Assembly Resolution No. 783

BY: M. of A. Norris

COMMEMORATING the 200th Anniversary of the Town of
Wilson to be celebrated on April 10, 2018

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to honor and
commemorate the distinguished histories of the communities which
comprise the noble body of this great Empire State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Town of Wilson, in Niagara
County, New York, to be celebrated at an opening ceremony on Saturday,
April 7, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Located on the south shore of Lake Ontario, the Town of
Wilson was created from the Town of Porter on April 10, 1818; with a
population of approximately 6,000, the Town measures 51.5 square miles
and consists of 41 miles of roads; and

WHEREAS, Reuben Wilson held the title of the first Town Supervisor,
and Daniel Holmes served as the first Town Clerk; Marilynn Allgeier was
the first woman to be elected Town Supervisor in 1998; today, the Town
of Wilson is led by Town Supervisor Doyle H. Phillips, and Town Clerk A.
Diane Muscoreil; and

WHEREAS, On January 18, 1819, the First Presbyterian Church was
founded, and the first post office was established at the home of Reuben
Wilson on December 4, 1824; over 20 years later, the Wilson Collegiate
Institute was incorporated by the Board of Regents; and

WHEREAS, On June 12, 1876, the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg
Railroad (R W & O), passed through the Town of Wilson; commonly known as
The Hojack Line, it operated along the south shore of Lake Ontario, from
Niagara Falls, New York, to Oswego, New York; and

WHEREAS, Through the next several decades, the Town grew and
prospered; the Wilson Public Library was founded in 1910, the first
volunteer fire company was formed in 1923, and the Wilson Central Rural
School District was organized in 1941; and

WHEREAS, The Town of Wilson consists of the Village of Wilson, and
the hamlets of Ransomville, Coolidge Beach, Elberta, Hopkins Beach,
Pleasant Corners, Roosevelt Beach, South Wilson, Sunset Beach, and
Woodland Heights; and

WHEREAS, The South Wilson Volunteer Fire Company, Wilson No. 1
Volunteer Fire Company, and the Ransomville Fire Company all serve the
residents of the Town of Wilson; and

WHEREAS, The Town of Wilson is home to Wilson Tuscarora State Park,
the Morse Cobblestone Farmhouse which was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 2010, and the Greenwood Cemetery, where
the remains of many veterans from the Revolutionary War through the
Vietnam War are interred; and


WHEREAS, Notable residents of Wilson include DeWitt Bristol Brace,
physicist; Frank A. Cipolla, Brigadier General; Virginia Dox, frontier
educator and popular lecturer; and Earl Brydges, former New York State
Senator; as well as Rexford Guy Tugwell, a member of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt's "Brain Trust", and later Governor of Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, Remaining fruitful over the ebb and flow of decades of
growth and change, the Town of Wilson continues its commitment to
enhancing the quality of life of its citizens, ensuring a positive
business, institutional and educational climate, and providing all
essential services; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Town of Wilson, recognizing the
significance of the role it continues to play in the life of the
community of the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Doyle H. Phillips, Supervisor, Town of Wilson.