Ava is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

, United States. The population was 680 at the 2020 census. The Town of Ava is in the north central part of the county. Ava is north of the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

History

Ava was formed from Boonville on May 12, 1846. It was the second to last town to be created in the county, followed only by Forestport in 1869.Our County and Its People:A Descriptive Work on Oneida County, New York, Daniel Elbridge Wager, The Boston History Company, 1896

Early settlers

Ava was settled in 1798 by Ebenezer Harger, who two years prior moved to Whitestown from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The next settlers were Zephaniah and Abner Wood. Isaac Knight arrived from Rhode Island in 1798 or 1799. Around 1800, Philo Harger, Benjamin Jones, Lemuel Wood, Justus Beardsley and Salmon Bates (who opened the town's first tavern in his house) arrived. Daniel Buck, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

veteran arrived from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1800. Other early settlers were Rickerson Kenyon, Joseph Hunt, Remember Kent, who built an early

saw-mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, and Bates, Barnard, Fanning, Adams, Beck, Tiffany. The first child born in Ava was Chauncey Harger in March 1801. The first saw-mill was built in 1801 by Philo Harger and Benjamin Jones.History of Oneida County New York, Samuel W. Durant, Philadelphia, Everts & Gariss, 1878

Land

The town is made up of land of: *Adgate patent, a 45,000 acre patent issued to Matthew Adgate. Adgate was a member of the NY assembly and the US constitutional convention. *the Oothoudt Patent, a 16,052 acre patent issued to Henry Oothoudt in 1786 (about one have of Ava lies within this patent). Oothoudt was a delegate to the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

in 1775 and 1776, Albany County assemblyman in the 3rd New York State Legislature, 1779–1780, one of three commissioners of forfeitures under the New York Act of Attainder which seized the property of loyalists, and delegate to the US constitutional convention. *the Gore Patent, a 15,360 acre patent issued to

Thomas Machin Thomas Machin (March 20, 1744 – April 3, 1816) was a British-born American soldier and construction engineer. Machin was born in Staffordshire, England, and in his youth was apprenticed to English canal builder James Brindley. After arriving ...

in 1787 (one of the several Machin Patents). Machin was an engineer and surveyor and used his skills in support of the

. *the Scriba Patent, land first acquired by John and Nicholas Roosevelt in 1791 from the New York State Land Commission. This patent was for 530,000 acres situated in present Oswego and Oneida counties. Approximately 499,000 acres of the Roosevelt Tract became Scriba's Patent in 1793 as partial payment of debts owed to the Scriba Bank by the Roosevelts. *the Franklin and Robinson Tract (also called the Quaker Tract), a 75,000 acre parcel purchased from George Scriba in 1795. *the Muller Tract, a 1615-acre previously part of the Franklin and Robinson Tract that whose mortgage was foreclosed upon by Rembrandt Muller.

Civic formation

Ava was created by the legislature on May 12, 1846. The first town meeting was held on May 26, 1846. The following positions were filled:

Town Supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

Town Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

, Justices of the Peace (4), Assessors (3), Commissioner of Highways (3), Overseers of the Poor (2), Collector,

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

s (4),

Superintendent of Schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

(1), Sealer of Weights and Measures.

Name

Ava was named after the

Kingdom of Ava The Ava Kingdom (, ; INN-wa pyi) also known as Inwa Kingdom or Kingdom of Ava was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1365 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsa ...

Commerce

An early road connecting

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was bui ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

passed through the town. It was known as the old "French Road" from the time that Carthage was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

settlement on the Black River. A

plank road A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...

was constructed through Ava connecting

and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

by the Rome and Turin Plank-Road Company in 1848. It was abandoned in 1855. The area was primarily agricultural before becoming more dependent on dairying in the second half of the 19th century, when six cheese factories were located in Ava. The Ava Town Hall was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1992.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.08%) is water. Ava is located within the

Tug Hill Plateau Tug Hill, sometimes referred to as the Tug Hill Plateau, is an upland region in northern New York state, notable for heavy winter snows. The Tug Hill region is east of Lake Ontario, north of Oneida Lake, and west of the Adirondack Mountains. The ...

region of New York, and the northern town line is the border of Lewis County. The Mohawk and Black rivers run through Ava, and Fish Creek forms Ava's western border with the Town of

Annsville Annsville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Oneida County, New York, United States. At the 2010 census the town population was 3,012. The town is named after Ann Bloomfield, wife of a founder. The Town of Annsville is in the ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 725 people, 257 households, and 193 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 285 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.21%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.97%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.14% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. There were 257 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.25. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,750, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $27,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $13,406. About 14.9% of families and 20.1% 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 ...

, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Ava

*Ava – The

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

of Ava is on NY 26. * Flint Town – A hamlet south of Ava. *Redmond Corner – A hamlet in the northeastern corner of the town. * Webster Hill – An elevation located northeast of Flint Town.

Notable people

* Hiram Cronk, the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812 at the time of his death lived in Ava from 1837 until his death in 1905 *

Nat Foster Nathaniel (Nat) Foster Jr. (June 30, 1766–Mar 14, 1840) was a pioneer hunter and trapper in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. Foster is widely credited with being the model for James Fenimore Cooper's character of "Natty Bumppo." P ...

, legendary

scout and Indian fighter, who is a possible inspiration for

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

's character of "

Natty Bumppo Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is a fictional character and the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the ''Leatherstocking Tales''. He appears throughout the series as an archetypal American ranger, and has been portrayed ...

," was buried in a family plot just west of Ava Corners on the West Ava Road. A modern marker was placed there in 1937 by Rev. Clarence Mason, his biographer.

References

External links

Town of Ava, New York
{{authority control Utica–Rome metropolitan area Towns in Oneida County, New York Towns in New York (state)