Edmeston, New York
Encyclopedia
Edmeston is a town
located in Otsego County
, New York
, United States
. As of the 2000 census
, the town had a total population
of 1,824.
The Town of Edmeston is at the western county line. Edmeston is also the name of the largest hamlet
in the town. The town is south of Utica
.
, the town has a total area of 44.6 square miles (115.5 km²), of which, 44.5 square miles (115.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.11% water
. The major water features are:
The elevation
of the town varies by about 800 feet (243.8 m): from just under 1100 feet (335.3 m) above sea level at the Unadilla River in the southwest corner of the town, to just over 1900 feet (579.1 m) at peaks near Taylor Hill and Summit Lake
in the northeast corner.
New York State Route 80
Passes through the southeast part of the town.
The town of Edmeston, in Otsego County, extends to the west as far as the Unadilla River
, a line that was established by the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix
between the British
and the Iroquois
, negotiated by Sir William Johnson
. The town's name came from the brothers, Robert and William Edmeston
, who had been granted 10000 acres (40.5 km²) of land in what is now the northwest corner of the town. The hamlets
of West Edmeston
and South Edmeston
are situated in the Unadilla Valley, while the hamlet of Edmeston lies in the Wharton Valley. Earlier settlers came from New England
; for most of the settlers, it was planned as a stopover on their way west. A strong Baptist
influence came with the settlers. Universalists, Methodists and Roman Catholics soon arrived.
The town was established from the Town of Burlington
in 1808.
Dairy
farm
ing has historically been the main business of the area. Cheese
factories, creameries, livery stables, blacksmith shops, and tanneries were created to support the dairy industry. One room schoolhouses were scattered throughout the town. By damming the creeks, power was created for foundries and mills. Hop
growing and maple syrup
production were seasonal occupations. Each of the town's communities developed business districts and became self-sufficient. The last spike of the Edmeston branch of the Ontario & Western RR from New Berlin, was driven at Edmeston in January, 1889, but a rumoured extension to Richfield Springs was never built. Then cars, buses and trucks arrived on the scene. Dams were washed out and electricity became available. The hamlets evolved into bedroom communities. The one room schoolhouses closed and the Central School was developed in the hamlet of Edmeston.
Today residents go in all four directions for employment. The New York Central Insurance Company not only provides positions for many of the locals but also for hundreds that commute
into the community each day. On the Eastern side of the town is the Pathfinder Village (home for Down Syndrome
residents) that provides more employment.
The population of the town has not increased much through the years. It still remains largely rural. Organizations like the local Rotary Club, American Legion
and Fire and Emergency Squads have active volunteers that provide community needs in lieu of governments in the hamlets. Edmeston Central School is the center of activities.
of 2000, the town of Edmeston contained:
The population density
was 40.9 people per square mile (15.8/km²).
There were 821 housing units at an average
density of 18.4 per square mile (7.1/km²).
The racial makeup of the town was:
There were 658 households out of which:
The population spread of the town of Edmeston was:
Edmeston population distribution (2000 Census)
percent of total population (all ages) percent of population in age bracket
The median
age was 37 years.
For every 100 females there were 100.0 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
In the town of Edmeston, median income:
The per capita
income for the town is $17,507.
13.6% of the population and 8.3% of families are below the poverty line.
Out of the total people living in poverty
,
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
located in Otsego County
Otsego County, New York
Otsego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. The 2010 population was 62,259. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name Otsego is from a Mohawk word meaning "place of the rock."-History:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the town had a total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 1,824.
The Town of Edmeston is at the western county line. Edmeston is also the name of the largest hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in the town. The town is south of Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 44.6 square miles (115.5 km²), of which, 44.5 square miles (115.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.11% water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. The major water features are:
- The Unadilla RiverUnadilla RiverThe Unadilla River in New York State flows from south of Utica to the village of Sidney, where it flows into the Susquehanna River, which eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean....
, which forms the entire western border of the town, - Wharton Creek, which meanders to the south and west through the southeastern corner of the town,
- Mill Creek, which flows from north to south from the northern border of Edmeston to the Wharton Creek at the Edmeston hamlet.
- Summit Lake in the northeastern corner of the town.
The elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of the town varies by about 800 feet (243.8 m): from just under 1100 feet (335.3 m) above sea level at the Unadilla River in the southwest corner of the town, to just over 1900 feet (579.1 m) at peaks near Taylor Hill and Summit Lake
Summit Lake
-Lakes:In Canada:*Summit Lake , Central Interior of British Columbia.*Summit Lake , Algoma District, Ontario.*Summit Lake , Algoma District, Ontario.*Summit Lake...
in the northeast corner.
New York State Route 80
New York State Route 80
New York State Route 80 is a west–east New York State Route located within Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Otsego, Herkimer, and Montgomery Counties in New York. Its western terminus is located at a junction with NY 175 in the city of Syracuse in Onondaga County, from which it...
Passes through the southeast part of the town.
History
- For a documented history of the Town of Edmeston, see the Wikisource article: History of Edmeston, New York
The town of Edmeston, in Otsego County, extends to the west as far as the Unadilla River
Unadilla River
The Unadilla River in New York State flows from south of Utica to the village of Sidney, where it flows into the Susquehanna River, which eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean....
, a line that was established by the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...
between the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, negotiated by Sir William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...
