Pierstown, New York

Pierstown is a hamlet located on CR-28 north of Cooperstown and west of Five Mile Point in the Town of Otsego, in Otsego County, New York, United States.[2]

For the settlement formerly called Pierstown in Ireland, see Piercetown, County Westmeath (civil parish).
Pierstown, New York
Hamlet
Pierstown, New York
Pierstown, New York
Coordinates: 42°46′18″N 74°54′46″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyOtsego
TownOtsego
Elevation
1,427[1] ft (435 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
13337
Area code(s)607

Pierstown Grange No. 793 is located here and is one of three remaining in Otsego County. It is a contributing building to the Glimmerglass Historic District.

History

Soon after Pierstown was formed, mills were built on Leatherstocking Creek, the water eventually flows over Leatherstocking Falls, was used to generate power. At one point there were three sawmills, three gristmills and a carding machine in operation. There were also at different times five taverns, three stores, two tanneries, four blacksmith shops, a pottery, a brewery, a wagon shop, a lead pipe factory and several weaver shops.

By 1886 all that remained of the businesses was a blacksmith shop. Pierstown was becoming more of an agricultural zone. But like any other area in upstate New York, farming declined in the last quarter of the 20th century.

Pierstown was named after The Pīer family was among the earliest settlers in what was called the Great Barrington Purchase and arrived c. 1786. There were six brothers in the family, who occupied what was called the Brick House Farm. One brother kept a tavern. Another brother, Abner, was in the Revolutionary War and during the famous Cherry Valley Massacre, Abner was tomahawked by an American Indian, scalped and twice wounded, but lived.[3]

References
  1. "Pierstown". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  2. New York History: Quarterly Journal of the New York State Historical ... J Alexander Clarence Flick - 2007 -"A tiny farming hamlet that has all but disappeared in the current century, Pierstown is located several miles north of Cooperstown, New York, west of Otsego Lake. The only mention of Pierstown in a 1903 Otsego County map is a road labeled ...
  3. Simonson, Mark (Nov 3, 2007). "From mills to farming, Pierstown once thrived". The Daily Star (Oneonta). Retrieved 28 September 2017.
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