A BRIEF HISTORY OF STEUBEN, NEW YORK
Many small towns populate Oneida County, NY., north of larger Utica, including Rome, Floyd, Western, Leyden, Remsen, Boonsville, and Steuben. Steuben birthed most of them.
I: Post-Revolutionary War Beginnings
On June 27, 1776, the war hero Frederick William Augustus Henry Ferdinand von Steuben was awarded 16,000 acres by the State of New York, which he divided into 160 100-acre farms (Wynne, 1998). Townsfolk grew tired of having to travel 20 miles to purchase groceries, over in Herkimer County, and so Oneida County was born. The land was extremely fertile, was located next to water sources, and was heavily wooded. The population blossomed to over 500 by the turn of the century.
III: The Advent of Refrigeration and the Departure of the Mills
Before refrigeration, the farmers of the Oneida County found they served a great need in New York City because of their proximity. They provided milk and dairy products quick enough that it would not spoil before it reached its destination (Tomaino, 1998). The mills were shut down in the middle of the century, and the population dropped to an all-time low of under 550 by 1950. Some dairy farms remained, as did local crops of hops, oats, and squash. The town retained its rural and quaint roots.
II: A Turn-of-the-Century Production Boom
By the 1790s, the power in the "Great Carry," or the waterway between the Atlantic and the Great Lakes had been harnessed by mills. Settlers were able to produce flour and grains, textiles, and lumber by 1800 (Tomaino, 1998). The first jail was built in 1802, and progress produced a population of over 2,000 by 1830 ("A Look Back...," n.d.). When New England mills took over these industries with steam-powered factories, Oneida County inhabitants kept up by bringing coal down the Erie Canal and updating their own mills. This way of life continued on into the 1900s,when the population changes would cut the population by half.
IV: The Present-Day Steuben
Today, Steuben is a farm community whose population has climbed back to over 1,100, doubling since the forties. It still only has a few restaurants, no motels, and a town hall younger than 35 years old (Wynne, 1998). In April of 2017, a "Steubenstock" concert was held to celebrate "six years of silliness" ("Local Events," 2017). So in spite of the shadow Hatch's crimes cast 40 years ago, the town still manages to celebrate the simple things and enjoy life.
The Steuben Town Hall was built in
the 1980s and remains today as one
of the few buildings within town limits.