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HomeMy WebLinkAboutroads updateRoad Names 1 Road Names 1 In 1825 the first Roads were surveyed and numbered by the Highway Commissioners of the Town. The “Road Journals” 1825 – 1866 are located in the Town Clerks Office, 168 Enfield Main Road. Documents of Enfield History including the road journals can be found on: www.townofenfield.org - Resources – Archived Documents of the Town of Enfield - Archived Documents. In October 1960 R.H. Denman2, Rural Consultant, Ithaca, NY, contracted with the Town of Enfield to measure and survey the roads of the Town of Enfield and assign a number to each house or other location such as business place or trailer. The system used was called “The Century System”. A street/road list would and was provided showing the name at each location and number assigned. The cost was 50 cents per house or location. Aiken Road – Frank B. Aiken Justice of the Peace in Town of Enfield in 1886-1894, Town Supervisor 1896 and 1897. Applegate Road - (see also Brewer Hill Road) Applegate’s Corners is situated on the old Susquehanna-Bath turnpike, now State Route 79, also known as the Mecklenburg Road because it leads to Mecklenburg in the Town of Hector. Until 1853 Hector was part of Tompkins County; afterwards it became part of Schuyler County. The name Mecklenburg, - is probably from Mecklenburg in North Carolina. Between 1803 and 1812, a number of southern families settled in the general area and most likely brought the name north with them. John Applegate arrived in 1805. He opened a tavern in 1807 and the crossroads took his name. Applegate Post Office was established in 1822 and discontinued in 1873. In 1892 it was opened again but lasted only until 1902. Various stores were opened and closed in the early years.3 In recent years a new establishment named Applegate Tavern was opened and closed there. Currently in 2017 residential homes and two apartment complexes are located there. Ben Road. See Shudaben Road. Black Oak Road - Black Oak Corners is located at the intersection of Harvey Hill and Black Oak Roads. Black Oak Corners was so named because of large black oak trees that once grew there. A particularly large specimen stood at the intersection of the roads but the town cut it down in 1927 when automobile traffic required better roads. Bostwick Road – (see also Brewer Hill Road) Bostwick Corners was named In 1820 for Andrew Bostwick who established a home on what became Bostwick Road and State Route 327. In 1832 there was also a Presbyterian church. The Harvey Hill School, District #11, operated from 1853 (shown on the 1853 Enfield Town Map) until - July 1956, ending with the 1 Some of the information on roads was used in Town of Enfield. Sue Thompson, Enfield Town Historian. Submitted for use in project “Names on the Land – Tompkins County” a website exploring the Towns of Tompkins County. 2 Letter to Enfield Town Board. October 4, 1960. Contract signed and accepted by Enfield Town Board. Enfield Town Clerks Office, Transportation. 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. 3 1894. Landmarks of Tompkins County. Selkreg. Road Names 2 redistricting of the Ithaca School District. Note: Andrew Bostwick and son Orson of Port Byron both settled in Enfield 1820. Privately owned put publicly used roads located off Bostwick Road: Bostwick Run – August 8, 2007 - Richard and Carrie Burke, owners of Elisha Drive and property that borders Shudaben Road are requesting for 911 purposes that Elisha Drive be renamed Bostwick Run. College View North – Lancashire Drive 1992 becomes an office town road. July 1, 1992 town designated to continue to maintain Lancashire Drive Jacobs Drive Goodwin Drive Jordan Ave named and approved by Town Board on September 12, 2007. An additional fifteen lots, double wide homes added. Brewer Hill Road - Memories of before I (Eva Boberg Krayniak) was born, the main highway from Ithaca (the Enfield Falls Road) curved around our property and went straight up the south hill to join with the since abandoned Brewer Hill Road (reopened as the last mile of Bostwick Road) joining with the Bostwick Road, Applegate Road and Harvey Hill Road. It did not continue toward Enfield Center as it does now. Our mail box stood near the bridge at the side of a road washed out by the flood, which intercepted an extension of the Hines Road coming down the hill from the bottom of our driveway to the bridge. That section of road was built at the same time as the stretch of highway was completed to continue the Enfield Falls Road to the Trumbulls Corners Road.4 Brewer Hill Road is shown on 1920 "Clock System" Rural Index Ithaca & Enfield Towns & map. Road was gone on the 1937 “Clock System” map. The name Brewer Hill was in reference to the Col. Henry, William, and Edgar Brewer who lived on the corner of Applegate and Bostwick road.5 Buck Hill