Gilbertsville is a village in
Otsego County,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, United States. The population was 399 at the 2010 census.
The village is in the town of
Butternuts and is west of
Oneonta.
Geography
Gilbertsville is located at (42.469492, −75.320980).
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 village has a total area of , all land.
Gilbertsville is located on
New York State Route 51 (Marion Avenue) and is also served by County Highways 4 (Cliff Street and Bloom Street) and 8 (Vale Street).
Gilbertsville is located by the Butternut Creek.
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 375 people, 164 households, and 103 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 196 housing units at an average density of . The racial composition of the village was 96.27%
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 ...
, 0.80%
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 ...
, 0.80%
aboriginal American, 0.27%
Asian, and 1.87% 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 1.33% of the population.
There were 164 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 years living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were composed of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18 years, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,000, and the median income for a family was $46,667. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $26,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,119. About 3.2% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.
History
Early history
The village was the first settlement in the town, named after landowner Abijah Gilbert of Nuneaton, England, father of the United States Senator from Florida, also named
Abijah Gilbert.
Disputes about damming Butternut Creek
According to the article "Goliath Met David on the Banks of the Butternut Creek," by Leigh C. Eckmair, for much of the 20th century, the Village of Gilbertsville lived under threat of destruction by a
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
’ flood control project. A dam of the Upper Susquehanna Rivershed Project was to be built on the lower Butternut Creek at a spot called Cope's Corners. This dam was to flood the valley behind it, including the village of Gilbertsville, to create a three-mile long lake. Residents had been watching in horror over the years as communities in the nearby
Catskills
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
had become victims of similar projects and had vowed not to let it happen to their small village.
The dam project, originally proposed prior to
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, met with very strong local opposition every time it was reintroduced. Delayed due to World War I and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the project was reintroduced in 1935 following a flood which did millions of dollars of damage to communities in eight southern tier counties in upstate New York. Funding was appropriated, but the project was delayed because of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
In the early 1950s, the Village of Gilbertsville was again endangered when the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
reauthorized funding for the project. A locally-organized protest began to call attention to the negative aspects of the project on a state and federal level. The protest was very active from the 1950s through the 1970s.
During this time, several important studies of Gilbertsville and
Butternut Valley architecture were compiled. These studies called attention to the fact that a number of well known
architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
of the late 19th and early 20th centuries had been responsible for the design, building and renovation of many attractive village structures. As a result, a number of architectural scholars became involved in protesting the dam project which would destroy this legacy. From that effort came the suggestion that several structures in the center of the village be nominated to the new
Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...
's
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 ...
. It was hoped that National Register recognition would afford some protection for the village, on the state and federal level, from the proposed dams.
The Committee for the Historic Preservation of Gilbertsville was formed to work with the N.Y. State Office of Parks and Recreation and to prepare nominations, documentation and photographs. Consultants came to inspect the nominated properties and saw that other structures and sites in the village were equally worthy of nomination. The suggestion was made that the entire village be inventoried as a complete Historic District and that the recognition of the entire village as an Historic District would be even more powerful protection from the dams.
The committee called on the community for help with the expanded project and was not disappointed. Over seven years the full committee of 19 volunteer researchers, typists, '
gofer
A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of specific items to their superior(s). Examples of these items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term is use ...
s'," and photographers prepared a total of 194 individual structural inventory reports plus reports for each cemetery, park, bridge and five additional structures just outside the village incorporation.
The committee wrote a sixteen-page pamphlet describing the importance of the Historic District, its setting and architecture, including photographs, and presented it to the congressional committee considering funding of the project.
The same committee analyzed a century's worth of weather history in the Upper Susquehanna Rivershed, documenting flooding on the lower
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
. The study found that no significant flooding occurred in the areas drained by the Butternut Creek and the
Unadilla River
The Unadilla River is a river in the Central New York Region of New York State. The river begins northeast of the hamlet of Millers Mills and flows generally south to the village of Sidney, where it converges with the Susquehanna River, which d ...
during times of damaging floods on the lower Susquehanna River.
The combination of all these efforts was rewarded when deauthorization of funding for the complete Upper Susquehanna River Shed Project was proposed to Congress in 1979, and the threat of the construction of the dams was removed.
The National Register of Historic Places recognition of the entire village of Gilbertsville as a Historic District was awarded in May 1983.
In September 2003, a
weathervane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...
of a standing aboriginal American,
Uncas
Uncas () was a '' sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes.
Early life and family
Uncas was born ...
, from 1902 created by J.L. Mott Company of New York City, which stood atop the Butternut Valley Grange was sold for $205,000 to Raymond and Susan Egan of
Princeton, New Jersey
The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
. While replaced with a copy, the sale resulted in significant disputes on its ownership and who had the authority to sell the valuable weathervane.
Architecture
Some of the more noteworthy pieces of architecture that can be found in Gilbertsville include the following:
*
Gilbertsville Historic District – a national
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
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 1974 and increased to approximately the incorporated village borders in 1982.
* Overlook Park – This 100-year-old park sits next to a stone arch bridge surrounded by stone buildings.
*
Gilbertsville Academy & Collegiate Institute – Built in
Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
style in 1839, served as a school until 1935.
* Presbyterian Church – Built in a
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
style in 1888.
*
Tianderah – Built in 1887 by Boston-based architect
William Ralph Emerson
William Ralph Emerson (March 11, 1833 – November 23, 1917) was an American architect. He partnered with Carl Fehmer in Emerson and Fehmer.
Early life and education
A cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson, William was born in Alton, Illinois, and ...
it is a stone
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
residence dramatically overlooking the village and complemented by a stone and
shingle style
The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...
stable
Tianderah entry
philadelphiabuildings.org. Accessed July 2, 2023. The estate was placed on the market in July 2007 for $3 million, the highest price ever asked for a private residence in Otsego County.
* Gilbert Block – This Neo- Tudor Style structure built 1893 – 1895, hosts shops and artists' studios. It was designed by Boston architect Henry Forbes Bigelow
* The Gilbertsville Free Library – Built in 1818 as a school/academy, it was converted to a library by St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
architects Eames and Young
Eames and Young was an American architecture firm based in St. Louis, Missouri, active nationally, and responsible for several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
The principals were Thomas Crane Young, FAIA and Wil ...
in 1888. It was the first Free Association Library in Otsego County.
* The Major's Inn – Started in 1896 and finished in 1917 on the site of the original Gilbert homstead which burned in 1895. The medieval English Tudor and Gothic building was commissioned by Major James L. Gilbert employing Augustus Nicholas Allen to construct it. Today it serves as a cultural center.
* Gilbertsville Water Works – listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
References
;Sources
*
"Goliath Met David on the Banks of the Butternut Creek"
', – originally appeared in the Fall 2003 newsletter of th
Association of Public Historians
of New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
, by Leigh C. Eckmair
*
Maine Antique Digest 2/2004 "Sorrow in Butternuts When Grange Sells Historic Weathervane"
;Notes
External links
Village of Gilbertsville
{{authority control
Villages in New York (state)
Villages in Otsego County, New York