Sandy Creek

In April 1803, two men with their families and household goods loaded on ox sleds made their way along the scarcely open State Road through Redfield and Boylston. At a point about opposite the locality he sought, one of the men, William Skinner, plunged into the pathless forest and headed for the bank of Sandy Creek, at the upper end of the present village of Lacona. The other man, Stephen Lindsay, went through Ellisburg, already sparsely settled, and finally stopped on the flat in the extreme northwest corner of the present town of Sandy Creek, about half a mile from the great pond. Other pioneers, members of the Noyes family, settled on the Ridge Road.

Originally, Sandy Creek was in the town of Mexico, in the county of Oneida. It was also a part of the survey-township of Rhadamant, or No. 10, in the Boylston tract, and was the property of the heirs of William Constable, among whom H.B. Pierrepont was the principal. In 1825 the residents successfully petitioned to separate from the Town of Richland.  

 

The Village of Sandy Creek was initially named by Dr. Ayer and Anson Maltby as Washingtonville. Although the inhabitants endorsed it, the name never stuck.   When the railroad came through in 1854 the settlement to the east of Sandy Creek village grew and was later named Lacona. Two inland bays closed off from Lake Ontario by a dune system are known as North and South Sandy Pond.   These ponds are now surrounded by summer cottages and a growing number of permanent homes.  Dairy farms once were the predominant part of the economy. Today many of the residents commute to jobs outside of the town.

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In April 1803, two men with their families and household goods loaded on ox sleds made their way along the scarcely open State Road through Redfield and Boylston. At a point about opposite the locality he sought, one of the men, William Skinner, plunged into the pathless forest and headed for the bank of Sandy Creek, at the upper end of the present village of Lacona.The other man, Stephen Lindsay, went through Ellisburg, already sparsely settled, and finally stopped on the flat in the extreme northwest corner of the present town of Sandy Creek, about half a mile from the great pond. Other pioneers, members of the Noyes family, settled on the Ridge Road.

Originally, Sandy Creek was in the town of Mexico, in the county of Oneida. It was also a part of the survey-township of Rhadamant, or No. 10, in the Boylston tract, and was the property of the heirs of William Constable, among whom H.B. Pierrpont was the principal.In 1825 the residents successfully petitioned to separate from the Town of Richland.

 

The Village of Sandy Creek was initially named by Dr. Ayer and Anson Maltby as Washingtonville. Although the inhabitants endorsed it, the name never stuck. When the railroad came through in 1854 the settlement to the east of Sandy Creek village grew and was later named Lacona. Two inland bays closed off from Lake Ontario by a dune system are known as North and South Sandy Pond. These ponds are now surrounded by summer cottages and a growing number of permanent homes. Dairy farms once were the predominant part of the economy. Today many of the residents commute to jobs outside of the town.

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Town & Village Historian
Peggy Rice
1992 Harwood Drive
Sandy Creek NY 13145