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Gates, New York (U.S.)

unofficial

by Dov Gutterman

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Flag is logo on blue as seen at http://www.townofgates.org/board.jpg

Seal from http://www.townofgates.org/townseal.gif

From the site:
" Gates was founded in 1813. It was created by action of the New York State Legislature to rename the old Town of Northhampton in honor of General Horatio Gates. It has a population approaching 30,000. The town was named after General Horatio Gates, a Revolutionary War hero who defeated the British at the battle of Saratoga. Originally the Town of Gates went from the Genesee River on the east to lake Ontario on the north and included what is now the City of Rochester and the Town of Greece. In 1822 the Town of Greece was created from the northern part of Gates, and in 1834 the village of Rochesterville became the City of Rochester, separating from the Town of Gates. From 1843 until 1920, ten annexations by the City of Rochester gradually reduced the Town of Gates to its present size of 15 square miles (the smallest town in Monroe County by land area). The first school in Gates was built in 1824 and the first church was built in 1834.

While Gates is small in land area, its population of 30,000 ranks it in the top 40 of all 900 towns in the State of New York. Gates has excellent transportation accessibility which includes Interstates 390 and 490, the Monroe County Airport, Conrail's main line and the Erie Canal. This has attracted both large and small industries, creating an excellent mix of industrial, commercial and residential property for a well balanced tax base. The Eastman Kodak Company, Elmgrove Plant, is the e largest single industrial complex. (It has been said that more cameras are produced in Gates than anywhere else in America.)

Colonel Nathaniel Rochester for whom the City was named, was the Supervisor of the Town of Gates from 1830 to 1834. Town Board meetings were held in either the Supervisor's or Town Clerk's homes until 1940 when the Town purchased Lee's Tavern on Buffalo Road as the first Town Hall. In 1968 the present Town Hall was constructed at 1605 Buffalo Road and a large addition was added in 1985."

Dov Gutterman, 1 December 2002