Town of Fremont - history pg 2

Previous to the creation of the town of Callicoon in 1842, it had been a part of the town of Liberty. Records show that John Hankins, a resident of Fremont, had been active in the town affairs of Liberty. When Callicoon had its first town meeting at the home of George G. DeWitt, Hankins was present and took a leading part in the organization meeting and was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace. He became its second supervisor.
There was no road from Hankins to Liberty. Quinlan relates that he reached Liberty by following a route marked by blazed trees or crossed the Delaware, passed over a road on the Pennsylvania side to Cochecton and then to Liberty by way of Bethel. This gives an indication of this man’s interest in public affairs.
The story of the Smith family that lived on a farm now owned by Anthony Schick of Obernburg fixes the background of the town of Fremont. These Smiths were forbears of Frank S. Bury and Grandmother Smith often related that within a period of ten years they had lived in three different towns though they hadn’t moved away from their home! Before 1842 they lived in the town of Liberty. When the town of Callicoon was organized in 1842, they were then in Callicoon. In 1851, when Fremont was established, they became a part of that town. To her this seemed an unusual feat - and it was.
General John C. Fremont had several admirers among the men who organized the new town, and it was named in his honor. It became the eleventh town.
The lands of Fremont were the last in the county to be opened up for settlement. There were no roads to it in any direction. It was accessible by the Delaware River and its first settlers came to it up the river. Travel on the river past it must have reached a considerable volume before there was any extensive settlement in the town. There existed a trading post at Equinunk as early as 1750 and rafts of timber starting as far upstream as Rockland came past its shores before 1800. The land was owned by absentee landlords - one of the chief owners was Lucas Elmendorf. He eventually moved into the Long Eddy section.

Simmons First Settler

Isaac Simmons is credited by Quinlan of being the first settler. He settled at Hankins in 1780. He sold to Brown, who sold to Pierce. Jonas Lakin came in 1800 who sold to Elizabeth Pierce. John Hankins and Luther Appley in 1834 bought the Elizabeth Pierce property and moved there in 1835. They found an abandoned frame house, a saw mill and land that had been tilled many years. From this it may be assumed that the earlier settlers had left the lands for other parts.
In addition to the settlement at Hankins, two other parts of the town were independently settled. One at Long Pond (now Tennanah) and the other, Basket. That these settlements had reached some size it is well to call attention to the old cemeteries at both these places.