Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-07-13
Letter from Central New York.
ROME, N. Y, July 9Th, 1871.

1NOMt-, ~ L q, OOIS oth, 1o'l
Edjtor R1tIand Herald Lest you
should take it for granted that [ address
you from the stored city of the Caesars,
"Rome which sat upon her seven hills
and from her throne of beauty ruled the
world" I will intimate that it is only
one of the many cities of which the En-
pire State boasts; though not located on
throne of beauty, it is beauty of itself.
It's wide and we'll kept streets are we'll
adorned and beautifed by the luxuriant
trees which border them. When I left
your village a few weeks ago. thought
that before this, should comply with
yaur invitation to send you some jottings
by the way, if saw anything of especial
interest to communicate. Well, l have
been waiting to see something of that
kind, but have not seen it, so will say
something of common place things have
seen. My first stopping place after leav-
ing Vermont was Malone, some so miles
northwest of st. Adams. AS almost every
place is made more or less notable by
some local history, 80 Malone has been
twice the rendezvous of the FeniaEs in
their attempts to capture Canada. 1t is
a pleasantly located town of several
thousand inhabitants. The business in
terests of this place are largely dependent
upon the hop crop, which staple having
within the year fallen from e5 or 80 cents.
per pound to or cents, makes business
decidedly blue. Skirting along by rail
from Malone to Potsdam Junction, part
of the way in view of the st. Lawrence
river, we find the business portion of this
place nearly consumed by fire. Leaving
the Ogdensburg road we take the Rome
& Watertown Railroad to Potsdam.a very
pleasantly located inland village of few
thousand people, the largest industrial
interest being the lumber trade, the tim
Der for which is cut in the wilderness and
foated down the stream to the mills, one
of which runs 100 saws. This place suf-
fered fearfully last spring by d flood
which carried away a great amount of
property. Here is an item worthy of note
One of the most respected and successful
business men is Geo. B. Swan. Though
man of color he is a gentleman in every
sense of the term, and is highly respected
by all his fellow townsmen. He came to
this place less than twenty years since,
poor, but with door, sash and blind
makers trade, by his skill and judgment
has built up business in which he now
employs nearly one hundred men, turn
ing out for the foreign market 200 doors
per day, besides large custom trade. He
is in receipt of orders from not only all
parts of the United States but from Aus
tralia shipping whole cargoes to that and
other foreign markets. His extensive
works are models of order and business
all of which are superintended by the
gentleman himself, to whom your cor
respondent is indebted for visit to the
works and the foregoing facts,l Mr. Swan
not having the slightest suspicion that
his visitor would make public what he
saw and heard.
Such things show that men are valued
more for what they are and do than for
any accident of color or birth. Canton,
some ten miles south of Pottsdam, is the
county seat of st. Lawrence county, and
quite staid old town. don't know but
l made mistake in saying "staid," for a
good part of it is "gone,' having suffered
disastrously by fire within the past year
About as much of the business part of
the place has been burned as Rutland
would lose by the burning of Merchants
Row entire New buildings are taking
the place of those destroyed, but the peo.
pie feel poor. Goveneur, in the south
part of St. Lawrence county, in ordinary
times a thriving village, is just at present
afflicted with small pox, some fourteen
being sick and two having died Of it, but
an item which may be placed to the cred
it Of the place lie, they have q maiden la
dy here who believes and puts in practice