McComb's Purchase and the Old Military Tract
The area of New York comprising Franklin County had no major routes traversed by the area Indians, although they set up a colony under Jesuit missionaries in 1760. The area was sparcely settled at the time of the Revolutionary War, and many northern New York settlers either went to Canada or south to fight.
Alexander Macomb, an adventurous land speculator and fur dealer originally from Albany, had first visited what was called "waste lands" in northern New York while traveling through them to and from Canada. In the late 1700s, Macomb purchased a tract of land containing 821,819 acres in what became Franklin County (as part of a parcel containing over one million acres), for a mere eight cents per acre. Most of the purchase was laid out in townships of about 32,000 acres, and although Macomb immediately began selling parcels, he reserved a six-mile square tract of land at the junction of the St. Lawrence and St. Regis Rivers for use by the Indians; this was known as the St. Regis Reservation.
Adjoining Macomb's tract to the east were Military Tract lands, 665,000 acres lying in what became parts of Clinton, Franklin, and Essex Counties, designated as in the Laws of 1781 as lands to be awarded as bounty to Revolutionary War soldiers or those soldiers who protected the north from Indian raids. These lands were eventually sold by New York State as wild lands because they were believed to be practically uninhabitable due to the harsh, cold climate. This land was surveyed into townships of one hundred square miles which were divided into lots of varying size and shape. Some townships weren't divided into lots at all.
The first permanent white settlement in the area was made in Chateaugay in 1796. In the early 19th century, pioneer settlers began arriving from Vermont and Canada, with Burke being one of the earliest towns established. Originally part of Clinton County, Franklin County was set off and designated on March 11, 1808, being named for Benjamin Franklin. Originally there were only three civil subdivisions: Chateaugay, Constable, and Harrison, which contained Malone. As the population increased, other divisions were made, including Malone Township (1803) and Burke Township (1833).
It has been said that
unlike a homesteader later filing on a claim in the west and taking his parcel
of land - warts and all - based on the coordinates of the claim, buyers in the
metes and bounds lands of Franklin County got to chose the parcel of land they
wanted, then it was platted accordingly. All deeds in Franklin County still reference the Old Military Tract or Macomb's Purchase.
Burke Township
Although "town" to the James Wilder family in Farmer Boy meant Malone, the family farm was located in Burke Township, south of the village of Burke, and it was in and around the Wilder farm that most of Farmer Boy takes place. Burke Township was set off from Chateaugay in 1844, and named for Edmund Burke, British statesman. It lies in northern Franklin County, east of Malone. It is bordered by Quebec, Canada, and the townships of Malone, Constable, Chateaugay, and Belmont in Franklin County. At the time the Wilders left New York in the mid-1870s, there were approximately two thousand people living in Burke Township.
The soil in Burke Township was sand, clay, and loam, and it was only considered fair as far as agricultural pursuits were concerned. Swampy to the north, the township boasted several important waterways, including Trout River, Little Trout River, and Chateaugay River.
One of the earliest settlers was Israel Thayer, whose grandson, Thomas, married Eliza Jane Wilder in 1893. Another early settler was Justin Day, grandfather of Angeline Wilder and great-grandfather of Almanzo.
Burke Depot was the principal village, located on the Little Trout River. It sprang up after the railroad was put through and a depot located (south of Main Street on Depot Street in the map at right), and residents voted to raise $500 for the building of a town meeting-house. When the Wilders lived in Burke Township, the village of Burke had a post office, Methodist Church, several stores, a number of residences, and several mills, including the starch factory owned by Almanzo's uncle, Andrew Day, who once served as postmaster. The village had a graded school early on, and in 1866, more than five hundred children attended classes at the various district schools.
Malone
