This Southern Tier Village Has An Interesting Reason For Its Name

I like to check out the history of places in our area that may have an interesting story. One thing that is of interest to me, is the name of some cities, towns and villages around the Southern Tier of New York and the Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I grew up around the Corning area, and there are couple of towns with names, that I never really would think as unusual, due to the fact that I've known these town names and story behind it from as long as I can remember.

One of those, is the village of Painted Post where I grew up in and went to school. Now to me, it was not an unusual name, but to someone who didn't live in the area or never heard of the name before, it certainly raised some questions about the name.

Even my wife, who grew up in the Binghamton area, still teases me from time to time, saying I grew up in 'Whipping Post', jokingly referring to the Allman Brothers song. I fail to see the humor.

I did some research about my hometown, and according to the Painted Post Area Board of Trade website, back in the late 1700s, General Pachen was captured by Native Americans. When they arrived where the rivers of Tioga, Canisteo and Cohocton Rivers meet, the General observed a post with "twenty-eight figures in red depicting captives and thirty headless figures also in red, depicting dead men" according to the Painted Post Area Board of Trade website.

The website also states that there is no record that anyone is aware of when or why the original post was erected. The area ended up being named Painted Post Country and eventually became the name of the the village as Painted Post. As long as I can remember, there has always been a 'Painted Post' in the center of town. The latest post and statue is located in Village Square Park at the corner of North Hamilton and West Water Street.

Painted Post is a great place to visit. And you can learn more about the history of the Painted Post area by visiting the Painted Post - Erwin Museum At The Depot.

via Painted Post Area Board of Trade