Town of Webb

Welcome to the Town of Webb

The Town of Webb is the largest township by area in New York State.

It is comprised of the hamlets of McKeever, Okara Lakes, Thendara, Old Forge, Eagle Bay, Big Moose, Stillwater and Beaver River.

Excerpt from the “EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEBB”

In 1792, Alexander McComb purchased one of the first series of land patents granted in northern New York State following the American Revolution. The vast two million-acre wilderness was virtually unexplored except by Native Americans and white fur traders.

John Brown, a successful Providence, Rhode Island importer, acquired nearly 210,000 acres of property in McComb’s Purchase in 1798. Brown hired surveyors who were the first to map the region and divide the Tract into eight townships. To encourage settlers to buy land, Brown built a dam on the middle branch of the Moose River, a gristmill, and a sawmill.

Following John Brown’s death in 1803, his son-in-law, Charles Frederick Herreshoff, tried his hand at settling the Tract. He cleared over 2,000 acres for farming and commissioned a 17-mile bumpy wagon trail southwest of the settlement into Oneida County. The “Brown’s Tract Road” became the primary access route into the region for the next seventy years. Near the site of his substantial manor house, Herreshoff mined iron ore and built a forge near the dam. The climate was too harsh for farming and the ore of poor quality and too expensive to process. Deeply in debt, he took his own life in December of 1819, but the settlement was from then on known as the “forge” and eventually the hamlet of Old Forge. The series of eight lakes within the Middle Branch of the Moose River were named the “Fulton Chain of Lakes” in honor of Robert Fulton who surveyed the region in 1811. Read the entire article on the Town of Webb website.

Explore the Town of Webb

Click on the items below to go to additional resources.

Town of Webb
The Town of Webb website with information on departments, minutes, master plan, health center, news, and more

(315) 369-3157 ADMIN

(315) 369-6515 DISPATCH
Town of Webb Health Center
Medical services are available at the Town of Webb Health Center under the management of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Utica, NY. The building is located at the beginning of the South Shore Road in Old Forge.
Town of Webb Union Free School District
Town of Webb School District in the village of Old Forge, N.Y. serves approximately 242 students in grades K-12. We are in the Central Adirondacks, and located approximately 50 miles north of Utica. The district encompasses 566 square miles. The major industry in the area is tourism, focusing on outdoor recreational activities. Residents in the area include business owners, professionals and service workers. From a year round population of less than 2000 people, the area receives a significant influx of seasonal visitors and second home owners.
Old Forge Library
The Mission of the Old Forge Library is to provide materials and services to enhance the quality of life in our community. We welcome and support all in the pursuit of lifelong learning. We believe that the freedoms to read, to learn, to inspire, and to discover will provide enjoyment, enrich lives and strengthen our community. We strive to provide equal access to information, ideas and knowledge through books, programs, the arts, and other resources to year-round and seasonal residents.
Town of Webb Historical Association
The Goodsell Museum is the home of the Town of Webb Historical Association. The museum is located at 2993 Main St. in Old Forge, NY, across from the Post Office. The Town of Webb is a premiere travel destination in the heart of the Fulton Chain of Lakes district along the Moose River in New York’s beautiful six million acre Adirondack State Park. Plan to visit our Adirondack related exhibits and extensive new research library with books, maps, genealogy & business records, vintage photographs and postcards.
Living ADK
LivingADK started as Communities 2000 and was then incorporated in 2001 as a regional not-for-profit organization that provides a forum for community concerns, interests and aspirations of residents in the Western Central Adirondacks. LivingADK seeks to promote vibrant and sustainable communities along the Route 28 corridor within the towns of Forestport, Webb, Inlet, Long Lake and adjacent communities. Throughout our strategic planning, when we refer to communities, we are talking inclusively about our year-round and seasonal residents, as well as visitors to our region.

Mission

LivingADK will be the leading organization to foster and support vibrant and sustainable year-round Western Central Adirondack communities by planning, identifying and securing resources to promote economic development, social responsibility and a balance of commerce and nature.

This is a fantastic resource for things to do and see, and really everything about this absolutely beautiful area!