In 1762 Fish House was the first
settlement in along the Sacandaga River and it‘s
history is extensive. Officially named Northampton but
has always been referred to as Fish House, the settlement
got it’s name from a fishing camp that was built
there by Sir William Johnson in the same year. In the
summer, Sir William spent much of his time at Fish House
and at Castle Cumberland located on Summer House Point,
on the great Vlaie. He was then the Brittanic Majesty's
Superintendent General of Indian affairs in North America,
Colonel of the Six Indian Nations, and a Major General
in the British service. He was a friend to the Native
Americans. And he loved the outdoors. Sir William Johnson
fought in the French and Indian War in 1755 but had died
by 1774 before the Revolutionary War. After his death
his son John Johnson remained loyal to the King and took
up arms against the revolution.
Settler Godfrey Shew came to Fish
House from Philadelphia at the urgings of Sir William
before he died. During the Revolutionary War Fish House
and nearby areas were attacked by about one hundred Loyalists
and Indians. A ardent patriot, Shews home and barn were
burned, livestock killed, and he and two of his sons
were captured along with Solomon Woodworth of Mayfield
(more about him in upcoming Mayfield history.) Of the
one hundred raiders there were only seven Loyalists with
one British officer, the rest were Indians. Some of the
Indians among them had been friends of the Shew family.
Sometimes sharing meals with them and had promised they
would warn the family of any impending danger. When asked
by the Shew’s why they were taking part in such
an act they replied in native tongue pretending not to
understand the question. The raiders took hundreds of
pounds of maple sugar and anything else they pleased.
Mrs. Shew and her remaining three children were left
unharmed and walked from the burned out ruins to Mayfield
were they journeyed on to Johnstown. The raiding party
had plans to head north to Canada with the captives but
Woodworth escaped near Conklingville and returned. There
were ten captives, some had been taken in Mayfield before
the raid on Fish House. Nine months later they were released
and made their way home. Shew upon his return rebuilt
the house in 1784 which still stands today.
After the war Fish House grew into
a larger settlement than most. Occupied by wealthy people
with large estates instead of building lots. Before 1900
there were five sawmills, a glove mill, two chain factories,
a shingle mill, two harness shops, several blacksmiths,
four shoe cobblers, two tanneries, three churches, cheese
factory, four hotels, a school, two general stores, three
doctors, and a druggist.
There was a rivalry between owners
of the Fish House Hotel and the Osborn Inn. The businesses
were located across the street from each. The winter
of 1884 proved to be deadly for one of them. While clearing
snow from a winter storm a confrontation sparked over
one of them crossing the others property which resulted
in one of them shooting the other dead. Although argued
accidental, the verdict was first degree manslaughter.
Their names have been left out due to discrepancies in
references.
Some of the fines upon citizens
reads as follows from in 1808 a citizen was fined $3.37
for swearing six times, fine for Violating the Sabbath
$3.34. And a $25.00 fine for selling cider without a
permit. In 1812 there was a $10.00 bounty on wolves.
The bridge that spanned the river
at Fish House was a covered bridge completed in 1818.
The wooden structure was 380 ft long cut from timbers
over 100 ft in length. It’s not known whether the
timbers were bent while still green or after being steamed.
The bridge afforded a double lane passage. It stood for
112 years and was in excellent condition upon it’s
demise.
Flooding of the valley on March
27th 1930 prompted part of the community that stayed
to make the attempt to save the bridge so maybe it could
be moved to another location. They lashed it with cables
to tree stumps. Their efforts were working until April
23rd. A spring storm with high winds whipped the waters
into waves, some were reported to have reached six feet
high. The onslaught snapped the cables and the bridge
slid from it’s stone piers and rocked down the
river. And was destroyed. With the coming of the flood
many families moved away and never returned. Only six
homes and twelve buildings were relocated in the “new” Fish
House
