Ridge Road was an important thoroughfare during the war times of 1812-15, and Clarkson was the general rendezvous for troops and the temporary depository for supplies and munitions of war. Clarkson village, then known as "Murray Corners," was a hamlet of considerable note, the Ridge Road being the main route between Canandaigua and Lewiston. The Corners was a stopping-place where horses were changed and travelers allowed a brief respite, but since the completion of the Erie Canal, and the still later construction of the New York Central railroad, the town of Sweden; has gained an ascendency and profited, while Clarkson; has correspondingly lost in commercial importance.