When Joshua Leland arrived in Eaton in 1793 he ventured no further 
than the ponds just within the town's eastern border. Full of fish and 
surrounded by woodlands, the lakes seemed to be an ideal setting to 
build his home and settle his family. Within two years he had 
established the first sawmill and gristmill in Eaton between the two 
small lakes which were soon to be known as Leland's Ponds. Unfortunately, 
the terrain of the town was such that in many of its low lying areas 
which were fed by natural springs or creeks, water tended to pool but not 
to drain efficiently. Leland's enterprise dammed up the ponds and a swampy 
area grew around them, creating conditions that were ripe for the breeding 
of malarial mosquitos. When Leland discovered his mistake and the attendant 
health hazard had begun to take its toll, he quickly dismantled the dam and 
his days as a miller were over. An enterprising man nevertheless, he soon 
thereafter established a potash factory and Lelarnd's Ponds became the site 
of the first "industrial" settlement in Eaton. 

 Shortly after the mill failed and many settlers moved farther west into  
Eaton, it was considered worthwhile to try and develop the geographical  
center of the town as its industrial nucleus. This idea was short-lived,  
however, as the growth of the Skaneateles Turnpike (Rte. 26) through the  
southern part of the town and the Cherry Valley Turnpike (Rte. 20) through  
its northern section, carried travelers, settlers, and commerce away from  
the center of Eaton. Villages and settlements along these turnpikes grew  
and flourished. 

 Joseph Morse arrived in Eaton shortly after Leland and chose to settle in  
the valley at the confluence of the Chenango River and Eaton Brook (also  
known as Alder Brook). This valley was very fertile and ripe for the type of 
development Morse had in mind. At a time when other enterprising pioneers 
were settling and establishing farms and sawmills along these rivers, Morse 
alone built and operated over a 50-year span, a saw- and gristmill, 
distillery woolen mill, foundry, as well as a wooden pump and pipe 
manufactory. Later, his most important, though collaborative effort, the 
portable steam engine works of Wood, Taber & Morse (1859-1890), was 
established. Morse is even credited with assisting financially in the 
building of the Skaneateles Turnpike which ran through what was soon to be 
known as the village of Eaton, where he had originally settled. This turnpike 
became a well-traveled route, bringing other settlers to the village so that 
soon Eaton was the site of several industries including the first mowing 
machine and hay rake factory, which enjoyed great success. 

 As Morse was settling in the village of Eaton, Thomas Morris arrived in  
the town and bought land along the Cherry Valley Turnpike to the north. 
He soon cleared and sowed his first crop of wheat. The small community 
that grew around him was known as Morris Flats, so named for the man and 
the terrain. As the village grew, several small industries opened and 
present day Morrisville was on its way to becoming one of the more 
important communities in the county. 

 In 1817 Morrisville was named the county seat taking the title from  
Cazenovia. Morrisville's central location in the county made this move  
desirable. A courthouse was soon erected and the village grew in 
political and commercial prominence as well as becoming the central 
gathering point and home of most county organizations. An academy for 
the education of young people which opened in 1831 later became the 
Morrisville Union School, operating until 1936. Two foundries were built 
in the village, one specializing in the manufacture of iron stoves, a new 
idea on the frontier. Just south of Morrisville one of the first woolen 
mills was built in 1822. A sewing silk factory was established but quickly 
failed due to the costs of producing the silk. A cheese factory, 
distillery, gristmill, and tannery were all very successful additions to 
Morrisville's commercial sector. 

 With numerous natural lakes, reservoirs, rivers and creeks throughout 
the town, sawmills and gristmills sprang up in all parts of Eaton. Most 
of the smaller villages such as West Eaton, Pierceville, and Pratt's 
Hollow were built around these mills in addition to woolen mills, cheese 
factories, distilleries, machine shops, tanneries, cotton mills, and 
foundries. The relatively rapid growth of the villages of Eaton and 
Morrisville and the growing prosperity of these smaller hamlets earned 
Eaton the reputation of a major industrial center of the region for the 
first half of the l9th century. At the peak of production, the town of 
Eaton's industries employed hundreds of workers many of whom traveled 
from other parts of the county to work. 

 Another important development during this period was the construction 
of the Chenango Canal. Only a small section of the canal traversed the 
eastern edge of Eaton but it was fed in a large part by the numerous 
lakes and reservoirs in the town including Leland's Ponds and Woodman Pond. 
Also at this time, railroads were being laid through the towns most notably 
the New York and Oswego Midland (later known as the New York, Ontario and 
Western). This line passed through the village of Eaton and enjoyed some 
boom years, but eventually folded in 1957 after earning the nickname of the 
"Old and Weary." However, for several decades the canal and railroad 
furthered the growth of industry in Eaton, primarily as major transportation 
alternatives for manufactured goods to larger markets. 

 The town of Eaton enjoyed over 50 years as a major industrial center.  
However, its demise as such can be traced to a number of factors. The  
national economic crisis of 1857 was one of the first in a series of 
hard blows to the area. Many businesses never recovered from this 
"depression" and closed their doors. There was increasing competition 
in the area and markets were limited by the growth of larger industrial 
centers mainly to the north. Ironically, one of the most successful 
manufacturing enterprises in Eaton, that of the portable steam engine 
works of Wood, Taber & Morse, contributed to Eaton's industrial decline. 
The business was so successful that manufacturing plants operating on 
power provided by these engines could move away from a dependence on 
water power and relocate to larger industrial centers. Finally, the 
valley suffered numerous natural disasters including fires and severe 
flooding. 

 Due to these and other contributing factors, Eaton's population 
reached a peak in 1855, then declined for some time before a resurgence 
leveled this trend. Many businesses did survive, however, including 
several woolen mills, cheese factories and tavems. Morrisville continued 
to enjoy some prosperity and prestige until 1907 when the county seat was 
moved to Wampsville. Morrisville then gained a new focus in 1908 when the 
New York Agricultural School was founded by a special act of the 
Legislature. It was granted the land formerly occupied by the county 
government and other surrounding lands were purchasers to expand the campus 
to 200 acres. The first classes were held in home economics. In 1921 a 
teacher's training course was included in the curriculum and by 1933 
industrial courses were added. In 1941 the name was changed to the New York 
Agricultural and Technical Institute and in 1965 it became a college.