Gloversville, New York
Encyclopedia
Gloversville is a city in Fulton County
, New York
, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665
s from New England
settled there at the end of the 18th century. The proximity of forests to supply bark for tanning
made the community a center of leather
production early in its history. It earned its name for being the center of the American glove
making industry for many years. Upon the establishment of a United States Post Office in 1828, Gloversville became the official name of the community. In 1890-1950, 90 percent of all gloves sold in the United States were made in Gloversville.
Large tanneries and glove shops employed nearly 80% of the residents of Gloversville and environs. Home workers sewed the gloves from leather that had been cut in factories. Related businesses, such as box makers, sewing machine repairmen, and thread dealers opened to serve the industry.
In 1853, Gloversville incorporated
as a village. In 1890, it incorporated as a city.
Until 1936, Gloversville had a very active electric interurban line, the Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville. It ran from Gloversville, through Johnstown, along the Mohawk River
to Amsterdam, then to Scotia, then across the Mohawk River, and into downtown Schenectady to the New York Central station. In 1932 in a bold move during the Great Depression
it acquired unique Bullet cars in an attempt to revive business. Passenger service ended in 1936, but freight operation continued.
Gloversville was the main headquarters for the Schine movie
industry. The Glove Theatre was the Schines' favorite movie house. Hollywood movies sometimes premiered in Gloversville before they opened in California.
The decline of the glove industry left the city financially depressed, with many downtown storefronts abandoned and store windows covered with plywood. Many of the houses were abandoned when people moved out of town to find jobs elsewhere.
of Gloversville is Dayton King. He began a four-year term on January 1, 2010.
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), of which 0.20% is water.New York State Route 29A
(Fulton Street) is an east-west road through the city. New York State Route 30A
is a north-south highway through the east side of the city. Another north-south highway, New York State Route 309
(Bleecker Street) terminates its southern reach at NY-29A in Gloversville.
The Cayadutta Creek flows southward through the city, which is southwest of the Great Sacandaga Lake
. The city sits in the foothills of the Adirondacks.
of 2000, there were 15,413 people, 6,500 households, and 3,828 families residing in the city. The population density
was 3,027.0 people per square mile (1,169.2/km²). There were 7,540 housing units at an average density of 1,480.8 per square mile (571.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.37% White, 1.86% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races
, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,755, and the median income for a family was $34,713. Males had a median income of $27,109 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,207. About 14.9% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
immigrated from Poland
through England to Canada
, walked through snow into the United States at an unmanned border point in rural Maine
, eventually making his way to Gloversville, where he worked as a glove maker and commissioned salesman for the Elite Glove Company.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Russo
(Empire Falls
, The Risk Pool
) was raised in Gloversville. The city and its residents were the inspiration for many of his characters and locations in his novels, especially his novel "Mohawk."
Physicist William A. Edelstein
, one of the key developers of MRI scanning, was born in Gloversville.
Harvard University physician, pathologist, and immunologist Dr. Albert Coons
grew up in Gloversville. Coons devised the technology of immunofluorescence microscopy and was given the prestigious Albert Lasker Award
in 1959 for his achievements in medical science.
Actress Elizabeth Anne Allen
, who played Amy Madison
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was raised in Gloversville. Artist Frederic Remington
was a one-time resident.
Eugene Goossen (1921–1997), an art historian, was born in Gloversville.
Fulton County, New York
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,531. Its name is in honor of Robert Fulton, who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, that was once the hub of America's glovemaking industry with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and Johnstown. In 2000, Gloversville had a population of 15,413. Ten years later, the population had increased to 15,665
History
The region, known as "Kingsborough" was acquired by Sir William Johnson. In 1752, Arent Stevens bought land. PuritanPuritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
s from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
settled there at the end of the 18th century. The proximity of forests to supply bark for tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
made the community a center of leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
production early in its history. It earned its name for being the center of the American glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
making industry for many years. Upon the establishment of a United States Post Office in 1828, Gloversville became the official name of the community. In 1890-1950, 90 percent of all gloves sold in the United States were made in Gloversville.
Large tanneries and glove shops employed nearly 80% of the residents of Gloversville and environs. Home workers sewed the gloves from leather that had been cut in factories. Related businesses, such as box makers, sewing machine repairmen, and thread dealers opened to serve the industry.
In 1853, Gloversville incorporated
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
as a village. In 1890, it incorporated as a city.
Until 1936, Gloversville had a very active electric interurban line, the Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville. It ran from Gloversville, through Johnstown, along the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
to Amsterdam, then to Scotia, then across the Mohawk River, and into downtown Schenectady to the New York Central station. In 1932 in a bold move during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
it acquired unique Bullet cars in an attempt to revive business. Passenger service ended in 1936, but freight operation continued.
Gloversville was the main headquarters for the Schine movie
Junius Myer Schine
Junius Myer Schine was a New York theater and hotel magnate. -Biography:He was born on February 20, 1890 or February 28, 1890. In 1902, as an eleven year old he and his brother Louis Schine , age nine, joined their father in the United States. They emigrated from Latvia with their mother, Anne...
industry. The Glove Theatre was the Schines' favorite movie house. Hollywood movies sometimes premiered in Gloversville before they opened in California.
The decline of the glove industry left the city financially depressed, with many downtown storefronts abandoned and store windows covered with plywood. Many of the houses were abandoned when people moved out of town to find jobs elsewhere.
Local government
The mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Gloversville is Dayton King. He began a four-year term on January 1, 2010.
