Width of

An act to regulate highways. Passed March 19, 1813. Chap. 33.1 $46. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawroads in cerful for the commissioners of the different towns within the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan, to lay out any roads not more than four, nor less than two rods wide.

tain counties.

ters declared

Acts declaring certain Rivers, Creeks and other
Streams, Highways.

An act declaring certain waters to be public highways; allowing certain dams to be built and made, and for preventing obstructions in the Hudson river, and certain other waters. Passed April 2, 1813. Chap. 47.2

Certain wa- $1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New-York, highways. represented in Senate and Assembly, That the rivers formed by the outlets of Canadarqua, Seneca, Otsego and Cayuga lakes, and such part of the outlet of the Crooked lake as is contained between the Seneca lake and the lowest mill seat on the said outlet; and the rivers formed by the outlets of the Owasco and Skaneateles lakes, to their respective junctions with the Seneca river, to the first falls in each of the said rivers; and the Nine Mile creek, so called, from its entrance into the Salt lake, to the foot of the lower falls thereof, (above the foot of the lower falls thereof, being hereby excepted ;) and the outlet of the said Salt lake and the inlet thereof, from the head of the said lake unto the south line of the Onondaga reservation; and the Caneseraga and Chitteningo creeks, (excepting such parts thereof as lie south of the Seneca turnpike road;) the two branches of the said Chitteningo creeks, known by the names of Limestone and Butternut creeks, until the first falls on each of the same creeks; the Genesee river from the great falls therein until its junction with the Caneseraga creek, and the said creek from its said junction to the southern boundary of township number seven, in the seventh range of the county of Ontario; and Mud creek from the centre line of township number twelve in the first range, to its junction with the outlet of the Canandarqua lake, (excepting however, the said outlet from the said lake to its junction with the waters of said Mud creek;) the rivers Conhocton and Canisteo, the former from the mills built thereon, adjoining the town of Bath, and the latter from a place known by the name of Big marsh, to their respective junctions with the river Tioga; and all that portion of the said river Tioga as lies within this state; the west branch of the Chenango river, from the north bounds of the town of Virgil, as originally surrveyed, to its junction with the east branch thereof, and thence down the same to its junction with the Susquehannah river, and all such parts of the said Susquehannah, as are contained within this state; that part of the creek commonly called Wood creek, in the county of Washington, from Fort-Ann to the falls in the township of Whitehall; all that part of Oneida creek, from the bridge over it near Oneida castle, to the Oneida lake; all that part of the east or (2) 2 R. L. p. 285.

(1) 2 R. L. p. 284.

main branch of Chenango river, from the mills of Daniel and Elisha Wheeler, in the town of Hamilton, to its junction with the Tioughnioga river, and also from the south line of Thomas Hart's land to the forks of the said river, in the town of Sherburne; and also that part of the west branch of the Chenango river, from the forks near the north line of lot number forty-seven, in the town of Fabius, to the north bounds of the township of Virgil; and also that part of the Otselic or middle branch of the Chenango river, from the bridge on lot number nineteen, in the township of Cincinnatus, to its junction with the west branch thereof; and also all that part of the Allegany river, and all that part of the Oswago or Oswaye creek; and all that part of the outlet of the Chataughqua lake, that are within the counties of Genesee and Allegany; and the waters of Ishue or Olean creek, beginning where the said creek crosses the north line of township number four, in the fourth range of townships of the Holland company's land in the county of Niagara, thence down the said creek to the confluence of the said creek with the Allegany river; the waters of Tonnewanta creek, so called, from its entrance into the Niagara river to its confluence with the western branch of the said Tonnewanta creek, known by the name of Ellicott's creek, thence up said Ellicott's creek to Matbey's mill; the waters of said Ellicott's creek from Williams' mills up said creek to Phellemore's mills; the creek called the Slote creek, in the town of Orange, in the county of Rockland; all that part of Salmon river, in the town of Harrison, in the county of Clinton, beginning at the bridge over the same, near the centre of the township of Malone, thence down the said river to the north line of this state; all that part of the Schroon river as lies within the counties of Washington and Essex; all that part of Black creek in the town of Riga, in the county of Genesee, from the mill of Samuel Baldwin on the said creek, to the Genesee river; all that part of the outlet of Crooked lake down to Waggoner's mills, in the town of Benton, in the county of Ontario ; the waters of the outlet of Casdauga lake, in the county of Chautauque; Racket river, in the county of St. Lawrence, from its mouth to the bottom of the falls on said river, near the south line of lot number sixty-seven, in the township of Louisville; St, Regis river, from the north line of this state to the east line of the town of Stockholm; and so much of the stream of water in the county of Orange, called the Wallkill, as lies between the line of the state of New-Jersey, and a line to be run directly across the said stream, one rod above the first eel wier, below the outlet bridge, be and they are hereby declared to be public highways, except so much of the said waters as may be necessary for the owners of the adjoining land to build store-houses and docks, for the accommodation of boats: Provided, The same shall not obstruct the navigation of the said waters: And further, The said owners may erect mills or other works on the waters of Slote creek, of the outlet of Casdauga lake, Tonnewanta creek, Ellicott's creek, Ishue or Olean creek, Št. Regis river, Racket river, so as not to obstruct the navigation thereof.