. The town's name came from the brothers, Robert and William Edmeston
William Edmeston
Colonel William Edmeston was a British veteran of the French and Indian War. In 1763 under royal proclamation, he and his brother Lieutenant Robert Edmeston were each awarded 5,000 acres in the colonies for their service in the 48th Regiment....
, who had been granted 10000 acres (40.5 km²) of land in what is now the northwest corner of the town. The hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of West Edmeston
West Edmeston, New York
West Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River on the border the Town of Brookfield in Madison County, New York and the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York.-History:...
and South Edmeston
South Edmeston, New York
South Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River in the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York. It is located at coordinates .Kraft Foods had operated a cheese plant in South Edmeston starting in the year 1920. They originally produced Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, but then switched over...
are situated in the Unadilla Valley, while the hamlet of Edmeston lies in the Wharton Valley. Earlier settlers came from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
; for most of the settlers, it was planned as a stopover on their way west. A strong Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
influence came with the settlers. Universalists, Methodists and Roman Catholics soon arrived.
The town was established from the Town of Burlington
Burlington, New York
Burlington is a town in Otsego County, New York, USA. The population was 1,085 at the 2000 census.The Town of Burlington is in the northwest part of the county and is north of Oneonta.-Geography:...
in 1808.
Dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
ing has historically been the main business of the area. Cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
factories, creameries, livery stables, blacksmith shops, and tanneries were created to support the dairy industry. One room schoolhouses were scattered throughout the town. By damming the creeks, power was created for foundries and mills. Hop
Hop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
growing and maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
production were seasonal occupations. Each of the town's communities developed business districts and became self-sufficient. The last spike of the Edmeston branch of the Ontario & Western RR from New Berlin, was driven at Edmeston in January, 1889, but a rumoured extension to Richfield Springs was never built. Then cars, buses and trucks arrived on the scene. Dams were washed out and electricity became available. The hamlets evolved into bedroom communities. The one room schoolhouses closed and the Central School was developed in the hamlet of Edmeston.
Today residents go in all four directions for employment. The New York Central Insurance Company not only provides positions for many of the locals but also for hundreds that commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
into the community each day. On the Eastern side of the town is the Pathfinder Village (home for Down Syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
residents) that provides more employment.
The population of the town has not increased much through the years. It still remains largely rural. Organizations like the local Rotary Club, American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
and Fire and Emergency Squads have active volunteers that provide community needs in lieu of governments in the hamlets. Edmeston Central School is the center of activities.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, the town of Edmeston contained:
- 1824 people,
- 658 householdHouseholdThe household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s, and - 480 families.
The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 40.9 people per square mile (15.8/km²).
There were 821 housing units at an average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
density of 18.4 per square mile (7.1/km²).
The racial makeup of the town was:
- 98.14% White,
- 0.44% African American,
- 0.27% Native American,
- 0.05% Asian,
- 0.00% Pacific Islander,
- 0.44% of races other than the above,
- 0.66% of two or more races,
- 0.99% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 658 households out of which:
- 34.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them,
- 62.2% are married couplesMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, - 8.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and
- 26.9% are non-families.
- 22.5% of all households are made up of individuals and
- 12.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.
- The average household size is 2.65 and
- the average family size is 3.06.
The population spread of the town of Edmeston was:
- 27.1% under the age of 18,
- 6.3% from 18 to 24,
- 28.6% from 25 to 44,
- 23.5% from 45 to 64, and
- 14.5% who are 65 years of age or older.
Edmeston population distribution (2000 Census)
| Age | Total | % * | Male | % ** | Female | %** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1824 | 100.0 | 912 | 50.0 | 912 | 50.0 |
| 18+ | 1330 | 72.9 | 657 | 36.0 | 673 | 36.9 |
| 21+ | 1282 | 70.3 | - | - | - | - |
| 60+ | 352 | 19.3 | 166 | 47.2 | 186 | 52.8 |
| 62+ | 324 | 17.8 | - | - | - | - |
| 65+ | 265 | 14.5 | 126 | 47.5 | 139 | 52.5 |
| 75+ | 118 | 6.5 | 49 | 41.5 | 69 | 58.5 |
| 85+ | 25 | 1.4 | 9 | 36.0 | 16 | 64.0 |
The median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
age was 37 years.
For every 100 females there were 100.0 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
In the town of Edmeston, median income:
- per household was $36,800,
- per family was $41,510,
- per male was $27,546,
- per female was $21,089.
The per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
income for the town is $17,507.
13.6% of the population and 8.3% of families are below the poverty line.
Out of the total people living in poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
,
- 18.3% of those under the age of 18 and
- 7.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Communities and locations in Edmeston
- Amblers Crossing – A hamlet south of Edmeston village.
- Edmeston – The hamlet of Edmeston is in the south part of the town on NY-80.
- Manchester Crossing – A hamlet east of South Edmeston.
- South EdmestonSouth Edmeston, New YorkSouth Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River in the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York. It is located at coordinates .Kraft Foods had operated a cheese plant in South Edmeston starting in the year 1920. They originally produced Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, but then switched over...
– A hamlet at the west town line near the Unadilla River at the junction of County Roads 18 and 20. - Summit Lake – A small lake in the northeast part of the town.
- West EdmestonWest Edmeston, New YorkWest Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River on the border the Town of Brookfield in Madison County, New York and the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York.-History:...
– A hamlet near the west town line, located next to the Unadilla River.