Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Event, Government, Site

Location

4762 NY-241, Conewango Valley, NY 14726, USA

Lat/Long

42.208089, -79.001081

Grant Recipient

Town of Conewango

On January 20, 1823, New York State passed “An Act to divide the Town of Little Valley, in the County of Cattaraugus” which stated:

“That from and after the second Monday in February next, all that part of the town of Little Valley, in the county of Cattaraugus, comprising townships number one, two, three and four, in the ninth range of the Holland Land Company’s Land, shall be a separate town, by the name of Conewango, and that the first town meeting to be held therein, shall be at the house of John Darling, in said town, on the second Tuesday in February next. …”

The act established the towns of Conewango and Coldspring from parts of the town of Little Valley in Cattaraugus County. The remaining parts of the town of Little Valley remained as a separate town, still named Little Valley.

The first town meeting for the newly established Conewango was held on February 11, 1823 at the home of John Darling (1786-1867), a local farmer and land owner. According to the 1879 History of Cattaraugus Co. by L.H. Everts, Darling had settled in the area on lot 38 in 1821, having relocated from Vermont. At the first town meeting in 1823, Darling was elected the first supervisor of the town. A number of other town officials were elected at the meeting as well, including town clerk, assessor, collector, poormasters, highway commissioners, school commissioners, school inspectors, and constables.

As of 2022, the Conewango Town Hall and Highway Department was located on New York State Route 241 in Conewango. Approximately half a mile north west of the Conewango Town Hall, one can find John Darling Road, named after the first supervisor of Conewango. According to the History of Cattaraugus Co., it was on this road that Darling lived until his death in 1867.