Canisteo (village), New York

Native Americans Canisteo existed as a community prior to European settlement, but there are different versions of who the inhabitants were and what the settlement consisted of. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Canisteo was in a remote area, between territories of the Seneca and Delaware Indians, "a sort of No Man's Land". There are references to a "Kanestio castle", but differing accounts of what it was, or even what was meant by "castle". One modern writer calls it "mysterious", noting that "facts about [it] are few and difficult to come by." European settlers Colonial village of outlaws According to William Stuart, "The history of Kanestio Castle constitutes the genesis of Steuben County".). There is no further written reference to Kanestio for 72 years. In 1762 two Dutch traders, British subjects, were killed by "a brace of outlaws from the Castle," Depot Street (renamed Railroad Street while the trolley ran down it) was built to connect the depot to the Canisteo House hotel. A large community, with businesses and shops, and other hotels, sprang up. A J. H. Stewart owned, at 23 Main St. (later East Main St.) a store selling pianos, organs, and sheet music. An American LaFrance fire engine was purchased in 1881. The Canisteo Water Works was built in 1887; the bandstand in the park in 1888. In the late 19th century Canisteo was a temperance community. This was seen as progressive. The same clipping reveals that in 1925 there was a potato club in Canisteo, with a membership of 32 boys and the support of the Erie Railroad and "the state school of agriculture at Alfred". In 1892, 20 arc lights were installed for street illumination. A business directory of 1893 reports that: Canisteo "has a bank, weekly newspaper, four churches, well-equipped fire department, three hotels, and a first-class academy. Very few villages of its size have the industries equal to this place. The principal ones are the manufacturing of doors, sash and blinds, boots and shoes, leather, fence wire, incandescent lamps, hubs and spokes, washing machines, etc." In 1898 Canisteo got gas from Hornell for heating, after an earlier experiment in generating it in Canisteo. 20th century Canisteo got telephone service about 1902. It got dial service about 1950; the original building, on Fifth St., is still (2015) in use. Numbers were four digits, beginning with 2- or 4-, and the only pay phone in town, in the school, with 8-. However, it was an isolated island until the commercial center of Hornell got dial service in 1963. To call Hornell, one dialed 3- for a Hornell operator. This is probably a reason why Hornell's exchange, 324, begins with a 3-. The only other dialable location was the hamlet of Cameron, whose exchange was accessed by dialing 5-, perhaps reflected in Cameron's exchange (607) 695-. Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan spoke in Canisteo in 1924. To create parking for downtown merchants, in the 1950s The Green, Canisteo's central park, between East Main, Greenwood, South Main, and Maple Streets, was sacrificed. It had had an old-fashioned, huge drinking fountain; older photos show a small bandstand. ==Businesses and industries==

A number of small manufacturing establishments existed along Depot Street in the nineteenth century; there were 10 factories in Canisteo in 1873. These included the Voorhis planing mill, a site later taken over by the Canisteo Sash & Door Company in 1885. These were located at the site of the present Canisteo trailer park (which replaced a waste materials company that occupied the site after the factory's closure). The Henry Carter and Son foundry, founded in 1873, renamed the Canisteo Steam Power Company, manufactured steam engines and many other metal products. In 1890, it employed 10 men. The Tucker button factory was also located on Depot Street. In 1908 the factory was occupied by the Thomas Spring & Gear Company, which manufactured shock absorbers for Ford cars, using an invention patented by Charles L. Thomas of Canisteo. Other manufacturers included the Canisteo Silk Mill, on Russell St., which in the 1920s had 200 employees and was the only such factory in the country. There was also a small sawmill, on Third St.; and Scott's Dairy, a milk processor, located on Depot St. near the rail line. Scott's had a small ice cream shop on the north side of West Main St. For more information on and pictures of Canisteo's industries, and the fires which destroyed several of them, see Virginia Dickey's "The Canisteo of the 1890s". Between 1894 and 1935, the offices, repair shop, and depot of the New York & Pennsylvania Railroad were located in Canisteo, where, until 1917, when passenger service was discontinued, there was also a staffed station, on the east side of the central park. On the west side of the central park was a stop of the Hornell Traction Company. The Canisteo Theater, which closed in the 1950s, was a brick building on the west side of Greenwood St., demolished around 2000. The only significant industry in Canisteo today is the Welles Bros. sign factory, which began operations in 1955 from a leased building, now (2015) abandoned, on Fifth Street; in 1967 it moved to its present (2015) building at 92 Depot St. ==Newspapers==