$2. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall dam up certain obor obstruct the navigation of any of the waters in the preceding sec- structions, tion described, by erecting or building any mill or weir, or by the punishable.

VOL. III.

32

&c. declared

Proviso.

building or erecting thereon any other works, or by cutting or falling wood or timber in the same, such person so offending shall forfeit for each offence the sum of twenty-five dollars, recoverable with costs of suit, by and for the use of any person who will sue for the same, before any justice of the peace; and the offender, moreover, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be prosecuted accordingly, by indictment or otherwise: Provided nevertheless, That if any person erecting any mill or other works, on either of the above described streams, (Slote creek, Tonnewanta creek, Ellicott's creek, Ishue or Olean creek, Salmon river and Schroon river excepted, which are herein otherwise provided for) shall cut or dig a sufficient canal or Further pro- canals, so that the navigation of the same be not injured by means of such works, such person shall not be liable to any of the penalties of this act: And provided also, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to extend to, or affect any mill or dam for the use thereof, that may have been erected, or the building thereof commenced on any of the said streams before the tenth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight; but nothing in this last proviso contained shall extend to Slote creek, Tonnewanta creek, Ellicott's Regulations Creek, Ishue or Olean creek, Salmon river and Schroon river, or ei

viso.

respecting

dams, &c. on Salmon river.

ther of them.

$ 3. And be it further enacted, That all persons owning mills or mill privileges on Salmon river aforesaid, shall have the right to build as many dams across the same as they or either of them may think proper, and enjoy and improve the same, under the following regulations and restrictions, to wit: That the owner or owners of any mill, or other dam or dams, across said river, made or erected before the passing of this act, shall respectively, on or before the first day of October next, alter such dam or dams by making a slope or apron thereto, not exceeding forty-five degrees, and planked in such smooth manner that salmon may easily pass over into the waters above the dam; and that such slope or apron shall be of sufficient Draining of width for rafts and boats to pass freely thereon, under the penalty of water prohi- two hundred dollars.

bited.

trees.

$4. And be it further enacted, That no owner or owners of any mill or other dam as aforesaid, shall at any time open any sluiceways, or water-gates, to draw off the water from the said Salmon river, so as to prevent rafts or boats freely passing at all seasons of Ib. falling of the year, unless some necessary repair of such mill or dam, shall require the same, under a penalty of ten dollars for every twenty hours the water shall be drawn off as aforesaid: And further, If any person or persons shall hereafter cut or fell any tree or trees into the said river, within the limits of the said river, hereby declared to be a public highway, such person or persons shall forfeit and pay one dollar for each and every tree so felled, or suffered to remain in the said der this act river twenty-four hours.

Penalties un

$5. And be it further enacted, That every penalty and forfeiture imposed by this act, may be recovered with costs of suit, in any court having cognizance thereof, by any person who will prosecute for the same to effect, the one moiety thereof to be paid to the commissioners of highways of the town in which such offence shall happen, to be by them laid out and expended in improving the roads, and erecting

or improving bridges in the said town, and the other moiety to be to the use of the person who shall sue for the same.

river.

hannock

$6. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons Obstructions shall hereafter cut or fell any tree or trees, roll any log or logs into in Schroon the river Schroon, in the county of Washington or Essex, or do any thing to obstruct said river, every such person or persons shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars for every such offence, to be sued for and recovered agreeable to the preceding section, unless the said obstruction shall be removed within twenty-four hours: Provided always, That nothing in this act shall go to prevent any person or persons from rafting any lumber down said river they may think proper. $9. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall cut Ib. in Tuckydown, or cause to be cut down, any tree or trees, or shall discharge creek. any logs, branches or trees, or other timber, in Tuckyhannock creek, and shall not remove the same within two days out of said creek, such person or persons shall, for each and every such offence, forfeit the sum of five dollars, to be recovered with costs, in any court having cognizance thereof, for the benefit of the poor of the town in which such offence shall be committed: Provided always, That this act, or any thing therein contained, shall prevent any person from erecting any permanent improvements on or across said creek. $11. And be it further enacted, That no person shall throw from Ib. in Wood the saw-mill erected on the falls over which Wood creek empties itself into Lake Champlain, at Whitehall landing, or from any part of the said landing into the water, except for the purpose of rafting the same, any slabs or other lumber, under the penalty of two dollars for each and every such offence, to be recovered with costs of suit, by the overseers of the poor of the town of Whitehall, in any court having cognizance of the same, to be applied towards the support of the poor of the said town.

