A history of lawlessness in Boston Corners and the Oblong

MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library opened its Annex to a full crowd of local residents curious to learn more about the history surrounding Boston Corners and the Oblong as part of Jon Strom’s presentation, “Boston Corners and the Oblong: How Two State Boundary Land Exchanges Created Havens for Lawlessness,” on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Presented by the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society and sponsored by the library and the Boston Corner Community Planning Committee, the Annex reached full capacity long before the presentation was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Speaking as secretary of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, Strom said, “It’s interesting to see a packed room interested in something that happened over 160 years ago.” 

His enthusiasm rising with each topic covered in the presentation, Strom flew through his presentation, highlighting the people, petitions and prizefighting that shaped Boston Corners and the Oblong all while keeping his audience engaged. 

Originally identified as a corner of the state of Massachusetts, it was confirmed by Congress in 1855 that the state line between Massachusetts and New York would be changed and Boston Corners would be made part of the state of New York. As far as the Oblong was concerned, Strom talked about how an agreement was created in 1682 between the states of Connecticut and New York to set the border between the states 20 miles east of the Hudson River. According to the website www.connecticuthistory.org, as part of this agreement, Connecticut received “the rectangular section of land east of the Byram River in Greenwich but had to give an equal amount of land back to New York along this western border,” which became known as the Oblong and measured at 60 miles long and 1.81 miles wide.

An example of an individual who played a role in the Oblong’s history was Owen Sullivan, who was known as an infamous counterfeiter in both Boston, Mass., and Providence, R.I. All while working and living in the caves in nearby Dover, Sullivan set up counterfeit operations in the Oblong where he forged New York and Connecticut currencies and developed the Dover Money Club, an extensive network of accomplices spanning several colonies. Strom also talked about David Sanford, a former collaborator of Sullivan’s who set up operations in New Haven, Conn., and returned to the Oblong following his escape from jail.

Yet for all of the action taking place in the Oblong, Strom noted, “You didn’t even hear about it, and it was happening right next door.”

Returning his presentation to a discussion of Boston Corners, Strom explained that the area was previously part of the town of Mount Washington, Mass. While the border between New York and Massachusetts was agreed upon in 1773, inhabitants of the Boston Corners area petitioned to join New York in 1848. Strom said the lack of law enforcement and protection wasn’t a major issue for 60 years, which resulted in illegal activities, such as prizefighting, taking place in the area.

As prizefighting was considered illegal at the time, Strom explained that prizefighters would generally hold their competitions on islands or other areas that authorities couldn’t easily access: by this description, Boston Corners presented an ideal place to host a fight. With $300,000 being wagered from across the country, he reported that the Boston Corners prizefight between John Morrissey and Yankee Sullivan lasted 37 rounds.

Given the number of books published that have yet to cover the history of the area in its entirety, Strom explained, “I think it’s important that we really know what happened.”