Benton 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 ...

in Yates County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 2,836 at the 2010 census. The town is named after an early resident, Levi Benton (1746-1820) The Town of Benton is located in the northeast part of the county. Benton is on the west side of Seneca Lake, north of Penn Yan.

History

Kashanquash, a village of the

Seneca tribe The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthe ...

, was located in the northeast part of Benton as late as 1779. The region became part of the

Phelps and Gorham Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gor ...

. The town was formed in 1803 from the Town of Jerusalem before the formation of Yates County. Originally called the "Town of Vernon," the name was changed to "Snell" to avoid confusion with another "Vernon." Finally, the name was changed to "Benton," after Levi Benton, thought to be the first settler in the town. In 1818, the town was reduced in size by the founding of the Town of Milo. A further loss of territory came about in 1851 when the Town of Torrey was created. The Angus Cobblestone Farmhouse and Barn Complex,

Barden Cobblestone Farmhouse Barden Cobblestone Farmhouse is a historic home located at Benton in Yates County, New York. The farmhouse was built about 1843 and is an example of vernacular Greek Revival style, cobblestone domestic architecture. It is a -story, five-bay ce ...

, Jephtha Earl Cobblestone Farmhouse, William Nichols Cobblestone Farmhouse, Whitaker House, and

Abner Woodworth House Abner Woodworth House is a historic home located at Benton in Yates County, New York. It is a Greek Revival style structure built about 1830.''See also:'' It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register ...

are 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 ...

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 (6.66%) is water. The northern town line is the border of Ontario County, and part of the eastern town line, marked by Seneca Lake, is the border of Seneca County. Benton is in the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

region of New York.

New York State Route 14 New York State Route 14 (NY 14) is a state highway located in western New York in the United States. Along with New York State Route 19, NY 19, it is one of two routes to transect the state in a north–south fashion between ...

is a north-south highway along the edge of Seneca Lake, while

New York State Route 14A New York State Route 14A (NY 14A) is a north–south state highway located in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. It extends for from an interchange with NY 14 in the Schuyler County town of Reading to an ...

is a north-south highway in the western part of the town.

New York State Route 364 New York State Route 364 (NY 364) is a state highway located in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 14A in Penn Yan to a junction with the concurrent routes of ...

crosses the southwestern corner of Benton.

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 2,640 people, 864 households, and 642 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 956 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.86%

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 ...

, 0.42%

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 ...

, 0.15% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.49% 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 0.42% of the population. There were 864 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% 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 3.29. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,500, and the median income for a family was $43,988. Males had a median income of $26,951 versus $23,250 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 $16,843. About 7.5% of families and 13.5% 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 25.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Levi W. Barden, former Wisconsin State Senator * Joshua Lee, former US Congressman * James R. Lyon, former Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Meredith Mallory, former US Congressman

Communities and locations in the Town of Benton

*Angus – A

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 ...

in the southeastern corner of Benton by Seneca Lake on NY Route 14. *Bellona – A hamlet near the northern town line on County Road 15 (Pre-Emption Road). *Bellona Station – A location southwest of Bellona, on Bellona Station Road. Known in the early 1900s as Gage and once home to a United States Post Office, Bellona Station was the location of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight and passenger station until the late 1940s or early 1950s, when the station was destroyed by fire. *Benton – The hamlet of Benton is on NY-14. *Benton Center – A location west of Benton hamlet on County Road 14 at the junction of NY-14A. *Ferguson Corners – A location in the northwestern corner of the town on County Road 2. *Havens Corners – A hamlet northwest of Penn Yan village and east of Benton Center on County Road 14. *Kashong Point – A projection into Seneca Lake, partly in the northeast of Benton. * Penn Yan – a small part of the Village of Penn Yan is in the south part of the town on NY-14A.

References

External links

Official town website

{{authority control Towns in Yates County, New York Towns in New York (state)