1799

A Very Important Year

for

Cambridge Central School

Ken Gottry

September, 2005

To understand why things are the way they are today it is often necessary to study history and the people who came before us. This story explains why I believe something that happened in 1799 is the reason that CCS is located where it is and why it is made of yellow, not red, brick.

This talk was given to the CCS 4^th graders on 23-Sep-2005

1. Counties, Towns, and Villages

First you need to understand how the governing bodies in our country are organized. You know that the United States is made up of 50 states.

Each state is divided into counties. Most of us live in Washington County, but if you live in Eagle Bridge or Buskirk then you live in Rensselaer County.

Washington County is easy to spot. It’s shaped like someone raising a finger to say “We’re Number 1”.

Each county is divided into towns. Washington County is made up of 17 towns. The 3 towns near us are Cambridge, White Creek, and Jackson.

When large groups of people build houses in the same area, a village is formed. Usually a village is wholly contained within a single town, but not so in our case.

The East End of the Village of Cambridge lies in the Town of White Creek and the West End of the Village of Cambridge lies in the Town of Cambridge.

The somewhat recent northward expansion of the village places some of the village in the Town of Jackson as well.

So, it’s important to remember that the Town of Cambridge is different than the Village of Cambridge and that the Village is spread across three towns.

2. A Brief History of the Town of Cambridge

The first people who settled here received their land via the Embury Wilson Patent in 1761. This patent is an agreement between the King of England and the American settlers that granted the settlers land if they promised to live there. This land is part of what we now call Ash Grove.

In 1772 the Cambridge District was formed. It consisted of the territories of Cambridge, Jackson and White Creek, as well as part of Vermont, including what is now Bennington. In 1788, the Town of Cambridge became part of Albany County. In 1791 the Town was annexed to Washington County. In 1816, the Town of Cambridge was subdivided into what we know today as the Towns of Cambridge, White Creek, and Jackson.

Remember, we’re old, 15 years older than the Declaration of Independence and 26 years older than the Constitution of the United States, and we’ve got the Patent to prove it.

3. A Brief History of the Village of Cambridge

3.1 Go West, Young Man

As I said, the original inhabitants settled in Ash Grove in 1761. Soon Ash Grove became too crowded for some and they started spreading to the south and west. To the west they formed the settlement of North White Creek, what we now call the East End of the Village.

Some people continued farther west. They passed the swamps where the Rice Seed Building (VARAK Park) is and settled at Cambridge Corners, what we now call the West End of the Village.

This 1858 map shows the clear separation between Cambridge Corners (West End) and North White Creek (East End) and the swamp in-between.

3.2 The Turnpike – a.k.a. The Interstate

In 1799 the Northern Turnpike opened. This major “super-highway” extended from Lansingburgh (Troy) to Granville and on to Burlington, VT and Canada. The Northern Turnpike is what we now call Turnpike Road, which becomes North Union and South Union streets as it passes through the village. It gave Cambridge Corners more prestige than North White Creek.

Later in 1799 some inhabitants couldn’t stand the fast pace of life along an “interstate highway” so some moved west and formed Stevenson’s Corners, now known as Coila. While this ended the westward expansion from Ash Grove to Coila, there would still be the development of Center Cambridge, North Cambridge, South Cambridge, and more.

3.3 The Shunpike – a.k.a. The Interstate Bypass

Today as you travel Interstate highways you can drive 65 miles per hour and even faster. However, as you approach cities you have to slow down to 50 or 55 mph because of the increased local traffic. To deal with this situation, we build bypasses, super highways that loop around the cities so that people who are just passing by don’t have to slow down.

Well, we had one of the first bypasses; it was called the Shunpike and it’s still in existence today. As people were traveling the Northern Turnpike from Lansingburgh to Granville they didn’t want to slow down as they passed through Cambridge Corners.

Just south of Cambridge on the Turnpike Road there is the Shunpike Road that lets travelers go east to the Great Northern Trail (Route 22). The travelers then continue north on Route 22 and reconnect to the Turnpike north of Cambridge near the cemetery.

The Shunpike diverted travelers from Cambridge Corners to North White Creek. Hotels and restaurants along the Shunpike soon got more business than those along the Turnpike, perhaps shifting some prestige back to North White Creek.

Another reason for the shunpike may have been the toll. Turnpikes, like the NYS Thruway today, had tollbooths. Shunpikes were often used to loop around tollbooths to avoid the toll.

3.4 Rutland and Washington Railroad

In 1852 the first railroad in the area was built. It passed midway between North White Creek and Cambridge Corners. Almost overnight the issue of living along the Turnpike or the Shunpike became a trivial concern.

3.5 Village of Cambridge Formed – 1866

By the end of the Civil War the two communities had spread so that it was difficult to tell where North White Creek ended and where Cambridge Corners began. However, the East Enders and the West Enders continued to disagree about almost everything. After many months of heated debate, the two settlements merged and formed the Village of Cambridge.

However, before you start thinking that everyone got along well after that, let me point out that there were two fire departments; one for the East End and one for the West End. Plus, there were two police departments; one for the East End and one for the West End. There were even two district heads; one for the East End and one for the West End; each of whom had as much power as the mayor of the village.

3.6 Important Facts to Remember

It isn’t necessary to remember all these dates and events, but it is important to remember that Cambridge, both the Town and the Village, were not originally what we know them as today. Also, keep in mind that the East End and the West End were always at odds.

