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... The Pioneers
Bainbridge, a Chenango County Town, has a very special place in the
County's history. The first county settlements were in the Bainbridge area in
what was then known as Clinton and also included Afton. People were drawn to
this area after they saw its bounty during the Revolutionary War. (It was
Indian territory before then.) Many were exposed to it during the Clinton
Campaign:
In 1779, General James Clinton led a group of 1600 soldiers
the Susquehanna from Cooperstown to near Binghamton NY to rid the area of
Indians, most of whom had already left. The group came upon a burned out
village just south of Bainbridge near Afton. A journal entry of
one of the soldiers describes what they found:
" [We] proceeded on
to Conihunto a small Indian Town that
was, but was destroyed by our
detachment last fall...A little below
this town there is three or four
islands in the River where the Indians raised their corn. On one of those
islands our troops
encamped with the boats & cattle...there were apples
plenty at this
place."
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... The Producers
"Chenango" means "pleasant river flowing through the land of the bull
thistle" and the tenacity of many of the residents in weathering hard times is
a constant reminder of the county's namesake, the bull thistle. Established in
1798 and originally including all of Madison as well as Chenango counties, the
present boundaries were established in 1806. While the county was originally
settled with its share of small farms and mills, it was the tinkle of a cow
bell which made the area a name for itself. Subsistence farming on the
pastoral hills of the county made way for specialization into the dairy
industry.
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... The Pleasance
The forested hills of the county today seem to show that the country is
wild and as untouched as it has ever been. Closer inspection, though, shows
hillsides with home foundations hidden beneath the rows of planted evergreens.
When the county was first settled, pioneers cleared most of the hills for
farms. Many of the farms, however, were established on poor quality soil and
the farms failed. In the 1930's, a lot of the abandoned farmland was replanted
with trees by the CCC so the hills which appear carpeted with trees were
established with a plan.
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... The Prosperity
Between the rolling hills of the county run four rivers: The
Susquehanna, the Chenango, the Unadilla and the Otselic. Along their banks are wildlife
and waterfowl that draw visitors to appreciate the rural beauty of the county.
The hills divide the population into distinct communities who take price in
their distinctives and landmarks: Norwich, the county seat with an elegant
domed courthouse built in 1838; Otselic, where fishermen flock to the banks of
the river on the first day of trout season and whose fishing line industry
once earned it the name of Tackle Town, USA; Sherburne, with its annual
Pageant of Bands and nearby waterfall and historic bridge; and Bainbridge,
with the Jericho Tavern, a landmark restaurant from 1805 and a village park,
ringed with white churches and punctuated with a Victorian fountain and
gazebo.
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