Town Of Hopkinton Historical Tour - Part 2

The first recorded settlers arrived in what is now Hopkinton, New York around 1802. The town was first organized in 1805 and is one of the original ten towns of St. Lawrence County. In February 1814 (during the War Of 1812), the British troops raided Hopkinton, seizing 300 barrels of flour which were stored for the U.S. Government in the barn of Col. Hopkins, for whom the town was later named. This tour of historic places in the town was written and printed by Mary Converse, Hopkinton Town Historian, and I followed the booklet to the sites and used her descriptions in my captions for the photos. Many of the buildings had been modernized, some were abandoned, but all had interesting historical notes:

Lyd Brook, called Hopkinton Brook on Google Maps, runs through the town between Miller Farms Adirondack Market and the Catholic Church. It was named Lyd Brook after Lydia Dewey, the first wife of Roswell Hopkins and its banks have been the home of several sawmills, a blacksmith shop, a trip-hammer shop, a carriage shop, a tannery and a milk factory over the years:

The Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church was founded by Father Normando and a church was built on the west side of Lyd Brook in 1878-79. The materials and labor were furnished entirely by the congregation. In 1978 the steeple was replaced with one donated by ALCOA. A kitchen and meeting room were added about this same time:

The Ashbel Squire house. Mr. Squire was one of the first settlers in town and built his first log cabin on this land in 1803. The present house dates back to 1828, though clearly it's had extensive remodeling in recent times:

Aaron Warner was one of the pioneers of 1803. His first cabin was built near this house and he purchased the land to build this one in 1806. It appeared to me that the Warner house was no longer occupied:

Mr. Seth Abbott, a shoemaker, came to Hopkinton in 1806 and built first a log cabin, then this home. The house appeared to be no longer occupied:

George S. Wright was born in Hopkinton in 1824 and was one of the foremost men in town. He built this brick house in 1857. The slate roof was imported from France:

Durfey's Inn was built in 1828 by Phineas Durfey. It is made of yellow sandstone which was quarried in Hopkinton. Shortly after the road was "cut through" to Potsdam and the stage coach run from Port Kent came past the house, Mr. Durfey opened his home as Durfey's Inn. The original ballroom on the second floor still exists today:

Samuel Abbott was 14 years old in 1806 when he came to Hopkinton with his father, Seth Abbot. He hunted fall and winter as a business and built this house about 1825:

Joseph Durfey was born in Ellington, Ct. and came to Hopkinton in 1805. He was a brother to Phineas, the Innkeeper. His first log house was built a few rods west of the present house, which was built around 1826. Today it is owned by Joe Miller, Hopkinton's first Amish family (though there are many Amish today):

Mr. Lee Eastman was six years old in 1804 when he came to Hopkinton with his father, Samuel. He took up this land soon after he was twenty-one and built the sandstone house in 1829. The house appeared to me to be no longer occupied:

The Asahel Kent House is on the corner of Middle Road and Route 72. Mr. Kent was born in Dorset, Vt. and he was a brother to Artemus, the school teacher. He arrived in Hopkinton in 1814 by means of an ox-team and built this house the same year:

The Truman Post house. Mr. Post was a grandson of Reuben Post, one of Hopkinton's earliest settlers. The Post house was built in 1808 or 1809. The barns were destroyed by fire in the 1990s. The red sandstone foundation is a sign that the nearby quarry was in operation as early as 1808. This house is no longer occupied:

While not a historic house or public building, I thought I'd include Norco Farms as a point of interest, just as it is in the Historic Tour booklet. Norco Farms is one of the most modern in northern New York. They milk 980 cows in rotating cycles, 24 hours a day. They employ 14 full time workers and have 3,250 tillable acres which originally made up 32 separate farms in the area. This enterprise is owned by the Eakins family: