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Geography
- Northern Border = Town of Hartsville and Town of Canisteo
- Southern Border = Town of West Union and the Town of Troupsburg
- Eastern Border = Town of Jasper
- Western Border = Town of Andover in Allegany County
Historical Maps
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Hamlets
- The hamlet and population center of the Town of Greenwood lies primarily between two bridges over Bennetts Creek with State Route 248 (Main Street) bridging over the creek once again in between them. Downtown Greenwood lies at the foot of Cole Hollow. The hamlet extends northward towards State Route 417 and it extends southward past the foot of Christian Hollow where County Route 60 intersects with State Route 248. At the foot of Dryden Hill between Cole and Christian Hollows, the neighborhood of Church Hill overlooks Downtown from the West.
- Located along Bennetts Creek between the hamlets of Greenwood and Rexville, on Rough and Ready Road, which loops off of State Route 248.
- Located along State Route 417 near the crest of Greenwood Hill between the hamlets of Greenwood and Andover.
Newspaper Archives
Search for specific individuals by populating the "exact wording or phrase" box, as additions to the search form:
History
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
A pioneer road was cut through the town in the 18th century, but no settlers remained in the town. The first permanent settlers arrived around 1820. Salt production was an early industry. The main industry today is deer hunting, for which the town claims to be the top deer-take town in New York State.
Greenwood was formed in 1827 from the towns of Canisteo and Troupsburg. Part of Greenwood was used to form the Town of West Union in 1845, but territory was regained from the Town of Jasper in 1848.
From November 16, 1896 through June 1936 Greenwood was served by the New York & Pennsylvania Railway (and predecessors) as part of its Canisteo NY to Ceres NY (via Greenwood NY, Genesee PA, Oswayo and Shinglehouse PA) main line. Following severe floods in July 1935 the railroad was partially out of service and its abandonment in June 1936 was readily approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission which from an early date approved railroad abandonment to promote highway truck use. The loss of railroad service did much to promote the economic withering of the Greenwood area.
By the early 20th century, agriculture had established itself as the primary economic activity in the town. Farming has since declined significantly, as in many parts of rural America, and forest cover has largely returned to many areas.
Also contributing to Greenwood's decline was the decision, when the Southern Tier Expressway (New York Route 17, now Interstate 86) was being planned in the 1960s, to route the road through the Hornell-Arkport area, as it was considered to have more potential for development than Jasper-Greenwood. The former road is now New York Route 417.
In 1967 Harold Mason, a librarian and antiquarian bookseller, founded (in Greenwood) the Greenwood Press, specializing in the reprinting of out-of-print books. The company was sold in 1969, and Mason left it in 1973. It is now the Greenwood Publishing Group, part of ABC-CLIO/Greenwood. It has had no connection with the town of Greenwood since the 1970s.
In 2004, Greenwood's schools merged with the larger, adjacent Canisteo school system.
- General Description
- Early Settlement
- Organization
Historical Records
Historical Events
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Historical Photographs
Greenwood New York Historical Society on Facebook
Greenwood Photos @ Painted Hills
Photographs available via the link above include the following:
- Looking north from the hamlet of Greenwood over Bennetts Creek
- Greenwood Union School
- Methodist Episcopal Church on the west side of North Main Street
- Other photos which may (or may not!) pertain to Greenwood
Early Postcards, including Greenwood
Vital Records
Early Settlers (year of arrival)
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- Bachelor/Batchelor/Batchhelder:
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- Balsby: John Balsby (1828)
- Bess:
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- Blair: William M. Blair
- Brown:
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- Ezekiel Burger
- Hiram Burger
- Burrows: William Burrows (1830)
- Carr: "Hoose" Carr
