Marker notes spot near Oak Orchard crossed by Indians, early pioneers
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – I’ve driven by the “Fording Place” historical marker numerous times, but never stopped to read it until Friday.
The marker was put up in 1932 by the State Education Department. It is at the corner of Oak Orchard River Road and Clark Mills Road, about a mile west of Brown’s Berry Patch.
The marker is north of a shallow part of the Oak Orchard River where Indians and early pioneers would cross. “The Oak Orchard Trail from Batavia to Ontario crossed the creek here.”
I didn’t know ford meant to cross. John Denniston, a long-time local resident and president of the St. Mary’s Archer’s Club, knew all about it. I was at the Archer’s Club on Friday and Denniston pointed to a shallow part of the river, where lots of fishermen now converge in the fall for the annual salmon run.
