Summary Description of Bovina NY

Bovina is a small New York town located in Delaware County in the Northern Catskills. The first European settlers came in the early 1790s. The town was created in 1820, taking portions of the towns of Delhi, Middletown and Stamford. The name, Bovina, comes from the Latin word bovinus, meaning cattle. It was suggested by Gen. Erastus Root because it was a pioneer town in the dairy industry. Bovina had over 100 farms in the mid to late 19^th century. Today, there are only three dairy farms left.

The population at its creation was 1267. It reached a peak of 1,436 in 1845 then steadily declined, reaching 506 in 1970. Since then, the town’s population has slowly increased. In the 2000 census it was 664. The town had 13 one room school houses at its peak. The last school house stopped operating in 1961 (I missed my chance of going to this school by one year).

Bovina is located on Route 28 between Delhi and Andes, about 150 miles from New York City.

As far as I can tell, Bovina, NY was the first such town with that name in the United States. There are Bovinas in Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, and Wisconsin.