Near the site of the old Slott grist mill on the bank of the river is an old log hut which is said to date back to the ante-Revolutionary period. During that war this hut was on the Van Amburg property, and that family was somewhat closely connected with the noted Anneke Jans, who once owned the ground now covered by the vast estates of Trinity Church in New York City, in which her myriad heirs, scattered all over America to-day, still claim an equitable share, and justly so, perhaps. In this old log structure once lived a stalwart female member of the Van Amburg family, and the story is that during the Revolution a big reward was offered by the British officers for her capture. "Shanks Ben," a noted Ulster County Tory, like Claudius Smith of Orange County, being attracted by this rich reward, planned her capture. He concealed himself in one of the farm haystacks where he knew she would come to feed her cattle at a certain time. But when he saw the huge old-fashioned hay-fork in her hand, he concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, and was in fact glad to escape with his own life, fearing she might chance to puncture his brave anatomy in reaching for the required hay-fodder. If this somewhat noted woman was ever captured by the redcoats the records fail to disclose it. Aside from the pursuit of farming and lumbering, this town has never been able to boast of any very important industries. Nearly every citizen was engaged in the cultivation of the soil during its early history at least. As already noted, the town was famed for its production of the choicest grade of Orange County butter. In later years, under the changed condition of transportation facilities, the manufactured products of the dairy were almost entirely discontinued and gave way to the natural product of milk, which was shipped to the New York markets in large quantities. The growth of apples, peaches and other fruits, for which the land is so well adapted, has meanwhile increased in extent and importance, and many of the Crawford orchards that were properly cultivated and cared for have become sources of large profit to their owners. While many of the more ancient grist and saw mills of the town have now disappeared, some have been greatly improved and modernized and new ones have been built. MILITARY HISTORY.