Cadosia, NY is a beautiful hamlet located within the Town of Hancock in Delaware County, NY and about 1 mile from the Village of Hancock, upstream on the East Branch Delaware River. Cadosia Creek flows through Cadosia and into the East Branch and has been a trout fishery for hundreds of boys who grew up in Cadosia over the years.
The origin of the name “Cadosia” is arguable, having two potential sources. The first is that a tribe of Indians had camped there but, upon leaving, discovered they had left their cooking pot behind. They sent a young Indian maiden back, on her own, to retrieve the pot. Arriving at the place, she encountered a bear, which caused her to climb a tree, where she cried out for help. Two white men, out hunting, heard her cries for help and rushed to the area where they slayed the beast and saved the girl. Her name: Cadosia.
The other story passed down is that a lone frontiersman made his homestead in a little log cabin at the mouth of the creek at its meeting with the river. His name: Cadocie.
One thing that we do know for sure is that Cadosia was a bustling hub on the New York Ontario and Western Railway in the early 1900’s. The railroad, gone bankrupt in the 1950’s, brought many, many people through and to Cadosia, where some of those families second, third and fourth generations live today.