The year previous to the formation of this county, Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, Esqrs. of New England, purchased from the State, and from the Seneca Indians, their right to that part of the country which lies between the meridian line above mentioned and the Genesee River; including, on the northernmost part of the country, a tract extending twelve miles west of the river, as will appear by the plan, forming a tract of country forty-five miles from east to \vest, and eighty-four from North to South, and containing about two million two hundred thousand acres of land.

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Within these hmits are contained the country now settling, which is as remarkable for its natural advantages, as for its fertile soil and moderate climate. The northern part of the county of Ontario is watered by the Genesee River, Rundigut Creek, Flint Creek, Mud Creek, Salmon Creek, and many other inferior streams, and also by a number of lakes, some of them from forty to fifty miles in length, the outlets of which afford not only a good navigation to Albany and Lake Ontario, but also valuable mill seats. The south part of the country is watered by different branches of the Susquehannah, viz. the Conhocton, Canisteo, Tuscarora, and Cawanisque ; all of which unite at the Painted Post, and are navigable from the middle of March to about the first of July, and from the middle of September till late in November.

The distance from Albany, New- York, Philadelphia or Baltimore, does not exceed in a direct course, one hundred and eighty miles, and, by the roads now in use, not much above two hundred miles ; and to the Federal City the distance is about two hundred and sixty five miles: and the improvement of the intermediate country will not only facilitate the travelling, but by opening new and more direct roads, will considerably lessen the distance.