Sherburne, New York
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Sherburne 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 Chenango 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 4,048 at the 2010 census. The town contains two
villages 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 village ...
, Sherburne and Earlville. The town is at the northern border of Chenango County.


History

The area that became Sherburne, part of the
Chenango River The Chenango River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissec ...
valley, was originally inhabited by the
Oneida people The Oneida people ( ; wikt:autonym, autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native Ameri ...
, until the late 1780s when the state of New York purchased the land from them. These parcels were later sold at auction in New York City. The settlement of Sherburne occurred around 1792 near the present-day Sherburne village. The town was named after the tune "Sherburne", written by Daniel Read in 1783. The early inhabitants had a habit of frequently singing the tune, which was a great favorite with them. Most of the earliest inhabitants and settlers of Sherburne were originally from the town of
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
,
Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is a County (United States), county in northwestern Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield Count ...
. Sometime around 1785 or 1786, two years after the Treaty of Paris and Treaties of Versailles were signed on September 3, 1783, ending the
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 ...
, the future proprietors and pioneers of Sherburne left Kent and emigrated to Duanesburgh,
Schenectady County, New York Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a te ...
. After a few years there they had been unable to secure title to the lands on which they settled. It was at that point that they resolved to move again as a body to the Chenango Valley, which had just begun to open lands in the Twenty Townships. In June 1791, Deacon and Judge Nathaniel Gray, Elisha Gray, Joel Hatch, Abram Raymond, Newcomb Raymond, and James Raymond visited these lands in the interest of the company as an exploring party, accompanied by Josiah Throop, chief of the corps who had surveyed the tract that and the preceding years. On their arrival they found that a family consisting of five men, one woman and some small children from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in Oneida County had squatted a few hours previously on Handsome Brook, and were occupying a bark cabin. There they found hospitable welcome through the night and in the morning were regaled by their hostess with new bread and beer, both her own making. This family remained but a short time, for they had left before the return of the exploring party. The exploratory party examined the southwest quarter of the 9th township, containing , which they and their associates eventually bought of Colonel William S. Smith, to whom the township was patented by the state of New York for $1.25 per acre. The exploratory party returned to Duanesburgh with a good report sometime prior to October 9, 1791, for on that date, James Raymond married Melissa Burritt, the second daughter and child of Rev. Blackleach Burritt, the spiritual leader of the company, and of Martha Welles. In the summer of 1792, the exploratory party returned, which was mainly composed of the original proprietors, and settled in a cabin near Handsome Brook. During the later summer and fall, the exploratory party had accomplished the work they had set out to do, and they returned to their families in Duanesburgh, except Abram Raymond and his wife, Betsey Gray Raymond, the daughter of John Gray and Elizabeth Skeel and sister of Nathaniel Gray. Within a year, the first settlers of Sherburne established themselves on their newly acquired plots. And it was not confined alone to the proprietors and their families, most of whom arrived that time, but many of their friends and neighbors from Duanesburgh joined with them. The advance company arrived on a Saturday night in March 1793. Their first organization of the town was that of the
Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
of Sherburne, founded on July 6, 1794. The town of Sherburne was created in 1795 from the town of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(now in Oneida County). The town of
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
was formed from part of Sherburne in 1808, and the size of Sherburne was increased by annexing part of the town of New Berlin in 1852. The opening of the Chenango Canal in 1837 between Utica and Binghamton, which ran right down the middle of Sherburne, greatly reduced the cost and time of receiving goods and supplies. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Union soldiers set up camp on the banks of the canal, on what is now the home of Westlake Village. The railroad, like elsewhere around New York, replaced the canal in 1867, and two trains came through town on a daily basis.


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 of Sherburne has a total area of , of which , or 0.05%, is water. The
Chenango River The Chenango River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissec ...
, a tributary of the
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 ...
, flows southwards through the town. The northern town line is the border of Madison County.
New York State Route 12 New York State Route 12 (NY 12) is a state highway extending for through central and northern New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 in New York, U.S. Route 11 (U ...
, a north-south highway, intersects New York State Route 12B north of Sherburne village and intersects New York State Route 80 within the village.


Climate


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 3,979 people, 1,619 households, and 1,065 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,770 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.74%
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 ...
, 0.23%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.03% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.05%
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 ...
, 0.25% from other races, and 0.58% 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 0.78% of the population. There were 1,619 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% 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, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% 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 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,841, and the median income for a family was $39,094. Males had a median income of $30,477 versus $22,458 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 $17,281. About 13.3% of families and 16.4% 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 23.4% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.


Communities and locations in the town

* Earlville – A village, part of which is within the northern edge of the town on Route 12B. *Harrisville – 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 ...
east of Sherburne village on NY Route 80. * Rexford Falls – A waterfall located east of the Village of Sherburne. * Sherburne – A village located at the intersection of NY Route 12 and NY-80. *Sherburne Four Corners – A hamlet southwest of Sherburne village on County Road 20, located in the southwestern corner of the town so that it is partly within three other towns of Chenango County.


Notable people

* Alida Avery (1833–1908) American physician and Vassar College faculty member, noted suffragette, first woman to practice medicine in Colorado * George Ripley Bliss (1816–1893), clergyman and educator who served as president of
Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...
* Blackleach Burritt (1744–1794), a noted
Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
clergyman in the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. He preached the first sermon in Sherburne in 1792. * Randy Glasbergen (1957–2015), cartoonist * John Franklin Gray (1804–1881), first practitioner of
homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...
in the United States * Levi E. Knapp (1826–1919), 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 ...
* Marcius D. Raymond (1833–1911), publisher, writer and historian; author of ''Souvenir of the Sherburne Centennial Celebration''


Footnotes


References


Further reading

*Forster, Ken, "Letter from 'america'", in ''Stamp Magazine'', May 1999, pp 94–95. Published in Croydon, England. Focuses on and gives complete text of letter written in August 1835 by John Russell, resident of Sherburne, to Mr. Thomas Burgess in
Burwash Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some inland from the port of Hastings, it is located south-west of Hurst Gre ...
,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, England. The writer refers to his "childrin" as "elicebeth", "rheubin" and "tilden" (original spelling retained).


External links


Town of Sherburne official website

Sherburne community website

Information about Sherburne


(1893). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherburne (Town), New York Towns in Chenango County, New York Towns in New York (state)