Melvin Hill

Taking an Indian trail west out of Oaks Corners in 1791, Jonathan Melvin reached the top of this hill and four years later established a prosperous 800-acre farm. Within a few years, using his own funds, he built a school and a church. By the middle of the 1800s, the crossroads community included the school and church, a barrel stave and shingle factory, blacksmith, cider mill, wagon shop, apple orchard, and several maple sugar camps. A large boulder marks the site of the Melvin Hill Baptist Church, constructed about 1802 by Melvin at a cost of $1,000. The church was a focal point for Melvin Hill until several members left and helped organize the Vienna Village (Phelps) Baptist Church Society in 1843.

Phelps, New York · United States