Cobleskill is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Schoharie County, New York Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning ...

, United States. The population was 6,086 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report Cobleskill, New York QuickFacts https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/cobleskilltownschohariecountynewyork Accessed, January 3, 2023 The town contains a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, also named Cobleskill, as well as the State University of New York at Cobleskill. The town is in the northern part of the county and is southwest of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

History

The town was first settled around 1712. The town was founded at the same time as the county, 1795, but its boundaries were not established until 1801. There are more historical notes on the pages of the village of Cobleskill and Schoharie County. The town was named after mill owner Jacob Kobell, and the word " kil", which is Dutch for stream. Cobleskill was incorporated in 1868.

Battle of Cobleskill

The Battle of Cobleskill (also called the Cobleskill massacre) was an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

raid on the frontier settlement of Cobleskill on May 30, 1778. The Cobleskill

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, along with a detachment of Continentals, were reconnoitering near George Warner's house when they encountered a small party of

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

warriors. The soldiers pursued the warriors for about a mile when 200-300 Iroquois and

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, led by Mohawk war leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

, opened fire on the rebels. Of the 40 or so rebels, only about 11 escaped without major injury.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.49%) is water. Cobleskill Creek flows eastward through the town. Interstate 88 passes across the town. New York State Route 145 is an east–west highway, which runs conjointly with

New York State Route 10 New York State Route 10 (NY 10) is a north–south state highway in the Central New York Region, Central New York and North Country, New York, North Country regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for f ...

near Cobleskill village. Both the Interstate and NY-10 follow a route similar to Cobleskill Creek.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,407 people, 2,270 households, and 1,287 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,509 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.76%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.62%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.25% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.53% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.34% of the population. There were 2,270 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.4% under the age of 18, 24.9% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,764, and the median income for a family was $46,875. Males had a median income of $32,708 versus $24,864 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $17,246. About 9.2% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

Two annual festivals held in Cobleskill are the Schoharie County Maple Festival and the Sunshine Fair.

Tourism

Two

cavern Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

complexes are located just outside Cobleskill and are open to tourists:

Howe Caverns Howe Caverns is a limestone solutional cave, operated as a show cave, in the hamlet of Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York. Howe Caverns is a popular tourist attraction, providing visitors with a sense of caving or spelunking, without needin ...

and Secret Caverns. Both are north of I-88 and Howes Cave. Secret Caverns is located just outside Cobleskill, and was formed during the last Ice Age. The caverns were discovered in 1928, and include a 100-foot underground waterfall. Howe Caverns is 156 feet below ground.

Media

* Times Journal of Cobleskill—weekly newspaper which is published every Wednesday. * WCSQ-LP—Radio Cobleskill 105.9 FM, local radio station

Notable people

* George H. Durand, U. S. Representative from Michigan * Boris McGiver, actor, born in Cobleskill. * Harvey Putnam, U. S. Representative from New York

Communities and locations in the Town of Cobleskill

*Barnerville – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the eastern part of the town, west of Bramanville on County Road 8. *Bramanville – A hamlet in the eastern section of the town, west of Howes Cave on County Road 8. The Bramanville Mill was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976. * Cobleskill – A village located at the junction of NY-10 and NY-145 in the western part of the town. *Cobleskill Reservoir – A reservoir east of Mineral Springs. *East Cobleskill – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town at the town line on NY-145. *Greenbush – A location south of Mineral Springs. *Howe's Cave – A hamlet near the eastern town line on County Road 8. The name is taken from that of from early settler Lester Howe. *Lawyersville – A hamlet northwest of Cobleskill village, located on NY-145. The village is named after some early settlers. *Mineral Springs – A hamlet south of Cobleskill village. It was originally called "Frances Corners." *Russell Lake – A small lake at the northwestern corner of Cobleskill. *Sagendorf Corners – A location north of Howes Cave. *Shutts Corners – A location northeast of Cobleskill village.

References

External links

*
Town of Cobleskill page at Schoharie County website

SUNY Cobleskill
{{authority control Towns in Schoharie County, New York Towns in New York (state)