Welcome to the Fly Creek Area Historical Society

“Many leaders of the young American republic believed that the nation’s economic viability lay in domestic manufacturing. So long as the nation produced mainly raw materials and bought its cloth, paper, machines, and other factory-made goods from abroad—an underlying commercial purpose of any colony, its future would be controlled by others. In the quarter century following the constitutional convention of 1787, America struggled to assert her economic independence against the established and far superior strength of industrialized Great Britain. American industrial development relied on flowing water, so streams and falls dictated the location of early American industry. Surveyors working for large landowners preparing to sell land in manageable parcels usually noted potential mill streams. Gazetteers, often published by men interested in promoting the new country’s development, provided details about ‘well watered’ areas with potential mill seats. These locales hosted numerous small grist and saw mills serving mainly local needs and also served as the prototypes of American industrialization” - Jesse Ravage, Mill Hamlets of the Oaks Creek Valley 1786-1956

So begins the document nominating the Fly Creek New York Historic District for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The development of our area of New York mirrors the development of our great American nation. Settled c. 1789, Fly Creek grew rapidly into a manufacturing area, supporting the various mill sites that were being built along the Fly Creek and the Oaks Creek.

We Welcome You to the Fly Creek Area Historical Society,

to “research, record, retain, preserve, and make available for study, artifacts, relics, books, manuscripts, papers, photographs, and other records from the late 18th century to the present, items relating to the history of New York and particularly to Fly Creek and the surrounding area.”

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