Seth Cole was born in Chesterfield, Mass. in 1756, served in the Revolutionary War, and married Celea Sampson in Chesterfield in the early 1790s. In 1805, he came to the area with his family alongside Zattu Cushing and his family, and both families settled at the mouth of Canadaway Creek. Cushing soon moved farther up the creek to what is now Fredonia and sold his land to Cole. Seth Cole is considered by most to be the first permanent settler in what is now Dunkirk. Shortly after buying his property, he contracted with the Holland Land Company to cut and clear a road from the town line between Pomfret and Portland to Silver Creek at a price of $10 per mile. He died June 10, 1810, at age 54 and was buried in Pioneer Cemetery near his old friend and neighbor Zattu Cushing.