Vince Martonis, Hanover Historian, holds the 1803 Article of Agreement document in which David Dickinson, the first settler of Silver Creek, contracts for 640 acres with Joseph Ellicott, the agent for the Holland Land Company. The agreement is signed twice by Ellicott and has another document from 1811 attached to it. With the generous help of Chris Lanski (left), President of Exelco/Newbrook; Fred Mertz, President of S. Howes; and Martonis, the rare document has been donated to the Hanover History Center. This is the earliest existing land conveyance document in all of Chautauqua County. The document was displayed for the first time at the Hanover Bicentennial celebration on June 1.
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