The Delaware Valley has been inhabited for thousands of years. At Chestnut Point and in fields along the West Branch of the Delaware River, local residents have found arrow points, pottery shards, scrapers, and other artifacts left by Native Americans. European Americans, many of them from New England, first settled in the valley in the 1780s, clearing land for farms, harnessing waterpower for mills, and establishing several communities. Bluestone quarries supplied material for city sidewalks, timber was harvested and floated downriver to Philadelphia to build ships and structures, and the area's fertile bottomland made it known for dairy farms whose creameries shipped milk, butter, and cream to New York City on the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad. Community life in places such as Cannonsville included stores, schools, churches, literary societies, and gatherings such as Old Home Day.