Alma is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 785 at the 2020 census. The source of the town name is uncertain. One source credits it to Charles Wyvell's interest in the

Battle of the Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septemb ...

, while another attributes it to Stephen O. Alma, first manager of the Newbold Lumber Company of Shongo. The Town of Alma is on the southern edge of Allegany County and is southwest of the Village of Wellsville.

History

The area was first settled ''circa'' 1833. The Town of Alma was established in 1854 from part of the Town of Willing. From 1881 to January 1893, several of the settlements in the Township (most notably Allentown) were on the Wellsville-Eldred Main Line of the Bradford, Eldred & Cuba Railroad (BE&C). The BE&C was a 36" narrow-gauge railroad built to serve the Allegany County oil boom. With the end of the boom and loss of the passenger and freight traffic therefrom, the railroad entered receivership (bankruptcy) and was abandoned. Today, the railheads for Alma Township are Wellsville and Friendship. Remnants of the railroad bed for the BE&C can be seen in the village of West Clarksville between the village and Dodge Creek behind the Clarksville store. James E. Lewis, a resident in West Clarksville from 1936-1950. Alma's

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, ZIP code 14708, operated from 1850 until 1996.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.25%) is water. Alma Hill, the wide rise which dominates the southern half of town, is at 2,548 feet (777 m) not only the highest point in Allegany County but the entire western half of the state. The section of Alma Hill Road that runs near the summit is, at approximately , the highest free paved public road in the state outside of the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

. The south town line is the Pennsylvania border. New York State Route 417 (NY 417) crosses the north part of the town.

Demographics

At the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, there were 847 people, 322 households and 243 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 23.2 per square mile (9.0/km²). There were 533 housing units at an average density of 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.99%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.12%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.24% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.06% from two or more races. There were 322 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.99. 26.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,063 and the median family income was $35,833. Males had a median income of $31,023 compared with $17,778 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,061. About 8.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Alma

*Alma – The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Alma at the junction of County Routes 18 (Petrolia Road) and 38 (4 Mile Road) in the southwest corner of the town. *

Alma Hill Alma Hill is a mountain in the Southern Tier of New York. It is located southwest of Wellsville in Allegany County. In 1950, an steel fire lookout tower was built on the mountain. Due to the increased use of aerial detection, the tower cease ...

– A mountain located northeast of the hamlet of Alma. *Allentown – A hamlet by NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road) in the northwest corner of the town. The community was once an oil boom town. It was a station on the Eldred-Bolivar-Wellsville Main Line of the Bradford, Eldred & Cuba Railroad 1881-January 1893. *Honeoye Creek – A stream flowing through the south part of the town past Alma village. *Knight Creek – A stream in the northern part of the town by NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road). *Pikeville – A hamlet in the west part of the town on County Route 18 (Petrolia Road). *Vosburg – A location on the west town line on NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road).

References

External links

Alma history Additional historical informationEpodunk - Alma NY
{{authority control Towns in Allegany County, New York 1854 establishments in New York (state)