 Scriba built a gristmill, a store, and other buildings, and began an active trade on the lake.While the settlement showed initial promise, a series of disasters including the drowning of the heads of seven households in 1799, the British embargo on American trade prior to the War of 1812, the war itself, and a massive fire in 1820, spelled doom.Soon after the fire, S. P. Robinson established a boat yard and built boats there for five or six years, and later a paper mill and store were conducted for a time.