Hebron 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 ...

in Washington 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. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 1,773 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city of

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

, in the present-day

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Geography

Hebron's beautiful hills and valleys are part of the slate valley of the Upper

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from th ...

(''Taghkanic,'' meaning 'in the trees'), and part of the

Great Appalachian Valley The Great Appalachian Valley, also called The Great Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough, including a chain of valley lowlands, and the central feature of the Appal ...

(also known as the 'Great Valley'). Thus, many of the main hills, valleys, creeks and roads run diagonally across Hebron in keeping with the general outlay of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. Hebron is notably at once a nexus between valley regions within the 'Great Valley', and also between mountain regions. The nexus of the Champlain and Hudson Valleys (described in greater detail below in the paragraph on watersheds) is located here. The taller peaks of the Taconics are on the Vermont side of the border, and begin to dwindle comparatively into foothills in Hebron. Hebron can be described as the foothills between the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

of New York, and the Taconic and

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

of Vermont. Hebron thus is at once at a high point dividing valleys, and a lowlands dividing mountain areas. 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 (0.32%) is water. The eastern town line of Hebron is the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

border, and the beginning of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

proper. The town of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

is adjacent to the south. The towns of Argyle,

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and Granville (famous for its colored slate) make up the remaining border on the western and northern edges. NY Route 22 is a north–south highway through the eastern part of the town, running roughly parallel to the Vermont border. Route 30 connects Salem to Hartford through the western part of Hebron. Route 31, the longest road through Hebron, cuts across diagonally from Route 30 connecting West Hebron to West Pawlet, Vermont. Hebron is at the

threshold Threshold may refer to: Science Biology * Threshold (reference value) * Absolute threshold * Absolute threshold of hearing * Action potential * Aerobic threshold * Anaerobic threshold * Dark adaptation threshold * Epidemic threshold * Flicke ...

between two major

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

s whose waters travel great distances in opposite directions, only to rejoin in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The formal valleys and watersheds to which Hebron belongs are the following:

Champlain Valley The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into ...

/Lake George Watershed—0201000

Hudson River#Names, Hudson River Valley/Hudson-Hoosic Watershed—0202000

Waters in the northernmost part of Hebron drain via the

Mettawee River The Mettawee River (sometimes spelled "Mettowee River") is a tributary of Lake Champlain in western Vermont and eastern New York in the United States. From its source at the southern slopes of Dorset Mountain, Vermont, the river flows southwards f ...

north into

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

, where they mix with waters from Lake George (''Horican'') and then flow into the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

(''Kaniatarowanenneh''). These Hebron waters mingle in the Saint Lawrence with waters of all the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

as they flow northeastward into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and join the

. Meanwhile, the majority of Hebron waters drain south via Black Creek into the

Batten Kill The Batten Kill, Battenkill, or Battenkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 river rising in Vermont that flows into New York and is a tributar ...

(''Dionondehowa'') and then the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

(''Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk'' or Muhheakantuck), and flow south into the Atlantic Ocean just below

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The two branches of Black Creek join in West Hebron just west of the village's main street, and after the waterfall in the West Branch of Black Creek (which is just before Patterson Road). See ma

See the approximation of the watershed divide mapped in context of mountain

and valley

See Washington County for a set of contextual maps.

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 1,773 people, 687 households, and 489 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.18%

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 ...

, 0.45%

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 ...

, 0.06% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.79% from other races, and 1.07% 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 1.47% of the population. There were 687 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,639, and the median income for a family was $41,680. Males had a median income of $28,150 versus $22,315 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 $18,113. About 7.0% of families and 9.7% 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 13.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

Settled in the late 18th century, Hebron was first known as the District of Black Creek. The British Crown granted parcels of land in the area, called "patents," to soldiers who served in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

(1754-1763) (the North American front of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

). Most of the grants were to members of the Highland Scottish 77th Regiment. Many of the parcels were transferred from officers and soldiers to speculators, who sold them to New England and Scotch-Irish settlers. Some of the patents that form the town are Lintot, Blundell and Sheriff. Originals of these patents are held by the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

. The town of Hebron was formed March 23, 1786, and named after

Hebron, Connecticut Hebron ( ) is a New England town, town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 9,098 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. Its namesake is the biblical

, the largest city in the present-day

, 30 km south of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The main road running north–south through the Hebron area, now named Route 22, used to be known as the “Great Northern Turnpike” (or “the Turnpike”). Two historic milepost markers remain in the town, one at 7047 State Route 22, the second just north of Chamberlin Mills Road. A third is just south of the town line with

Salem, New York Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, former ...

