Floyd

General Store

The early settlers formed a village in the Punch Bowl where the first sawmill was erected. During these early days, the pioneers in the Punch Bowl faced many hardships. The forests were infested with panthers, wildcat, bear and huge packs of timber wolves. In a short time, the frontier spread to the Corners, now Floyd village. Soon afterward, a man named Thomas Bacon was the first to settle on the higher plateaus, and for some time the hilly area was known as Bacon’s Hill.

The Town of Floyd, comprising 20,650 acres , was the sixth town in the county to organize. The first town meeting on March 4, 1796, at the home of Samuel J. Curtis, elected Colonel Stephan Moulton Sr. as supervisor, and Moses Coffeen, town clerk. The name Floyd was chosen to honor the statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Major General William Floyd. This seems to have been the result of his interests in the town, its citizens and his warm relationship with the veterans.

By 1845 Floyd had become an affluent, society-minded, prestigious community with a population of 1,592, ranking third in the county in the number of students attending colleges and universities. Shortly thereafter, however, during the development of plank roads, canals, and railroads, Floyd’s importance declined. All means of heavy travel and transport circumvented the township and the population shifted to areas of industry where work was obtainable. Floyd became a victim of progress, where only agriculture and very small industry survived. By 1865, the population dropped to 1,227.

Camroden School

In the period from 1810-1830, the original townsfolk were of “Yankee” stock. The first “wave” of foreign settlers all came from Wales. They spoke a strange, complex language, Cymrag — or Welsh. The barren, sparsely populated hill area was selected by the Welsh, in that it resembled their native Wales, and at the same time afforded them the opportunity to clan together. The hill, consisting almost entirely of Welsh-speaking citizenry, developed into an industrious, clannish, conservative and Republican community, the heart of which was located at Camroden Corners. By 1872 Camroden was a village with a post office and tannery employing over 40 people.

In times preceding the Civil War, Floyd was selected by many abolitionist organizations in Oneida County as a center for anti-slavery teachings. Meetings were held in some of the churches, as well as in the form of outdoor rallies to promote the movement.

Ice Harvest

By the 1900-1930 period, practically all forms of industry, save agriculture and cheese making, ceased to exist. The cooper and wagon shop at Floyd Corners, the tannery at Camroden, the sawmill and the old hotel at Floyd were in their last days.

Since the early days, there were mostly one-room type of schoolhouses in the town, and by mid-1930 there were only seven of these in session. These were all closed in the late. The last to close was the large two-room school at Floyd Corners in December of 1945. In 1960, the Holland Patent District constructed a new elementary building at the corner of Route 365 and Mill Street, naming it Stittville Elementary School. In the spring of 1975, the school was renamed the General William Floyd Elementary School at Stittville.

In the early 1950’s, the United States Air Force purchased some 47 acres of land located on lower Koenig Road for the construction of a test site for various radar and related experimentation. On August 12, 1960, the historic first intercontinental voice message by satellite, originating in Trinidad, was received by Air Force scientists at the site.

In 1975 funds were provided for a new town park, located on the hill overlooking the highway garage on Camroden Road. The park, some 12 acres was completed following the hauling of some 3,000-odd loads of fill dirt which was needed to bring the site to proper grade. A picnic area, recreation area, and ball fields were added for the completion of the project.