As of the census
Hebron Volunteer Fire Company
The West Hebron Volunteer Fire Company was formed in 1947. Willard Bain, a charter member, died in February 2008. The first fire truck, BRUSH 356, was put into service in 1947 and operated until 2008. It was retired after the purchase that spring of a CAFS truck ATTACK 356. In 1978, the East Hebron Fire Company was formed after the homes of Nelson Greene and Alfred "Pug" Getty burned down. Getty donated the land and Greene led the group of volunteers who built Station Two. The two companies later merged to form the Hebron Volunteer Fire Company. www.HebronVolunteerFireCompany.com
The Hebron Volunteer Fire Company First Response Team provides emergency medical services to the town. These firefighters/emergency medical technicians (EMTs) respond to medical and trauma-related calls. All first responders are licensed as EMTs by the State of New York. David Getty, a lifelong resident of Hebron, is Fire Chief.
Hebron Preservation Society
The Hebron Preservation Society was chartered by the State of New York in 1975. The Society maintains a museum, with collections held in two historic buildings located on the east side of Route 22 in the hamlet of East Hebron. The former one-room school house built in 1845 was acquired from the Salem School District, and a small tenant farm house, built in the early 19th century, was purchased in 1990. The society published HEBRON: A Century In Review in 1988, with a second edition in 2006. The museum houses a display of school house memorabilia, varied articles, ledgers, books, and family genealogies pertaining to the residents, businesses and organizations in Hebron.
Beauty of Hebron potato
The Beauty of Hebron potato variety was promoted by a local seedsman, Edward L. Coy (E.L. Coy). Both Coy and Rachel Campbell of Hebron took credit for the discovery. The variety was a naturally fertilized seedling of Garnet Chili. The earliest published reference to the Beauty of Hebron variety is from the 1876 Annual Agricultural Society Meeting in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The next year, in 1877 the US Department of Agriculture introduced the Beauty of Hebron potato to growers in 26 states for tests. Various major seed companies of the time claimed credit for its commercial introduction, including J. M. Thornburn of New York City, JJH Gregory of Marblehead, and Peter Henderson of New Jersey.
In 1879 Coy shipped "Hebron Beauties" to London. The Beauty of Hebron was one of the varieties used to restock the British Isles after the potato blight and Great Famine of Ireland. Its use spread throughout the British Empire to localities such as New Zealand and New Caledonia. By the turn of the 20th century, it was also a favorite of market and home gardeners in the United States. In 1946, the USDA did not list it in commercial production in the United States, but the 1959 Potato Variety Handbook of the American Potato Association includes the Beauty of Hebron. Most current tissue culture stocks and tubers came from Elmer Hansen of Alberta, Canada; in 1988 he provided seed to Will Bownall and the Seedsavers organization, devoted to preserving historic varieties.
The Beauty of Hebron is listed on the RAFT list of Threatened American Foods. The Beauty of Hebron is maintained at the Canadian Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; the University of North Dakota Potato Breeding Program; and with a commercial breeder. As of 2008, it was not known if the potato variety was in commercial production. Due to Sally Brillion of the Hebron Preservation Society, amateur gardeners began to cultivate the Beauty of Hebron potato in 2006.
Notable people
- Hiram Barton — former mayor of Buffalo, New York
- James M. Hinds — United States Representative from Arkansas's 2nd congressional district elected March 1868, assassinated in October 1868, born in East Hebron in December 1833
- Kevin Monahan — convicted murderer
- Homer Nelson — former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
- Solomon Northup (1808-c. 1863) — born in Minerva, New York, free man of color who had a farm in Hebron, publisher of the bestselling memoir Twelve Years a Slave about his life, lecturer on the abolitionist circuit
- Ralph Randles Stewart — botanist
Locations
There are seven hamlets in the town: Porter, Hebron, North Hebron, East Hebron, West Hebron, Belcher, and Slateville. The Town Clerk's office is located in West Hebron on County Route 30, as is the Hebron Volunteer Fire Company FireHall and Station One. Station Two is located on NY Route 22, south of the intersection of Sheldon Rd, Chamberlain Mill Road and NY-22. Hebron has no school buildings or town center now, but there were hotels, postal offices, and many schools in the past. Students now attend schools in the surrounding towns, primarily Granville and Salem. The northeastern half of Hebron is in the Granville zipcode 12832, and the bulk of the southwestern half is in the Salem zipcode 12865. In 2008, there was only a country store located at Bedlam Corners in the hamlet of West Hebron.
Communities
- Belcher – a hamlet near the western town line on County Road 30.
- Castle Green – A location near the western town line.
- East Hebron – A hamlet near the eastern town boundary on NY-22. The Hebron District School No. 16 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
- Hebron - <<not located>>
- North Hebron – A hamlet near the northern town line on County Road 31.
- Porter – A community north of East Hebron on NY-22.
- Slateville – A hamlet in the northeastern part of Hebron on County Road 31, east of North Hebron.
- Tiplady – A community south of East Hebron on NY-22.
- West Hebron (Chamberlain Mills) – A hamlet in the southwestern corner of the town on County Road 31. The Hebron Valley Grange No. 1103 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Geographical features
- Barkley's Lake – A small lake north of West Hebron.
- Black Creek – A stream parallel to NY-22
- Black Creek Falls – in West Hebron on the West Branch of Black Creek, just before Patterson Hill Road
- Green Pond – A small lake northeast of Slateville.
- Grimes Hill – An elevation in the north part of the town.
- Hebron Mountain – A small mountain overlooking West Hebron from the northeast.
- Irwin Road Pond – A small lake west of East Hebron.
- Pine Hill – An elevation northeast of West Hebron.
- Smith Pond – A small lake south of North Hebron.
References
External links
- Town of Hebron website
- Historical Images of Hebron NY and area ~ Richard Clayton Photography