Editing Gilboa, New York (section)

== History ==
[[Image:The Gilboa Fossils from the Wattieza tree located in Gilboa, New York.jpg|left|220px|thumb|The Gilboa Fossils from the Wattieza tree located in Gilboa, New York discovered in 1920.]]
The town was first settled around 1760.

The Town of Gilboa was formed in 1848 from regions taken from the Towns of [[Blenheim, New York|Blenheim]] and [[Broome, New York|Broome]].  The name "Gilboa" is from [[Mount Gilboa]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n136 137]}}</ref> a biblical site in [[Israel]], where [[King Saul]]'s sons were killed by the [[Philistines]], and Saul killed himself (1 Samuel 31:4)

A cotton mill in the community of Gilboa was a major contributor to the early economy of the town, but it was destroyed by a flood in 1869.

In 1926, the Schoharie Creek was dammed to form the Schoharie Reservoir.  The original settlement of Gilboa was razed and flooded as part of this project.  A new settlement was established north of the reservoir.