. A peddler's wagon belonging to Lorenzo Levi Brown of Hebron is in the wagon collection of the Museum of Long Island at

Stony Brook, New York Stony Brook is a political subdivisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the No ...

. The town developed as an agricultural community, which it still is today. By 1864, it was the chief potato-producing area of Washington County. Potatoes have been superseded by dairy farming. In recent decades, farms have been consolidated into larger operations. While the town has numerous residents whose families have been in the area for three generations, it also has new part-time residents who have second homes here. Others have retired here for the beauty of the area.

Hebron Volunteer Fire Company

The West Hebron Volunteer Fire Company was formed in 1947. Willard Bain, a charter member, died in February 2008. The first fire truck, BRUSH 356, was put into service in 1947 and operated until 2008. It was retired after the purchase that spring of a CAFS truck ATTACK 356. In 1978, the East Hebron Fire Company was formed after the homes of Nelson Greene and Alfred "Pug" Getty burned down. Getty donated the land and Greene led the group of volunteers who built Station Two. The two companies later merged to form the Hebron Volunteer Fire Company
www.HebronVolunteerFireCompany.com
The Hebron Volunteer Fire Company First Response Team provides emergency medical services to the town. These firefighters/emergency medical technicians (EMTs) respond to medical and trauma-related calls. All first responders are licensed as EMTs by the State of New York. David Getty, a lifelong resident of Hebron, is Fire Chief.

Hebron Preservation Society

The Hebron Preservation Society was chartered by the State of New York in 1975. The Society maintains a museum, with collections held in two historic buildings located on the east side of Route 22 in the hamlet of East Hebron. The former one-room school house built in 1845 was acquired from the Salem School District, and a small tenant farm house, built in the early 19th century, was purchased in 1990. The society published ''HEBRON: A Century In Review'' in 1988, with a second edition in 2006. The museum houses a display of school house memorabilia, varied articles, ledgers, books, and family genealogies pertaining to the residents, businesses and organizations in Hebron.

Beauty of Hebron potato

The Beauty of Hebron potato variety was promoted by a local seedsman, Edward L. Coy (E.L. Coy). Both Coy and Rachel Campbell of Hebron took credit for the discovery. The variety was a naturally fertilized seedling of Garnet Chili. The earliest published reference to the Beauty of Hebron variety is from the 1876 Annual Agricultural Society Meeting in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

. The next year, in 1877 the

US Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

introduced the Beauty of Hebron potato to growers in 26 states for tests. Various major seed companies of the time claimed credit for its commercial introduction, including J. M. Thornburn of New York City, JJH Gregory of Marblehead, and Peter Henderson of New Jersey. In 1879 Coy shipped "Hebron Beauties" to London. The Beauty of Hebron was one of the varieties used to restock the British Isles after the potato blight and Great Famine of Ireland. Its use spread throughout the British Empire to localities such as

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. By the turn of the 20th century, it was also a favorite of market and home gardeners in the United States. In 1946, the USDA did not list it in commercial production in the United States, but the 1959 ''Potato Variety Handbook'' of the American Potato Association includes the Beauty of Hebron. Most current tissue culture stocks and tubers came from Elmer Hansen of

Alberta, Canada Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

; in 1988 he provided seed to Will Bownall and the Seedsavers organization, devoted to preserving historic varieties. The Beauty of Hebron is listed on the

RAFT A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

list of Threatened American Foods.Renewing America's Food Traditions - RAFT, Center for Sustainable Environments
The Beauty of Hebron is maintained at the Canadian Potato Research Centre in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

, Canada; the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

Potato Breeding Program; and with a commercial breeder. As of 2008, it was not known if the potato variety was in commercial production. Due to Sally Brillion of the Hebron Preservation Society, amateur gardeners began to cultivate the Beauty of Hebron potato in 2006.