Road - Buck Hill Road was changed from County Line Road to Buck Hill for Fire Safety/house numbering on November 7, 1990. This road was referred to Townline road by the Town of Hector also. Official notification was received from the Town of Hector on March 6, 1991 that they would also refer to the road as Buckhill Road instead of Townline Road. October 3, 1990, a petition was submitted to the town regarding preference to changing the name. Selections for names were: Dusty, Kirby, Windy Hollow, Townline, Critter, Deer Path, and Woodchuck road. Buck Hill is a reference to a wooded area near Weatherby Road.6 “When deer were plentiful the biggest buck ever shot in the area was in that ection, ence the name “Buck Hill”.7 County Line Road was named in 1960.8 4 1935 Flood – Unique Point of View at Upper Enfield. Eva Boberg Krayniak (12/11/1919 – 7/2/1996). The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls. Edited by Members of the Enfield Historical Society and Sue Thompson, Enfield Town Historian. 2002. 5 1894. Selkreg. 6 In the 1950's Francis Strong and Gerald Morley had a saw mill near the foot of Buck Hill on the Weatherby Road farm operated by John C. Wellman. Agriculture Chapter, The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls. Edited by Members of the Enfield Historical Society and Sue Thompson, Enfield Town Historian. 2002. 7 Crossroads Comment. Lois O’Connor. Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, NY. 1951 Road Names 3 Buck Hill Lodge Road – See Griffin Road Butternut Creek Road – See Enfield Falls. Catskill Turnpike – See Mecklenburg Road9 - From Lisle to its western end, NY 79 almost exactly follows the Catskill Turnpike, originally maintained by the Susquehanna and Bath Turnpike Company, which also maintained the Catskill Turnpike east to Bainbridge along NY 206, and east along local roads and NY 54 to Bath. NY 79 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. This Route through Enfield is referred to as Mecklenburg Road. Cayutaville Road – Part of vicinity of Cayuta and Cayutaville, New York in Schuyler County. Cochran Road10 – See Marshall Road. From Hayts To Town Line Road. Noted on R.H. Denman town survey list 1960 as 600 Hayts Road south to dead end, 603 Cochran Road Herbert W. Marshall Jr. This is currently Marshall Road. County Line Road – see Buck Hill Road Colegrove Road – Daniel Colegrove Enfield Town Supervisor in 1864. Connecticut Hill Road – located in the part of Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area. Nobles Street – This is a reference to the current (2027) Connecticut Hill Road. Nobles was a reference to Timothy and Squire Noble who came from Pennsylvania in 1809 to settle in the area.11 Enfield Center Road - Enfield Center is located at the geographic center of the Town of Enfield and is commonly referred to as The Center. The first permanent settler in Enfield Center was Judah Baker who arrived in 1804. A post office established in The Center in 1846, discontinued in 1918. The name was spelled Centre until 1846 when the U.S. postal authorities regularized the spelling. Enfield Falls Road - (see also Brewer Hill Road) Road designation is a part of State Route 327 running from Trumbulls Corners Road and State Route 327 south to State Route 13. See Enfield Main Road. Enfield Falls identifies a small community, located near the falls on Enfield Creek. Settlement began in 1817 when Isaac Rumsey built a gristmill tapping the ample waterpower and other settlers built nearby. A post office operated at Enfield Falls from 1882 until 1902. Enfield Falls faded as a population center and the waterfall and gorge became part of the Robert H. Treman Park, created when Robert and Laura Treman gave Enfield Glen to the State of New York. The area was designated a state park in 1920. The mill in the park was built in 1839 on the site of the original mill. It has been restored and is open to the public. Roads within the Enfield Falls/ RHT Park were Old Park Road, Woodward Road, 8 Town Board of Enfield Minutes October 1990. Reference by M.C. Hubbell stating that County Line Road was called that in 1960. 9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_79 10 Project Statement Town Highway Improvement Program April 17, 1961. Enfield Town Clerks Office, Transportation. 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. 