Gayville, Oswego County, New York

Gayville, New York
hamlet
Gayville, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 43°18′22″N 76°0′50″W / 43.30611°N 76.01389°W / 43.30611; -76.01389Coordinates: 43°18′22″N 76°0′50″W / 43.30611°N 76.01389°W / 43.30611; -76.01389
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Oswego
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

Gayville is a hamlet lying five miles (8 km) north of the village of Constantia in the town of Constantia, Oswego County, New York.

Geography

Gayville centers upon the intersection of County Route 23, County Route 23A, and Grannis Road. Within Gayville Potter Creek joins Scriba Creek, which flows southward to empty into Oneida Lake.

History

Before the American Revolution, the eastern portion of what is now Oswego County was part of the territory of the Oneida Nation. Although there were no known settlements in the region, the Oneidas used the land for hunting and fishing. Oneida Lake provided their principle means of transportation. To reach Lake Ontario, twenty or so miles north of Oneida Lake, they would canoe up Scriba Creek. About six miles (10 km) north, where Scriba Creek bears eastward, they began an eight mile (13 km) portage, traveling overland to Little Salmon Creek, which took them to Lake Ontario. This route was preferable to continuing to the end of Oneida Lake, down the Onondaga River (now known as the Oneida River), and down the Oswego River. The Oswego River route was about sixty miles longer, and it passed the rapids at Oswego Falls (now known as Fulton) and ended at the military fortifications of Fort Ontario and Fort Oswego.

After the Revolution, the government of New York acquired vast inland territories from the Oneida Nation and sold the land to speculators. George Scriba, born in Germany and a naturalized citizen of New York, purchased 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of land in what is still known as Scriba's Patent.^[1] He established two villages that were to serve as ports: on Oneida Lake, at the mouth of Scriba Creek, he built Rotterdam, now known as Constantia. On Lake Ontario, at the mouth of Little Salmon Creek, he built Vera Cruz, near the present-day village of Texas. He had a road cut through the forests between the two settlements. This road paralleled Scriba Creek, followed the route of the Oneida Nation portage, and paralleled Little Salmon Creek. Although it was never accomplished, he also envisioned creating a canal along the Oneida Nation portage between the two creeks.^[2]

Among the many hamlets of farming families that developed along the route of the Rotterdam-Vera Cruz road was Gayville. Its name came from early landowners Erastus and Charlotte Gay, who purchased all of Lot 14 in Section 11 (the town of Constantia)in 1831. Lot 14 was about a quarter of the land in the area that came to be known as Gayville. In 1854 they lost the land in a mortgage foreclosure, and they left the area, leaving their name in common usage. The road from Constantia was called the Gayville Road, and when the sixth school district was established in the town of Constantia it was called the Gayville District. The district operated until 1952, when the New York State Education Department consolidated small rural district schools into central districts, and Gayville became part of the Central Square Central Schools.^[3] The Gayville Post Office was established in 1880.^[4] Between 1900 and 1910 the Rural Free Delivery system was established, and the Gayville Post Office closed.^[5] Once more the residents of Gayville received their mail from the Post Office in Constantia Village.

At one time Gayville had a hotel with a ballroom and bar, several sawmills, and a Methodist Protestant congregation that met in the schoolhouse.

Present Community

Gayville today is a residential community. A number of original farmhouses and a few barns remain, but most of the homes are contemporary. No trace can be seen of the schoolhouse, hotel, or mills.

References

1. ↑ Simpson, Elizabeth M. Mexico, Mother of Towns, 1949.
2. ↑ Young, Charles D. A Scriba Anthology, Volume 1, 1996
3. ↑ Mexico Independent, Thursday, August 21, 1952
4. ↑ Buffalo Courier, Monday Morning, June 28, 1880
5. ↑ Grace Lynch: The Way It Used to Be

Municipalities and communities of Oswego County, New York, United States County seat: Oswego Cities Fulton Oswego Towns Albion Amboy Boylston Constantia Granby Hannibal Hastings Mexico Minetto New Haven Orwell Oswego Palermo Parish Redfield Richland Sandy Creek Schroeppel Scriba Volney West Monroe Williamstown Villages Central Square Cleveland Hannibal Lacona Mexico Parish Phoenix Pulaski Sandy Creek CDPs Brewerton‡ Constantia Minetto Sand Ridge SUNY Oswego Other hamlets Albion Center Altmar Bardeen Corners Beecherville Bernhards Bay Boylston Center Bundy Crossing Butterfly Corners Cains Corners Carley Mills Carterville Catfish Caughdenoy Clifford Cribbs Corners Cummings Bridge Demster Demster Beach Dexterville Doris Park Drakes Corner Dugway Dutcherville East Amboy East Boylston East Palermo Fairdale Farley Corners Fruit Valley Furmiss Gayville Gilbert Mills Graftons Square Greenboro Hannibal Center Happy Valley Hastings Center Hinmansville Howardville Ingalls Crossing Kasoag Little France Loomis Corner Lycoming Mallory Mallory Station Maple Hill McMahon Corners Morse Mosher Corners Mud Hill Mungers Corners New Scriba Nicholsville North Amboy North Boylston North Constantia North Church Corner North Hannibal North Scriba North Shores North Volney Oswego Beach Oswego Center Panther Lake Peacock Corners Peat Corners Pennellville Pineville Plantz Corners Pleasant Point Crossing Prattham Red Mill Ricard Roosevelt Corners Russ Mills Sala Sandy Pond Shephard Corners Smartville South Hannibal South New Haven South Scriba Stewart Corners Texas The Elms Toad Harbor Upson Corner Vermillion Vorea Vorhees Corners West Amboy Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties