| Like so many other townships in
Central New York, McDonough was first inhabited by New Englanders
and a few Eastern New Yorkers that made their way west after the
Revolutionary War. Arriving in the 1790s, these brave adventurers
cleared wilderness forest to make usable farmland, damned streams to
power mills, and built homes, schools, churches and stores to create
hamlets. McDonough has a rich
history and decedents of the first settlers still occupy some of the
first homes that were built here. Elders of the community can relate
much about family lineage and events that are lost to time. The
first stores still stand at the main intersection of the hamlet.
Revolutionary and Civil War heroes are buried in the town's many
public and private cemeteries.
The mills and foundries are gone, but
the foundations and some stone walls can still be found. Hikes
through the State Forests often reveal open meadows surrounded by
stone fences and road beds that once connected bustling hamlets.
A drive or walk through the hamlet is
like stepping back a century or more to a time when horses were the
mode of transportation, farms were the economic base of the
community, and family was more important than almost anything. We
hope that the following links will provide you with a sense of the
historical legacy of McDonough.
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