John E. Barton was born on July 12, 1956, in Glens Falls, NY. His parents are Carl and Joan Barton. He is the oldest of five boys Jeff, David, Terry, and Dan are his younger brothers.
John graduated in 1974 from Hudson Falls and attended Morrisville for two years. In 1976, John joined The United States Marine Corps Active Reserves. He graduated from Paris Island in October, 1976, and served in the active reserves for six years.
In June of 1978, he married Michelle Inglee. They have four children Amber, Brandon, Todd, and Jarrod, and five grandchildren Kalista. Brady, Emma, Dane, and Skylar who all attend Hudson Falls schools. Michelle and John recently celebrated their 40th anniversary.
In August of 1977, John started a long career at Finch Pruyn paper mill. Starting as the Mail Clerk and eventually moving up to a division manager’s role. He retired from Finch Pruyn in 2007 but returned to Finch Paper in January, 2010, where he continues to work as an Area Manager.
In 1988, he was elected to the Hudson Falls Village Board as a trustee. He served in this capacity for 18 years. He then was elected Mayor in 2008. At the end of his current term (2020), he will have served as Mayor for the last 12 years. His 30 years of service to the community as an elected official make him the longest tenured Village Board ever.
John coached at all levels of Hudson Falls Little League for 13 years. He was Vice President of Little League for a couple years. John was also an Assistant Coach for the Hudson Falls freshmen and varsity basketball teams at one time. He coached youth soccer at Derby Park for many years.