Mayors of Gloversville
- Ashley DeLos Baker 1890-91
- Clark L Jordan 1892-93
- Howard G Dewey 1894-95
- Curtis S Cummings 1896-99
- Edward S Parkhurst 1900-01
- Albert L Covell 1902-03
- Dr Eugene Beach 1904-07
- Frederick M Young 1908-09
- Wesley M Borst 1910-11
- Alden L Henry 1912-13
- George W Schermerhorn 1914-15
- Abram Baird 1916-19
- Theodore R Haviland 1920-21
- Frank A Patten 1922-23
- John W Sisson 1924-27
- Franklin J Clark 1928-31
- George W Green 1932-33
- Chauncey C Thayer 1934-41
- Robert B Ramsey 1942-53
- Roger B Haviland 1954-57
- Eugene S Grover 1958-61
- Richard H Hood 1962-69
- Robert P Best 1970-73
- Richard H Hood 1974-75
- Eugene D Reppenhagen 1975-77, 1982–85
- Louis Nicolella 1978-81
- Susan J Hammond 1986-89
- John M Reich 1990-93
- Frank DeSantis 1994-97
- Abraham Seroussi 1998-2001
- Frank LaPorta 2002-05
- Timothy G Hughes 2006-09
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), of which 0.20% is water.New York State Route 29A
New York State Route 29A
New York State Route 29A is a state highway in the western portion of the Capital District of New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 29 in the Herkimer County hamlet of Salisbury Center. Its eastern end is at another junction with...
(Fulton Street) is an east-west road through the city. New York State Route 30A
New York State Route 30A
New York State Route 30A is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It serves as a westerly alternate route of NY 30 from near the Schoharie County village of Schoharie to the Fulton County hamlet of Riceville, south of the village of Mayfield...
is a north-south highway through the east side of the city. Another north-south highway, New York State Route 309
New York State Route 309
New York State Route 309 is a state highway located entirely in Fulton County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 29A in Gloversville...
(Bleecker Street) terminates its southern reach at NY-29A in Gloversville.
The Cayadutta Creek flows southward through the city, which is southwest of the Great Sacandaga Lake
Great Sacandaga Lake
The Great Sacandaga Lake is a large lake situated in the Adirondack Park in northern New York in the United States. The word Sacandaga means "Land of the Waving Grass" in the local native language. The lake is located in the northern parts of Fulton County and Saratoga County near the south...
. The city sits in the foothills of the Adirondacks.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 15,413 people, 6,500 households, and 3,828 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,027.0 people per square mile (1,169.2/km²). There were 7,540 housing units at an average density of 1,480.8 per square mile (571.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.37% White, 1.86% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,755, and the median income for a family was $34,713. Males had a median income of $27,109 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $15,207. About 14.9% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Gloversville falls almost entirely within the Gloversville Enlarged School District, with small portions of the city falling within Mayfield Central and Greater Johnstown School Districts. Nearly all of Gloversville ESD's schools are within city limits, with the exception of Meco Elementary, which is in the Town of Johnstown within 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) of the city's western border. Boulevard Elementary School is partially within the city and partially within the Town of Johnstown.Notable residents
In 1899, the Hollywood producer Samuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
immigrated from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
through England to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, walked through snow into the United States at an unmanned border point in rural Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, eventually making his way to Gloversville, where he worked as a glove maker and commissioned salesman for the Elite Glove Company.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Russo
Richard Russo
Richard Russo is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher.-Early life and education:Russo was born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville...
(Empire Falls
Empire Falls
Empire Falls is a two-part mini-series that aired on HBO in 2005. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name which was written by Richard Russo. It was nominated for and won multiple awards, including various Emmys and Golden Globes...
, The Risk Pool
The Risk Pool
The Risk Pool is Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Richard Russo's second novel. First published in 1988, The Risk Pool is a Bildungsroman or "coming of age" novel set in fictional Mohawk, New York, a dying blue-collar town...
) was raised in Gloversville. The city and its residents were the inspiration for many of his characters and locations in his novels, especially his novel "Mohawk."
Physicist William A. Edelstein
William A. Edelstein
William A. Edelstein is an American physicist. One of the key developers of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging , he was part of the team that developed the first full-body MRI scanner at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and was the primary inventor of spin-warp imaging, which is still used in...
, one of the key developers of MRI scanning, was born in Gloversville.
Harvard University physician, pathologist, and immunologist Dr. Albert Coons
Albert Coons
Albert Hewett Coons, M.D. was an American physician, pathologist, and immunologist. He was the first person to conceptualize and develop immunofluorescent techniques for labeling antibodies in the early 1940s....
grew up in Gloversville. Coons devised the technology of immunofluorescence microscopy and was given the prestigious Albert Lasker Award
Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary...
in 1959 for his achievements in medical science.
Actress Elizabeth Anne Allen
Elizabeth Anne Allen
Elizabeth Anne Allen is an American actress. Allen is best known for her recurring role as the witch Amy Madison on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer....
, who played Amy Madison
Amy Madison
Amy Madison is a fictional character, a witch played by Elizabeth Anne Allen in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and by Shay Astar in the Season 8 motion comics. She made appearances in every season of Buffy except Seasons Five .Amy is a witch...
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was raised in Gloversville. Artist Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
was a one-time resident.
Eugene Goossen (1921–1997), an art historian, was born in Gloversville.
External links
- City of Gloversville webpage
- City Charter and Code
- "Glovers and Tanners of Fulton County"
- "Fulton-Montgomery Photo Archives"
- "Fulton County Museum"
- Gloversville City Court information
- 1914 glove strike
- Judge rules in city police chief’s favor
- Photographs of Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville Railroad
- Glove Theater renovation & history
- Gloversville General Information