Oniontown, New York facts for kids

Oniontown is a small community and a road in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It's located about 1.5 miles south of Dover Plains, which is a small village in the Town of Dover. Oniontown has been known for how its residents have sometimes reacted to people from outside the community.

Oniontown Road

Oniontown mixes myth and modern age

Oniontown-Where No One Seems to Raise or Sell Onions

Town Name Origin

Oniontown in the News

Oniontown has appeared in the news several times over the years. This often happened because of how the community was seen by outsiders.

Early Media Attention

In 1947, a reporter named James L. Kilgallen visited Oniontown. He worked for the International News Service. Kilgallen wrote three articles about the community. One of his articles was titled “Escape from Atomic Age: Real Life Tobacco Road 100 Miles from Broadway.” This title suggested that Oniontown was a very rural and isolated place, far from modern city life. "Tobacco Road" was a famous book about a poor, rural area.

Recent Media Attention

Oniontown gained worldwide media attention again in 2008. This happened after a video about the area was posted on YouTube. The video led to many people visiting Oniontown. These visits sometimes caused problems between the visitors and the local residents. This brought a lot of discussion about the community into the public eye.

Oniontown is Tobacco Road