The bygone hamlet of East German could just as well have been called West McDonough, because it straddled a street now appropriately named Town Line Road. The west side of this hamlet’s main street was in the Town of German and the east side was in the Town of McDonough.

East German appears on the 1855, 1863, and 1875 maps labeled as “East German PO.” The “PO,” for post office, gave it status as a regional center. Although the maps do not reveal which side of the street the post office was on, a table in the front of the 1875 Atlas declares it to be in German. During this period, both German and McDonough each had two post offices, their namesakes and their East counterparts. In 1875, Chenango County had 47 post offices. Today it has 20, and is served by 12 in adjacent counties.

The photo shows what seems to have been downtown East German, the intersection of what are now Town Line and Loomis roads. Two helpful Bullthistle hikers are standing on Town Line Road. Joyce Post is pointing south and Anne Altshuler is pointing north. I took the photo in the center of Loomis Road while dodging Sunday morning traffic. The precursor to Loomis Road continued west to what is now Skillman-Hoffman Road, whereas today it terminates at the signpost.