History
of Borodino - By Janice Beaman
1700s
Borodino is a small hamlet located eight miles south of Skaneateles
along the east side of Skaneateles Lake. The land was originally heavy
forest used by the Onondaga, Cayuga and the Seneca Indians for
gatherings and hunting expeditions. The 1792 Revolutionary War Military
Tract no. 88 and 89 represent Borodino. Lot number 88 was given to
Philip Fields and lot number 89 was given to Frederick Wybert, neither
of whom settled on their land.
In 1794, Onondaga became the 21st of 62 New York State counties. The
town of Marcellus was also founded in 1794. Borodino originally belonged
to the town of Marcellus. The pioneers of Borodino were New Englanders
who were mostly English and from North-River counties who were Dutch,
Scotch, Protestant Irish, French and Canadian. The land was covered by
hemlock, beech, maple and pine trees. The soil was chiefly sandy and
gravelly loam.
1800 - 1850
In 1802 Dr. Jeremiah Bumfus Whiting settled in Borodino. At that time it
was called Child’s Corners. Dr. Whiting lived in Borodino until 1819.
In April of 1803 a road was opened up from Spafford Corners to Borodino.
This is the same road today and was the first road of any kind made in
the present town of Spafford. Daniel Burroughs was the first merchant in
Borodino and sold his goods out of a log house. (This is the same
property Fesko’s IGA was located on until 2003.) Burroughs later sold his
property to Horace and Stephen Child.
In 1807 Daniel Wallace Sr. settled in Borodino along with his wife,
Molly Low, and four children. They had six more children following their
arrival. One of his sons Daniel Jr. (b. April 20 1802) remained in
Borodino and at one time he owned over 400 acres of land. Daniel Wallace
Jr. married Caroline Marshall and had seven children, Helen M., Napoleon
Bonaparte, Demetrius Y., Andrew J., Simon B., Andrew J., 2d, and Santa
Anna. The 1810 Census list Jeremy Whiting, Daniel Burroughs, and Daniel
Wallace on page 48. A Methodist church was organized in 1809 and the
first meetings were held at John C. Hullibut’s home.
On April 8, 1811 the town of Spafford was created out of portions of the
original military townships of Sempronius, Marcellus, and Tully.
Spafford was named after Horatio Gates Spafford, LL.D., author of a
Gazetteer of New York. Horatio purchased a piece of land, provided the
first town meeting minutes book, and some library books but never
settled in Spafford.
The first town meeting was held at Elisha Sabins home in April of 1812
and town officers were elected. During the town meeting in 1815, Canada
thistle was to be cut down in the months of June, July and August to
keep the pathways clear. The fine for neglecting this duty was five
dollars, which went to benefit the poor of the town. A large number of
Spafford’s citizens participated in the War of 1812-1815.
In 1816 Dr. Benjamin Trumbull came to Borodino. The name Borodino was
given to the town by him. Borodino, Russia is a village 70 miles
southwest of Moscow, where a bloody battle (the Battle of Borodino) was
fought on September 7, 1812. Russia fought this battle to stop the
advance of the French soldiers, lead by Napoleon Bonaparte, from
advancing into Moscow.
The small village of Borodino continued to grow throughout the years. In
1820 Spafford contained seventeen road districts. The 1820 Census list
Daniel Wallis, as Wallace is spelled in many places, on page 124 in the
town of Marcellus. The first post office was established January 22,
1820 and Daniel Baxter was appointed Postmaster. During the 15th annual
town meeting held April 4, 1826 it was voted that “sheep rams shall be
taken up until the 10th day of November following.” A fine of five
dollars was the penalty for “rams found running at large” during
that time period. (Town Record 1812-1835). Sheep were one of the most
common livestock raised in Spafford. The sheep were identified by ear
markings. The town record book contained a list of owners of the sheep
along with their individual ear markings.
On August 25, 1829 the First Religious Society of the Village of
Borodino was formed. They built the first church in Borodino, the
Presbyterian Church. This is the same building where the Grange is
located today. The membership dwindled and the Church closed after only
a few years.
The 1830 Census list Daniel Wallace on page 353 in the town of Spafford
and Washington Wallace on page 350. In 1830 Jared Carter a Mormon from
Vermont opened a mission in Borodino and was baptized into the Church of
the Latter Day Saints. I was unable to locate information of the
location of this mission. Jared Carter left after two years. John Baxter
was appointed Postmaster of Borodino on October 341, 1833. Dr. Beecher
settles in Borodino around 1834 for a short while.
During the 25th annual town meeting on April 7, 1835 held at Asahel
Roundy's home it was voted to raise ten dollars for a new town book; one
hundred dollars would be raised for the town's poor the ensuing year. It
was also "voted that geese and hogs shall not be free
commoners" (Town Record 1812-1835). In 1836 Borodino consisted of a
church, 2 taverns, 2 stores and about 20 dwellings. The first tavern was
built by Isaac Ryder on the site of the old Churchill House which burned
down in 1946. The second by Lewis Davis on the land where John Unckless
lived in 1896. Skaneateles 1st railroad was incorporated on May 16, 1836
and was opened September 30, 1840.
On March 18, 1840 small portions of Skaneateles were annexed to
Skaneateles and Marcellus leaving the present Town of Spafford
consisting of 18,900 acres. The 1840 Census list Daniel Wallace, Dr.
Isaac Morrell, William Legg, Washington Wallace, John Eddy Jr., Lewis
Davis, Thomas B. Anderson, Zara Berry on page 419 in the town of Spafford.
All these men's names are associated with Borodino. A Skaneateles woolen
factory burned down February 5, 1842, two others were located in
Skaneateles Falls along the Skaneateles Railroad. On September 24, 1849
Eleazer E. Fulton was appointed Postmaster of Borodino. There were 800
inhabitants in Borodino in the year 1849.
The 1850 Census lists Daniel Wallace Jr. on page 422 in
the town of Spafford. On April 27, 1853 David Becker was appointed
Postmaster of Borodino. On October 18, 1853 the Borodino Methodist
Church organized at the school house. The organization bought a church
building in Skaneateles, dismantled it, transported it down the frozen
Skaneateles lake and rebuilt it in Borodino where the M.E. Church stands
today. This project was completed in October of 1860. The earliest map
of Borodino I could locate was the Fagan Sweet map of 1854. (shown
below)
Source: Jan Beaman's research paper on Borodino written 4/30/96. Used with
permission. |
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