11 1894. Selkreg. Road Names 4 Thomas Road, Cross Road, Butternut Creek Road. Wesley Rolfe, Superintendent of Highways, presented the town board with partials abandonment of these roads on June 25, 1972. A resolution passed by the town board on July 5, 1972 gave attention to these roads. It was not until July 11, 1984 the Enfield Town Board gave consent to abandonment of portions of these listed roads. These sections were abandoned to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.12 Old Park Road was noted as also known as the southerly extension of Van Dorn Road. A portion of Old Park Road was also known at that time as Upper Park Entrance Road. Cross Road was also known as Thomas Road. Enfield Main Road – (see also Brewer Hill Road) also State Route 327. Runs North to South through Enfield Center. The portion of NY 32713 north of the hamlet of Enfield was originally improved to state highway standards as part of a contract awarded by the state of New York on April 27, 1912. It was added to the state highway system on August 10, 1915, as part of unsigned State Highway 1001. The remainder of modern NY 327 was rebuilt under a project let by the state on October 19, 1914, and accepted into the state highway system on October 19, 1918, as SH 1189. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, hundreds of state-maintained highways were assigned posted route numbers for the first time. SH 1189 and the piece of SH 1001 between Enfield and NY 79 became NY 327, and the route's alignment has not been substantially altered since. Fish Road. See Ice House Road. Fish Family (John, John W. Robert, Samuel, William )1825 Town of Enfield, New York State Census. Georgia Road – See West Enfield. Charles Elbridge Georgia was the last “Georgia” located on this road in 1930. Charles died on September 26, 1930 and left the property to his family, Edmund M. Georgia, Lottie Georgia Bement and Etta Georgia Kaelin. They in turn sold the property in 1931.14 Before the road was officially referred to as Georgia Road it was labeled as District No. 12, No. 1 Road 9.15 Gray Road was referred to the Harvey Gray Road in 1939.16 Gray Family (Cyrus and Nathaniel) 1825 Census. Griffin Road – Griffin Family (William and William H.) 1825 Census. Buck Hill Lodge Road name changed to Griffin Road in 1979.17 Buck Hill Lodge was the original name of Newhart’s 12 Official Order New York State Department of Transporation. Number H2054 October 1, 1985. Certificate of Abandonment of Town Highways Town of Enfield. July 11, 1984. Transportation. Town Clerks Office, 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca NY 14850. 13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_327 14 Information from Find-A-Grave, various deeds Tompkins County Clerk’s Office, Ithaca, NY and Federal and New York State Census information, Ancestry.com. 15 Road Journal 1886. Town of Enfield, New York. Enfield Town Clerk’s Office, 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. 16 Petition to Commissioner and Town Board of Town of Enfield to reconstruct graveled road known as Harvey Gray Road. April 3, 1939. Enfield Town Clerks Office, Transportation. 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. 17 Enfield Town Board Minutes July 11, 1979. Road Names 5 Lodge named in 1963 by Carl and Fran Newhart.18 Halseyville Road – South of Trumansburg New York on Taughannock Creek, Halseyville was the site of many active mills. It is marked by along, straight road from Enfield (following the grid of the Military Tract, and by a state historical sign noting settler Nicoll Halsey and his substantial white, c. 1829. Halsey arrived in 1793 and by 1808 had established his own family in Ulysses. Harvey Hill Road – Harvey Hill – Harvey Family (Joseph, Reuben, Robert, Silas) 1825 Census. Samuel Harvey moved from Monmuth Co., N.J. to Scipio, and to this section in 1808. Harvey Hill Road was original called Stevenson Hill Road. It was listed as Stevenson Hill Road in the October 1960 Enfield Town Board Minutes. On October 9, 1974 the Town Board made a list of the roads in Enfield. Stevenson Hill was not on the list but Harvey Hill Road was. Hayts Road - Charles Hayt –Deacon. Hayts Corners, Corner of Hayts and Trumansburg Road. Hayts Chapel, home to a small congregation professing Christians of different Evangelical denominations. In May 1847 started their own worship service and Sabbath school in the Red School House on West Hill. Deacon Charles Hayt donated land, a corner of his farm, for its own chapel and cemetery in 1850. Early maps show Charles Hayt had a farm spread along Hayts Road in the town of Ithaca, which backed onto the crest of the West Hill behind what later became the city. Hines Road – James A. Hines Town Supervisor 1914-1917.19 Hobby Road. See Woodward Road. Hubbell Drive – See Porter Hill Road Extension. July 11, 1979 Enfield Town Board changed Porter Hill Road. Ext, name to Hubbell Drive. The name was derived from the majority of residents living there were Hubbell families. Honeypot is considered a fanciful name. It refers to a small community near the entrance to the Robert H. Treman State Park, also called Enfield Park. The area was known for a time, as Meadowbrook because of the meadows nearby, which might have been a source of pollen for honeybees. Meadowbrook appears on the 1920 Tompkins County map. There seems to be no documentation for the term Honeypot, nor, as of -2017, is it still used. See also Honeypot in the Town of Caroline. Ice House Road – See Fish Road. Ice House Road was cut through in 1870; it became Fish Road in 1979 by which time icehouses were relics of the past. That portion of the first road described as running west of Nicholas Kirby's (83 Enfield Main Road) residence and thence west up the hill can be described today as extending west of 83 18 Information received from Gabe Newhart, owner of Newhart’s Lodge. February 29, 2017. 