Contact: Richard D. Allen
(315) 798-5776
Cooperation brings history to light
Barneveld: On May 9th the Town of Trenton will be loaned the oldest original map on file in the Oneida County Clerk’s Office. The map will be officially loaned to the Town of Trenton Board by Oneida County Clerk, Richard Allen. The map had been in storage in the Oneida County Clerk’s Office until Betsy Mack, an Historian active in the Town of Trenton, took an interest to it. The map will be in a framed display in the Town of Trenton Municipal Offices on 8520 Old Poland Road in Barneveld.
Last spring Historian Mack was in the Map Room of the Oneida County Clerk’s Office doing research when she came upon the map was made by land surveyor Calvin Guiteau in 1795. Mrs. Mack’s keen eye as an historian noticed that the map needed to be better protected so it could be around for future generations to view. She sought and received a grant for the preservation of this map from the Central New York Community Arts Council for $600. The Town of Trenton contributed the additional funding needed for the restoration.
Using the grant money the map was sent to Cooperstown to Restoration Specialist Ellen Tilapaugh who restored and sealed it in Mylar. The Town then approved the funds to produce two working copies and to encase the original map in a frame.
The map was originally made by Mr. Guiteau while working for Garret Boon and the Holland Land Company. The map encompasses the "Servis Patent" which included parts of Marcy, Remsen, Trenton and Deerfield. The Town of Trenton was separated from the Town of Schuyler on March 24, 1797 and contains part of the (Servis and Holland Patents) which were granted in 1769.
According to Oneida County Clerk Richard Allen the map will be on loan indefinitely for display in the Trenton Municipal Center. Mr. Allen noted "that this type of cooperation between the Towns and the County is an excellent example of how we can share resources for the greater good of our citizens."
Trenton Supervisor Mark Scheidelman stated that he was pleased that the County and Town work together to preserve the map. "Our residents will be able to view a piece of our history. This project should be an example for other municipal cooperation endeavors."