Geography

Morley is on the Grasse River

Grasse River

The Grasse River or Grass River is a river in northern New York, in the United States...

, 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream (north) from the Village of Canton

Canton (village), New York

Canton is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The village is centrally located in both the town of Canton and the county of St. Lawrence. The population was 5,882 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Lawrence County...

, where the river goes through some rapid

Rapid

A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...

s. Today, Morley is at the junction of St. Lawrence County Routes 14 and 27.

History

Morley was first settled in 1810. It was originally known as Little Rapids. A post office was established in 1839, and the hamlet got its new name of Morley in that year. The post office has since been closed. In its heyday, the center of activity in Morley was the Harrison Grist Mill

Harrison Grist Mill

Harrison Grist Mill, also known as Morley Grist Mill, is a historic grist mill located at Morley in St. Lawrence County, New York. It was built about 1840 and is a rectangular random ashlar, cut sandstone building with a simple gable roof....

. At its peak, the hamlet had a population of about 300.