Going through old blog posts at the sister station for this here blog, Gen X at 40, to reference something to Craig after yesterday's post, I realized that in 2005 I took photos of Denmark, NY, a village at the north end of Tug Hill. And in those where a couple of images related to Freedom Wright's Inn. Not the most dynamic image, shot from square out front but it does display that sort of symmetry that newly independent American structures can display.

From the sign out front, you can see that the building is at least from 1804 and was used as a meeting hall. Interestingly, the minutes from the meeting held on 20 November 1804 that led to the formation of the county are online.

Jonathan Collins of Turin, Walter Martin of Martinsburgh, Jacob Brown of Brownville, and Silas Stow, along with others, for a total of 36 men met in Denmark at Freedom Wright's Inn to decide on a proposal to become a county.

First meeting 12 towns represented, Leyden not present.
1st motion - Admit representatives to act.
2nd motion - Determined that voting would be be ayes and nayes.
3rd motion - To set off this county from Oneida, carried by 27 to 9.
4th motion - To adjourn for 1/2 hour unanimously.
5th motion - To appoint a disinterested committee to set boundaries for new county, decide on spot or spots for the courthouse, carried 25 to 11, and moved that southern boundary be established at the sw corner of Ellisburg, to county of Herkimer and St. Lawrence river, to Lake Ontairo, carried 20 to 16.
6th motion - Leyden citizens could decide whether to remain with Oneida or not, carried 18 to 18.
7th motion - Split into two counties, carried 20 to 16
8th motion - Appoint a committee to draft a petition to legislature and carry same petition to legislature, committee of 5 to be selected from delegates at this meeting and chosen by ballot.
Adjourned for 15 minutes to prepare ballots. Jonathan Collins, Jacob Brown, Henry Coffeen, Cliff French and Joseph Beals chosen.
Dissolved meeting.

I like that they voted on taking a pee break. I hear people now saying "we need a bio break" but I prefer "time for a pee" as my announcement. I wonder what was served for drinks. Hops were grown in the county, though likely later and farther south around West Turin. 5,460 pounds of hops were produced in 1840. The New York Times in 1889 reported on the challenges to hop farmers faced. Looks like there was a brewery and even a maltster nearby over in Adams NY around the same time that Freedom was running his tavern. Local beer was likely on offer.

Anyway, the antiques shop that had been in the building wound up last summer and someone picked up the original spinning wheel from the operator who passed away last month. Mr. Wright was an early settler in northern NY who was born at Goshen, Litchfield County in Connecticut, lived from 1749 to 1824 and was a Revolutionary War vet as a private when he was 26 or so in in Capt. Seth Smith's Company that marched in "the relief of Boston in the "Lexington Alarm," April 1775." He seems to have moved north nine years after the death of his first wife.

Interesting that he chose to move close to the border with Canada, his lands at that elevation probably within or near a distant view of the Crowns remaining North American properties.