Issue 18, January 2003

The Village of Klock’s Mill

There is a small sign that says, “Klock Road”, just east of Mattawa on the Trans-Canada Highway. If you turn left on this old rundown road and if you have the courage to cross this old wreck of a bridge you will come to CPR rail line. It is on the edge of the Ottawa River. From the 1860’s to the 1930’s this was a thriving logging town called Klock’s Mill. The village is gone and little remains of it today. A few of the older village citizens remember Klock’s Mill and a few records and pictures still exist today.

R.H. Klock and his sons came to the south shore of the Ottawa River to cut square timber. They cut along the Ottawa, and Aumond River. R.H. Klock was very successful businessman. His home, shown above had a large lawn where the family played games and where he raced his prize horses. The home had a grand staircase and many woodcarvings and moldings. His two sons, James and Robert took over the business and they keep it thriving. There were no railways until the CPR went through in the 1880’s. At that time Klock’s Mill had a sawmill and was shipping sawn lumber. A small original railway station on the east side of the Aumond was moved to the growing village. Before the railway, the only way for settlers to travel along the Ottawa to Mattawa and points west, other than water, was on a trail, the Mattawa Pembroke road that went through Klock’s Mill. There were stopping places spaced about a day apart for travelers along the way. As the village grew, a store, church, schoolhouse, boarding house, and various houses were built. Wooden sidewalks and gas streetlight were installed.

Pulpwood became the staple in later years, and many local men served on cutting and hauling and filling boxcars at the train station. The Depression, and then with the invention of automobiles and trucks, Klock’s Mill began to fall on hard times. The Trans Canada highway shifted live away for the river. With building to the Holden Dam fifty years ago, the village was flooded and only a few foundations remain. Today only memories and a few pictures survive of Klock’s Mill.

Robert H. Klock was born Oct. 7, 1791. He married Catharine Stahring on August 30, 1814 in Herkimer Reformed Church. They had two children. Maria Margaret and Ira Klock. Catharine died and Robert remarried Elizabeth Bell. She was born in Ireland. They married May 30, 1822 in Hull, Quebec, Lower Canada. Robert and Elizabeth had three children, Robert Henry, James and Nancy Klock.

Information for this article came from Community Voices, Heritage Perspectives by Doug Mackey. Oct. 25, 2002.


The History of Fort Klock
By Willis Barshied Jr. and Douglas Ayres, Jr.

In 1955, Willis ( Skip ) Barshied and Douglas Ayres Jr. wrote articles for local papers to educate the public about Fort Klock and to gain support for the restoration efforts. Skip has done a lot for the restoration of the fort and is one of the original 12 chartered members of the Muzzle Loaders Association which later became the Fort Klock Historic Restoration.

Fort Klock was the fortified home of Johannes Klock, an early trader and was erected in 1750, replacing an earlier structure on the same site. It is located about two miles east of St. Johnsville and nearly five hundred feet south of Route 5, not far from the river bank. In Colonial times the King’s Highway ran just under the hill below the fort and has long since been replaced with the ribbons of steel which carry the Twentieth Century Limited.

The very site on which Fort Klock is erected was well chosen for its advantages both for the business of trading and also for better defense in time of raids, which were frequent in the French and Indian and Revolutionary War periods. Undoubtedly the cove along the riverbank directly below the fort was useful in Johannes Klock’s trading business, as it could be used as a sheltered place to anchor the batteaux which were used to haul supplies on the river. It also afforded a place to unload and carry the incoming supplies to the rear door without being exposed to enemy fire. Doubtless many an Indian canoe has beached there so that its owners could trade their furs.

The massive stone walls, nearly two feet in thickness, rest upon a foundation of solid rock. The walls are constructed in two layers with small pieces of stone, sand and dirt rubble in between. This was done so that frost and cold air did not penetrate the walls so readily during the cold winters. From the stone floor in the west room of the cellar bubbles a living spring which furnished a constant supply of fresh water to the occupants of the fort, without exposing them to danger for the Indians. The walls on every side are heavily loopholed so that the fort could be protected by musket fire from inside without exposing the defenders to the arrows and musket balls of the enemy.

