Editing Canastota, New York (section)

== History ==
[[File:Canastota, N.Y. 1885. LOC gm71005363.tif|thumb|[[Perspective map]] and list of landmarks for Canastota from 1885 by [[L.R. Burleigh]]]]

=== Native peoples ===
''Kniste Stota'' was the historic name of Canastota, a term used by the local [[Oneida people]], meaning "cluster of pines near still waters".{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Walter |title=Canastota and the Erie Canal |year=1963 |location=Canastota Library |pages=3 |language=English}}</ref>

The area that makes up Canastota was once inhabited by people of the [[Oneida Indian Nation|Oneida Nation]], a member of the [[Haudenosanee confederacy]]. The Nation's homelands before European settlement of central New York consisted of more than six million acres from the [[St. Lawrence River]] to the [[Susquehanna River]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=eighty6 |title=History – Oneida Indian Nation |date=July 27, 2016 |url=https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/history/ |access-date=April 22, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Captain Reuben Perkins ===
The village was founded by Captain Reuben Perkins, a veteran of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] who served in the battles of [[Battle of Plattsburgh|Plattsburgh]], [[Saratoga campaign|Saratoga]], and [[Battle of Stony Point|Stony Point]]. In 1800 Captain Perkins moved his family to a log cabin on Quality Hill, along the [[Seneca Turnpike]]. In 1810, Captain Perkins purchased {{convert|329.2|acre}} of land from the Oneida Nation and permanently settled his family in a cabin at the intersection of what would become James Street and Main Street. Perkins later won a contract for the two miles of the Erie Canal through Canastota, and served as its superintendent. In 1814 Perkins sold {{convert|100|acre|0}} of his land, and in 1832 he sold his remaining land holdings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reuben Perkins Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=139591 |access-date=April 22, 2023 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== The Erie Canal ===
Construction of the Erie Canal through Canastota began in 1817. As the waterway was opened from 1819 through 1825, it caused a surge of growth and development in the area. Workers and their employers soon moved their families to the area, and eventually schools, businesses, and religious organizations sprung up.

As soon as this section of the canal was opened, a line of [[packet boat|packets]] was established, making regular trips between Syracuse and Utica, stopping at all intermediate towns. Trade sprang up at once between Canastota and other villages, making it one of the foremost villages in central New York. The first post office was established in 1829 with Ichabod S. Spencer as postmaster, and by 1831 there were three public houses, three stores and a hatter business in the village, and the population totaled 406.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History of the Erie Canal at the Canastota Canal Town Museum Canastota NY |url=https://www.canastota-canal.com/history |access-date=April 22, 2023 |website=www.canastota-canal.com |language=en}}</ref>

When the canal was superseded by the construction of [[railroad]]s, and later the [[New York State Thruway]], some canal towns were cut off from the main lines of commerce.

=== Liberty Party National Convention ===
On the first and second days of September 1852, the national convention of the [[Liberty Party (United States, 1840)|Liberty Party]] was held at the Dutch Reformed Church in Canastota. Much of the convention's business was to hear reports from delegates regarding the attitude towards the [[abolition of slavery]] in their respective areas. Among the speakers and attendees were [[Frederick Douglass]], [[Gerrit Smith]], and [[Jermain Wesley Loguen]]. Later debate during the convention focused on whether the party should nominate its own presidential candidate or if they should support the nomination of the Free Democracy Party.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liberty Party Convention at Canastota - Freethought Trail - New York |url=https://freethought-trail.org/historical-events/event:liberty-party-convention-at-canastota/ |access-date=April 22, 2023 |website=freethought-trail.org}}</ref>

The 170th anniversary of the convention was celebrated in 2022, attended by representatives from the village of Canastota, the town of Lenox, and the William G. Pomeroy foundation. A marker was placed as a dedication to the convention on the site where it was held.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canastota |first=Village of |date=September 2, 2022 |title=New historical marker commemorates 1852 presidential convention |url=https://canastota.com/2022/09/new-historical-marker-commemorates-1852-presidential-convention/ |access-date=April 22, 2023 |website=Village of Canastota, NY |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== The Terrible Fire of 1873 ===
On Sunday, October 26, 1873, a fire started in a hay barn located to the east of the village. Some sixty tons of hay and the barn it was stored in burned completely.

Just after 1:30am the following morning, another fire was discovered in a small barn on Spencer Street which soon spread to the Eagle Hotel and other surrounding dwellings and businesses. Urged forward by fierce winds, the fire soon raged through several blocks, leaving smoldering ruins in its wake. In total, over thirty buildings were completely destroyed.

No deaths were reported in the next day's edition of the ''Canastota Herald'', though many were reported to have sustained serious burns to their faces and hands as they worked tirelessly to retrieve personal items and other goods from the burning buildings. Many of the early records of the village were lost in this fire.

The ''Herald'' later reported that in a letter to the Relief Committee, [[Gerrit Smith]] wrote, "Let not Canastota despair. She has still more left than she has lost. She has the sympathies and prayers of her fellowman left; above all, the loving God is left to her." Mr. Smith enclosed his letter with a check for $1,000.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1873 |title=The Terrible Fire |work=The Canastota Herald}}</ref>

=== 1908 New York to Paris Race ===
The [[1908 New York to Paris Race|1908 Race from New York to Paris]] travelled directly through Canastota.

=== 2024 tornado ===
On [[List of United States tornadoes from June to July 2024#July 16 event|July 16, 2024]], the town suffered considerable damage from an EF1 tornado. One person was killed by the tornado.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/weather/2024/07/18/blown-away--7-additional-tornadoes-confirmed-across-new-york-state-this-week |title=9 additional tornadoes confirmed across New York this week |date=19 July 2024 |publisher=[[Spectrum News One]] }}</ref>