Sugar Bush Knolls

History

During the Depression, the Davey Tree Company operated a nursery and experimental tree farm on the site of what is now called the Village of Sugar Bush Knolls. The village was named for the sugar maple trees which originally stood near Lake Martin. The Davey Company owned the land where the village is now located and kept horses in the barn on Ferguson Road where the Framptons would later live. The company owned the small white house on the corner of Ferguson and Lake Martin Drive. During the early 1930s, the company offered to let Charles Miller, one of its employees, and his family move into that house, which had no electricity, telephone, or well. In 1942, the Millers' son, "Tuck", and family moved in with the senior Millers; at this time, the street was just a gravel road and did not extend out to Route 43. Martin Davey, the president of Davey Tree, arranged to have Lake Martin (named for him), Lake Roger and Lake Quincy dug out of the swampland. Lake Roger was named for William Roger Williams and Lake Quincy for David Quincy Grove, both officers of the Davey Tree Company. Harold Moore was the caretaker of the area used by Davey employees for recreation. A picnic shelter, rowboats, tree swings, and picnic tables were used for the company's picnics. The death of Martin Davey in 1946 ended plans for building the company headquarters on the site. In the 1950s the land was divided into building lots and sold. Local businessman Cyril Porthouse purchased a number of lots and built one of the first homes. He loaned the Village money to have sewers installed so that the village could be developed. Some of the early homes were built by McElhones, Bushes, Longs, Kaisers, and Geldhofs.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity