Town History
|
Town of Union Historian: |
Suzanne M. Meredith |
|
Deputy Town of Union Historian: |
Jacqueline Tedesco |
|
Mailing Address: |
Historian
Town of Union Office Building
3111 E. Main Street
Endwell, NY 13760
|
|
Office Phone #:
EMail Address: |
(607) 786-5786
historian@townofunion.com |
Hours: Currently by appointment but will soon be expanding to
regular hours
In the beginning the Town of Union included over 700 square miles in
the glaciated Allegheny Plateau. Much of the land spread along the
Susquehanna River Valley, a vale about nine miles long and averaging two
miles in width. It is an area embraced by the presence of towering green
foothills of the Catskill Mountain range. The population has teamed to
appreciate the forests and meadows of the hills, often building homes
and farms on the rock strewn inclines. The original land patent was
obtained by General Oringle Stoddard, who came from Massachusetts in
1785 as a commissioner for the Boston Company to bargain with the Native
Americans for land. An enormous tract, 2,300,000 acres, changed hands,
and became known as the Boston Purchase. The price agreed to was twelve
and one half cents per acre. Half of this amount was to be paid in cash,
and the rest in trade goods. Land was apportioned to the 60 investors
according to the amount each individual had contributed to the
corporation. Union was formed on February 16, 1791, as part of the
County of Tioga, by an act of the New York State Legislature, and later
became one of the original towns of Broome County. The vicinity of Union
was the homeland of the Iroquois for many generations until the 1780s
when trappers, traders, and settlers from Europe began to carve pathways
to the future. By 1791, there were 600 pioneer residents, and the native
people began to disappear. Travel was mainly on the river, and over
faint Native American trails along the banks. The barter system
prevailed in the fledgling economy, with hides, tallow, ashes, and grain
accepted in place of cash, and shillings were used more
often than
dollars well into the 1800s. Eventually, commerce changed from farming,
fishing, and lumbering to shops and factories, and on to technologically
sophisticated empires. Early residents dreamed of one continuous city
along the valley floor from Port Dickinson to the Tioga line. Although
an amalgamation of municipalities has yet to evolve, the lives of the
people flourish, and boundaries blur, as population and cultures entwine
to create an exciting and diverse community-a Union, of spirit,
fortitude, and faith in America.
The photographs presented in a current book of Union history are
whispers from the past ... dating from approximately 1880 to the 1940s.
The volume is available at the Amos Patterson Museum, or from the Town
of Union Historian. Suzanne M. Meredith, Historian, Town of Union
Your queries and participation in preserving our heritage is always
welcome.
