Skerry, New York

Skerry is a hamlet in the town of Brandon in Franklin County, New York, United States. It is located east of the Little Salmon River on Franklin County Highway 12 (Skerry Road) and Franklin County Highway 13 (Bangor Skerry Road). Skerry is 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Malone and 5 miles (8 km) southeast of West Bangor.

Originally the community developed around a lumber mill and other small businesses. To the north of Skerry are a number of farms. To the south are the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and extensive hardwood and softwood forests that are part of the Deer River State Forests.

History

Skerry developed in the mid to late 19th century, serving the farms to the north and as a small hamlet with a number of small industries. “The only settlement. (in Brandon) other than Reynoldston which has even a resemblance to a hamlet is Skerry, at which there are a store, a blacksmith shop and a scattering of houses.” “Sawmills have been Ira Ewings's, the first built in the town, and owned later by Lyman Weeks; James Skerry's, later owned by Warren Aldrich, and now by L. C. Bowen. “ The Bowen Mill operated for more than thirty years and id described at https://web.archive.org/web/20110715180224/http://reynoldstonnewyork.com/WebsterBowenMills.aspx by Mrs. Alice Crooks the daughter of L. Cass Bowen in an oral history interview in 1970. The Bowen Mill also had their own logging camps to support their sawmill and employed both mill workers and loggers during its existence. In 1920 The Reynolds Bros. bought the lumber mill and operated in until 1926 when the dam washed out.

Mrs. Katherine V Bowen in a letter provide her Recollections of Life in Skerry, New York CA. 1900. She is a sister of Cass Bowen, and spent her early years in Skerry. The letter can be found at: http://reynoldstonnewyork.com/Skerry.aspx%5B%5D

“It has also had at least two creameries, one of which is at Skerry, and still running. It was built by Gaius A. Lane about 1880, and sold to Fred Lawrence. It was next sold to Norman Wilson, who now owns it.” “There seems to have been no regular church organization in the town after the collapse of the Baptist society until 1891, when the First Congregational Society of Brandon was incorporated, and a church edifice erected the same year at Skerry.” “A Holiness church was built near Skerry in 1905. It has a pastor, and enjoys services regularly.” The Holiness Church was very popular during the early part of the 20th century with regular Sunday service and Bible Studies. Between 50 and 100 people attended the services during this time.

References

"Historical Sketches of Franklin County And Its Several Towns |Seaver, Frederick J | |1918 |J.B Lyons Company |Albany, NY |Chapter VIII Brandon

History of the L. Cass Bowen Mill, and Skerry, New York

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