Garbutt | |
---|---|
Location within New York | |
Coordinates: 43°00′45.89″N77°47′30.11″W / 43.0127472°N 77.7916972°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
County | Monroe |
Town | Wheatland |
Settled | 1804 |
Founded by | Zachariah Garbutt |
Elevation | 597 ft (182 m) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code | 14546 |
Area code | 585 |
Garbutt, New York is a hamlet located between the village of Scottsville and the hamlet of Mumford. It sits at the intersection of Scottsville-Mumford Road and Union Street in the Town of Wheatland in Monroe County, New York, United States. Garbutt grew rapidly through the mid-nineteenth century, but starting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the collapse of the local economy caused the population to severely decline.
In its 19th-Century prime, Garbutt boasted a train station and rail yard, service by two railroad companies, several industrial plants, a hotel, two schools, a church, mines, three Oatka Creek bridges, a dam and millpond, a barrel factory, and a number of general stores. Yet, as long ago as 1937, it was said, "Garbutt is a hamlet so small that it would scarcely be noticed in passing were it not for the large buildings of the Empire Gypsum Company." [1] [2] Now, even these are gone.
The history of Garbutt was written by Carl F Schmidt, an architect locally noted for his histories of the area, and George Engs Slocum, a local business and civic figure whose history of the town appeared in the very early twentieth century. In 1998 (Slocum) and 2002 (Schmidt), the Wheatland Historical Association reprinted their books. [3] The Garbuttsville Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. [4]
The US Census Bureau does not maintain demographic data for Garbutt.
While out of sight, the biggest legacy of Garbutt's past is the network of mines not far beneath the surface, extending an unknown distance beyond the locations of the erstwhile factories. To this day, construction in the area is limited by the threat posed by potential mine collapse.
In 2016, Kevin D. Williamson, writing in the National Review criticized small towns such as Garbutt; he wrote that such "dysfunctional, downscale communities ... deserve to die." [5] [6] Opioid dependency is allegedly epidemic in Garbutt. [5]
If any single natural feature has shaped Garbutt's history, it is Oatka Creek. Draining some 215 square miles (557 km2) of land, the Oatka is the third largest tributary of the Genesee River's lower basin. Although too shallow for any but the lightest of boats, its water provided the power for milling first lumber and grain and then gypsum products in Garbutt.
Chili is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 29,123 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the city of Rochester.
Scottsville is a village in southwestern Monroe County, New York, United States, and is in the northeastern part of the Town of Wheatland. The population was 2,009 at the 2020 Census. The village is named after an early settler, Isaac Scott. Most Scottsvillians work in and around the city of Rochester—the village of Scottsville is located about a ten-minute drive from the outer limits of the city.
Wheatland is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Genesee Country Village and Museum.
Caledonia is a village in the town of Caledonia, Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 2,201 at the 2010 census, out of 4,255 in the entire town. The name refers to Scotland.
Oatka Creek is the third longest tributary of the Genesee River, located entirely in the Western New York region of the U.S. state of New York. From southern Wyoming County, it flows 58 miles (93 km) to the Genesee near Scottsville, draining an area of 215 square miles (560 km2) that includes all or part of 23 towns and villages in Wyoming, Genesee, Livingston and Monroe counties as well. Its name means "leaving the highlands" or "approaching an opening" in Seneca.
New York State Route 36 (NY 36) is a north–south state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The highway extends for 95 miles (153 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Troupsburg, Steuben County northward to Ogden, Monroe County, where it ends at an intersection with NY 31. Along the way, NY 36 passes through the villages of Canisteo, Dansville, Mount Morris, Caledonia, and Churchville and the city of Hornell. The section of the route between Dansville and Mount Morris closely parallels Interstate 390 (I-390); however, from Dansville south and Mount Morris north, NY 36 serves as a regionally important highway, connecting to I-86, U.S. Route 20A (US 20A), US 20, and I-490 as it heads north. At its south end, NY 36 connects to Pennsylvania Route 249 (PA 249).
New York State Route 253 (NY 253) is a 10.83-mile-long (17.43 km) east–west state highway in Monroe County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at NY 383 in the village of Scottsville. Its eastern terminus is at NY 65 in the town of Pittsford. NY 253 meets Interstate 390 (I-390) and connects to the New York State Thruway (I-90) in the town of Henrietta. The majority of NY 253 passes through either rural or residential areas; however, the midsection of NY 253 is located in a heavily commercial portion of Henrietta.
New York State Route 251 (NY 251) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. It extends for 17.79 miles (28.63 km) from an intersection with NY 383 in Scottsville, Monroe County, to an intersection with NY 96 in the town of Victor, Ontario County. NY 251 connects to Interstate 390 (I-390) in Rush and serves the village of Honeoye Falls and the hamlet of Mendon within the town of the same name. The route, a two-lane, rural highway for much of its length, also intersects NY 15 and NY 64, two north–south highways leading to the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes, respectively. Two sections of the route—from south of Scottsville to Rush and from Mendon to western Victor—follow linear east–west alignments. All but 3 miles (5 km) of the route are located in Monroe County.
New York State Route 383 (NY 383) is an 18.70-mile (30.09 km) north–south state highway in Monroe County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 36 in the hamlet of Mumford within the Town of Wheatland. Its northern terminus is at a junction with NY 31 in the city of Rochester. The route follows the Genesee River and its tributaries for its entire length and passes through the village of Scottsville.
The hamlet of Mumford lies on the western side of the Town of Wheatland, Monroe County, New York, United States, south of Oatka Creek on NY 36 and south of the terminus of NY 383.
Isaac Scott was a pioneer, farmer, and tavern owner. He is considered the founder of Scottsville, New York, as his farmland took up the majority of the modern village.
The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania.
The Scottsville Free Library, located at 28 Main Street in the village of Scottsville, New York, with a small branch at 883 George Street in Mumford, serves the people of the towns of Wheatland and Chili, as well as adjacent areas in Monroe County.
John Garbutt was an American politician from New York.
Oatka Creek Park, part of the Monroe County park system, lies near the center of the Town of Wheatland in New York. The park is bounded on the east by Union Street, the north by the tracks of the Rochester & Southern Railroad, and the west and south by Stewart Road. Immediately northeast of the park is the hamlet of Garbutt.
Wheatland Center is the rural area in the Town of Wheatland surrounding the intersection of Wheatland Center and Scottsville-Mumford Roads. Once known as Hall's Corners, it today shows little evidence of its past.
The Scottsville and LeRoy Railroad was a horse-drawn short-line railroad running from Scottsville to Caledonia, in New York State, in the United States of America. It was chartered in 1836 and ran until 1840, when changes in the canal system reduced demand. The eight-mile long line used wooden rails, which were a continual source of derailments.
The Rochester and State Line Railroad was a 19th-century railroad company in New York state.
New York State Route 35 (NY 35) was a state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route was at an intersection with NY 36 in the hamlet of Mumford within the town of Wheatland. Its eastern terminus was at a junction with U.S. Route 104 (US 104) in the hamlet of Ontario Center within the town of Ontario. NY 35 followed a mostly northeast–southwest routing across the counties of Monroe and Wayne and passed through downtown Rochester.
Garbuttsville Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at the hamlet of Garbutt in the town of Wheatland in Monroe County, New York. It is one of the earliest surviving cemeteries in Monroe County and is an intact country cemetery that reflects the history of the once thriving industrial hamlet of Garbuttsville. It also illustrates the development patterns of small vernacular cemeteries through the 19th century and prevalent styles of modest and middle class grave monuments from that period. There are approximately 570 graves with most graves dating prior to 1920.