Before the settlers, legend states
that the Indians and later military troops used a trail
through Edinburg that later became a road known as Military
Road. This winding forest trail was traveled to get to
and from Canada during the French-Indian War from 1755-1763.The
only settlers then were probably fur trappers and Native
Americans who came to hunt and fish.
Edinburg’s section of Military
Road ran south to Fish House then on to Schenectady and
the Mohawk River, which is another important waterway
that joins the Hudson between Waterford and Cohoes. This
supports the theory that Edinburg’s Military Road
probably did lend a woodland path to marching soldiers
and their, at that time, Native American comrades.
There is a house that still stands
at along the side of Military Road today that contains
hiding places that are thought to have been used as part
of the underground railroad during the Civil War. The
historic marker that stands in front of the building
provides this information “Barker’s store
built in 1847 by John Barker and run continuously as
a store until 1945. Believed to have been a stop on the
underground railroad”
Edinburg’s name came from
the capital of Scotland. Originally spelled Edinburgh,
in July 1894 the "h" was dropped. Edinburg
is a town name it includes quite a few settlements. From
the 1790’s through the early 1800’s Batchellerville,
Clarkville, Tennantville, Beecher's Hollow, Edinburgh
Hill, Sand Hill, Cold Brook, Partridge, and Anderson
all settled on the east or west sides of the river. All
of these hamlets contributed to the thriving community.
Farming, logging and woodenware
manufacturing were the three largest industries.
The first settler was Abijah Stark
in 1787. In 1793 these “firsts” followed:
grist mill, general store, and a sawmill.
The first town meeting was held
on April 7, 1801. These are some of the actual minutes
from that meeting: “the town was to raise $50.00
to take care of the towns poor and that hogs could run
at large”. But at town meeting in 1802 it was decided
that “hogs could run at large, BUT they had to
wear good and sufficient yoak (yoke). Boar hogs were
not to run, after being two months old, after the first
of May until the 25th of December. Every boar hog being
found to run after the above date the owner of such hog
was to pay $1.00 or forfeit the hog.” Hogs were
very destructive to peoples property the officials set
some conditions at that town board meeting to try to
keep the hogs from ravaging the countryside. The yokes
would at least give a person a place to grab a hog that
was unruly. But back then most farm animals chickens,
ducks, geese, were allow to roam freely.
Ram sheep were also restricted from running at large from September
until November. In 1826 “fence viewers” (people that
went around to check livestock fences to make sure they were in good
repair) were paid 50 cents per day. Also in 1826 the commissioner
of common schools was paid 75 cents a day
One historic gem the Edinburg area
holds is the Copeland Covered bridge built in 1879 by
Aarad Copeland to get his farm animals across Beecher’s
Creek, just down the road from Barker’s Store mentioned
previously. The bridge is the only queen truss bridge
in NYS. The queen post truss, is similar to a king post
truss in that the outer supports are angled towards the
center of the structure. But the queen truss style is
only suitable for relatively short spans. The Copeland
Covered Bridge is 35 feet long. Signs on the front requests “Maximum
load 10 adults” The year-round stream that runs
under it also has a beautiful waterfall a short walk
away. A re-dedication celebration of the bridge was held
in June of 2002 opening the site officially to the public.
New York State Covered Bridge Society
placed the Copeland Covered Bridge on the State and National
Registers of Historic Sites in 1998. The Edinburg Historical
Society has received several grants and has waged an
aggressive campaign selling “shares” on the
covered bridge to raise money for it’s restoration
and maintenance
