Village of Stokes, Town of Lee, Oneida County, New York
Town Of Lee, Oneida County, New York Village of Stokes

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Village of Stokes


Stokes is located on Route 26 North, Turin Road, east of Lee Center, between that place and the former village of Delta.

Settlers came to the area within a year or two of the settlement of Delta. Ephraim Ballard and Deacon Andrew Clark built houses near this area as did Abiel Kenyon Matthew Clark and Jonathan Bettis.

Robert Nisbet, a prominent Quaker from Adams, Massachusetts, purchased land here in 1818, as well as land in the Westernville area. He was an extensive dealer in cattle, butter and cheese, being the first buyer of dairy products in this section. He operated a large farm, butchering his own cattle, and transporting the beef to New York City to sell. He would also take cheese and butter from the area on consignment. In 1823, Samuel Nisbet, brother of Robert, and Samuel’s nine children, settled on the hill just north of the “corners”. The four corners became known as “Nisbet Corners”. After the death of Robert Nisbet in 1839, his son Isaac carried on his father’s business.

This area has also been referred to as Lee Corners.

A post office was established here prior to 1827, with Charles Stokes as the first postmaster. As the post office was set up in Charles Stokes’ store the post office assigned the name Stokes. In addition to running the store, Charles Stokes also operated an ashery in the area. When it was decided to move the post office to Lee Center, Mr. Stokes moved to that village, established another store and ashery there. The post office at Stokes was not closed, at least not permanently, and remained open for many years. James M. Husted was the second postmaster at Stokes.

The Baron Steuben Lodge No. 264, organized in Westernville, moved to Stokes on August 14, 1856.

The only remaining school in the town of Lee is presently located in Stokes, under the Rome City School District. Stokes Elementary School was built around 1956 and students from the area attend grades Kindergarden through sixth grade here.



Village of Stokes Maps showing residents: | 1874 | 1907 |

Stokes Photo Page
Big Fire at Stokes - 1896



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This page created February 1, 2000
last updated March 2, 2007
Kathleen L. Last and Virginia Ackerman
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