It seems that in the very early documents there were no mention of the four-acre island in the river just below the fort. This island undoubtedly offered an isolated and protected plot for cultivation. The Indians had not intended to dispose of the island and were displeased at Johannes Klock’s use of it can be shown by the following quotation from Volume VI pages 785-7 Colonial Documents:

“Hannes Clock posseses and claims the island opposite to Hanss Hesses land below the Indian Castle at Canajoharie ( Note: Not the present site of Canajoharie ) which they never sold to any person and desire they may have it again.”

The famous Indian chief, King Hendrick, made this statement at a council held at Fort George at New York on June 15, 1753. The following day, however, Hendrick again appeared and said on behalf of the Indians, “We desire that Jerry Klock, present, may have a license to purchase the. documents Vol. VI, pages 785-7 “ This having held up futher action, Hendrick bitterly declared the “Chain” broken and concluded: As to Jerry Klock there are people who want to do him harm, but we will not agree to it. “ The foregoing gives us an idea of the bitter struggles in which the early settlers became involved and shows how insecure the future looked to them at times.


Klock Connections

I write and publish this Newsletter for you, the readers and for all the Klock and Klock Connected families. My goal is to bring the Klock Family closer together, and to let everyone know of the rich heritage we share going back to Hendrick Klock and about the lives and accomplishment of his descendents. I invite you to write an article and share your stories in this Newsletter. Send me a note or a newspaper clipping. I will be happy to write the article. My address is on the front page. I would love to hear from you.


David Lipe Klock ( Lipe Klock, Jr., Lipe Klock, Amos Klock, Adam J. Klock, Johannes J. Klock, Johannes Klock, Hendrick Klock ) is a licensed professional engineer in New York. He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1974. David has completed numerous professional development programs in management and technical courses such as power distribution design, lighting design, and application of fire detection and alarm systems. He has worked on such projects ranging from a control center for Metro-North Commuter Railroad in Grand Central Terminal to 34.5 Kilo-volt electric power services. He has designed UPS systems for data centers as well as specialty lighting and controls for operations centers and auditoriums. He works with Lynn Bellenger, PE, Nancy Jendryaszek, RA, and David Meyers, PE at Pathfinder Engineers in Rochester, New York..

David married Sharon Boroski on August 30, 1975. They have a daughter, Laura who was born in 1981. Laura is an Architecture Student at Syracuse University. She is in her forth year. Architecture is a five year degree.

Laura spent a semester in Florence, Italy as an architecture student. David and Sharon spent 3 weeks with her traveling Europe prior to Laura starting the semester in Florence. They had a great time, according to Dave. They visited Italy, Austria, Germany and France. They did not get far enough north in Germany to visit the area the Klocks came from, but they did find the town of Hassel according to Dave. David said he was mistaken for German several times while traveling in Europe.

Mr. Klock is also active in volunteer activities in his community. He is the Council President for the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association. For the past three years he has been the chair person for the organizing of the Tour-de-Cure, a fund raising bicycling event for the American Diabetes Association. Over the past five years the event has grown in both ridership and revenues. Tour “ 97 ” included 600 riders and raised more than $90,000, making it one of the top five such events in the country for the ADA.

David is also involved in youth engineering programs for the Rochester Engineering Society and served on local citizens committees to improve traffic problems in his neighborhood.

David is a member of the Audi Quattro Club. He takes his Audi to track events and driving schools. The members drive their cars on the racetracks and learn some of the driving skills that race car drivers do. It is a controlled event (no racing) but it is a great deal of fun, according to Dave. He has attended schools at Watkins Glen and New Hampshire International, driving on the road course there.

