Elisha Johnson (1785–1866) was an engineer and early resident of
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. He served the then village as its fifth
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
.
Early life
Elisahe Johnson was born in 1785 in
Chautauqua County, New York
Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...
. He graduated from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
.
Career
Johnson moved to Rochester in 1817 and purchased of land on the east bank of the
Genesee River
The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...
from
Enos Stone. Johnson built a horse railroad to Carthage by the Lower Falls of the Genesee and was the chief engineer and contractor of the
Tonawanda Railroad. Johnson became the mayor of Rochester in 1838 and came up with a plan for the construction of a water works through the village that was rejected by the Common Council. At the end of his term Johnson became an engineer for the
Genesee Valley Canal and moved to
Portageville, New York
Portageville is a hamlet located in the town of Genesee Falls in Wyoming County, New York, United States. Its name derives from the Native American canoeists who would withdraw their craft from the river to avoid going over three waterfalls i ...
, where he built the Hornby Lodge.
Johnson built the
Tellico River
The Tellico River is a river in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. It rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, and then flows through Monroe County, Tennessee, before joining the Little Tenness ...
Mansion on his
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
in
Tellico Plains, Tennessee
Tellico Plains is a town in Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 859 at the 2000 census and 880 at the 2010 census. Tellico Plains is home to several communities that include Coker Creek, Belltown, ...
and, with his brother and former
Mayor of Buffalo,
Ebenezer Johnson
Ebenezer Johnson (1786–1849) was an American businessman and politician. He served as the first mayor of Buffalo, New York from May 1832 – March 1833 and 1834–1835.
Early life
Ebenezer Johnson was born in New England on November 7, 1786. ...
, purchased the
Tellico Iron and Manufacturing Company
Tellico Plains is a town in Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 859 at the 2000 census and 880 at the 2010 census. Tellico Plains is home to several communities that include Coker Creek, Belltown, Rafter, Mount Vernon, Ru ...
. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
,
Union Army General William Sherman's soldiers destroyed the Tellico Iron Works, but Sherman acquitted Johnson for his part in supplying the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
because of Johnson's northern birth and sympathies. Johnson then moved to
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
.
Death
Johnson died in 1866 in Ithaca, New York.
A History of the Mansion On Tellico River
/ref>
References
External links
1785 births
1866 deaths
19th-century mayors of places in New York (state)
People from Chautauqua County, New York
People from Tellico Plains, Tennessee
Williams College alumni
Mayors of Rochester, New York
Engineers from New York (state)
Businesspeople from Tennessee
19th-century American businesspeople
{{NewYork-mayor-stub