Black Lake
Republican Watchman 10/6/1911
Picture of Old Saw Mill and House at Forestine (heads article)
Black Lake, N/Y, Erected 1822
Beekman's Old Mill
Explorer Lost in the Wilderness at Black Lake William Knapp, the first
settler at Black Lake - Matthew Pintler
drowned while rafting.
Black Lake is located in the Town of Bethel about 2 miles S.W. of White Lake, and the same distance S.E. of Bethel village. On the Black lake Brook, which takes it's rise W. of Bethel near the old David Halsey Hotel, and flows S.E. passing through the Chestnut Ridge Pond. It enters a longer lake known as Lake Superior at it's N.W. corner. Another stream, the outlet of Mallory Pond, (which is named after an early settler, Daniel Mallory) enters near it's S.W. corner. The outlet of Lake Superior is a short strait or stream of water connecting it with Black Lake. S.W. of this village is the village of Black Lake, now known as Forestine Post Office. The lake is somewhat round in shape, but longest from N to S. The old mill is located at the outlet of the lake and was built by John K. Beekman in 1822.
The Indian name for Black Lake - Min-ga-pock. Norman Judson has left a full account of how Black Lake was named. Soon after he came to White Lake, he was exploring the wilderness to the South and became lost in the forest of Lumberland. Here he was found by a hunter by the name of Horace Smith, who told Judson that in order to reach White Lake, they must follow up a certain stream called Min-ga-pock Brook. After following the stream some miles they came to water which they supposed to be White Lake. It proved to be dark and muddy and bore no resemblance to White Lake; whereupon Judson said to Smith, "This is not White Lake." "No," Smith replies, "from the looks of the water we had better call it Black Lake, and by that name it.s been known ever since. In the forest they had mistaken the outlet of Black Lake for that of White Lake. Both of the brooks were known to the Indians by the name Min-ga-pock; that is water abounding in fish.
Judson held to the day of his death that Min-ga-pock was the proper name of Black Lake and it's outlet.
Jonas Gregory, who located at White Lake in 1806, 8 years after Mr. Judson, always contended that Min-ga-pock was the name of White Lake and it's outlet. They were probably both right as the Indians applied that name to any water full of fish.
The first man to locate at Black Lake was William Knapp. His brother,
Walter, came five years later and built the first Sawmill there. Knapps came from Cornwall
on the Hudson. William had been a soldier in the War for independence. He went back to
Orange County and died there about 1820. Walter Knapp became involved in
debt and transferred his property at Black Lake to John K. Beekman; or rather it went back
to Beekman, for Knapp held it under a contract. Beekman rebuilt the mill in 1822 and Knapp
was employed there for many years.
Matthew Fuller, another early settler, made pine shingles for Beekman. He left Black Lake with John Sherwood. They took the shingled down the Deleware River, sold them and disappeared. It was said they went to Wyoming Valley, Pa. Sherwood returned to White Lake and paid Beekman for the shingles in full. A year or two later and said Fuller had been drowned in the river going down with a raft of lumber and shingles. Matthias Fuller was abrother of Matthew. He was a farmer and lived in Bethel.
James Potter lived at Black Lake in 1811. His wife died there that year and is said to have been one of the first interments in the Old Bethel Cemetary.
Mr. Beekman operated the mill nearly 20 years. After his death in 1841, the property passed into the hands of Broadheads. A large tannery was built there in 1849 by Mitchell and Strong, Medad T. Morse bought it from them and continued tanning until. the hemlock bark was used up.
Some of the,families were: David Romar, Cotin Stid, Frank, Mattison, Thomas Calbreath. Mr. Stid went to Barryville where he lived and died. A son od David Romar became Mayor of Jersey City, N.J.
Account probably by Mason Gillespie
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