Canastota is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

within the town of Lenox in Madison County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 4,556 at the 2020 census, down from 4,804 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. The village was incorporated in 1835, but was reorganized in 1870. Located along the banks of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

, which was completed through the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

valley by 1825, Canastota was a vibrant trading and commercial town during the mid-nineteenth century for a wide agricultural area and an important stop between the cities of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. Although the section of the canal running through the village was abandoned by the 1920s, much of the section remains intact and is now part of the

Old Erie Canal State Historic Park The Old Erie Canal State Historic Park encompasses a linear segment of the original Erie Canal's Long Level section. It extends westward from Butternut Creek in the town of DeWitt, just east of Syracuse, to the outskirts of Rome, New York. Th ...

. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the town of Lenox and is the home to the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

History

Native peoples

''Kniste Stota'' was the historic name of Canastota, a term used by the local

Oneida people The Oneida people ( ; wikt:autonym, autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native Ameri ...

, meaning "cluster of pines near still waters". The area that makes up Canastota was once inhabited by people of the

Oneida Nation The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in Wisconsin. The tribe's reservation spans parts of two counties west of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The reservation was established by treaty in 1838, and was allotted to ...

, a member of the

Haudenosanee confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. The Nation's homelands before European settlement of central New York consisted of more than six million acres from the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

to the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

Captain Reuben Perkins

The village was founded by Captain Reuben Perkins, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who served in the battles of

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding (and separately in ...

, Saratoga, and Stony Point. In 1800 Captain Perkins moved his family to a log cabin on Quality Hill, along the

Seneca Turnpike The Seneca Road Company was formed to improve the main road running west from Utica, New York, the Genesee Road, from Utica to Canandaigua and operate it as a toll road or turnpike. The road became known as the Seneca Turnpike, which was long an ...

. In 1810, Captain Perkins purchased of land from the Oneida Nation and permanently settled his family in a cabin at the intersection of what would become James Street and Main Street. Perkins later won a contract for the two miles of the Erie Canal through Canastota, and served as its superintendent. In 1814 Perkins sold of his land, and in 1832 he sold his remaining land holdings.

The Erie Canal

Construction of the Erie Canal through Canastota began in 1817. As the waterway was opened from 1819 through 1825, it caused a surge of growth and development in the area. Workers and their employers soon moved their families to the area, and eventually schools, businesses, and religious organizations sprung up. As soon as this section of the canal was opened, a line of packets was established, making regular trips between Syracuse and Utica, stopping at all intermediate towns. Trade sprang up at once between Canastota and other villages, making it one of the foremost villages in central New York. The first post office was established in 1829 with Ichabod S. Spencer as postmaster, and by 1831 there were three public houses, three stores and a hatter business in the village, and the population totaled 406. When the canal was superseded by the construction of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s, and later the

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

, some canal towns were cut off from the main lines of commerce.

Liberty Party National Convention

On the first and second days of September 1852, the national convention of the Liberty Party was held at the Dutch Reformed Church in Canastota. Much of the convention's business was to hear reports from delegates regarding the attitude towards the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

in their respective areas. Among the speakers and attendees were

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was an American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidate for P ...

, and

Jermain Wesley Loguen Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen (February 5, 1813September 30, 1872), born Jarm Logue, in slavery, was an African-American abolitionist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and an author of a slave narrative. Biography Jarm Lo ...

. Later debate during the convention focused on whether the party should nominate its own presidential candidate or if they should support the nomination of the Free Democracy Party. The 170th anniversary of the convention was celebrated in 2022, attended by representatives from the village of Canastota, the town of Lenox, and the William G. Pomeroy foundation. A marker was placed as a dedication to the convention on the site where it was held.

The Terrible Fire of 1873

On Sunday, October 26, 1873, a fire started in a hay barn located to the east of the village. Some sixty tons of hay and the barn it was stored in burned completely. Just after 1:30am the following morning, another fire was discovered in a small barn on Spencer Street which soon spread to the Eagle Hotel and other surrounding dwellings and businesses. Urged forward by fierce winds, the fire soon raged through several blocks, leaving smoldering ruins in its wake. In total, over thirty buildings were completely destroyed. No deaths were reported in the next day's edition of the ''Canastota Herald'', though many were reported to have sustained serious burns to their faces and hands as they worked tirelessly to retrieve personal items and other goods from the burning buildings. Many of the early records of the village were lost in this fire. The ''Herald'' later reported that in a letter to the Relief Committee,

wrote, "Let not Canastota despair. She has still more left than she has lost. She has the sympathies and prayers of her fellowman left; above all, the loving God is left to her." Mr. Smith enclosed his letter with a check for $1,000.

1908 New York to Paris Race

The 1908 Race from New York to Paris travelled directly through Canastota.