Notable people

Hiram Barton Hiram Barton (1810–1880) was mayor of the city of Buffalo, New York, serving 1849–1850 and 1852–1853. He was born in Hebron, New York on May 20, 1810. He attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied law. He moved to Buffalo i ...

— former mayor of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

James M. Hinds James M. Hinds (December 5, 1833 – October 22, 1868) was the first U.S. Congressman assassinated in office. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Arkansas from June 24, 1868, until his assassination by the ...

— United States Representative from

Arkansas's 2nd congressional district Arkansas's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas and includes most of the state capital of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, its suburbs, and surrounding areas. The dist ...

elected March 1868, assassinated in October 1868, born in East Hebron in December 1833 * Kevin Monahan — convicted murderer * Homer Nelson — former member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Solomon Northup Solomon Northup (July 10, — ) was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir '' Twelve Years a Slave''. A free-born American of mixed race from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and a free woman of color. Northup ...

(1808-c. 1863) — born in

Minerva, New York Minerva is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 773 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Minerva, the Roman goddess of wi ...

free man of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also ...

who had a farm in Hebron, publisher of the bestselling memoir ''

Twelve Years a Slave ''Twelve Years a Slave'' is an 1853 memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York state, details himself being tricked to go to Washington, D.C., whe ...

'' about his life, lecturer on the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

circuit * Ralph Randles Stewart — botanist

Locations

There are seven

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

in the town: Porter, Hebron, North Hebron, East Hebron, West Hebron, Belcher, and Slateville. The Town Clerk's office is located in West Hebron on County Route 30, as is the Hebron Volunteer Fire Company FireHall and Station One. Station Two is located on NY Route 22, south of the intersection of Sheldon Rd, Chamberlain Mill Road and NY-22. Hebron has no school buildings or town center now, but there were hotels, postal offices, and many schools in the past. Students now attend schools in the surrounding towns, primarily Granville and Salem. The northeastern half of Hebron is in the Granville zipcode 12832, and the bulk of the southwestern half is in the Salem zipcode 12865. In 2008, there was only a country store located at Bedlam Corners in the hamlet of West Hebron.

Communities

* Belcher – a hamlet near the western town line on County Road 30. * Castle Green – A location near the western town line. * East Hebron – A hamlet near the eastern town boundary on NY-22. The Hebron District School No. 16 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 2012. * Hebron - <> * North Hebron – A hamlet near the northern town line on County Road 31. * Porter – A community north of East Hebron on NY-22. * Slateville – A hamlet in the northeastern part of Hebron on County Road 31, east of North Hebron. * Tiplady – A community south of East Hebron on NY-22. * West Hebron (Chamberlain Mills) – A hamlet in the southwestern corner of the town on County Road 31. The Hebron Valley Grange No. 1103 was listed on the

in 2006.

Geographical features

* Barkley's Lake – A small lake north of West Hebron. * Black Creek – A stream parallel to NY-22 * Black Creek Falls – in West Hebron on the West Branch of Black Creek, just before Patterson Hill Road * Green Pond – A small lake northeast of Slateville. * Grimes Hill – An elevation in the north part of the town. * Hebron Mountain – A small mountain overlooking West Hebron from the northeast. * Irwin Road Pond – A small lake west of East Hebron. * Pine Hill – An elevation northeast of West Hebron. * Smith Pond – A small lake south of North Hebron.

References

External links

Town of Hebron
Official County Website
Historical Images of Hebron NY and area ~ Richard Clayton Photography
{{authority control Glens Falls metropolitan area Towns in Washington County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1786 establishments in New York (state)