Town of Gaines 

The Town of Gaines is the central town in Orleans County, bordered by the towns of   Carlton on the north, Murray on the East; Albion on the south; and Ridgeway on the west.  The town is crossed by Otter and Marsh Creeks, which are branches of Oak Orchard Creek, and by the west branch of Sandy Creek.  The Erie Canal forms part of the southern boundary of the town.  The northernmost point of the Erie Canal in New York State is at Gaines Basin in the Town of Gaines.  The main highways are Ridge Road (Rt. 104), and Oak Orchard Road (Rt. 98).  These two roads, along with Lake Ontario, were the major routes of access for the settlers.  The Ridge Road, which was the southern shore of post-glacial Like Iroquois, was known by the Indians as early as 1798.  Oak Orchard Road was first surveyed in 1801. 

The first settlement in the Town of Gaines was made in 1807.  The family’s name was Gilbert, and the land was taken in the name of the wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Gilbert.  Two years later, 10 other families followed.  The settlers came form New England, Eastern New York, and Canada. 

During the War of 1812, the local militia fought with General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to defend Fort Erie against the British.  When the town was legally formed by State legislation on February 14, 1816, the settlers chose the name Gaines to honor the general.  The town was taken from the Town of Ridgeway, and at that time Gaines also included Barre and Carlton.  Barre was taken from Gaines in 1818 and Carlton in 1822.  (NOTE:  At this time, there was no Orleans County, these towns existed in Genesee County.) 

The earliest census for the Town of Gaines lists the population at 1134.  In 1890, the population totaled 2,070, and the assessed valuation was $1, 112,820; in the 1990 census, the population was 3,009, and the assessed valuation in 1992 (including a part of Albion Village which exists within the Town of Gaines) is $69,168,115.  The town covers approximately 35 square miles or 22,400 acres. 

Communities in the Town: 

Village of Gaines:  The village developed around the intersection of Ridge Road and the original Oak Orchard Road (today Rt. 279).  The village was established in 1832.  At a very early time it was the site of the most business in the county, and it was thought that it would become the county seat.  In 1825, the village contained:  three stores, three asheries, three tanneries, two taverns, one chair factory, one cabinet shop, three blacksmith shops, one distillery, one cloth dressing and wool carding factory, two brickyards, one printing office, one hat factory, and one saddle and harness shop.  A few years later, it contained the Gaines Academy, the first in the county, and The Farmer’s Bank of Orleans. 

West Gaines:  This small community developed around the intersection of the Ridge Road and Kenyonville Road. The first inn in the county was established here, but today only a few houses surround the corner. 

East Gaines:  This community existed at the intersection of the Ridge Road and the Kent Road.  At one time it contained a post office, blacksmith shop, store, inn, church, school and several houses. 

Five Corners:  The intersection of three roads: Oak Orchard Road, Route 279 (Old Oak Orchard Road), and Bacon Road gave the name to this community.  At one time, this was a manufacturing center in Gaines, containing a steam sawmill, a foundry and a machine shop.  

Childs:  This community developed around the intersection of the Ridge Road and the second meridian survey line of the Holland Land Company (today’s Rt. 98).  It was originally referred to as Proctor’s Corners and then Fair Haven until its name was changed to Childs.  It was named Childs for New York State Supreme Court Judge Henry A. Childs, who had been born in Gaines.  At one time Childs contained a store, inn, harness shop, church, school, saleratus works, brickyard, blacksmith, and weavers. 

Gaines Basin:  This hamlet developed on the Erie Canal where a turn basin was dug for canal boats to turn around in their direction of travel—it was the basin in Gaines.  The road naturally became known by the same name.  In the 1830’s, the community contained a shipping dock and warehouse, three general stores, a blacksmith shop, a school, and ten or twelve houses. 

Eagle Harbor:  This village developed as a shipping site on the Erie Canal.  It received its name form an eagle’s nest found at the time the canal was being dug, with the access road receiving the same name.  The community contained at an early time two stores, a carpenter and joiner, blacksmith, shoemaker, hotel, physician, post office, school, and church. 

Schools:

The first school was taught by Orin Gleason in 1813.  In all, Gaines consisted of 12 school districts.  These schools started in log buildings, but soon wood frame and cobblestone buildings replaced the earliest buildings.  Six of the district schools in Gaines were built of cobblestone.  Beginning in the late 1920’s, these schools were closed one by one and, by 1953, the Albion Central School District was complete.  One district school still functioned in the Town of Gaines.  Eagle Harbor District #7 School continued to be a school for ten more years, closing in 1963. 

Churches:

Through the years, many churches were established in Gaines.  The first church structure between the Genesee and Niagara Rivers was constructed in 1824 in the Village of Gaines on Ridge Road.  This building was used by 6 different denominations over the years.  Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Universalists, Free Will Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, and First Free Congregationalists all conducted services in Gaines.  Today, the Gaines Carlton Community Church, the Gaines Congregational, United Methodist, Shiloh Baptist, Christian Missionary Alliance, all hold services.  The Universalist Church at Childs is now part of the Cobblestone Museum Complex.  

Cemeteries:

The town of Gaines has 7 cemeteries, but only Otter Creek Cemetery is still active.  Cemeteries include:  Otter Creek Cemetery on Ridge Road near Allen’s Bridge Road; West Gaines Cemetery just west of Eagle Harbor Road; The Standish Cemetery at the corner of Transit and Lattin Roads; The Union (also referred to locally as the Five Corners or Harding Farm) Cemetery on Rt. 98 at Five Corners; The Gaines Cemetery on Ridge Road behind the Gaines Congregational Church; Cemetery on Kenyonville Road approximately 1 ½ miles south of Ridge Road; the Lattin Cemetery—this family cemetery containing about 10 graves was moved to Mt. Albion when the family farm, on which it was located, was sold. 

Gaines Today

The Town of Gaines’ economic base has always been farming.  Families such as the LaMonts, Nesbitts, Kirbys, Billings, etc. have carried on agricultural businesses since settlement times.  Several of these families along with some others in the county became partners and in 1983 opened a controlled atmosphere apple storage just west of Childs.  This new storage could store up to 300,000 bushels of apples and was named The Lake Ridge Fruit Company.  The fruit packed there is shipped throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada, and exported to England and the Caribbean.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Gaines is that it is the home of the Cobblestone Society and its museum.  The Cobblestone Society, founded in 1960 to save the Cobblestone District #5 School and the Universalist Church in Childs, is an educational facility chartered by the New York State Department of Education.  The museum complex at Childs contains 7 main buildings and numerous smaller outbuildings that help to depict 19^th century local history.  The Cobblestone Resource Center, the Society’s library, is the only one of its kind in the world.  It contains documentation on each cobblestone building constructed in North America between 1825 and 1860.  Information spans 19^th century construction methods, 20^th century preservation, early history of Western New York, and history of the Great Lakes Region in the U.S. and Canada.  It also documents the collections and the development of the society.