 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.History is an integral
part of community in McDonough 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, forges and tannery 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 tour through the town 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 the focal point of social activity. We
hope that the following links provide you with a sense of the
historical pride and richness of McDonough.
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