Gayville, Oswego County, New York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gayville, New York
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 Gayville, New York
Location in New York
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| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Oswego |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Gayville is a small community known as a hamlet. It is located about 5 miles north of the hamlet of Constantia. Gayville is part of the town of Constantia in Oswego County, New York, in the United States.
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Where is Gayville Located?
Gayville is found where three roads meet: County Route 23, County Route 23A, and Grannis Road. Two small streams, Potter Creek and Scriba Creek, also meet here. Scriba Creek then flows south into Oneida Lake.
Gayville's Early History
Before the American Revolution, the eastern part of what is now Oswego County belonged to the Oneida Nation. The Oneidas used this land for hunting and fishing. Oneida Lake was their main way to travel.
To reach Lake Ontario, which was about 20 miles north of Oneida Lake, the Oneidas would canoe up Scriba Creek. About 6 miles north, where Scriba Creek turns east, they would carry their canoes overland for about 8 miles. This path, called a portage, led them to Little Salmon Creek, which flowed into Lake Ontario. This route was shorter and safer than going all the way down the Oneida River and Oswego River, which had rapids and military forts.
How Gayville Got Its Name
After the American Revolution, the government of New York bought large areas of land from the Oneida Nation. This land was then sold to people who wanted to develop it. George Scriba, a businessman from Germany, bought a huge amount of land – about 500,000 acres. This area is still known as Scriba's Patent.
Scriba created two villages to be ports. One was Rotterdam, now called Constantia, located on Oneida Lake where Scriba Creek enters it. The other was Vera Cruz, near the present-day hamlet of Texas, on Lake Ontario. He built a road through the forests connecting these two settlements. This road followed Scriba Creek and the old Oneida Nation portage route. Scriba also hoped to build a canal between the two creeks, but it was never finished.
Gayville was one of the many farming communities that grew along this Rotterdam-Vera Cruz road. The hamlet got its name from early landowners, Erastus and Charlotte Gay. They bought a large piece of land in the area in 1831. Even though they lost the land in 1854 and moved away, their name stuck. The road from Constantia became known as Gayville Road.
Gayville's School and Post Office
In 1854, the sixth school district in the town of Constantia was named the Gayville District. This school served the children of Gayville until 1952. At that time, the New York State Education Department combined many small rural schools into larger central districts. Gayville's school became part of the Central Square Central Schools.
A Post Office was opened in Gayville in 1880. However, between 1900 and 1910, the Rural Free Delivery system began. This meant mail was delivered directly to homes, so the Gayville Post Office closed. After that, people in Gayville received their mail from the Post Office in Constantia Village again.
In the past, Gayville had a hotel with a ballroom and a bar. There were also several sawmills. A Methodist Protestant church group used to meet in the schoolhouse.
Gayville Today
Today, Gayville is mostly a residential community. You can still see some of the original farmhouses and barns. However, most of the homes are newer. There are no longer any signs of the old schoolhouse, hotel, or sawmills.
