Warrensburg, New York

Warrensburg is a town in Warren County, New York, United States. It is centrally located in the county, west of Lake George. It is part of the Glens Falls metropolitan area.[4] The town population was 4,255 at the 2000 census.[2] While the county is named after General Joseph Warren, the town is named after James Warren, a prominent early settler.[5] U.S. Route 9 passes through the town, which is immediately west of Interstate 87 (The Northway).

For the census-designated place, see Warrensburg (CDP), New York.
Warrensburg
Town
Location of Warrensburg in Warren County
Warrensburg
Location of Warrensburg in New York
Coordinates: 43°29′48″N 73°46′30″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyWarren
Established1813
Government
 • SupervisorKevin B. Geraghty
Area
 • Total64.80 sq mi (167.83 km2)
 • Land63.49 sq mi (164.43 km2)
 • Water1.31 sq mi (3.40 km2)
Population
 • Total4,094
 • Estimate 
(2016)[3]
3,985
 • Density62.77/sq mi (24.24/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (DST)
ZIP code(s)
12885
Area code(s)518
FIPS code36-113-78300
Websitewww.townofwarrensburg.org

According to the 2000 United States Census, the town's main hamlet, also recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), constitutes less than one-fifth of the town's total area, yet has about 75% of the town's population.[2] The Warrensburg CDP's population density is more than fourteen times that of the town outside the CDP.[2] The CDP is entirely within the town of Warrensburg with much of the town's historic core including the Hamlet of Warrensburgh Historic District[6] Merrill MaGee House, Mixter Blacksmith Shop, and Warrensburg Mills Historic District.[6]

History

Warrensburg was first settled by westerners in 1786 when William Bond established residency nearby what is today known as Echo Lake.[7] Because there has been limited archeological digs in the Warrensburg, it is not precisely known what pre-western peoples lived in what is now Warrensburg. But, it is known that the peoples of the Six Nations were economically and politically active in the surrounding areas during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.[8]

On April 4, 1813, community leaders held their first town meeting in a private home and elected the town's first supervisor, James L. Thurman, and several other officials and town workers.[9] Prior to the formal establishment of the town, the settlement was referred to as "The Bridge" because of the settlement's proximity to a bridge over the Schroon River.

It is locally claimed that James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans in a second story storefront apartment along what is now Main Street, it is more likely that Mr. Cooper had merely visited the town for a short visit around the time he was working on the novel.[10]

In 1894, following the New York State Constitutional Convention, the town was expressly included in Article 7 (today Article 14) as being within the newly created Adirondack Park, making the town part of the state forest preserve that is to be kept forever wild.[11]

Starting on June 16, 1961, twenty-nine employees of the Warrensburg Board & Paper Corporation voted 15-14 to join the United Paper Makers and Paper Workers AFL-CIO. Within a week of the vote, the Corporation reported irregularities to the National Labor Relations Board in an attempt to prevent unionization. In December of that year, the Union and Company entered into a series of negotiations through which the Union succeeded in most of its major demands, gaining agreement to an employee insurance plan, a Union bulletin board, free access to the mill to contact employees, grievance discussion rights, and wage increases. When the Union failed to agree upon what steps to take next, the Corporation claimed the disagreement among members was in-fact a rejection of the Union, and the Corporation refused to agree to a long-term contract with the Union. When the NLRB ordered the Corporation to return to the negotiation table, the Corporation was sued by the NLRB and compelled by the court to return to negotiations.[12] On July 14, 1974, the paper mill operated by the corporation was partially destroyed by fire.[13]

On April 3, 1976, flooding of the Schroon River, brought on by spring thaws, started to peak. The next day, the reservoir of the dam had raised so high as to completely surround the paper mill with water and cause outbuildings, train tracks, and pollution to be disturbed. Route 418, which runs parallel to the river, and a bridge located about a quarter of a mile upstream of the dam were shut down. The afternoon of April 4, under the direction of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, two mill employees, using a backhoe and bulldozer owned by one of said employees, and aided by several private individuals, dug a ditch in approximately two and one-half hours, to alleviate the up-river flooding. Consequently, there was serious land erosion to the property adjacent to the dam and, the next spring, serious deposits of silt from the erosion was washed onto the Sit'N Bull Ranch and 1000 Acres Ranch, both located downstream.[14]

Since 1979, the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce has been hosting an annual event known as the "World's Largest Garage Sale." During this event, residents and vendors sell their wares in a town-wide garage sale.[15]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 64.8 square miles (168.0 km2), of which, 63.7 square miles (165.0 km2) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.9 km2) of it (1.74%) is water.

