Goliath met David on the banks of the Butternut Creek
or
Lest We Forget
& For Those Who Do Not Know -
Gilbertsville, NY, at the S.W. end of the
historic Butternut Valley in Otsego County, just celebrated the 44th
anniversary of (1973) National Register
of Historic Places recognition and the 34th
anniversary of (1982) N.R.H.P. recognition of the entire village as
an Historic District. When the
recognition of the entire village as an
Historic District was awarded in May
of 1982, it was reported to have been only the second such village (and the
only one in NYS) to receive that honor.
The
National Register of Historic Places,
created by Congress in 1966, teamed up with
the NY State Dept. of Parks and Recreation
to call attention to structures and sites worthy of respect and preservation, by nominating them
for inclusion in a national data base.
In
1966, The Village of Gilbertsville, NY
[1960 pop.455]
and some of the best farm land in
its township of Butternuts had been living for over fifty years with the very
real threat of destruction from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control
project. One dam of the Upper
Susquehanna River Watershed Project was to be built on the lower Butternut
Creek at a spot known locally as “Cope’s Corners.” That dam was to flood the valley behind it,
including the village of Gilbertsville, to create a three-mile long lake. Residents had been watching in horror over
the years as communities in the nearby Catskills had become victims of similar
projects and had vowed not to let that happen here.
The
dam project, originally proposed prior to W.W.I., met with very strong local
opposition every time it was reintroduced. Delayed due to W.W.I. and the
Depression, the project became a real threat after the 1935 flood did millions
of dollars of damage to communities in the eight southern tier counties.
Funding was appropriated but the project was then delayed because of W.W.II.
The
dam threat again became very real in the early 1950’s when Congress
reauthorized funding for the project. A
tiny but powerful protest was organized locally to call attention, across the state
and at the federal level, to the negative aspects of the project. The protest
was very active and managed to grow and maintain enthusiasm through the 1950’s
, 60’s and, amazingly, into the 70’s .
During
this time, several important studies of Gilbertsville and Butternut Valley architecture had been
compiled. These studies called attention to the fact that a number of well known
architects of the late 19th and
early 20th
century had been responsible for the
design, building and renovation of many
attractive village structure. As a
result, a number of important architectural scholars became involved in
protesting the dam project which would destroy this unique community. From that
effort came the suggestion that several structures in the center of the village
be nominated for inclusion in the new Dept. of Interior National Register of
Historic Places. It was hoped that
National Register recognition would afford some protection for the village, on
the state and federal level, from the proposed dams.
The
“Committee for the Historic Preservation of Gilbertsville” was officially
formed to work with the N.Y. State Office of Parks and Recreation to prepare
nominations, documentation and photographs.
Consultants came to inspect the nominated properties and observed that
many other structures and sites in the village were equally worthy of
nomination. The suggestion was made that
the entire village be inventoried as a complete Historic District and that the
recognition of the entire village would be even more powerful protection from
the dams.
The
little committee, headed by Anne Gilbert Mangold and Margaret P. Moore, called
upon the community for help with the expanded project and were not
disappointed. This took a total of seven
years but the full committee of 19 volunteer researchers, typists, “go-fers,”
and photographers prepared a total of 194 individual structural inventory reports
plus reports for each cemetery, park, bridge and five additional structures
just outside the village incorporation.
A
16 page pamphlet describing the importance of the Historic District, its
setting and architecture, including photographs was prepared for the congressional
committee reconsidering funding of the project.
During
this time and in conjunction with the National Register nomination an important
detailed study documenting weather history of the Upper Susquehanna River
Watershed during times of flooding on the lower Susquehanna was prepared by
resident author Myrtie Light. Her source
for the documentary evidence was over 100 years of NY State and federal weather
records beginning in the mid 19 th
century when those agencies first began collecting the data. Analysis of those documents proved that no
significant storms or rains had occurred in the areas drained by the Butternut Creek and Unadilla
River during times of damaging floods on
the lower Susquehanna River.
The
combination of all these efforts was rewarded when deauthorization of funding
for the complete Upper Susquehanna River Watershed Project was proposed to
Congress in 1979. Within a year the imminent threat of construction was
removed.
The
U.S. Dept. of Interior National Register of Historic Places recognition of the
entire village of Gilbertsville as an Historic District was awarded in May of
1982.
© Leigh C Eckmair, 2003. Rev. 2020
Historian, Village of Gilbertsville &
Town of Butternuts
