TRIANGLE 1 was formed from Lisle April 18, 1831. It is situated in the extreme north part of the county, its north line bordering on Cortland county and its eastern, on Chenango county. Its surface consists of a broken upland, divided into ridges by the valleys of Otselic River and Half Way Brook. The hills attain an altitude of from 300 to 500 feet above the valleys. It covers an area of 24,231 acres, of which, in 1865, according to the census of that year, 17,295 ½, were improved. The soil is generally a gravelly loam, better adapted to grazing than tilling. It is watered by the Tioughnioga River, which flows through the south-west corner; the Otselic River, which flows south through the town, adjacent to the west line, and empties into the Tioughnioga near the south-west corner; and Half Way Brook, which flows south through the town a little east of the center.
The population of this town in 1870 was 1,944. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1871, there were twelve school districts in which were employed seventeen teachers. The number of children of school age was 570; the number attending school, 612; the average attendance, 336; the amount expended for school purposes, $7,673; and the value of school houses and sites, $15,525.
WHITNEYS POINT 2 (p. v.) is situated near the south-west corner, at the confluence of the Tioughnioga and Otselic rivers, and is a station on the Syracuse & Binghamton R. R., which passes through the south-west corner of the town. It is distant north from Binghamton by rail 20.55 miles, and south from Syracuse 58.78 miles. It was incorporated under the general act of the Legislature passed in 1870, and its boundaries changed by a special act of the Legislature, in April, 1872. It contains one hotel, (another is in process of erection on the site of the one which was recently burned,) five churches, (Grace Prot. Epis., Baptist, Congregational, M. E. and Catholic,) six general stores, two drug stores, a Union School and Academy, 3 a jewelry store, two furniture stores, two stove, tin and hardware stores, a steam sash and blind factory, 4 a steam saw mill, two wagon shops, four blacksmith shops, one harness shop, one brick-yard, two cooper shops, four millinery shops, a photograph gallery, an undertaking establishment, a livery stable, 124 dwellings and about 700 inhabitants.
Messrs. G. C. & J. F. Bishop are about to open a beautiful grove in the south-west part of the village for the accommodation of picnic and pleasure parties. Among its attractions are several ponds which are supplied with water from springs on the ground and which are already stocked with choice fish. In one are some 300 gold fish, in another some 100 yellow perch, while in others are some 2000 trout. From these are now being hatched some 50,000 spawn. A brace of foxes, twenty live mink, a dancing hall 24 by 96 feet, inclosing a collection of stuffed native birds, add to the attractive features of the place.
The grounds of the Broome County Agricultural Society, comprising twenty-five acres, are located in the corporation, on the point of land between the Tioughnioga and Otselic rivers. Annual fairs are held there. 5
The factory of The Stillwater Cheese Manufacturing Co. is located one and one-half miles north of the village. It is a two and one-half story frame building, 35 by 140 feet and is capacitated to use the milk from 1000 cows. Sixty cheeses per week are manufactured. 6
UPPER LISLE, (p. v.) located on the Otselic River, near the north line, five miles north of Whitneys Point, contains one hotel, two churches, (Baptist and Universalist,) two stores, a tannery, 7 a saw and planing mill, a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, a shoe shop, a school house, forty-five dwellings and about 200 inhabitants.
TRIANGLE, (p. v.) located near the south-east corner, on a branch of Half Way Brook, near its junction with that stream, lies in a beautiful and fertile vale, five miles east of Whitneys Point. It contains one hotel, three churches, (Baptist, Congregational and M. E.) a steam saw mill, two stores, two wagon shops, three blacksmith shops, one tannery, a school, forty dwellings and about 180 inhabitants. The farmers in this section are largely engaged in hop raising and dairying.