19 Reference to Jim Hines Road. Letter regarding state aid for highway improvements to Town Clerk, Town of Enfield. April 25, 1961. State of NewYork Department of Public Works, Albany, Enfield Town Clerks Office, Transportation. 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. Road Names 6 Enfield Main Road, across State Route 327 (Enfield Main Road), through the home located at 82 Enfield Main Road and straight up the hill. This was a difficult grade for horses pulling wagons, surreys and sleighs. Other east and west roads such as the road running west from Bostwick's Corners (now Harvey Hill Road) were even steeper. The road running due west of Applegate's Comers (now State Route 79) also had some steep grades and some serious mud holes. About 1870, the Enfield Town Board contracted with Wheeler Smith and Sam Curry, Town of Enfield residents, to build a "new road." The "new road" to extend from a point on the road running north and south through Enfield Center and just south of the Christian Church and Cemetery, and thence westward through woods and along a creek until it intersected the existing stage coach road. The new road was approximately one -half mile long, but the "New Road" name seems to have been applied to the entire section of road running west from the Enfield Center Main Road. Nevertheless the " New Road" eliminated a steep grade, This change produced a pleasant and scenic ride, whether by horse and buggy or by automobile through the woods. Iradell Road – The Iradell Famly was listed on the 1853 map of the Town of Enfield. Road name changed to East and West Iradell Road, division Halseyville Road.20 Lancashire Drive becomes an official town road. July 1, 1992 town designated to continue to maintain Lancashire Drive. Leonard Road - Leonard Family (Ebenezer W., Christina, Richard J. Harriet, Mary S.)1850 Town of Enfield New York State Census Marshall Road - See Cochran Road. Mecklenburg Road – See Ice House Road – Catskill Turnpike Sandy Creek Mobile Park The “drives” in the Park were named because of the request from the “911” emergency rescue system in Tompkins County Lilly Drive Heron Drive Sandpiper Drive Mallard Drive Schaber Drive Rainbow Drive New Road – See Icehouse Road. Kennedy’s Corners is the name to the intersection of Sheffield Road and Route 79. A Methodist Episcopal church organized there in 1844. The church disbanded in 1983 and the building is currently a private home. Kennedy's Corners is assumed to be referring to Robert Kennedy who owned a farm in that vicinity. He was mentioned in the 1864 Diary of Asahel Lovell Harvey owned by Karen Dickson. Asahel lived on Mecklenburg Road ; his farm now an antique store "City Lights'. Asahel went to Robert Kennedy’s on March 14, 1864, to see 20 Enfield Town Board Meeting October 2, 1974 – resolved to change some of the road names, Road Names 7 cows but could not buy them. On September 10, 1864, he wrote in his diary that he was going to a pole raising up to the corners at Kennedy's. Millers Corners was located at the intersection of State Route 79 and Enfield Main and Halseyville Road. It is a present-day gathering place because of the -Dandy Mart and Gas Station and the nearby Sandy Creek –Mobile Home Park nearby. The Enfield Elementary School is also located near this location. It is called The Corners, The Store, or sometimes Sandy Creek. Podunk Road - In Ulysses the name Podunk has long been applied to a region surrounding the junction of Bolter Creek with Taughannock Creek. Porter Hill Road – See Hubbell Drive. T.J. Porter came to Enfield in 1814 from New Hartford. In 1960 the town board referred to this road as Fred Bock or Porter Hill or Rockwell Road.21 Porter Hill Road Extension – See Hubbell Drive. Rockwell Road represented by Kyram, Reuben, and William Rockwell. Rothermich Road - The Rothermich family says the name should have been Rumsey Road because of the Rumsey families living on the road. The Rothermich farm begin in Enfield in 1874, when Valentin and Katherine Elizabeth Rothermich purchased land on Rothermich Road located approximately one square mile south of Route 79.22 Rumsey Hill Road – also known as Burr Rumsey Road. James Rumsey came from Orange County to Scipio and during the fall of 1905 came out to this place (Enfield) with his two sons, John and James. In the spring of 1806 he returned to this location with family. James was a Revolutionary War solider and carpenter, who had purchased about 100 acres of land one-half mile east of the Nobles property Military Lot No. 73. Sage Road – David Sage, 1925 Town of Enfield New York State Census. Sheffield Road - Sheffield Road, town line road separating Town of Ithaca and the Town of Enfield.23 From the early 1800's till 1942 the same property was occupied by the Sheffield family. 