THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRUTUS

Brutus was an original Military Township with a total area of slightly less than 100 square miles. It was surveyed into 100 lots of approximately 600 acres each. The township occupied the entire width of the county and extended from a line just north of the present hamlet of Sennett to a line drawn between Spring and Otter Lakes. Brutus gradually lost acreage to the towns of Cato, Conquest, Mentz, Montezuma and Throop until finally the establishment of the town of Sennett in 1827 gave the town its present form.

Many people are confused in the use of the terms town and township. In New York State the town is a political subdivision of a county. Townships are geographical areas. In the Military Tract each township covered an area of about 60,000 acres.

Towns being political areas tend to change according to fhe contemporary expediency. The establishment of town lines in Cayuga County have been justified for many reasons. Included are population, natural communities, geological barriers, political expediency and just plain power plays.

The township of Brutus was originally located in the town of Aurelius, which also contained the townships of Aurelius and Cato. In 1802 Brutus separated from Aurelius and became the town of Brutus. From that time the town of Brutus was gradually eroded down to the town we know today.