4 episodes

Villages in New York State must exist within a town. Every citizen in New York State that lives in a village lives in 3 different municipalities: a village, a town and a county. Villages are also the only form of general purpose local governments that truly exist at the discretion of its residents. Villages can be created or dissolved by local initiative, a structure that enables residents of villages to respond to the need to provide specific services in areas with a high density of population. Villages are also sometimes established as a result of a difference in development philosophies of citizens and town officials.

Differences in the size of villages and in the services they perform make it difficult to describe the organization of a “typical” village. Larger villages often have multi-departmental organizations similar to cities, while small villages may employ one or two individuals. Functions performed by villages range from basic road repair and snow removal to large-scale community development programs and public utility plants. A number of villages operate their own municipal electric systems.

There are 551 villages in New York State, after the dissolution of the four Villages of East Randolph, Perrysburg, Randolph and Seneca Falls December 31, 2011.

Villages in New York Villages

    • Society & Culture

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Villages in New York State must exist within a town. Every citizen in New York State that lives in a village lives in 3 different municipalities: a village, a town and a county. Villages are also the only form of general purpose local governments that truly exist at the discretion of its residents. Villages can be created or dissolved by local initiative, a structure that enables residents of villages to respond to the need to provide specific services in areas with a high density of population. Villages are also sometimes established as a result of a difference in development philosophies of citizens and town officials.

Differences in the size of villages and in the services they perform make it difficult to describe the organization of a “typical” village. Larger villages often have multi-departmental organizations similar to cities, while small villages may employ one or two individuals. Functions performed by villages range from basic road repair and snow removal to large-scale community development programs and public utility plants. A number of villages operate their own municipal electric systems.

There are 551 villages in New York State, after the dissolution of the four Villages of East Randolph, Perrysburg, Randolph and Seneca Falls December 31, 2011.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires macOS 11.4 or higher

    Altamont

    Altamont

    Altamont is a village located in the town of Guilderland in Albany County, New York. The village is in the western part of the town. The population was 1,720 at the 2010 census. The name means "high mountain."

    In colonial times, this area was part of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, granted by the Dutch West India Company to Killian Van Rensselaer in 1630. The area was known as Hellerburgh in the early 18th century. In the early 19th century Knowersville was established in the rural part of Albany county just below the Helderberg Mountains. This settlement eventually became known as Altamont.

    Altamont was a summer vacation spot that was reached by train. The train station which once served this once busy whistle stop is now the location of the Altamont Free Library. The old hotel in the town center burned down nearly a century ago. A village fair has been held annually in the local fairgrounds since 1893. The fairground is also the site of other festivals.

    The village incorporated in 1890. Hiram Griggs (1836–1909) was the first mayor of the village of Altamont and his house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Passenger Station, Fine Arts and Flower Building Altamont Fairground, Hayes House, and Lainhart Farm Complex and Dutch Barn.

    Ocean Beach

    Ocean Beach

    Ocean Beach is a village in the southern part of the town of Islip, on Fire Island, within Suffolk County, New York, United States.

    The village is a popular tourist destination, due to its beachfront location accompanied by a commercial district featuring nightlife, hotels, bayfront restaurants and a variety of stores. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 79.

    Ocean Beach was incorporated as a village in 1921. It was the location of Fire Island's first elementary school, which opened in 1918. The community was once a favorite of celebrities including Fanny Brice, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks.

    The American actor Brett King was born there in 1920.

    Painted Post

    Painted Post

    The Senecas never had a painted post but rather the post that existed in the Painted Post area was not "painted". The plain post had been used as a type of bulletin board and when the white settlers moved into the area they painted it. To paint this post was desecration to the Seneca people. The Seneca language word for the area was TKäen DōD, meaning "Land of the post".[4]

    According to village records, Painted Post was established as a village in 1803. The Erwin brothers are considered the first wealthy European descended settlers to have settled in the Painted Post area in the late 18th century (Painted Post village is in the town of Erwin, named for the brothers and incorporated in 1796). The brothers' 4 mansions are still standing. There are maps in existence dated 1796 which include Painted Post. The village was first incorporated in 1860 and officially re-incorporated in 1893. The name is derived from an historic, although probably unpainted, wooden post seen in the area at the end of the 18th century. The origin and purpose of the post remain controversial. A glyph of the post is visible on the aforementioned 1796 map.

    The following footnote appears in French's Gazetteer of New York State[5] and gives two possible versions of the origin of the name:

    In the summer of 1779, a party of tories and Indians, under the command of a loyalist named McDonald, returned from an incursion into the Susquehanna settlements, bringing with them many of their number wounded. At the confluence of Tioga and Conhocton [sic] Rivers, Captain Montour, son of the famous Queen Catharine, a Seneca chief of great promise, died of his wounds. "His comrades buried him by the riverside, and planted above his grave a post on which were painted various symbols and rude devices. This monument was known throughout the Genesee Forests as 'The Painted Post.' It was a landmark well known to all the Six Nations, and was often visited by their braves and chieftains." This account of the origin of the Painted Post was given to Benj. Patterson, the hunter, by a man named Taggart, who was carried to Fort Niagara a prisoner by McDonald's party, end was a witness of the burial of Capt. Montour, or at least was in the encampment at the mouth of the Tioga at the time of his death. Col. Harper, of Harpersfield, the well known officer of the frontier militia of New York in the Revolution, informed Judge Knox, of Knoxville, in this co., that the Painted Post was erected over the grave of a chief who was wounded at the battle of the "Hog-Back" and brought in a canoe to the head of the Chemung, where he died. It was well understood by the early settlers that this monument was erected in memory of some distinguished warrior who had been wounded in one of the border battles of the Revolution and afterward died at this place. The post stood for many years after the settlement of the co.; and the story goes that it rotted down at the butt, and was preserved in the bar-room of a tavern till about the year 1810 and then mysteriously disappeared. It is also said to have been swept away in a freshet. — McMasters's Hist, of Steuben. Simm's Hist, Schoharie, p. 333.
    In June 1972 the remnants of Hurricane Agnes stalled over the New York–Pennsylvania border, dropping up to 20 inches (500 mm) of rain into the Chemung Valley, which was among the worst hit areas by the resultant flooding. The Chemung, Tioga, and Cohocton rivers all overflowed their banks, leaving widespread areas of Painted Post as well as Corning, Big Flats, and Elmira under water and destroying many bridges.

    Painted Post is featured in the Stephen Vincent Benet poem "American Names."

    The First Baptist Church of Painted Post, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Station, and United States Post Office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6] The Painted Post post office contains a mural, Recording the Victory, painted by muralist Amy Jones in 1939.

    Fayetteville

    Fayetteville

    Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,373. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United States. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area.

    Fayetteville is located in the town of Manlius and is an eastern suburb of the city of the Syracuse.

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