Citizen of the Year 2024 - Chillus Doty
2024
There was a Tavern in the Town!
Chillus Doty (1764-1824) arrived in Martinsburg along with the Walter Martin family in the early 1800s. Chillus was the brother-in-law of Walter Martin. He built his brick house about the same time that Martin built his stone mansion. Doty was a civic leader in the community serving at various times as supervisor, sheriff, member of the New York State Assembly and also as a surrogate in the county. As Martinsburg was building, it was also the Lewis County seat. Since the Lewis County Courthouse had not been built, the business of the town and the county was conducted at Doty's Tavern which was the brick house he had built. Chillus and Sarah Doty's two sons, Baron and James, both left the area and went west. James practiced law and Baron worked for several presidents. He was a territorial governor and did a lot of work with Indian affairs. Chillus Doty died in 1824 and is buried in the Martinsburg Cemetery on the Martin lot.