Warrensburg was first settled by westerners in 1786 when William Bond established residency nearby what is today known as Echo Lake.[7] Because there have been limited archeological digs, 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.
Although 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 Cooper had merely visited the town for a short time when working on the novel.[10]
On March 11, 1888, a blizzard began that caused a 4-foot snowfall over three days.
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 km2), of which, 63.7 square miles (165 km2) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 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.
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 people/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]
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.
The Gazebo at Warrensburg Mills Historic District.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.[18]
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
Floyd Bennett, acclaimed aviator who made the first flight to the North Pole, Medal of Honor Recipient.[19]
^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.
^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.
^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.
^"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.