4. Cambridge Washington Academy; How It All Started – 1799

In 1799 North White Creek and Cambridge Corners agreed to build a school. However, when the day came to vote on the location of the school, the Cambridge Corners residents turned out in vast numbers and easily outvoted the East Enders. As a result, the location of the new Cambridge Washington Academy was the corner of Academy Street and Pleasant Street.

This location was the farthest away from the residents of North White Creek that could have been selected and still been in Cambridge Corners.

In addition, the children from North White Creek would have to traverse the swamp between the two settlements in order to get to the school.

The East Enders were outraged and decided not to pay taxes and not to send their children to the new school.

In 1815 the Cambridge Washington Academy built a new 40’ x 60’ brick building for $2300. It had 11’ ceilings on the first floor, 16.5’ ceiling on the second floor, and 10’ ceilings in the attic. In 1844 a 24’ x 48’ addition was built for $4000.

Scholars from all over the United States attended the academy, with out-of-town students staying at the Old Boarding House on West Main Street. The white house on the corner of Academy and West Main served as home to the Headmaster as well as a residence hall.

Two governors and a senator graduated from the academy.

5. Union Schools; More Disagreement – 1873

By the mid 1800’s most of the villages around us had used state aid to build new schools under the 1853 Union School Act. However, it would take Cambridge twenty more years of bickering before they would discuss the topic.

During the first 6 months of 1873 the East Enders and the West Enders argued over where to build the new Union School. Remembering the vote of 1799, the East Enders turned out in droves for the first votes, while the West Enders had to send runners door-to-door to round up enough residents for a quorum.

After many heated debates, the residents couldn’t agree on what to do. So, the West Enders bought the old Cambridge Washington Academy and turned it into the Cambridge Union School of the West District. The East Enders bought the Putnam estate, where Whipple City Pizza is today, and turned it into the Cambridge Union School of the East District.

6. One Union School; Finally! – 1891

As the communities around us continued to enjoy the advantages of having a single state-funded school, Cambridge finally agreed to build a single school. The first thing they voted on was the location, and it was agreed that the new school would be located halfway between the East End and the West End.

In 1891, the Cambridge Union School opened its doors. It is the building that most of us now call The Old School, located on West Main Street next to the bank. Later on its campus was built the Cambridge Public Library.

7. Central School Districts, but not for Cambridge - 1927

In 1927 New York State passed a law that helped smaller school districts combine into a single, centralized school district. The 276 schools in Washington County were expected to consolidate into 11 central school districts. To encourage the schools to unite, the state offered to pay one-fourth of the construction cost of a new school building and one-half of all transportation costs.

As the Great Depression settled in during the 1930’s, many of the surrounding communities took advantage of the new law. The Civil Conservation Corp (CCC) helped build many of the schools in the area, using red bricks that were made available by the Federal Government.

But, not Cambridge. The residents continued to argue and finally decided that the existing Cambridge High School was good enough for them.

8. Cambridge Central School District Formed – 1944

Finally, twenty years after the rest of the communities in the area, Cambridge formed the CCS District #10. The new school district was eligible to receive much more state aid. However, the residents decided to continue using the existing Union school building, at least for now.

9. Build a New School, But Where? – 1946

Shortly after the formation of the CCS District, the residents started talking about building a new school to support the increase in students as a result of the centralization. It was 150 years since 1799 when the West Enders stuffed the ballot box and located the Cambridge Washington Academy on the west end, but the East Enders hadn’t forgotten.

So, in 1946 a vote was held, the East Enders far outnumbered the West Enders and the Hitchcock Farm (my great grandfather) on South Park Street was purchased. While the site of the new school had been chosen, the East and West Enders couldn’t agree on the details of the new building.

10. Burn, Baby, Burn – 1947

In the summer of 1947, after several heated debates, a vote was held to build a new school. The vote was close but the new building was defeated. A few weeks later, with the opening of school only days away, a mysterious fire broke out in the Cambridge Union School.

The fire started around 1am on Monday morning and by 3am the entire building was engulfed. The community pitched in and students started school on time that Fall, attending classes in churches, meeting halls, and business buildings.

11. CCS, Yellow Bricks on South Park Street – 1950

The residents of Cambridge spent the fall of 1947 voting on a referendum to build a new school. Finally, after several votes and several adjustments to the plans, $1.2 million dollars was approved to build a new school on South Park Street.

Needless to say, the West Enders were not pleased with the location of the new school. In fact, ask many old-timers from the West End and you’ll hear that it was foolish to build a school there since everyone knew it was a pit of quicksand.

Alas, by now the Great Depression was over, a World War had come and gone, and all of the red bricks that were available through the Federal Government in the 1930’s were gone and CCS was built using yellow bricks.

The moral of the story … when the people of Cambridge Corners outvoted the people of North White Creek in 1799 to locate Washington Academy on the West End little did they know that, 150 years later, it would lead to CCS being built on South Park Street using yellow bricks

12. You Live Your History Every Day

The next time you walk into your yellow brick school on South Park Street think about the people who came before you in Cambridge.

And, the next time you go into the Post Office, think about the previous Post Office that was located between the Mansion and the Hotel. Why did it move eastward? Did the West Enders like having it moved farther away from them? Would you?

Or, ask yourself why is there a Traffic Light on the East End but not on the West End. Or, count the number of churches on the East End versus the West End. Or, why is the Railroad tracks the separation of East Main and West Main when North and South Union Street is the separation of the Town of Cambridge and the Town of White Creek.

Could it all go back to that vote in 1799?

Note: The author believes all of the historical facts stated herein are accurate. However, the assumptions about the motives that drove the decisions stated herein are based solely on speculation and supposition of the author.