The City of Gloversville can trace its origins to New England settlers who began arriving in the years following the American Revolution. These settlers brought with them their trades, the most prominent of which was tinsmithing. The tin industry thus became the first industry in Gloversville and was established in the settlement of Kingsborough. In time, Kingsborough, along with two other settlements, grew into the village and later, the city of Gloversville. Tin cups, basins and other utensils were put on packhorses and taken up the Mohawk to barter for hides and deerskins. The deerskins acquired were the foundation of the tanning and glove industry. Because of the abundant natural resources, pure water and hemlock bark, leather tanning became the predominant local industry and glovemaking a cottage industry. The name Gloversville officially appears in 1828 with the establishment of the Post Office. During the nineteenth century Gloversville produced such notable figures as Judge Levi Parsons, born in Kingsborough, and Lucius N. Littauer. Judge Parsons rose to prominence in California politics and became the first judge appointed in San Francisco. Mr. Littauer was a wealthy local businessman, a generous philanthropist and became a presidential advisor. The post-Civil War era saw a thriving glove industry and a continuous influx of immigrants from Europe, eager to make a new life. The years between 1880-1950 were a time of great prosperity and growth for Gloversville, with the population rising to 25,000. Most of the leather and almost all of the gloves in America were produced in Gloversville. Sadly, this success and expansion were not to be sustained, and the years from 1950-1990 saw a steady decline in industry and population. The local history collection of the Gloversville Free Library reflects the history and heritage of Gloversville and Fulton County, as well as that of the Mohawk Valley and the Adirondacks. |