The west town line is the Hudson River. The Schroon River empties into the Hudson by the west town line.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1820956—
18301,19124.6%
18401,46823.3%
18501,87427.7%
18601,704−9.1%
18701,579−7.3%
18801,7259.2%
18901,7954.1%
19002,35231.0%
19102,3851.4%
19202,025−15.1%
19302,26311.8%
19402,56613.4%
19502,89412.8%
19602,9070.4%
19703,33014.6%
19803,81014.4%
19904,1749.6%
20004,2551.9%
20104,094−3.8%
2016 (est.)3,985[3]−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,255 people, 1,718 households, and 1,166 families residing in the town. The population density was 66.8 people per square mile (25.8/km2). There were 2,148 housing units at an average density of 33.7 per square mile (13.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.14% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population.[2]

There were 1,718 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.89.[2]

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.[2]

The median income for a household in the town was $30,873, and the median income for a family was $34,890. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $20,536 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,343. About 13.7% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.[2]

Events of interest
  • The Worlds Largest Garage Sale – An annual flea market event held in early October. Vendors and locals line the streets with their wares and people come from miles around to sample, shop, and amble. Worlds Largest Garage Sale
  • Smoke-eaters Jamborie – An annual summer event, July 27–28. Live music, games and food. Adirondack Event List

Communities and locations
  • Forest Lake Camp for Boys and Girls - FLC is a traditional overnight summer camp for boys and girls located on the Warrensburg and Chestertown lines. It has been around since 1926 and was built on the old stage coach road that went through town.
  • Camp Echo Lake - CEL is a traditional coed residential summer camp located in Warrensburg. It was established in 1946.
  • Riverbank – A hamlet on the town line in the northeast part of the town.
  • Warrensburg – The hamlet of Warrensburg is located near the east town line on Route 9. The community is at the Schroon River and is the only significant settlement in the town.
  • Warrensburg Museum of History – The Museum opened July 11, 2009 after having been closed for more than five years.
  • Warrensburg Mills Historic District - Established in 1975, contains 220 properties in the 40 acres of land approximately located between the Woolen Mill Bridge and the Osborne Bridge on the Schroon River.[17]
  • Sinai Retreats- formerly of Moodus, CT, Jewish educational retreat established in 1978, located on 100 acre campus across the Schroon River and next to the Hudson River.

Notable Residents

See also

References
  1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 5, 2017.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  4. "Metropolitan Areas and Components, 1999, with FIPS Codes". US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
  5. Smith, H.P. (1885). History of Warren County. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Masons & Co. p. 575.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  7. Parisi, Sandi. "Early Settlers". Warrensburg Town Historian. Retrieved March 9, 2019. William Bond, it appears, was the first settler. He established residency in 1786 on Lot No. 1 near what became known as Bond's Pond, currently Echo Lake. Following William Bond came Joseph Hutchinson, Josiah Woodward, Gideon and Stokes Potter and Joseph Hatch in 1787. Aaron Varnum came in 1788. Dr. John McLaren practiced medicine in the hamlet prior to 1790, and married Susan Thurman, great-niece of John Thurman, the original patentee of most of the lands that became known as Thurman, including Warrensburgh and Chestertown.
  8. Woods, Lynn (December 1994). "A History in Fragments". Adirondack Life Magazine. Retrieved March 9, 2019. The Adirondacks was a prime trapping ground since the cold climate causes animals to grow thicker, more luxuriant coats. The fur trade also sparked a series of Indian wars between different native groups, as each competed for access to the trade and lands providing an ever-dwindling supply of pelts. The Mohawks fought various Algonquin-speaking tribes—who surrounded the Iroquois on the north, east and south—and even, on occasion, some of the other members of the Six Nations Confederacy—a political and spiritual entity that stretched westward across the state and was composed of Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Tuscaroras and Senecas. “The Adirondacks became a battlefield” says Snow, suggesting that the cliché of “the dark and bloody ground” has a modicum of truth.
  9. "The Town of Warrensburg". Warren County 200. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  10. Taylor, Alan (April 23, 2001). "Writings of James Fenimore Cooper". American Writers. Season 1. C-Span. Retrieved March 9, 2019. Well, he may have visited that particular [Warrensburg] inn, but I do not believe [James Fenimore Cooper] wrote a novel there.
  11. "New York State Constitution". New York State Senate. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  12. National Labor Relations Board v. Warrensburg Board & Paper Corporation, 340 F.2d 920 (2d Cir. 1965)
  13. Warrensburg Board & Paper Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 77 T.C. 1107, 1108 (1981)
  14. Sweet v. State of New York, 114 Misc.2d 269 (N.Y. Court of Claims 1982)
  15. "World's Largest Garage Sale readies for 39th year in Warrensburg". Post Star. September 26, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  16. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. "Warrensburg History". Town of Warrensburg, New York. Retrieved January 18, 2017. In 1975, the Warrensburgh Mills Historic District from the Woolen Mill Bridge to the Osborne Bridge , was listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places by the Warrensburgh Historical Society.
  18. "Floyd Bennett Biography Page". nps.gov. February 26, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  19. Marie Geroski (February 2, 2009). "An incredible journey, partnership". The Post Star. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  20. "EMERSON, Louis Woodard". history.house.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  21. "Biography Daniel P. Sheehan". danielpsheehan.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
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