Documents from the early 1800s trace the development of Guilderland’s roads
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
The history of Guilderland’s roads is recorded in elegant handwriting. The document at left lays out the road through Guilderland Center that is now Route 146, according to Town Historian Alice Begley. The document with the seal, at center, is an 1873 indenture between Guilderland and Albany, signed by Albany’s mayor, Geo. H. Thacher. The 1812 notice over that verifies the road that runs by the “tavern house now occupied by the Widow Eve Apple” — currently the site of the Appel Inn. And, finally, the 1868 document with the engraved county seal and 2-cent postage stamp says that the Guilderland highway commissioners paid “Two thousand dollars in full on contract for building new road in said town.”
It is interesting to think that, back in time, the town of Guilderland didn't have defined roads. In fact, in 1812, the recently named commissioners of the town highway department were just beginning the plan to turn horse-and-carriage ruts from farmhouse to farmhouse into more navigable roads.
A. Grote and David Ogsbury were the new "subscriber commissioners" of the highway department in and for the town of Guilderland organized in 1803.
The accompanying form certifies "that we have layed [sic] out a Public Highway from a point on the northerly side of the Schoharie Road opposite the Tavern House now occupied by the widow Eve Apple and from thence on a course South Eighty degrees East Eighty chains to the public highway leading from Barent Myderse to French And Campbells Mills near a house owned by French Campbell now occupied by Charles VanOstrander agreeable to the request of the hereunto annexed petition we also direct that the same be recorded — Guilderland the 29th Day of December 1812."
Those directions were recording what we know today as Route 146.
Again in 1833, an old yellowed document in town files records this: "We the undersigned being inhabitants of the Town of Guilderland, and owners or occupants of the land through which the saim [sic] rout or privet road here unto answer, doth set forth and describe, that we have hereby bind ourselves, our heirs forever hereafter, that this shall be for the proper use of a privet road to all those who may choose to use it as such, and further that our signatures here unto shall forever hereafter shall preclude the saim owners or occupants there of, their heirs from all further clame [sic] for damages for saim road. Whereunto we have interchangeably set our hand this 4th Day of March in 1833."
This document was signed by Henry Lanehart and Wm. Merrifield. Witnesses were Elizah Chesbro and Simon Lanehart.
In addition, on Nov. 18, 1818, a notice by Mathew Y. Chesebro written to Highway Commissioners Garret Ostrander, John Moak, and Peter Crounse for an application for a "Private road to be laid out for my use commencing at the Eastern gate porte on the course North 68 de East 60, from Elm Tree in MJ Chesebro's field thence North to the lands of Able French and along lands which belong to OL Davis to the Great Western Turnpike.”
The turnpike had been finished in 1799. The paper was signed by Crounse and Ostrander.
A more notable "Indenture" dated Oct. 15, 1870 signed by the City of Albany's Mayor George H. Thacher and sealed with a very large green stamp to the town of Guilderland "assigns forever" all that plot of ground beginning at a point at or near the center of the public highway from McKowns Hotel to west Albany which point bears north 18 degrees, east 41 links from a marked white pine tree on the south side of said road, runs from said point as the magnetic needle pointed A.D. 1872 north 48 degrees 30 minutes east 19.70."
These directions go on and on until at last the indenture reads "from the northeast corner of burying ground to a point near the center of the road commonly called Washington Ave."
It ends up mentioning William Fuller’s Farm, and stating that the "object of this conveyance being to vest the title of said described property for highway purposes & no other."
This, of course, is the property along Fuller Road conjoining with Washington Avenue.
It amazes this historian to read that this piece of land in Guilderland, which once housed and fed William Fuller’s horses and other animals, now holds a huge and growing group of modern buildings that house SUNY Poly.
I'm sure Mayor Thacher didn't foresee that in his wildest dreams.
The town of Guilderland's archives has reams of antique information on the town that captures untold pictures of yesteryear. This historian remembers William Fuller’s riding stable!