About the Area

Oneonta, NY

The Town of Oneonta, NY lies approximately half way between Albany and Binghamton, and 16 miles south of Cooperstown, NY, in the valley of the headwaters of the Susquehanna River. Surrounded by the hills of the lower Catskills, Oneonta was once the site of the largest railroad roundhouse during the heyday of the great rail expansion. Development of the main street and peripheral areas was most prominent in the first part of the 20th century. Historic Main Street is a beautiful example of a well-maintained small New York city, with numerous shops, and storefronts that have maintained much of their original feel. Even recent renovation projects have worked to protect the historic feel of the place.

With roughly 13,000 residents calling the town home, the population does fluctuate with the two colleges here: SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College. Oneonta is an expanding city and town, with commercial opportunities for development in many areas, including craft beer, spirits, and food, hi-tech (Ioxus — designs and manufactures ultracapacitors and modules for a variety of high power, energy storage applications), distribution, tourism, sporting business, and environmentally friendly energy production. Oh, and baseball. The site of one of the area’s large draws, Cooperstown All-Star Village, summer is packed with young hitters from across the country.

There two major parks, and a Damasche Field, a minor-league baseball park (college ball in the summer). Indoor arts happen throughout the area, including the Foothills Performing Arts Center,  and outdoor music events fill the air from April through October, and there is even ice skating on the lake in the winter. Oneonta is the birthplace of notable figures including IBM co-founder George Fairchild and musician Jerry Jeff Walker. The area colleges are among the best in the state and produce top quality results. Just ask State Senator James Seward or Internet entrepreneur Bonin Bough — both graduated from Hartwick college, or actor Bill Pullman who graduated from SUNY Oneonta (among many others).

The City of the Hills is small enough to know your neighbors, but large enough to give a sense of metropolitan life.