HAMLET OF HARRIS HILL: The Asa Harris Tavern

SMITH-Dort/Winsor-Secord/HARRIS
Asa Harris III (1737-1817) Sixth Great Grandfather
Asa Harris IV (1762-1812) Fifth Great Grandfather (father of "our" 4GGM Lydia Harris Secord and her brother Asa Pitts Harris)

HARRIS HILL SETTLERS 1807

“Among the early settlers in Erie County, New York is Asa Harris. Johnson,* in his Continental History of Erie County says that Harris settled in 1807 on the Buffalo Road, three or four miles west of Clarence Hollow at a point known since as ‘Harris Hill.’

“A headstone in the Harris Hill Cemetery inscribed “Asa Harris, Died December 15, 1812, age 54,” refers to Asa [VI] Harris, son of Asa [III] and Faith McCall Harris, and brother to James Harris, Sr. All three of these Harris families were the settlers of “Harris Hill.” The Asa Harris buried at Harris Hill was born April 18, 1762.

“A family record written in 1844 (Copied from the Buffalo Express) makes the following statement which agrees with the printed record so far as found:

“In 1775 this Harris family started on its way to Niagara County from King’s District, Albany County. A stop was made in Onandaga County. Asa and James, his brother, made several trips to Buffalo Settlement, but owing to unsettled conditions did not remain. Quite a few more trips were made before locating. Finally all three families, Asa and Faith McCall Harris, Asa and Lydia Pitts Harris, and James and Polly Roach Harris finally returned to Harris Hill, Niagara County in 1807, and built a tavern there. This tavern, somewhat reconstructed was still standing in July 1933. Asa Jr. was given land near Clarence for services in the Militia. He served in the Revolution near its close, and was in the Militia afterwards. Asa, Sr. was a Revolutionary Patriot and his record is recorded in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. 7, page 337.”

John R. Gray, M.D.  427 Prospect Ave.  Buffalo, N.Y. (1927-33)

Gray also provided reference to the military backgrounds of the namesake son (Asa IV) and grandson (Asa Pitts) of Asa III and Faith (McCall) Harris:

“Asa Harris, son of Asa and Faith McCall Harris, b. April 18, 1762, m. Lydia Pitts, d. at Harris Hill, Clarence, N. Y. 1812 (left a large family). Was also a Revolutionary Soldier, in Militia 17 Reg. Caanan, Kings District, Albany Co. (now Columbia Co.) N.Y. Other applicants have confused these two Asa’s also with an Asa of Shirley, Mass., who does not belong to this line.  Asa of Clarence continued in the Militia from the Revolution till he died in 1812. His son Asa P. was Captain in the War 1812. When Buffalo was burned by the British the headquarters of the Army was moved to Harris Hill Tavern, Clarence, N.Y.”

“Asa Pitts Harris [son of Asa and Lydia Pitts Harris] was a Captain in the war 1812. He and his father were Proprietors of the Harris Tavern on Harris Hill, 14 miles east of Buffalo. When the British burned Buffalo the papers were printed at the Tavern, which was being used as headquarters by the American Officers. He was in the Militia a number of years also. Died and was buried at Akron, Ohio. Was a Mason of high degree and was buried with much ceremony.”

The historical importance of Harris Hill is further explained in another report entitled “Intensive Level Historic Resources Survey; Town of Clarence; 3.0 Historical and Architectural Overview” CBCA PN 05-012A, May 2009.]  Excerpts from Section 3.4:

“The Town of Clarence, named from the English House of Clarence, was formally established in 1808… The first town meeting in Clarence was held in April, 1808, at Elias Ransom’s, relative of first settler Asa Ransom, tavern which was in what is now Amherst (White 1898)”.

“…Most people settled within the vicinity of the main established Village of Clarence Hollow. However, some spread out measurably. In 1807, Asa Harris, a Revolutionary War colonel, constructed a tavern along Buffalo Road some miles to the west on a small ridge there (White 1898). A few parcels of nearby land were soon thereafter purchased and simple homesteads built on them. This served as the formative establishment of a secondary area of settlement within Clarence territory, the hamlet that came to be known as Harris Hill…”

“…The Town’s [Clarence] development was then briefly interrupted by the War of 1812. The military action between the British and Americans throughout the region disrupted and brought to an abrupt halt the settlement of the area. Additionally, the able-bodied men and boys of Clarence, like those of all local communities, marched off to join the American militia assembling on the Niagara Frontier. During this time, the small hamlet of Harris Hill experienced much forced growth, as it served as a refuge to many Buffalo residents who were driven out of the city by the British in 1813 (White 1898). Upon the resolution of hostilities, though, the Buffalonians left to rebuild, the menfolk of Clarence returned home, and the regular settlement and development of the territory resumed. However, growth remained slow until the neighboring City of Buffalo, now fully re-established, became the western terminus of the Erie Canal in 1825. The opening of the canal greatly stimulated the improvement of the region, affording, among others, an outlet for Western New York products and bringing with it a renewed wave of westward migration”. (from p.5)

the former Harris Tavern/Inn from a tourist postcard

The Asa Harris Tavern is also mentioned in the “About Our Town” section featured on the Town of Clarence website:

“Just before Buffalo burned during this struggle, Smith and Hezekiah Salisbury, publishers of the Buffalo Gazette, escaped with their printing equipment to the Harris Tavern. They subsequently printed their first issue there on January 14, 1814.” 

Ten days later, the onsite newspaper published an edition with this article requesting the return of property saved from the burning of Buffalo (note Asa P. Harris’ name as a contact person):

[The Gray excerpts are taken from 1844 Harris family records and an article from the Buffalo Express as researched by John R. Gray, MD, Buffalo, NY (1927-1933). Other sources as noted.]

[Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York, Volume 1]

edited by Truman C. White. Boston history Company, 1898 

*[HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK; Chrisfield Johnson. Buffalo, NY. 1876]

(p.146) “Into Clarence, in 1806, came Jonathan Barrett, John Tyler, Justice Webster and other, and in 1807, Wm. Barrett, Thomas Brown and Asa Harris. The last named settled on the Buffalo road, three or four miles west from Clarence Hollow, at a point which thenceforth went by the name of “Harris Hill,” though the “hill” is so low as to be hardly perceptible.”