was pardoned and set free.
The farmers were no match for armed troops and things quieted down for a time.