Editing Dolgeville, New York (section)

==History==
The village was founded in 1794 by Samuel Low with the construction of two mills. A [[grist mill]] and later a [[saw mill]] were built by Captain John Favill on Ransom Creek about 1795. Soon a little settlement sprang up as other settlers moved in; with a [[blacksmith]] shop, [[tannery]] and school house. Families by the names of Ayers, Spencer, Ransom, Spofford, Lamberson, Brockett and Rundell soon followed and settled the adjoining lands which they cleared for farms.

The area was at first called "Green's Bridge" in 1805, as a settler named Green built a bridge over [[East Canada Creek]]. In 1826 the area received its first post office, with Zephi Brockett as postmaster, and the area was renamed "Brockett's Bridge" in his honor. In 1881 the citizens unanimously petitioned the authorities at [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] to change the name of the place from "Brockett's Bridge" to "Dolgeville". The village of Dolgeville was incorporated in 1891.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web| url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=2717| title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Dolge Company Factory Complex| date=n.d.| access-date=July 21, 2010| author=Doris Manley and Eleanor Franz| publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014221043/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=2717| archive-date=October 14, 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:(King1893NYC) pg947 ALFRED DOLGE'S DOLGEVILLE FACTORIES.jpg|thumbnail|The Dolge Company Factory Complex in 1883]]
The village changed its name to Dolgeville because of the economic growth promoted by [[Alfred Dolge]] (1848–1922), a pioneering and benevolent [[industrialist]]. In addition to factories, Dolge built a railroad, laid out the village, built two schools, installed an electric system, a water system, sewage, a fire department, a free library, a concert hall, a gymnasium, public parks, a newspaper, and pioneered in a pension and profit sharing system for employees.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1897 |title=PROGRESS AT DOLGEVILLE; THE FOUNDER OF THE TOWN REVIEWS THE SITUATION. Satisfactory Operation of the Labor Pension and Insurance System -- Lower Rates of Interest Needed in the Country. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/01/31/archives/progress-at-dolgeville-the-founder-of-the-town-reviews-the.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Thomas Edison]]'s first water-powered [[dynamo]] was installed in Dolge's factory.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 1898 |title=POWER PLANT AT DOLGEVILLE.; Opened by Gov. Black from Albany -- Lieut. Gov. Woodruff's Address. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/01/16/archives/power-plant-at-dolgeville-opened-by-gov-black-from-albany-lieut-gov.html |access-date=April 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Dolge's factory largely produced parts and materials for [[piano]]s. The Daniel Green shoe company partnered with Dolge after finding that the factory's piano felt was also well-suited for slippers. Dolge's factory and social endeavors failed financially in 1899, and the [[Dolge Company Factory Complex]] became property of the Daniel Green company.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Daniel Green & L.B. Evans Slippers History - Daniel Green Slippers |url=https://www.danielgreen.com/shop/pc/https://www.danielgreen.com/shop/pc/Daniel-Green-L-B-Evans-Tempur-pedic-Slippers-and-Footwear-History-Daniel-Green-Company-d1.htm |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=www.danielgreen.com |language=en}}</ref> Daniel Green was the largest employer in the village until 1999, when it shuttered its operations there.<ref name="NYT1999">{{Cite news |last=Perez-Pena |first=Richard |date=April 25, 1999 |title=This Factory's Bats Are Going, Going, Gone; As Home of McGwire's 'Big Stick,' Struggling Upstate Town Gets a Lift |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/25/nyregion/this-factory-s-bats-are-going-going-gone-home-mcgwire-s-big-stick-struggling.html |access-date=April 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Lyndon Lyon, who lived in Dolgeville until his death in 1999, developed about 800 hybrid varieties of [[African violet]] and helped popularize its use as a houseplant.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Honan |first=William H. |date=May 26, 1999 |title=Lyndon Lyon Is Dead at 94; A Breeder of African Violets |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/26/nyregion/lyndon-lyon-is-dead-at-94-a-breeder-of-african-violets.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Lyon's [[greenhouse]] in Dolgeville still operates and is known for violets and [[orchid]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sorano |first=Paul |title=Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc. |url=https://www.lyndonlyon.com/ |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=www.lyndonlyon.com}}</ref> and Dolgeville's annual Violet Festival commemorates him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.violetfestival-ny.com/ |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=Violet Festival |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=J1274 |url=https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/resolutions/2011/j1274 |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=NY State Senate |language=en}}</ref>

In 1965, a [[caver]] named James G. Mitchell became trapped under a waterfall while exploring a cave near Dolgeville. Despite a team of cave rescuers arriving on [[Air Force 2]], Mitchell died. Mitchell's entrapment and death became a national news story and raised awareness among cavers of the risk of [[hypothermia]]. Part of the cave collapsed during the initial attempt to retrieve Mitchell's body, and the attempt was abandoned. At the time, the cave mouth was dynamited shut to prevent future mishaps. Mitchell's corpse was finally retrieved in 2006 and returned to his family.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 14, 1965 |title=EXPLORER IS LOST IN CAVE UPSTATE; Police Fear Man, Trapped Under Waterfall, Is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/14/archives/explorer-is-lost-in-cave-upstate-police-fear-man-trapped-under.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 27, 2006 |first=Leo|last=Benedictus|title=Going back for James|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jun/27/usa.features11 |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

In late 2014, Alfred Dolge's 1895 mansion, which stood behind the historic factory complex, was destroyed by fire.<ref name="Dolge Mansion Destroyed By Fire">{{cite web|url=http://www.wktv.com/news/Dolgeville-residents-react-to-devastating-loss-of-the-historic-Dolge-Mansion-285036671.html |title=WKTV News: Dolge Mansion Destroyed by Fire |date=n.d. |access-date=December 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227151805/http://www.wktv.com/news/Dolgeville-residents-react-to-devastating-loss-of-the-historic-Dolge-Mansion-285036671.html |archive-date=December 27, 2014 }}</ref>  The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

The [[Breckwoldt-Ward House]], [[Menge House Complex]], [[Alfred Dolge Hose Co. No. 1 Building]], [[Dolge Company Factory Complex]],  and [[United States Post Office (Dolgeville, New York)|United States Post Office]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2010a}}</ref> The [[Beaversprite]] nature preserve is partially in the Fulton County portion of Dolgeville.