Town of Thurston NY
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    • Home
    • Town Board/Minutes
    • Highway
    • Clerk
    • DOG CONTROL
    • Code Enforcer
    • Court
    • Assessors
    • Tax
    • Historian
    • Fire
    • Town Policies
    • CDBG Grant
    • Local Laws
    • Sewage Sludge
    • Recordings
    • Resources and Links
    • Website Policy
    • Newsletters
Town of Thurston NY
  • Home
  • Town Board/Minutes
  • Highway
  • Clerk
  • DOG CONTROL
  • Code Enforcer
  • Court
  • Assessors
  • Tax
  • Historian
  • Fire
  • Town Policies
  • CDBG Grant
  • Local Laws
  • Sewage Sludge
  • Recordings
  • Resources and Links
  • Website Policy
  • Newsletters

Town Historian

Historians

Roselyn Renner, Town Historian

607-527-8299


Noel Sylvester, Deputy Town Historian

607-776-8018

Located almost in the center of Steuben County, bordered by Bath, Savona, Campbell, Cameron, Rathbone and Addison, the Town of Thurston was formed on February 28, 1844, when 22,000 acres were split off from the eastern section of Cameron. 


 The Town is named for William B. Thurston, the principal landowner. Merchantville and Risingville were the the primary hamlets. In the late 1800s the name Merchantville was dropped, and the hamlet was called Thurston. The first settlers were Luke Bonny and William Smith on Bonny Hill in 1813. William Jack and Stephen Aldrich settled near Cranberry Lake, known as Friend's Pond, in 1822. Edwin Merchant, for whom Merchantville was named, purchased land and set up a blacksmith and wagon shop in 1841. Risingville became the center of the lumbering business beginning in 1852 and was recognized for its huge, up-do-date sawmill. 

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