Bainbridge Central High School - Echo Yearbook (Bainbridge, NY)

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THAT'S MY HOMETOWN Look there now- See that town? There where the houses cluster, Houses of white, of grey, of brown. Where the steeples rise ever upward, But the ancient trees reach higher. Look closely now That's my hometown! Look there now- See that park? There right in the center of town. The one with the fountain and old, old trees, The bandstand small and round. Where the school band played on summer eves, Where lovers strolled in years gone by. It's placed before the churches, Before the Houses of God. And it blossoms and grows, Matures and dies, Year upon year upon year. This town has brought forth many famous sons, Senators and congressmen, writers and scientists. And someday they must all return If only to weep in remembering youth. But there, there walk the unknown, The hopes of the future rest in them. The old folks, the young ones-different Yet all have in common the bond of this town. The old folks treasure the memory Of an old wooden school, their Alma Mater. Now time has wrought a fine new building With different hearts, but the same old strain- She has had a glorious history, But her glories have scarce begun! Ah yes, this spirit shall be here longer still Than any of us young today. Look there now- See those streets? How peaceful and secure! West Main Street was once a cowpath. Terrace Hill Road is really quite new. Look at the names on those street signs, Juliand, Kirby, Bixby, Evans, Named for their fathers all. See that hitching post standing yet There beside the carriage steps. What dainty feet once trod them What noble sirs reined in? Look there now- See that town? There beside the winding river, Nestled amongst the rolling hills There beneath the bluest sky, There where the sun shines brightest. Look closely now That's my hometown! Anneliese Schneider 7 2

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HISTORY OF BAINBRIDGE The hlstory of Ba1nbr1dge IS truly llttle more than the short and srmple annals of how a handful of courageous men and women seek mg for homes they could call the1r own on the old New York frontier changed for us thrs valley and these hlllsrdes covered wrth prlmeval forests mhabxted by anlmals wxld and v1c1ous and an aborlgmal humamty crafty and cruel mto a pleasant and fertile farm land teammg wlth act1v1ty and rndustry and the abldrng joys of a contented cultured and God lovmg c1v111za txon Human endeavor anywhere no matter how humble IS worth recordrng and for those who love Ba1nbr1dge and there are those of us who do I am sure thrs short thumb na1l sketch of the orlgm and development of the town w1ll have rnterest Untrl the close of the Revolutronary War the western hmrt of the whlte mans country ln th1s part of New York State was the Unadllla R1ver and a lrne extendlng southward from 1ts pomt of confluence w1th the Susquehanna It will thus be noted that the terrxtorj now com prlsed w1th1n the Town of Ba1nbr1dge was just west of the Llne of Property as rt was called and was the eastern hmnt of the mdefinlte ln d1an doman One hundred and seventy one years ago C1 7851 Governor George Clmton pur chased for the State of New York from the One1da and Tuscarora Indrans a cons1derable tract of land west of the l1ne of property 1n wh1ch was rncluded that area rn wh1ch we now lrve A port1on of thls land represented by what IS now the towns of Ba1nbr1dge and Afton and a small port1on of Coventry was set as1de and sur veyed as the townsh1p of Clmton The chorcest land along the r1ver banks was granted to a group of people known as Vermont Sufferers These were persons who had been dlspossessed of the1r property and otherwlse pumshed owlng to the1r unfaltermg allegrance to the govern ment of the State of New York durrng the con troversy wh1ch had exlsted between lt and the State of Vermont over a boundary dispute These Vermonters and the1r descendents played a promment part 1n the later development of the area In 1791 lt was found expedlent to make a new arrangement of this port1on of the state and at this trme a new town was created m the southern port1on of what IS now Che nango County Th1s town embraced wlthm 1ts borders portions of the present towns of Nor w1ch Oxford Guxlford Greene Coventry and all of the present towns of Ba1nbr1dge and Af ton Th1s town was g1ven the name of jerrcho by Slmeon DeWitt the Comm1ss1oner of the Land Office ln accordance w1th his 1nterest1ng desxgn to deslgnate some 250 new townships erected by Act of Legrslature rn that year by us1ng B1bl1cal and ancient hrstory place names as well as those of famous persons Remams of th1s dev1ce of the commxssxoner stxll exrst 1n such town names as Nxneveh Pharsal1a Marathon Gxlboa Smyrna C1nc1nnatus Sc1p1o Hanmbal Sparta and even Syracuse and Rome obvrously to do honor to the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome The records show that the first town meetlng of jerlcho was held at the Guthr1e tavern Apr1l IQ 1791 Phmeas Bennett of Bennettsv1lle was the first Supervxsor The 3CtlVltlCS of the 1n habltants of early Jerlcho was almost ent1rely confined to loggmg and raft1ng the logs down the r1ver to the large towns along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay from where they would walk back home In 1798 another xmportant rearrangement of th1s part of the state was made at wh1ch trme Chenango County was created and the town of Jer1cho was reduced in s1ze to the present bound ar1es of Barnbrrdge and Afton then called South jerrcho Cln 1857 South Ba1nbr1dge was separated from the present town of Ba1nbr1dge and g1ven the name of Afton J Soon after I8O0 there came to jerxcho one Freder1ck Augustus Baron deZeng a Saxon nobleman born ln Dresden who crossed to Amerxca rn command of some of the Hesslan troops ln the servxce of Great Brxtaln He ar r1ved too late to part1c1pate rn the Br1t1sh cam pargn agalnst the Colonrsts but became h1m self a v1ct1m of the conquermg fr1endl1ness of the colonlsts he had come to subdue and hav mg made many 1nt1mac1es among wh1ch was one of a drstmctly romantrc nature he dec1ded to abandon a mxlrtary career and cast his lot wrth the new country He was naturallzed as an Amerlcan c1t1zen and g1ven the tltle of Major IH the m1l1t1a In 1784 he was married 1n Trlmty Church IH New York Clty to Mlss Mary Law rence and at the tlme of the1r com1ng to jerlcho the fam1ly consrsted of nme chlldren Major DeZeng was a well educated hlghly cultured gentleman possessed of cons1derable wealth He mvested heavlly 1n turnp1kes wh1ch at that time were usually owned by prlvate lndxvxduals or stock compames Hls property 1nterest rn the recently completed Ulster 85 Delaware Turnplke brought h1m to JCYICIIO where th1s road termx nateo and ln 1805 he had erected the first of our r1ver brldges wrth the mtentron of contm umg the road further to the west Th1s was later accomplxshed by the constructron of the Sus quehanna 81, Bath Turnprke largely promoted by hrmself He had buxlt for h1s famlly at the west end of the r1ver brldge a handsome and capaclous residence and at the lower end of the Newton Creek gorge he buxlt the first saw mrll and grlst mxll m jerxcho village No doubt the Major s correct appra1sal of thrs valuable water power mfiuenced h1m to make h1s selectxon of 3 ! 3 H ' 1 a s 1 1 9 ' h if 7 . . . . 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