Elisha Johnson
Encyclopedia
Elisha Johnson was an engineer and early resident of Rochester, New York
. He served the then village as its fifth mayor.
Johnson was born in Chautauqua County, New York
and graduated from Williams College
. He moved to Rochester in 1817 and purchased 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land on the east bank of the Genesee River
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
where he built the Hornby Lodge.
Johnson built the Tellico River
Mansion on his plantation
in Tellico Plains, Tennessee
and, with his brother and former Mayor of Buffalo Ebenezer Johnson
, purchased the Tellico Iron and Manufacturing Company. During the American Civil War
Union Army
General William Sherman's
soldiers destroyed the Tellico Iron Works but Sherman acquitted Johnson for his part in supplying the Confederate Army because of Johnson's northern birth and sympathies. Johnson then moved to Ithaca, New York
where he died in 1866.
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. He served the then village as its fifth mayor.
Johnson was born in Chautauqua County, New York
Chautauqua County, New York
-Major highways:* Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 * Interstate 90 * U.S. Route 20* U.S. Route 62* New York State Route 5* New York State Route 39* New York State Route 60* New York State Route 394...
and graduated from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
. He moved to Rochester in 1817 and purchased 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land on the east bank of the Genesee River
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....
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
Tonawanda Railroad
Yet another of the bewildering array of small and impermanent rail companies of the nineteenth century, the Tonawanda Railroad was Rochester's first...
. 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
Genesee Valley Canal
- History :On 6 May 1836, an act was passed in the New York Legislature authorizing the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal. It was to run from the Erie Canal on the south side of Rochester south-southwest along the Genesee River valley to Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, and then...
and moved to Portageville, New York
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 canoists who would withdraw their craft from the river to avoid going over three waterfalls in the Genesee River gorge...
where he built the Hornby Lodge.
Johnson built the Tellico River
Tellico River
The Tellico River rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, but it flows mainly through Monroe County, Tennessee. It is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River and the namesake of Tellico Reservoir, a reservoir created by Tellico Dam, which impounds the lower reaches of the...
Mansion on his plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Tellico Plains, Tennessee
Tellico Plains, Tennessee
Tellico Plains is a town in Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 859 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tellico Plains is located at ....
and, with his brother and former Mayor of Buffalo Ebenezer Johnson
Ebenezer Johnson
Ebenezer Johnson was the first mayor of Buffalo, New York, serving May 1832 – March 1833 and 1834–1835. He was born in New England on November 7, 1786, and studied medicine in Cherry Valley, New York with Dr. Joseph White, a well-known physician of the time. He came to Buffalo in 1810 where he...
, purchased the Tellico Iron and Manufacturing Company. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
General William Sherman's
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
soldiers destroyed the Tellico Iron Works but Sherman acquitted Johnson for his part in supplying the Confederate Army because of Johnson's northern birth and sympathies. Johnson then moved to Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
where he died in 1866.