- Cook: Anson Cook
- Crampton: William Crampton
- Davenport: Joseph Davenport
- Crossing: Joseph Crossing (1828)
- Davis: Levi and Mary (Spurr) Davis (1824)
- Davis: Levi and Mary (Spurr) Davis (1824)
- Dutcher: John J. Dutcher (1826)
- Edwards: Benjamin Edwards (1830)
- Foote: David Foote
- Ferguson: William Ferguson
- Goldsmith: Joshua Goldsmith
- Holloway: Timothy Holloway
- Holt: John J. Holt
- Ingley: Uriah Ingley
- Johnson: Thomas Johnson
- Kellogg: Silas Kellogg
- Krusen:
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- Aden Lewis
- Amos Lewis
- Linden Lewis
- Lovejoy: Ezra Lovejoy
- Mallory: Samuel Mallory (1828)
- Manning: Deacon Jacob Manning (1823)
- Matteson: John Matteson
- Mathews: Mr. Mathews
- Mead:
- Alvin Mead
- Enos Mead (1827)
- Daniel McCormick (1832)
- James McCormick (1834)
- Mills: Ira Mills
- Miner: Allen and Dorothy (Dyer) Miner (1827)
- Murray: David Murray
- Norton: Sebe Norton
- Olmstead: Abram V. Olmstead
- Ordway: Enoch Ordway
- Pease: Randall Pease (1827)
- Pilgrim: Francis Pilgrim
- Potter: John Potter
- Powell: Stephen Powell
- Putnam: Hiram Putnam
- Richards:
- Alvah Richards (1834)
- Nathaniel Richards (1828)
- Robert Richards
- Dennis Sanford (1824)
- Elisha Sanford
- Smith: Enos Smith (1828)
- Stephens:
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Census Records
For more information on federal and state census records for New York, including free access to some online records, please visit the following:
Note that state census records for Steuben County are also available for the following years and may reveal information not found elsewhere:
- 1835: Greenwood
- 1855: Includes NYS county of birth (if applicable) and length of residence in town.
- 1865: Includes NYS county of birth (if applicable); number of times married; number of children born to mother.
- 1875: Includes NYS county of birth (if applicable).
- 1892
- 1905
- 1915
- 1925
Population by Census
- 1850 Federal Census: 1,186.
- 1860 Federal Census: 1,308.
- 1870 Federal Census: 1,394.
- 1875 New York State Census: 1,642.
- 1880 Federal Census: 1,386.
- 1900 Federal Census: 1,131.
- 1910 Federal Census: 1,112.
- 1920 Federal Census: 941.
- 1930 Federal Census: 968.
- 1940 Federal Census: 995.
Schools
- 1865: Opened.
- 1936: Closed when Greenwood Central School District created.
- Converted for use by Town Highway Department.
- Located approximately where the Town Highway Department's main garage is now situated
- 1971: Accidentally burned.
- One-Room District Schools
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- Now part of Bennetts Creek Bible Church
- Part of a private residence sequentially owned by the Hulse family and Evelyn (Lounsberry) Cornell (and perhaps others).
- 2021: Purchased and renovated by Shawn and Lisa (Hulse) Mills.
- Foundation can be found in the woods near the foot of Wheeler Hill Road
- Greenwood Central School (GCS)
This Art Deco style structure sits atop the "Triple Terraces" from which the name of the school's yearbook was derived.
- 13 December 1935: "At a special election held in the Masonic Hall, Wednesday, it was voted to issue bonds not to exceed $75,000 for the construction of the Greenwood Central School. It was also voted to purchase nine acres of land for a site for the new school. A sum not to exceed $3,000 was voted for this purpose. The election was well attended. One hundred and seventy-two votes were cast in favor of of the bond issue and one hundred against it." Source: Andover News.
- May 1937: "The new building was completed enough by April or May so Miss Slaght and her classes moved into the room with the fireplace in it. We were the only occupants other than the workmen." Source: Autobiography of Virgil Elizabeth (Mahoney) (Slaght) Streeter (1912-1998).
- June 2004: Final graduation ceremony for GCS, with Andrea O'Brien as Valedictorian.
- September 2004: GCS became the middle school for the new Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District.
- 2012: The Canisteo-Greenwood Central School Board of Education voted to close the Canisteo-Greenwood Middle School; the change became effective for the 2012-2013 academic year. The school district retained ownership of the building and began using it for storage. Sports organizations, including the Greenwood Little League program and the Canisteo Wrestling Club were sometimes permitted to use it for practice.
- 7 July 2012: A "Farewell to Greenwood Central School" celebration was held on the athletic fields.