creek.

the Cayuga

$ 12. And be it further enacted, That the waters of Fall-creek, in Ib. in Fall, the towns of Dryden and Ulysses, the waters of the Cascadilla creek, Six-mile Cascadilla, & in the said town of Ulysses, the waters of the Six-mile creek, from creeks, and Cantine's mills to its junction with the stream called the Cayuga in- inlet. let, and the waters of the said Cayuga inlet from its first forks in the county of Tioga, to the Cayuga lake, shall be subject to the provision of this section; that is to say, if any person shall cut down, or cause to be cut down, any tree or trees into any of the said waters, or shall discharge into the same any logs, branches of trees, slabs, or other timber which may obstruct the free and natural passage of the said waters, in any part of their extent in this section described, such person shall, for each and every such offence, forfeit the sum of five dollars, to be recovered by any person, with costs, in any court having cognizance thereof, for the benefit of the poor of the town in which such offence shall be committed.

to affect cer

$ 14. And be it further enacted, That nothing in the first section This net not contained, relative to the waters of the outlet of Casdauga lake, shall tain private abridge any private rights existing on the ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and ten.

rights.

No wood or timber to be

$ 15. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons felled into shall throw, cut or fell, any wood or timber into the outlet of the Ho

outlet of Ho

neoye lake.

recovered

and applied. Proviso,

neoye lake, without removing the same within twenty-four hours af ter having so thrown, cut or felled the same, every person so offendPenalty how ing shall forfeit, for each offence, the sum of five dollars, to be recovered, with costs of suit, by and for the use of any person or persons who shall sue for the same, in any court having cognizance thereof: Provided nevertheless, That nothing in this section contained shall be construed to extend to, or affect the right of, any proprietor or proprietors of any mill or dam erected, or hereafter to be erected, from cutting timber and building or repairing such mill or dam in the said Further pro- outlet: And provided also, That nothing in this section contained shall be construed to extend to, or affect the right of, any owner or occupant of lands on both shores of the said outlet, from fencing across the same, so as not to obstruct the waters thereof.

vino.

Owners, &c. of lands on

dams, &c.

$ 16. And be it further enacted, That any person owning or ocSt. Regis Ri- Cupying lands on the banks of the river St. Regis, within the distance ver may greet in which the same is declared a public highway, may erect a dam or dams across the said river, provided they shall so construct such dam or dams, that a place not less than fifty feet, nor more than sixty feet, shall be left one foot or more lower in the said dam, in the main channel of the river, than the other parts of said dam, and making a sufficient apron from the top of such dam, at such place, on a descent of not more than twenty degrees, to the bottom of the river below the dam, so that timber, masts and spars, can be carried over such dam in high water.

Penalty for not removing

of Black creek.

$ 17. And be it further enacted, That every person owning land Wood,ke out adjoining Black creek, in the town of Guilderland in the county of Albany, who shall not have removed, or caused to be removed, out of the said creek, by the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and ten, all wood, timber, brush or rubbish, which shall or may obstruct the free passage of the water opposite his land, shall forfeit five dolparty aggrie- lars to the party aggrieved by such neglect or refusal, for every month in which such party shall refuse or neglect to remove, or cause to be removed, the wood, timber, brush or rubbish aforesaid, to be recovered with costs in any court having cognizance thereof.

Penalty to

ved.

No carcases, to be thrown

creek.

Penalty.

$ 18. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall c. hereafter throw any carcases, or any thing which may be injurious to the health inte Black of the inhabitants living adjoining to said creek, or shall throw any trees, wood or rubbish, into the same, shall be liable to a penalty of five dollars for every offence, to be applied and recovered as aforesaid. $ 19. And be it further enacted, That where the lands adjoining s of land in each side of the said creek shall be owned or occupied by different perstructions, sons, it shall be the duty of such owners or occupants to remove all obstructions in the same creek, from the margin thereof adjoining their lands, to the middle of the same creek.

Duty of own

removing ob

&c.

ed.

into

Trees having $20. And be it further enacted, That all trees having fallen, or Black creek to fall, into the said creek, since the first day of April, one thousand to be remov- eight hundred and eight, shall be removed by the person out of whose land the same shall have fallen, within one month after notice given of the same, under the penalty of five dollars, to be recovered as aforesaid.