Editing Gilboa, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Gilboa, New York
| settlement_type    = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Gilboa Town Hall, Gilboa, New York.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Gilboa Town Hall
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_label_position = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| image_map          = Schoharie County NY Gilboa town highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = Location in [[Schoharie County, New York|Schoharie County]] and the state of [[New York (state)|New York]].
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Schoharie County, New York|Schoharie]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_36.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 153.80
| area_land_km2      = 149.72
| area_water_km2     = 4.08
| area_total_sq_mi   = 59.38
| area_land_sq_mi    = 57.81
| area_water_sq_mi   = 1.58

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 1111
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = <!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 278
| elevation_ft       = 912
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|25|45|N|74|28|3|W|region:US-NY|display=inline}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 12076
| area_code          = [[Area code 607|607]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 36-28981
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0979001
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_est     = 
}}
'''Gilboa''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Schoharie County, New York|Schoharie County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States.  The population was 1,111 at the 2020 census.<ref>US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report, Gilboa town, Schoharie County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Gilboa%20town,%20Schoharie%20County,%20New%20York Accessed, January 3, 2023</ref>

The '''Town of Gilboa''' is in the southern part of the county and is southwest of [[Albany, New York|Albany]].

== 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.

== Fossil Forest ==
{{main|Gilboa Fossil Forest}}
In 1870, workers blasting a site for a stone quarry found fossilized remains of tree stumps. In 2004, the tops and fronds of the trees were discovered and, in 2007, the fern-like trees, named [[Wattieza]], were pronounced the oldest known trees on earth.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|59.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|57.8|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|1.6|sqmi|km2}} of it (2.63%) is water.

The southern town line forms a border with [[Delaware County, New York|Delaware County]] and [[Greene County, New York|Greene County]].

The [[Schoharie Creek]] flows northward through the town.

[[New York State Route 30]] is a north-south highway in Gilboa. [[New York State Route 23]] cuts through the southwestern corner of the town. [[New York State Route 990V]] is a highway running eastward from NY-30 in the southeastern part of Gilboa.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 3024
|1860= 2541
|1870= 2227
|1880= 2040
|1890= 1718
|1900= 1448
|1910= 1467
|1920= 1541
|1930= 978
|1940= 1061
|1950= 943
|1960= 782
|1970= 854
|1980= 1078
|1990= 1207
|2000= 1215
|2010= 1307
|2020= 1111
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref= 
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> 2020<ref>US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report, Gilboa town, Schohaire County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Gilboa%20town,%20Schoharie%20County,%20New%20York Accessed, January 3, 2023</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,215 persons, 478 households, and 355 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|21.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 992 housing units at an average density of {{convert|17.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 95.80% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.91% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.25% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.82% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.23% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.99% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.98% of the population.

There were 478 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,156, and the median income for a family was $38,214. Males had a median income of $31,635 versus $25,278 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $18,561.  About 9.6% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

[[Image:Gilboa New York historical sign cropped.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gilboa Historical Sign]]

== Communities and locations in Gilboa ==
*'''Blenheim-Gilboa Reservoir''' &ndash; A reservoir partly in the northwestern part of Gilboa.
*'''Broome Center''' &ndash; A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town located on County Road 17, settled around 1850.
*'''Five Corners''' &ndash; A location south of Mackey at the junction of County Roads 17 and 18.
*'''Flat Creek''' &ndash; A hamlet in the eastern part of the town on County Road 17.
*'''Gilboa''' &ndash; The hamlet of Gilboa is north of the Gilboa Reservoir.
*[[Gilboa-Conesville Central School]] &ndash; The only school in Gilboa.
*'''Mackey''' &ndash; A hamlet west of Broome Center.
*'''Mayham Pond''' &ndash; A small lake north of South Gilboa Station.
*'''Owlsville''' &ndash; A  hamlet in the northeastern section  of the town.
*[[Schoharie Reservoir]] &ndash; A [[reservoir (water)|reservoir]] partly in the southeastern corner of the town, south of Gilboa village.
*'''South Gilboa''' &ndash; A hamlet in the southwestern part of Gilboa on County Road 14. The [[Forks in the Road Schoolhouse]] and [[South Gilboa Railroad Station]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
*'''South Gilboa Station''' &ndash; A location in the southwestern part of the town on NY-23.
*'''Upper Blenheim-Gilboa Reservoir''' &ndash; A reservoir in the northwestern section of Gilboa, east of the Blenheim-Gilboa Reservoir.
*'''Welch Corners''' &ndash; A location in the northwestern part of the town.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.schohariecounty-ny.gov/CountyWebSite/towngil/index.jsp  Gilboa, NY website]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyschoha/chap7.html  Early history of Gilboa, NY]
* [http://www.southernschoharie.org  Southern Schoharie County information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426102945/http://www.southernschoharie.org/ |date=April 26, 2006 }}
* [http://www.gilboafossils.org  Gilboa Fossils Museum Official Website]
* [http://www.gilboahome.com  Gilboa Historical Society Newsletters, Photos of old village of Gilboa, NY Website]

{{Schoharie County, New York}}

{{Coord|42|23|50|N|74|26|46|W|type:city_region:US-NY|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Schoharie County, New York]]
[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1848]]
[[Category:1848 establishments in New York (state)]]