2024 tornado

On July 16, 2024, the town suffered considerable damage from an EF1 tornado. One person was killed by the tornado.

Geography

Canastota is in the southern part of the town of Lenox.

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, the

, passes through the northern part of the village, with access from Exit 34. I-90 leads east to Utica and west to the

area.

New York State Route 13 New York State Route 13 (NY 13) is a state highway that runs mainly north–south for between NY 14 in Horseheads and NY 3 west of Pulaski in Central New York in the United States. In between, NY 13 intersects ...

passes through the center of Canastota as Peterboro Street and leads north to Sylvan Beach at the east end of

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

. State Route 5 runs along the southern border of Canastota, leading east to

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

and west to Chittenango. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the village of Canastota has a total area of , of which , or 0.12%, are water. Canastota Creek flows through the center of the village and joins Cowaselon Creek in the village's north end, which continues northwest to Oneida Lake at Lakeport.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,425 people, 1,872 households, and 1,173 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,994 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.31%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.93%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.38%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.29% Asian, 0.38% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population. There were 1,872 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $34,155, and the median income for a family was $43,049. Males had a median income of $31,296 versus $24,047 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $16,324. About 10.0% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The presence of fertile soils made Canastota an agricultural center in Central New York and a source of vegetables for the region. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Italian families immigrated here to become tenant farmers and landowners. The village was sometimes referred to as the onion capital of the world, and onions once accounted for a large portion of the village income. During the 1850s, Charles Spencer constructed compound microscopes and achromatic objective microscopes. Robert Tolles became his partner. The manufacturing operation moved elsewhere following the fire of 1873. In 1893, David S. Watson moved his wagon building company, Watson Wagons, to a former broomstick factory building in Canastota, alongside the railroad and the Erie Canal. In 1899, Watson Wagons had 300 employees in Canastota and sold over 100 wagons, costing $104 for the base model. Watson Wagons were unique in that they had a mechanism to allow the operator to drop the wagon's contents through the bottom of the wagon bed. The wagons were used in agriculture, waste management, and road development. Eventually, they also saw use in World War I, when France and the United States purchased 15,000 wagons to carry engineering equipment and artillery. Watson sold his shares of the company in 1908, but the factory continued to sell wagons until 1933. The factory went through many changes after the great depression, and eventually turned to manufacturing Rex school buses. The factory, for some time, was operated by

Oneida Limited Oneida Limited () is an American manufacturer and seller of tableware and cutlery. Oneida is one of the world's largest designers and sellers of stainless steel and silverplated cutlery and tableware for the consumer and foodservice industries. ...

, and then by

Henney Motor Company Henney Motor Company was an American manufacturer of limousine, hearse, ambulance, and taxicab bodies in Freeport, Illinois from 1927 to 1954. Some operations were moved to Canastota, New York Canastota is a village within the town of Lenox in ...

, where some of the United States' first electric automobiles were made.

Herman Casler Herman Casler (March 12, 1867 – July 20, 1939) was an American inventor and co-founder of the partnership called the K.M.C.D. Syndicate, along with W.K-L. Dickson, Elias Koopman, and Henry N "Harry" Marvin, which eventually was incorporate ...

of Canastota invented the Biograph, an early motion picture machine. The first showing of movies using of the biograph occurred at the Bruce Opera House in Canastota. In 1904, Harry D. Weed invented the

Tire chain Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice. Snow chains attach to the drive wheels of a vehicle or special systems deploy chains which swing under ...

, and patented his invention while working for the Marvin and Casler Machine Shop in Canastota.

Arts and culture

There are 16 sites in Canastota listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. This includes the Canastota Canal Town Museum. Canastota has produced two world boxing champions:

Carmen Basilio Carmen Basilio (born Carmine Basilio, April 2, 1927 – November 7, 2012) was an American professional boxer who was a two-time Undisputed Welterweight Champion and Undisputed Middleweight champion, beating Sugar Ray Robinson for the latter ...

and

Billy Backus Billy Backus, (born March 5, 1943) is an American former list of undisputed world boxing champions#Welterweight, Undisputed World Welterweight Champion professional boxer. In the summer of 2006 Backus retired from his correctional facility job an ...

--and is the location of the

Notable people

, former World Welterweight Champion *

, former World Welterweight and Middleweight Champion *

Milton De Lano Milton De Lano (August 11, 1844 – January 2, 1922) was an American businessman and United States representative from New York. Born in Wampsville, he attended the common schools and settled in Canastota, New York, where he engaged in mercanti ...

, former US congressman * Edmund Giambastiani, US Navy admiral * Margaret Shulock, cartoonist

References

External links

*
Canastota Public Library Digital Collection on New York Heritage
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Populated places established in 1835 Villages in Madison County, New York 1835 establishments in New York (state)