Geneseo (town), New York
|
|
Geneseo is a town located in Livingston County in upstate New York. Its population is approximately 9,600.
The Town of Geneseo contains the Village of Geneseo.
| Contents |
History
Pre-revolution
The site of Geneseo was the largest Seneca village, and a center of power for the Iroquois nation. It was also the "bread basket" of the tribe, with orchards, vinyards, and fields of maize and vegetables.
During the American Revolution, the Iroquois joined the British and the Tories against the colonists who were fighting for independence. Raids by this alliance from the west was a major threat to the American cause, and General Washington sent the Sullivan Expedition to neutralize the Iroquois. As Sullivan's army approached Geneseo, with their "scorched earth" policy the Senecas repeatedly fell back. However, they did extract some damage, as a large Seneca party was successful in ambushing one of Sullivan's scouting parties, carrying them as prisoners to Geneseo and torturing them to death. When Sullivan's troops arrived and found the mutilated bodies, they were enraged, and became very thorough in their destruction of anything that could support the Iroquois. From Geneseo and environs about 5,000 Seneca refugees fled to British-held Fort Niagara, where they spent one of the coldest winters of record, with much loss of life, in camps outside the fort with only the small amount of supplies that the British could spare.
Post-revolution
The settlement of Geneseo by the colonists began shortly after the arrival of James and William Wadsworth in 1790. The brothers came to the Genesee Valley from Connecticut as agents of their uncle, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, to care for and to sell land which he had purchased. The Wadsworths were participants in the treaty negotiations of the Treaty of Big Tree between Robert Morris and the Senecas at the site of Geneseo in 1797.
Geneseo, as well as nearby Mount Morris (named after Robert Morris), were part of The Morris Reserve that Morris held back from his sale of much of western New York to the Holland Land Company.
The Village of Geneseo became the county seat of Livingston County in 1821 and was incorporated in 1832. The State Normal School, now SUNY Geneseo, was opened in 1871. A portion of the village was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior in 1991.
The valley of the Genesee is wide and fertile, with some of the best agricultural land in New York, but it was very prone to flooding, and Geneseo suffered several very bad floods until the construction of the Mount Morris flood control dam upstream of the community in the 1950s.
Since 1980, Geneseo's airfield on the Wadsworth farm (off of Big Tree lane) has hosted groups restoring and operating historic military aircraft -- originally the National Warplane Museum, and now the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group. An excellent airshow is held annually on the field, during the second weekend in July.
Geography
Tbe Genesee River defines the western town line, and Conesus Lake defines the eastern town line. Interstate Highway 390 passes through the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 117.1 km² (45.2 mi²). 113.9 km² (44.0 mi²) of it is land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.74% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 9,654 people, 2,523 households, and 1,301 families residing in the town. The population density is 84.8/km² (219.6/mi²). There are 2,698 housing units at an average density of 23.7 persons/km² (61.4 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 93.91% White, 1.48% African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.61% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,523 households out of which 23.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% are married couples living together, 8.3% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 48.4% are non-families. 26.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.53 and the average family size is 2.92.
In the town the population is spread out with 11.9% under the age of 18, 51.3% from 18 to 24, 15.2% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 72.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 68.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $40,660, and the median income for a family is $62,206. Males have a median income of $42,218 versus $25,969 for females. The per capita income for the town is $15,303. 29.8% of the population and 8.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 12.2% are under the age of 18 and 5.5% are 65 or older.
Communities and locations in the Town of Geneseo
- Cottonwood Cove -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake in the southeast part of the town.
- Eagle Point -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake south of Sleggs Landing and north of Eagle Sacketts Harbor on Route 256.
- Geneseo -- The Village of Geneseo by the west town line.
- Geneseo Airport (D52) -- A general aviation airport west of the village, the home of the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group, and the site of the annual airshow.
- Graywood -- A hamlet on the east town line by Coneseus Lake.
- Long Point -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake.
- Long Point Cove -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake.
- Sacketts Harbor -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake.
- Sleggs Landing -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake south of Graywood on Route 256.
- Wadsworth Cove -- A hamlet on the shore of Conesus Lake, south of Sacketts Harbor on Route 256.
External links and references
- Town and Village of Geneseo (http://www.geneseony.org/)
- GeneseoNY.com (http://www.geneseony.com/)
- 1941 Historical Aircraft Group (http://www.1941hag.org/)