• The Canisteo Reporter was being published in 1873, according to a map of that date. • The Canisteo Times, "an independent family journal, devoted to home interests", was published from 1875 to 1889. Editor and publisher was A. H. Bunnell. Another source says: "The Times was established in 1876 by S. H. Jennings and in April, 1886, was sold to F. B. Smith, who conducted it with ability and success." the Canisteo Valley Journal (Hornellsville, 1858–1862), and the Canisteo Valley Times (Hornellsville, 1867–?) were not published within the current (2020) Town of Canisteo. == Schools ==

In the Village of Canisteo are located the Canisteo-Greenwood Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. (See Town of Canisteo.) == Transportation ==

The former Erie Railroad began operations in 1851. It was replaced by bus service, although there have been gaps when no public transportation was available. From 1896 to 1936, the New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (not to be confused with the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway) started at the depot and ran south toward Rexville. Around 1900, the Erie Railroad had 10 passenger trains each day, the New York & Pennsylvania had 3, and the trolley had 20. In 1892, Canisteo was the terminus of the route to Olean of the Central New York and Western Railway, which bought the assets of the bankrupt Lackawanna and Southwestern Railway Company. == Flood control system ==

The village of Canisteo was severely impacted by the flood of July 1935, until that time the greatest since modern settlement began. Using federal funding, two levees were constructed, one beginning on the northwest of the village, ending on the southeast, protecting it from the Canisteo River. The other was built to the east of the village, protecting it from Bennett's Creek and Purdy Creek. Bennett's Creek, which formerly ran through the village, about where Bennett St. is now (2019), was rerouted; this added the land with Elm Street, which street does not exist on early maps. The current bridges of Route 36 over Bennett's Creek and Route 248 over Purdy Creek were also constructed as part of this project, as was the village's sewer system. The only flooding in the village since this construction was a result of Hurricane Agnes, in 1972, at which time the Canisteo River reached its highest recorded height. == Living sign ==

The village is home of the "world famous living sign" which was once featured in a Ripley's "Believe it or Not!" book. The sign spells out the name of the village in Scots Pine trees and has been around for more than fifty years. It is viewable from Greenwood Street near the elementary school. The sign, which has almost a perfect North/South axis, is still used by the armed services to orient true north when flying over it. The Canisteo Living Sign was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. == USS Canisteo ==

A US Navy fleet oil frigate (AO-99) once held the name USS Canisteo. It was utilized until the 1990s and even served time as part of the Cuban blockade during the missile crisis of the 1960s. The ship's official motto was "If freedom were easy we wouldn't be here". See . == Steamer Canisteo ==

In the 1890s, a steamer named Canisteo operated on the Great Lakes. == Canisteo Peninsula, Antarctica ==

The Canisteo Peninsula is an ice-covered peninsula in Antarctica. ==Geography==

Canisteo is located at (42.270178, -77.606616). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km2), all land. The village is located at the junction of New York State Route 36 and New York State Route 248. County Route 28 joins New York State Route 36 south of the village and County Route 119 passes the north side of Canisteo. The Canisteo River, flowing southeasterly, passes the northern side of the village, where it is joined by Bennetts Creek. ==Demographics==

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,336 people, 948 households, and 626 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,024 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.16% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population. There were 948 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,269, and the median income for a family was $42,560. Males had a median income of $31,129 versus $22,857 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,818. About 7.8% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over. ==Sister cities==

The following city has been identified as a sister city of Canisteo by Sister Cities International: • Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia ==See also==