A Centennial of Resilience: "New Gilboa" Forged a Legacy From Loss

Gilboa Supervisor Alicia Terry welcomes a hearty turnout with (l. to r.) State Senator Peter Oberacker, State Assemblyman Chris Tague, and NYC DEP Acting Deputy Commissioner David Warne.

GILBOA—Nearly a dozen state, county, town and city dignitaries joined the crowd in front of the Gilboa Town Hall under a brilliant sun as a bald eagle circled overhead, traveling in a wide arc from the Town Hall to the nearby Schoharie Reservoir as if in anticipation of the event about to happen.

Gilboa Supervisor Alicia Terry, State Senator Peter Oberacker, State Assemblyman Chris Tague, NYC DEP Acting Deputy Commissioner David Warne, Gilboa Historical Society President Kristen Wyckoff and Historical Society Board Member Lee Hudson—represented an unusual gathering of upstate-downstate officials assembled to unveil a “New Gilboa” historic marker, and commemorate the centennial of the Gilboa Dam completion in 1926, and the reopening of the Gilboa Dam Overlook. 

Supervisor Terry opened the trifecta event with a short history of Gilboa noting its first settlement in the mid-18th century, the formation of the town of Gilboa in 1848 from parts of Blenheim and Broome, and its vibrant village life and industry for most of its 160 years. But in 1916, NYC engineers chose the village of Gilboa and its surrounding land to become part of the New York City water supply in support of a rapidly growing urban population. Through the legal power of eminent domain, the city bought local homes, businesses, and farmland to build a massive dam to hold back the Schoharie Creek, turn its northern flow to the south, and create the reservoir.

The anniversary event invited our elected officials to reflect on the hundred-year evolution of Gilboa Dam’s construction. Senator Peter Oberacker and Assemblyman Chris Tague admired Gilboa’s natural beauty as each expressed pride in representing Schoharie in county and state government with Tague warmly noting his roots in the Gilboa area. NYC DEP Acting Deputy Commissioner David Warne embraced “the great partnership of New York City and the Catskills watershed communities” and their mutual efforts to manage “the seemingly impossible task of keeping the water supply system safe.”

 But our story does not end there as another had begun. In 1920, determined to keep his community alive, Imer C. Wyckoff, with other local residents, began developing "New Gilboa” on land now occupied by the current town hall and post office. Its significance is now recognized with an historic marker from the Pomeroy Foundation.  

 The new marker reads: 

NEW GILBOA, 74-acre site purchased by I.C. Wyckoff in 1920 to build new village when Schoharie Reservoir submerged old site, displacing villagers.

Gilboa Historical Society President Kristen Wyckoff underscored how these early efforts of Imer Wyckoff to lay the groundwork for a new village did point to a new tomorrow amidst the enduring pain felt by many generational families in losing homes, schools, churches and storefronts to make way for the dam. “I like to be positive,” she said. “And look forward like my husband’s great grandfather, Imer Wyckoff.”

“The Pomeroy Foundation’s Marker program is the acknowledged gold standard in historical accuracy,” observed Lee Hudson, long-time board member of the Gilboa Historical Society. “Their marker tells a story, honors a legacy, and strengthens the fabric of our community,” noted Hudson, whose research and application ultimately resulted in the town’s award and who read a congratulatory letter from the Foundation.

Supervisor Terry framed the centennial as both a bittersweet memory and a new beginning: “New York City was growing at a pace that challenged its water supply infrastructure. Attracted to the valley where the Village of Gilboa sat, the City of New York saw potential in the vast watershed that fed the Schoharie Creek. Here in Gilboa, man’s visions collided. Beginning with eminent domain, a decade of work resulted in the impoundment of water behind the Gilboa Dam. We remember the final act to impound the water, one hundred years later.”

Terry also singled out others who have made a “significant long-lasting impact throughout the watershed,” including Justice F. Walter Bliss’s successful lawsuit against New York City forcing them to pay annual taxes on the Gilboa dam and reservoir, and former Gilboa Town Supervisor James Brown, a member of the Coalition of Watershed Towns and their Memorandum of Agreement between the City of New York, the watershed communities, and State and Federal regulators of the water supply. Finally, Terry saluted the creation of the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council, two organizations that ensure safe drinking water “in a living watershed.”