On October 21, 1835, about 600 black and white men gathered at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on Bleeker Street in Utica to establish the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, but a crowd of anti-abolitionists stormed the building and threatened violence if the meeting did not disband. When the abolitionists refused to leave, a riot followed, and Gerrit Smith invited the delegates to reconvene at his Peterboro estate 27 miles away. The next day about 350 delegates met at Peterboro Presbyterian Church and established the New York State Anti-Slavery Society. They reached Peterboro in several ways: a few walked, some stayed overnight in Utica and rented horses or carriages early the next day, some quickly rented carriages and drove to Vernon to stay overnight, and others continuing the journey faced rotten eggs, potatoes, and stones. A group of 104 hired an Erie Canal lumber boat to take them to Canastota, leaving Utica at 3 pm and arriving 12 hours later, after which they walked 9 miles from Canastota to Peterboro on the Oxbow Road.