In 1827, Joseph Plumb came to Lodi to operate the Plumb store.

The unlimited water power furnished by the Cattaraugus Creek gave this region the name of being the best location, west of the Genesee River, for the building of mills, factories and foundries.

The Plumbs decided the first thing to be done was to replace the brush-dam built by Aldrich with a more substantial one, and Ahaz Allen was engaged to superintend its construction. (The present dam of reinforced concrete is held to the rock foundations by the original drift-pins of the old dam.) A race-way was dug and a. flouring-mill was erected which had good machinery and two run of French buhr stone. Zimri Howe, then a young man employed in a mill at Rochester, was hired by the Plumbs to take charge of the mill, which he continued to do for forty years.

Barter and trade were the mediums of exchange ancl the only ready cash to be had was obtained from "Black salts''. The asherys bought these salts from the farmers and paid then1 $2.50 per cwt.

The ashes of burned timber were placed in large wooden hoppers with a trough at the bottom. Water was poured over the mass and allowed to collect in the trot1gh. This lye water was then placed in large cauldron kettles and boiled d.own until it formed a mass of black crystals. This process was slow and involved a great amount of work, but it did bring the pioneers a little cash with which they made payments to the I-Iolland Land Company, and paid their taxes.

Solomon Dunham built the first hotel in 1824 at the head of West Main Street. Alvah Plumb, better known as "Lord Plumb", moved to Hidi in 1824. He was a blacksmith and for the want of a better anvil, hammered out his irons on a large hard stone. Later he purchased an iron anvil and wol'ked early and late to supply his customers with hand-forged hardware, nails, hoes, knives, traps, chains, etc., etc.

The first schoolhouse was built in 1824 on the corner of Buffalo and Mechanic Streets where tl1e Rink Block stands. It had a young teacher by the name of Noble Weller. Religious, political and village meetings were held there for a number of years.

Page Twenty-one

In 1824 the Eagle Tavern was built by J. McMillain. It was erected on the corner of Buffalo and Perry Streets and still stands as one of Gowanda' s oldest buildings.

In 1825, Jazzaniah Howe, a Revolutionary soldier, and his family moved to Lodi, from Vermont. (He was the father of Judge Chester Howe.) His daughter, Delia, was about twenty years old at the time. She was a tailoress and, as was the custom in those days, went from home to home to make suits of clothing for the men of the families.

At this time, clothing for the family was made at home. Each settler had his flock of sheep and from their wool was made the cloth from which these garments were fashioned. The wool was washed, carded, spun into yarn and finally woven into cloth by the women of the family. It was then taken to the clothdresser, who sheared and pressed it ready for tailoring. The material woven from these hand-spun yarns was a type of coarse, heavy flannel. Blue and gray were colors used for men's suits and great coats, while, quite often, different colored yarns were woven into plaids for the dresses of the women and

children. Little boys wore these plaid wool dresses until they were several years old.

The art of dyeing the yarn, as practised in our village homes and on the farms, was governed by necessity and ''the old blue-dye tub'' became an institution in every home where spinning was done. Chamber lye was collected each day and poured into the wooden dye-tub, and when sufficient liquid had been obtained, powdered indigo was added in the right proportion. The skeins of yarn were placed in this dye bath and the unforgettable odors that arose when the yarn was wrung out, were responsible for the old saying "smells like an old blue-dye tub."

Other colors of domestic manufacture included, ''sheep's gray'', produced by using one thread of black and two of white. Brown was obtained by boiling the yarn in a solution of butternut bark, copperas and alum.

In 1825, Daniel McMillain of Buffalo erected a two-story frame house near the bridge site, on the corner of West Main and Water Streets (Hiller's location now) which was opened as a tavern, ''The Lodi House'', by

Page Twenty-two

John W. Hanford. ( Other later landlords were Ira A. Torrey, Zimri Howe, John G. McGee, George White and Michael Barker.)

The reader may be sure that the lack of a bridge in these years was a matter of grave concern to all the villagers. In April, 1826, the Legislature authorized a few of the towns of Cattaraugus and Erie Counties to erect a bridge across Cattaraugus Creek at Lodi, chargeable to the taxable property of said towns. Phineas Spencer, Ralph Plumb and Benjamin Waterman were appointed commissioners to carry the act into effect.

These commissioners contracted with Ahaz ,Allen and Edwin Farnsworth to build the bridge by the first of January, 1827. The architects were Brown, Sturdevant and Marvin; the master mechanics were Henry Classon and Sylvanus Parkinson. The contract called for abutments on each side of the creek to be composed of white-oak timber, flattened and dovetailed together at the end, and thirty feet face on the creek.

The bridge had two archways, one on each side of the center arch, and the whole was

covered, shingled, and sided up with pine clapboards. The approaches were to be filled with stone, and when accepted by tlie commissioners the contracting parties were to receive $1,200 as full compensation.

While the work was in progress the commissioners changed the plan of the abutments from wood to stone, for which they agreed to use their influence to have the Boards of Supervisors of the two counties raise $300 extra. The contractors allowed the change to be made, but they never received a dollar over and above the $1,200 in the original contract for their work.

The bridge, when completed, was the pride of Lodi and admired by all who passed through the village. The archways of the bridge on either side of the creek were painted white.

The Erie canal was opened in 1825 and had a direct bearing on the progress of the Gowanda community. It brought a rapid influx of new settlers in western New York as it greatly facilitated the shipment of supplies into this part of the state.

In 1826, Phineas Spencer purchased goods in New York City and established the first drygoods store on the west side of the creek.

Page Twenty-three