Greene History Notes: A short history of the town of Lexington

Last week I wrote a few paragraphs about the history of the Town of Ashland. Lexington is another Greene County town that adjoins Ashland on the north and also has an interesting past. While there are no villages in the town, it encompasses the following place names that every local would know: Lexington, North Lexington, West Kill, Spruceton, Beach Ridge, Little West Kill, Bushnellville and Broadstreet Hollow.

Land in the township was originally part of the Hardenburgh patent and for a period also part of the Town of Windham until it was separated in 1813. It was first called New Goshen after the Connecticut town where many of the early settlers came from. According to Former Town Historian Karen Deeter, just a few months later a settler from Massachusetts was instrumental in having the name changed to Lexington. Deeter organized a wonderful yearlong bicentennial commemoration in 2013. I was pleased to play a small part in the celebration.

Lexington is noted for the two separate valleys that run through it. Each is cut through by a stream; the Schoharie and the West Kill. Initially settlers were drawn to the town because of the availability of water power, timber, and furs. As the trees were harvested for tanning and lumber, small scale farming took over followed by boarding houses to accommodate tourists.

Like Ashland, Lexington had a thriving dairy industry well into the mid-twentieth century. The Town of Lexington website says the following about the industry:

“The birth of the Lexington Co-operative Creamery Association in 1899 provided an income for many in this community. During the butter production years they produced eight tons of butter every 24 hours and required 15 men per shift around the clock. Land O’ Lakes was their biggest buyer. These machines were replaced by sealing machines when Redi-Whip production replaced the butter production in the mid-fifties. The Lexington Creamery closed in 1959 when Redi-Whip moved out and the building burned to the ground in 1961.”

Another business that had a great impact on the town starting around the turn of the twentieth century was the Fenwick Lumber Company. Part of the company’s operations were located at the head of West Kill Valley. Much can be said its operations. Suffice it to say, it had a great impact on Lexington and Greene County for a time and more detail will be provided in a future column.

Many fairly well-known people called Lexington their home for a period of time. One was Levi Hill, now considered by many to be the father of color photography for his work in the mid-nineteenth century. Another is the western painter and sculptor Charles Schreyvogel. He was a contemporary of Charles Russell and Frederick Remington. Not to be forgotten is Art Flick, author and dedicated conservationist and sportsman. Through his writing on fly fishing he introduced generations of fly fishers to the joys of imitating trout stream insects. For those that have more interest in these individuals, much more can be found on the internet and elsewhere.

I am somewhat limited by space here. Suffice it to say, the town of Lexington has seen many changes over the last 200 years. It developed into a self-sufficient community with tanneries, stores, saw mills, grist mills, a creamery, hotels and boarding houses. Most of those things are gone now, but the town still retains many aspects of pleasant country life. Current residents have a strong sense of community and are proud of their town and history.

As I wrote this column my thoughts turned to Karen Deeter many times. She passed a little over two years ago. In her capacity as Lexington Town Historian, I came to consider her a friend and colleague. She took her responsibilities very seriously and never stopped being a great cheerleader for her adopted town.

To reach columnist David Dorpfeld, e-mail gchistorian@gmail.com or visit him on Facebook at “Greene County Historian.”