The first settlement was made in 1791, by Gen. John Patterson, one of the proprietors of the Boston Company, who located at Whitneys Point, precisely where Thos. Whitney subsequently lived. Patterson was a Brigadier General during the Revolutionary war. He possessed a liberal education and refined accomplishments, and though he never became wealthy in this vicinity he was highly revered and an acknowledged leader in public affairs. He was a native of Berkshire county, Mass. The following year David Seymour and family settled on the west bank of the Tioughnioga, a little below Gen. Patterson's. Between 1794 and 1797, Timothy Shepard, who afterwards became a Baptist minister, Asa Rogers, Benjamin and Hendrick J. Smith, and John Landers, settled at Upper Lisle. Mrs. Asa Page settled here at an early day and is supposed to be the first white woman who ascended the Otselic. Isaiah Chapman came in 1803 and located on the farm now owned by Joel Rouse & Sons. He was the first physician in the town. He died of cancer in 1812 and was buried on the farm. His bones were exhumed and re-interred in the cemetery at Upper Lisle, in October, 1859. The first death in the town was that of Mrs. Hannah Lee, in 1791. Martha Seymour taught the first school in 1793. 8
The military record of the town of Triangle shows that 113 men were furnished for the army during the war of the Rebellion. Of this number two were substitutes. No regular company was organized, but the enlistments were made principally in the 89th, 109th and 137th Infantry regiments. A few enlisted in other regiments, and in Artillery and Cavalry companies. Ninety-two enlisted for three years, and the others for different periods. Only one commissioned officer enlisted; but two were promoted, one to First Lieut. and the other to Second Lieut. Of the whole number enlisted five were killed in battle, seven died from diseases contracted in the service, four were captured by the enemy and are supposed to have died in prison, and three deserted.
The First Baptist Church of Lisle, located at Upper Lisle, was organized March 13, 1802, by Timothy Shepard and others. Their church edifice, which will seat 500 persons, was erected in 1840. The first pastor was Elder Irish; the present one is Rev. D. T. Ross. There are twenty members. The Church property is valued at $2,000.
The Universalist Society of Upper Lisle was organized with eleven members, July 24, 1819, by Rev. Seth Jones, their first pastor, but were ministered to as early as 1812, by Rev. Archelaus Green, and in 1814, by Rev. Udini H. Jacobs, meetings being held in the school house. It was reorganized in 1830, and in 1831 their church edifice, which will seat 500 persons, was erected, and was dedicated in June of that year. There are 58 members, who are ministered to by Rev. F. B. Peck. The Church property is valued at $3,000.
The Triangle Baptist Church, located at Triangle, was organized August 30, 1831. The church edifice, which will seat 500 persons, was erected the following year, at a cost of $1,650.75. The first pastor was Rev. Asenath Lawton; Rev. H. Cornell is the present one. There are forty-five members. The Church property is valued at $3,500.
The M. E. Church, at Triangle, was organized with ninety-eight members, in 1838, by E. L. North and Augustus Brown, who became its pastors. Their house of worship, which will seat 350 persons, was erected in 1854, at a cost of $1,300. There are sixty members, who enjoy the ministrations of Rev. Alex. Burrows, who received his Theological education at Drew Theological Seminary, N. J. The Church property is valued at $5,000.
The M. E. Church, at Whitneys Point, was organized in 1842, by Rev. T. D. Wise, its first pastor. The house of worship, which will seat 450 persons, was erected in 1841, at a cost of $3,000, and was remodeled in 1868. There are seventy-six members and nineteen probationers. The present pastor is Rev. J. W. Hewitt. The Church property is valued at $8,000.
The Baptist Church, at Whitneys Point, was organized with eleven members, in 1842. The following year their first house of worship was erected; the present one, which will seat 250 persons, was erected in 1854, at a cost of $2,500. The present number of members is sixty-seven, and the pastor is Rev. D. T. Ross. The Church property is valued at $6,000.
The First Congregational Church of Whitneys Point was organized with thirty-one members, by a council convened for the purpose, Sept. 7, 1854. The church edifice was built by the Lisle Congregational Society, to accommodate those who found it inconvenient to attend the church at Lisle, in 1842, at a cost of about $1,400. It will seat 300 persons. It was purchased by this Society after its organization. This Society is still under the charge of the Presbytery although in name and church discipline it is Congregational. Rev. S. N. Robinson was the first pastor; the present one is Rev. Richard A. Clark. The members number eighty-one. The Church property is valued at $10,000.
The Grace Church, (Protestant Episcopal) at Whitneys Point, was organized with eight members, by Rev. J. W. Gapen, its first and present pastor, in December, 1870, and its house of worship, which will seat 250 persons, was erected in 1871, at a cost of $5,000, which is five-sixths of the present value of Church property. There are seventeen members.
The First Baptist Church of Triangle, located at Hazards Corners, was organized with about fifteen members, by Timothy Shepard, its first pastor, and others, but in what year we were unable to learn. The church edifice, which will seat 150 persons, was erected about 1830. There are twenty members, but there is no pastor. The Church property is value at $250.
The Congregational Church, at Triangle, was organized with fifteen members, by Rev. S. Williston, in 1819. Its house of worship, which will seat 250 persons, was erected in 1825, at a cost of $800. Rev. Henry Ford was the first pastor. At present the pulpit is vacant. There are sixty-two members. The Church property is valued at $2,500.
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