Town Historical NotesWhy is Brighton called Brighton? When, in 1858, the town was formed, or 'set off' from the Town of Duane, it was given the name originally assigned to the southern part of Duane in 1792 by the surveyors of the Macomb purchase ó that of a "town in England." It has no more significance now than it did then. Who among us when asked where we live answers "Brighton?" The name we use in answer to that question is "Gabriels, McColloms, Paul Smiths or Rainbow Lake." Our history is the history of those communities and the people who settled them and whose descendants are still here.
Although there are earlier dates of recorded activity in the communities of Brighton -- the Rices in the McColloms area in 1819 and 1820, and Samuel Johnson (1815) and Moses Follensby (1823) in Paul Smiths - the lasting settlements seem to have begun about the time the Town was formed. Amiel McCollom settled and began to farm in 1849; Oliver Keese and Thomas Tomlinson had dammed the St. Regis and started a lumber business in 1851; James M. Wardner was farming in Rainbow Lake in 1854; newly married Paul and Lydia Martin Smith opened their first hotel in 1859, and the Hobarts were farming in Gabriels by 1860.
Only forty years later, at the turn of the century, Brighton was home to three summer resort hotels, in McColloms, Rainbow Lake and Paul Smiths, four churches and a chapel, two railroad stations, four post offices, three schools, three cemeteries, a 'paved' road and a new TB sanatorium, the "San" at Gabriels, built almost single-handedly by the determined and capable Sister Mary of Perpetual Help Kiernan of the Sisters of Mercy. There was a power plant on the St. Regis River, telegraph and telephone service were available and a number of camps had been built around the larger lakes within the town. The population was recorded at 500 in 1890. By 1915 there were 741 people in Brighton.
Much has changed since the beginning of the twentieth centery. The hotels at Rainbow Lake and McColloms are gone. Paul Smith's, in accordance with the will of Phelps Smith, is now a college. The Gabriels San is a minimum security correctional facility. Both of these institutions provide employment for many of the town's residents. Brighton still has four churches and a chapel although they are not the same ones that were here in 1900. Both railroad stations and one post office have closed and as a result of centralization there are no longer any schools in Brighton. There are, however, at least three families who are homeschoolers.The entrepreneurial spirit which made Gabriels a bustling commercial hamlet during the years when the San was operating still thrives. Brighton has many small successful businesses ó many of them home-based ó which offer a variety of services including child care, gifts and crafts, cleaning services, publishing support, automotive service, tree care and removal, camp caretaking, ironwork, sugaring and more. Perhaps the least changed features of Brighton are the many 'camps' which line the shores of Rainbow and Osgood and the St. Regis Lakes. And, there are still dedicated people farming the fields in Gabriels.The Town Historian is Mary Ellen Salls. If you have any comments or further information regarding town history that you would like to share could you please contact Mary Ellen at 327-3509 or by email at 1951chucky@adelphia.net.Brighton History Days 2008Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm, July 19 and 20th at the Moody's Tree Farms (formerly Asplin Tree Farms) on Rte. 86 in Gabriels. There will be cook outs by the Paul Smiths - Gabriels Volunteer Fire Department and the Moose Lodge, live music, gift shop, antique vehicles, farm animals, and many exhibits of town and family history. Current and former Brighton citizens are welcome to display their own family history. Contact Mary Ellen Salls, coordinator at 327-3509 or Pat Willis at 327-3433 for information.Please roll your mouse over the thumbnails below to view those images larger.
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