When I first got a computer and was surfing the net, I found an article about David’s work for the American Diabetes Association and his fund raising activities with the Tour-de-Cure. I have class II Diabetes and was looking for information on Diabetes. I was surprised to find another Dave Klock and I wanted to contact him and thank him for all his work on the Tour-de-Cure. According to Dave, there has been an increase in diagnosed cases of diabetes, especially type II among children. I have a six –year- old grandson, Shane who was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago. It has been hard on his parents and all of us. He is the first child, that I know of, in my family with Juvenile Diabetes. It is because of people like Dave, and thousands of others that a cure will someday be found.

I e-mailed Dave and thanked him for all his hard work on Diabetes, we started e-mailing each other. He invited me to attend his family Reunion at Fort Klock in August of 2000. That is the first time I met David and Sharon… I was able to meet several members of his family, including his Uncle Adam Klock and visit the Fort for the first time. Dave was the first person to tell me about Fort Klock. He stirred my interests in finding my own roots. Which got me involved in genealogy research, which got me involved in the 2001 Klock Family Reunion, Fort Klock and this Newsletter.

Many Thanks Dave, from my Grandson and I for all your hard work…


George K. Nellis was born in Clockville, New York on January 24. 1826 and died in Chicago, Ill. on May 8, 1902. George was the 10th. Child out of 11 children born to John I.D. Nellis and Elizabeth Klock. Elizabeth Klock was the daughter of George G. Klock and Catherine Bellinger. George G. Klock was the son of Johanguergh ( George ) Klock who was the son of Hendrick Klock.

George Klock Nellis married Louisa Jane Fish on October 16, 1859 in Meadville, Pa. George Nellis and Louisa Jane Fish had one child, Mary Minnie Nellis.

George Klock Nellis was a Photographer and had his first studio in Dayton, Ohio located at 266 Fifth Street. and later two in Chicago, Ill. 840 Cottage Grove Ave., corner of 38th Street and another one was located 232 Blue Island Ave. near 12th Street.

George Nellis, being a photographer, took several pictures of his family… and had the foresight to put names and dates on the pictures. Roy Nichols sent me an e-mail a couple weeks ago to let me know his son; Paul is putting together an album with these old pictures of his family. Roy sent me Paul’s e-mail address. I e-mailed Paul, who lives in Salt Lake City, and he has been sending me some of these pictures.

<-- Elizabeth Klock Nellis, daughter of George G. Klock and Catherine Bellinger. Born September 23, 1786 and died September 28, 1875. Mother of George Klock Nellis.

George Klock Nellis compiled the Klock Family Register in 1866. Roy Nichols of Yuma Arizona, who is a descendant, sent me the Family Register. I have been putting this Family Register in the Newsletter since the 3rd Issue. I sent a copy of the Register to Joyce Berry, Web Master of Fort Klock and she put in on the Fort Klock Web Site.

I will send her a copy of the picture of George Klock Nellis so she can put it on line with the Klock Family Register.


Update on the Klock Family Reunion

The next Klock Family Reunion will be held on August 2, 2003 at Fort Klock in St. Johnsville, New York. The reunion will start at 9:30 a.m. with a bus tour. There will be stops at the Palatine Church, Stone Arabia Church, Klock’s Church, St Johns Church, Indian Castle, and Fort Herkimer Church. There will be seven stops in all. Lunch will be provided and talks given at most of the stops. Reservations will be required for the tour and a deposit will be needed. After the bus tour we will meet back at Fort Klock for Dinner about 3:00 p.m.

More details on the reunion will be available later on in this Newsletter. I will be putting a Reservation Form in this Newsletter that you can mail, with a deposit to Fort Klock.

A lot of work goes into setting up a reunion of this size. It takes a lot of planning, advertising and many volunteers make it a success. Fort Klock will be going all out to make us feel welcome. I hope you will be able to attend. I have meet so many wonderful people doing this Newsletter through e-mails, and phone calls. Maybe we can meet in person at the next Klock Family Reunion…

Return to Klock Connections Opening Page.

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