County InfoHistory | Demographics | Government Info Waterloo | Seneca Falls | Ovid | Seneca Lake | Cayuga Lake OVIDThe Township of Ovid was laid out and named by Simeon Dewitt, the Surveyor-General of New York State, as part of a military tract established by the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784, after the Revolutionary War as payment to soldiers for their service. The first settler in the town was Andrew Dunlap in 1789 followed by his brother-in-law Joseph Wilson and Peter Smith who settled in the town that same year. The town was originally part of Onondaga County, Seneca County being organized in 1804. Parts or all of the current towns of Covert, Lodi and Hector were originally part of the town of Ovid. By 1835 the population of the town was 2,997, the incorporated village of Ovid being founded in 1816. A Seneca County courthouse was built in Ovid village in 1806 but the county seat was moved to Waterloo in 1917. In 1822 the county was divided into two jury districts with court held alternately in both towns until recently. The town holds many fine old homes and buildings. The 100+-year-old Holy Cross Catholic Church in the village and other buildings scattered throughout the town date back to the early 1800s. Among the most notable are the former county office buildings, commonly known as “The Three Bears”. A non-profit group is working for the preservation, restoration, and reuse of these buildings. The major source of employment for years was the State and Federal Governments through the Willard Psychiatric Center, Seneca Army Depot and Sampson Air and Naval Bases. Today the area of the former Army Depot is being redeveloped and includes KidsPeace, Five Points State Correctional Facility, and the Seneca County Correctional Facility, with several other commercial enterprises working on locating at the site. Edited from: D. Theetge, Historian - Town of Ovid |
