Category Archives: Early residents

Williamsville

Posted on March 26, 2013 by editor

European settlers lived in the Williamsville area by the early 1820s, but the village itself wasn’t laid out until 1853. The community’s first house was built by Jacob Flagg in the fall of that year. Williamsville is named after Col. … Continue reading →

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Springfield, origin of

Posted on March 18, 2013 by editor

Whether or not Elisha Kelley was the first resident of the area that later became Springfield, the “Kelley cabins,” occupied by Elisha, John and Henry Kelley and others, were the heart of early Springfield. Even though their settlement was tiny, nowhere … Continue reading →

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Donner Party: Emigrant tragedy

Posted on March 18, 2013 by editor

The Donner Party left Springfield to emigrate to California in mid-April 1846 but became stranded in deep snow near present-day Truckee, Calif. The group’s experience is remembered primarily because, before the surviving members of the expedition were rescued, some of … Continue reading →

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