- Summer 2014: GCS was utilized for Canisteo-Greenwood Central School summer programs during renovations to buildings in Canisteo.
- State Troopers and others used GCS for public safety training.
- 14 August 2021: Numerous GCS alumni toured the building as one of the events for the first GCS alumni reunion held in many years. While conducting a tour, a Former Superintendent spoke of the desire to find "a higher purpose" for the building.
- 18 August 2021: Historic flooding filled the Jasper-Troupsburg High School, in Jasper, with four feet of water and mud.
- 20 August 2021: Leaders from the Canisteo-Greenwood and Jasper-Troupsburg school districts agreed that the former GCS building would be used as the Jasper-Troupsburg High School for the 2021-2022 academic year.
- 22 August 2021: Numerous residents from Canisteo, Greenwood, Jasper, Troupsburg, West Union and other towns gathered to prepare the building.
Facebook Page for Alumni of Greenwood Central School: "Greenwood Alumni"
Churches
Past
- This church stood near the foot of Christian Hollow Road on Main Street in the hamlet of Greenwood; the structure is now occupied by an American Legion Post.
- The first church for St. Mary's Roman Catholic congregation stood at the intersection of Flynn and Cemetery Roads in the Town of Greenwood. Only the Old Catholic Cemetery remains there today. Subsequent churches for St. Mary's congregation were built in the hamlet of Rexville, after it became the population center for the Town of West Union. The current church for St. Mary's congregation is part of a clustered parish, Our Lady of the Valley, which also includes the former parishes of Canisteo and Hornell. The following records are available for the congregation of St. Mary's: Baptisms 1848-1910; Confirmations; Marriages 1848-1910; and Deaths 1834-1910 (Family Search DGS 7857669).
- This church was the source of the name, "Church Hill," for the hillside neighborhood overlooking the hamlet of Greenwood. After the church was abandoned, it was acquired by William Greenwood and Maud (Williamson) Kellogg and converted into a private residence about 1911.
Present
- Bennetts Creek Bible Church
- Partially constructed from a former one-room schoolhouse.
- Located in the hamlet of Greenwood on North Main Street.
- Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
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Cemeteries
Photographs and locations are included in the following external links:
- No one is buried in this "cemetery"; these original grave markers were removed from the Greenwood Cemetery when the Kellogg family replaced them with "upgrades."
Civic Organizations
Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company
- 23 October 1944--Organized by the following Charter Members:
- Jerry Burd
- Victor Chaffee
- Arthur Day (Treasurer)
- Ory Freeland
- Ransom Guild (Vice President)
- Elihu Hale
- Robert Henry (elected Second Assistant 10 November 1944)
- Merrill Holt
- William Knepshield (President)
- Orville Matthews
- Lewis Murdock
- Harry Ray
- Norman Robideaux (elected Fire Chief 10 November 1944)
- Marion Streeter (Secretary) [Mr. Francis Marion Streeter]
- 24 October 1944--Members Added
- Mahlon Kernan (elected First Assistant 10 November 1944)
- Stanley Murray
- 14 February 1945--Formally Organized
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- Benjamin Burger
- William Kellogg
- John Rogers
- August 1945--"The firemen accepted the Mason's offer of a 99 year lease where the fire hall now stands. The foundation for the hall was completed that fall with Ralph Wilcox hired as head carpenter and firemen donating the rest of the labor. The building continued through the spring of 1946."
- 1967--"Mrs. Jeanette Cornell [sic, Janette (Streeter) Cornell, sister of F. Marion Streeter] gave the firemen a lot on the west side of the fire hall and an addition was constructed to house the ambulance."
- August 1972--Hosted Steuben County Firemen's Convention
- As documented in "Fire Convention Host Has a Rich History" ([Evening Tribune [Hornell, NY]], August 1972)
- 1945--1917 La France Pumper from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Businesses
Past
- Chaffee's Hardware, established by Lloyd and Irene (Wallace) Chaffee
- Coston's Store
For More Information
Questions & Answers
Post your question to the Greenwood New York Historical Society Facebook Page and perhaps someone will be able to answer it.
Additional External Links
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