Guilford New York - Time Line

Composed by Thomas Gray, Town Historian

On November 13, 1833, a meteorite passed over Guilford and set fires. Impacted in Colesville. Part of the Leonids Meteor Shower from comet Temple Tuttle.

1785	Governor George Clinton bought land from the Oneida Indians. Land which was mapped and surveyed became Guilford.
1786	The land west of the Unadilla River became part of New York. Mass ceded it giving up its claims
1787	Settlers moved into the land which became Chenango county
1791	The Mersereau brothers and others settled the township, which was called "Fayette" Prudence Fuller was the first person born in the township in this year
1793	The township of Fayette was named "Oxford". It became a part of Tioga county
1797	John and Loretta Dibble settled at the site of the hamlet of Guilford
1798	Chenango county was formed from Tioga and Herkimer counties. Oxford became part of the new county
1800	Around this data the first grist mill was built below the lake
1810	Then or a few years earlier a log cabin school was constructed at the site of the Methodist church today in Guilford Center
1812	Several men of the hamlet served in the War of 1812. They fough at Lake Erie
1813	The town of Guilford separated from Oxford and was known as "Eastern".
1814	A wood framed building near Gospel Hill replaced the old school house
1816	Snowed every month of the year. Severe cold weather all year caused starvation. Traced to the Tambora volcanic eruption of April 1815 in Indonesia - Island of Tambora
1817	Guilford received its present name but people called it "Fayette" or "Fayetteville" for several decades
1819	The first musical organ west of the Hudson River was made in the hamlet by Elsworth Phelps.
1827	The Merchant Family purchased some land and their factories started a few years later.
1830	The Christ Episcopal Church was organized.
1833	Dr. John A. Clark was the first physician to move to the hamlet. Two generations of Clarks served as doctors here.
1841	The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized.
1842	A Baptist Society was organized.
1845	Bradbury and Merchant started a furnace and iron foundry below the lake.
1855	Guilford was flooded when the dam broke. Most of its buildings were destroyed.
1859	The hamlet was rebuilt by this year. New industries, including an ax factory, was established.
1862	The 114th regiment was formed with several Guilford men in it. They fought in several states in the south during the Civil War.
1864	Guilford's bucket brigade saved the town from a fire, which destroyed a block of buildings below Furnace Street on Main Street.
1870	The New York Midland Railroad started freight and passenger service for the hamlet.
1879	"The Guilford Wave" was printed each week for nearly a year.
1888	"The Guilford Mail" was printed monthly by Adrian T. Robinson for over thirty years.
1897	Another fire wiped out the same block below Furnace Street.
1899	Telephone service covered the hamlet and later expanded outside the hamlet. In the same year, the Guilford Lake Bridge was built by the Groton Bridge Company. This 86 foot long structure spanned the outlet of the lake.
1907	A third and final fire wiped out the same block. A new opera house was one of the destroyed buildings.
1917-1919	Guilford men and the local Red Cross played an active role in World War I. The Red Cross struggled against the influenze epidemic which hit the hamlet, affecting every family.
1919	L. D. Dexheimer started his house-moving business.
1928	The volunteer fire department got a fire truck and organized its operations. The present fire company was formed in that year.
1930	The new Guilford Central High School began construction.
1931	The park gained its monument to the Revolutionary War veterans who settled in the town.
1933	The new school was completed, closing several of the district one school houses. Alvin Spring was the first principal.
1935	The original Christ Episcopal Church building burned to the ground.
1936	The new Christ Episcopal Church building was consecrated and opened.
1941-1945	Several Guilford men served in World War II.
1949	The Chenango and Unadilla Telephone Company put dial phones into the area.
1954	Earl Oldfield replaced Emmet Totman as Town Supervisor. Robert Wessels started his contracting business. About the same year, the Ontario and Western Railroad ceased its passenger service in Guilford.
1957	The Ontario and Western Railroad ceased operations entirely.
1961	The Central High School consolidated with Bainbridge and the school building became an elementary school.
1962	The Guilford Lake bridge was closed and a direct route to Route 35 was built near Gospel Hill, connecting Main Street.
1972	Roger Deeming replaced Earl Oldfield as Town Supervisor.

Composed by Thomas Gray, Town Historian

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