Souvenirs of Yesteryear: East German

The bygone hamlet of East German could just as well have been called West McDonough, because it straddled a street now appropriately named Town Line Road. The west side of this hamlet’s main street was in the Town of German and the east side was in the Town of McDonough.
East German appears on the 1855, 1863, and 1875 maps labeled as “East German PO.” The “PO,” for post office, gave it status as a regional center. Although the maps do not reveal which side of the street the post office was on, a table in the front of the 1875 Atlas declares it to be in German. During this period, both German and McDonough each had two post offices, their namesakes and their East counterparts. In 1875, Chenango County had 47 post offices. Today it has 20, and is served by 12 in adjacent counties.
The photo shows what seems to have been downtown East German, the intersection of what are now Town Line and Loomis roads. Two helpful Bullthistle hikers are standing on Town Line Road. Joyce Post is pointing south and Anne Altshuler is pointing north. I took the photo in the center of Loomis Road while dodging Sunday morning traffic. The precursor to Loomis Road continued west to what is now Skillman-Hoffman Road, whereas today it terminates at the signpost.
The area west of East German is of interest because John Lincklaen came through here in 1792 somewhere above where Forty Brook flows into Five Streams Brook. The names of these brooks pose another challenge. Exactly which of all the streams flowing into it are the five that count? Did Forty Brook get its name from someone’s back forty? A lot that has 160 acres can be divided into four quadrants, each of which has 40 acres. The landowner lived in one of the front 40 and those in the rear were called the back 40. When did these streams get assigned these names? “Five Streams” appears on the 1863 and 1875 maps, but not on the 1855. The earliest map I have with “Forty” is the 1950 topographical (Smithville Flats 7.5 minute). Maybe Forty is one of the five streams; it could be the fourth. If so, perhaps its real name is “Fourthy.”
About a quarter-mile south of the signpost is Jones Road, a short three-quarter-mile connection between Town Line and Skillman-Hoffman roads. On the southwest corner was a school house, unnumbered on the 1855 map, Number 9 on the 1863, District 8 on the 1875 map. In 1869, East German also had a Methodist church, a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop, and 12 dwellings, with a population of 44, according to Hamilton Child’s “Gazetteer and Business Directory,” page 93. At that same time, the hamlet of German had a population of 43.
I like to treat things as if they were persons, by specifying when they came into being and when they ceased functioning. The two most important historical identifiers of a person are the birth and death years. For example, George Washington (1732-1799). The same would be handy for designating a hamlet. When was it first settled and when did the last resident leave? All I know so far is that East German appeared on an 1855 map and no longer appeared after being on the 1904 topographical map (Greene 15 minute). The post office persisted until at least 1939, according to a postal history website. So, as of now, my tentative designation is East German (1855-1939). However, I suspect that it was founded earlier and endured later. It is not listed with the post offices of Chenango County in the 1813 “Gazetteer” of Horatio Gates Spafford, page 68. It is not on the 1839 map. Anyone with more information is encouraged to enlighten me.
My original interest in East German was not the hamlet but the interesting geological formation about a mile west. There is a “lookout” which rises about 80 feet above Five Streams Brook. The bedrock stands as a peninsula towering in space and narrowing to a blunt point. It is covered with acrobatic hemlocks and sports a lush carpet of moss. It is not a true lookout because there is nothing to look out at, just more trees. I had to wonder whether Lincklaen saw this. I suspect that beaver had dammed up the brook below and the resulting pond killed off the trees. Perhaps this was once a lovers’ leap. If not, why not? Whatever it was, it is now a nice place to scoff down a snack and contemplate the mysteries of life. Such as, why didn’t those folks in the past do more writing? And, if they did, why were their successors so inept at preserving it?

Comments

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