1st, Olive Sheffield, 2nd her son Jonathan, one of about 10 who stayed there, the rest moving on to farther west in New York State, some in Geneseo area.. After Jonathan came John, one of 4 boys and maybe two girls. John and wife Charlotte Kisor had 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls. The 7 boys are pictured in one of the three picture books published pertaining to Tompkins Co. 5 boys and 2 of the girls stayed in our area. Most are buried in Hayts Cemetery. In Johns day, around 1860 a person residing on a road was responsible maintaining the road or a portion of it. John is listed on records in Enfield Highway Dept as being one such person. 21 Enfield Town Board Minutes. October 1960. Motion by Fred Bock, sec. by Patterson to approved the following roads under 10 year plan. 22 Interview with Calvin Rothermich (1927-2016) 23 Information from Richard Sheffield. 2013. Road Names 8 Shudaben Road is located off of Enfield Center Road. It was first called Ben Road after a child born to the Zipfel family and was a private road, not yet accepted by the Enfield Town Board. On November 2, 1994, residents requested that the Enfield Town Board to have the road come under the town jurisdiction. At this time, the name was changed to Shudaben Road. It is said that this reflected the sentiment that it "should have been a road before." Stevenson Hill Road – See Harvey Hill Road Stone House Road. See Woodard Road. Teeter Road - Jacob Teeter was recorded in the 1825 census.27 Military Lots 78 and 79 are property of the Teeter Family (Gray and Enfield Main Roads) back to 1847. There were two difference references to the name “Lute” Teeter on the October 1960 map drawn up by R.H. Denman who conducted a house numbering program at the time in the Town of Enfield. It was also referenced to “Luke” Teeter Road in 1965.24 Thomas Road – See Enfield Falls Trumbulls Corners Road – The hamlet of Trumbulls Croner (located between Newfield and Enfield, named after Jacob A. and James Trumbull (Trumble) who came to the area in 1813. Tucker Road – Tucker family (Ezra and Caroline) who was listed in the 1850 New York State Census. Ezra and George were listed as Black Smith’s at Enfield Center in the 1868 Business Directory. VanDorn Road – Van Dorn Corners25 In 1820 in the first year of Enfield’s establishment, 27 year old Peter Van Dorn built his tavern on Mecklenburg Road (Route 79) on what was then known as the Catskill Turnpike. The crossroad which runs north and south was subsequently named Van Dorn Corners Road. A New York State Historic Marker stands on the site. VanNostrand Road – Border of Enfield and Newfield Towns. Waterburg Road - Waterburg is a small hamlet found along Waterburg Road where it crosses Taughannock Creek in the western part of the Ulysses township. Half way between Trumansburg and Mecklenburg in the Town of Hector, it was first named Middleburg. This was a thriving settlement with water-powered mills, a Methodist Church, Grange Hall, schoolhouse, general store, and blacksmith. A post office was established in Waterburg on August 12, 1833, and discontinued in December 1902. 26 Weatherby Road - The Weatherby family located in Enfield represented by a Samuel Weatherby 1825 Census. 24 Project Statement Town Highway Improvement Program April 17, 1961. Enfield Town Clerks Office, Transportation. 168 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. 25 A Tavern at the Corners :The VanDorns of Enfield New York. Deborah Martin-Plug. 2017. Names on the Land – Tompkins County” a website exploring the Towns of Tompkins County. 26 Town of Ulysses. Esther Northrup and Nancy Dean,Town of Ulysses Historians. Place Names of Tompkins County. 2004. Road Names 9 West Enfield took its name from a short-lived post office located at the junction of what was then called Georgia and New roads. The post office opened in 1832 and closed by 1841. New Road can be found on the maps today. New Road was not exactly a new road but rather an improvement of the turnpike and so called new because of its better condition. Woodward Road was named for the Woodward family that built the 1821 stone house in Treman Park. Woodward Road leads to Stone House Road. The name Woodward has changed through time to be sometimes spelled Woodard. Woodard is used for the road and name of District #7 School. This road was also referred to as Hobby Road accourding to deed in 1944. Frederick Hobby bought the property in 1918 and lived there until his death in 1938.