Harpursville, NY
Posted by: 
ripraff
N 42° 10.967 W 075° 38.045
18T E 447637 N 4670264
The coordinates are for the Harpursville Post Office. Harpursville is named for Robert Harpur, who bought land and settled the area.
Waymark Code: WMVB83
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 03/27/2017
Views: 7
About the place:
Harpursville is an incorporated hamlet in the Town of Colesville. Cabins were being built here as early as 1787. It is the principal community in the town. It has old churches, Episcopal, Methodist and Baptist. The Baptist built a newer church and the old one is still used by an independent group. The Methodist Church is on the Historic Register and is still used. The Episcopal church is now an historical museum. There is also a Senior Center in the hamlet. The fire station is in the center of Harpursville. The Post office is near the exit from US Route 88.
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About the person:
Robert Harpur was born in Ireland January 25, 1731 of Scottish parents. He came to New York as a math professor at Kings College (Columbia University). He was at the first Provincial Congress in New York City. He had New York government posts, including Deputy Secretary of New York State, and was a was present at the New York ratification of the Constitution. He purchased large tracts of land, was a land developer and settler, building cabins for settlers in 1787. He died April 15, 1825 aged 94 in Harpursville. The text on the historical sign: " Robert Harpur 1731-1825 Revolutionary War Veteran, Professor at Kings College, Deputy Secretary of State, Pioneer of Local Lands, namesake of Harpursville and Harpur College". Wikipedia (
visit link) "He was a teacher of mathematics at Columbia University (known then as Kings College). One of his prized pupils was Alexander Hamilton while he studied there in 1774. Harpur served in various capacities in the New York government during the American Revolution." Find A Grave (
visit link) "Of the 15 professors at King's College at the beginning of the American Revolution, Harpur was the only to side with the colonists. ... Harpur also became a land speculator, purchasing 15,360 acres on the Susquehanna River." Town of Colesville writeup (
visit link) "On July 8, 1775 the first Provincial Congress was formed in New York City. Harpur was a member and was appointed to procure cloth from France to make Colonial uniforms... In July of 1776, the Declaration of Independence reached New York from Philadelphia. A hastily convened New York Congress, with Harpur in attendance, ratified the Declaration."