Brighton is a

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

in Monroe County,

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

, United States. The population was 37,137 at the 2020 census.

History

The Town of Brighton, located on the southeastern border of the city of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, is located on the traditional homelands of the Onöndowa'ga:' (Seneca), part of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy, the People of the Long House, called Iroquois by the French. The first Europeans in the area were French trappers in the seventeenth century, who visited frequently but did not settle there. English colonists built permanent structures in approximately 1790, and formally established the town in 1814—earning it recognition as one of the oldest towns in Monroe County. Named for

Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Ag ...

, it remained a farming and brick-making community until the 20th century, when the town began its evolution into an upscale suburban residential area, occupying some . In 1999, the town purchased 64 acres (259,000 m²) with the intention of developing a central park. The Alcoa Care-free Home and Stone-Tolan House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

the men of Brighton helped form Company D of the 140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment in September, 1862, which was formed in

. The total population of Brighton at the time was approximately 3,100 people. The 140th New York Regiment served in the XII Corps and then the V Corps of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. They saw battle during the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

, The

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate ...

, the

Battle of Spotsylvania The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1 ...

and Appomatox Courthouse Campaigns during the war. The 140th New York was disbanded from service on June 3, 1865.

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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the town has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.5 km²), of which 15.5 square miles (40.0 km²) is land and 0.17 square mile (0.4 km²) (1.1%) is water. In terms of latitude and longitude, Brighton is located at . Brighton has lacked a central village since the city of Rochester annexed the area around East Avenue and Winton Road, formerly the village of Brighton, in 1905. The central entertainment and commercial hub is the Twelve Corners, so named because three intersecting roads, Winton Road, Monroe Avenue and Elmwood Avenue, define 12 distinct corners. Residents tend to gravitate to nearby

Pittsford Plaza Wilmorite Properties, Inc is a commercial real estate company based in Chili, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York. A subsidiary of the company owes significant back taxes and fees to the City of Rochester resulting from a loan and tax ...

for shopping, as well as Eastview Mall and Commons, in bordering Pittsford and nearby Victor. Also, both the High School ( Brighton High School) and the Middle School (Twelve Corners Middle School) are located at Twelve Corners. Brighton is bordered by the city of

and the town of Irondequoit northwest, the town of Henrietta (West Pittsford) to the south, the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides ...

and Chili the west, and the towns of Pittsford and Penfield to the east. Brighton is located some from Buffalo, and from

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly redu ...

courses through Brighton, accompanied by the acclaimed Erie Canal Heritage Trail, one of the longest continuous stretches of maintained off-road trail in the United States. The Pinnacle Hill Range, a range of glacially-formed hills of unique habitat including old-growth oak woodland, is largely leveled or otherwise destroyed, but does have degraded remnants on Pinnacle Hill and the east side of Cobbs Hill. The latter is dedicated as Washington Grove and very popularly used; the former is the highest (though eroded) peak in Rochester and mainly used for unregulated mountain biking with an extensive and wide network of trails on its steep, sandy slopes. The largest wetland in Brighton is a former clay-mining operation filled with lesser cattails along the Brickyard Trail, recently made a park in 2017. A fairly large area of west Brighton is undeveloped and wooded, including Lynch Woods Nature Park, from which one can access the Lehigh Valley Trail, which extends to Victor in the east and Rush to the west, and connects to the Genesee Valley Greenway, Auburn Trail, and Erie Canal trails. Most of Brighton however is completely developed, consisting of asphalt and lawn geography.

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, there were 35,588 people, 15,854 households, and 8,687 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 2,302.5 people per square mile (888.8/km²). There were 16,705 housing units at an average density of 417.2 persons/km² (1,080.8 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 86.09%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 8.13% Asian, 3.70%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 1.33% from two or more races, 0.10% Native American, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

and 0.63% from other races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.34% of the population. There were 15,854 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.8% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 45.2% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $91,345 and the median income for a family was $112,125. Males had a median income of $75,670 versus $49,299 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 $40,500. 6.1% of the population and 3.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 4.9% are under the age of 18 and 5.2% are 65 or older.

Education

Much of the Town of Brighton is served by the Brighton Central School District, which frequently earns high positions in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' national rankings (5th in 1998). Very recently, the ratings have gone down, possibly because some of the school teachers in Brighton have retired or because of increased emphasis on APs in other schools. In 2007, Brighton placed higher (87th) than its cross-town rival, Pittsford Mendon High School (94th) for the first time in several years. Brighton was recently ranked #56 out of over 18,000 in the inaugural ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking of U.S. high schools (2007), which is generally regarded as having more breadth of analysis than the Newsweek rankings. (The former rankings are formed based upon numerous quantifiable factors, whereas the Newsweek rankings solely examine the raw number of students enrolled in AP classes per capita.) No other school in Monroe County placed in the top 1,000, including, most notably, cross-town rival Pittsford Mendon High School. In 2019, Brighton High School was ranked #786 nationally by ''U.S. News & World Report.'' In 2006, Twelve Corners Middle School received the "Schools to Watch" award, and again was recertified in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018. It is one of only ten Middle Schools in New York to receive the "Schools to Watch" award. Other portions of the Town of Brighton are served by other school districts: *Most of the northeastern part of the town is served by the

Penfield Central School District The Penfield Central School District is a public school district in New York State that serves approximately 4,600 students in portions of the towns of Penfield, Brighton, Perinton and Pittsford in Monroe County, and Macedon and Walworth in ...

. *Some of the northeastern and eastern part of the town is served by the

Pittsford Central School District The Pittsford Central School District is a public school district in New York State that serves approximately 5,980 students in the towns of Pittsford, Perinton, Penfield, Mendon, and Brighton in Monroe County; and Victor in Ontario County ...

. *Most of the western part of the town is served by the

Rush–Henrietta Central School District The Rush–Henrietta Central School District is a public school district in New York State that serves approximately 6,000 students in the towns of Rush and Henrietta, and portions of Brighton and Pittsford in Monroe County with over 1,100 empl ...

. *The extreme western part of the town is served by the

Wheatland–Chili Central School District The Wheatland–Chili Central School District in Scottsville, NY serves approximately 700 students in the village of Scottsville and portions of the towns of Chili, Wheatland, and Brighton in Monroe County and a portion of the town of Caledonia ...

. Private schools located in Brighton include

the Harley School The Harley School is a college preparatory, independent day school in Rochester, New York, United States. History Founded in 1917 by Harriet Bentley, The Harley School was first called “The Children’s University School of Rochester.” Th ...

, McQuaid Jesuit High School,

Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women is a private all-girls Catholic school teaching grades 6–12, located in Brighton, Monroe County, New York, United States, near Rochester. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. T ...

, St. Thomas More School, and Seton Catholic School. Former schools include the Allen Creek School (annexed by

in 1958), Brighton Common School No. 4 (annexed by

in 1954 and later renamed Austin Crittenden School), Indian Landing School (annexed by

in 1954), and St. Agnes High School (1954–1982). Brighton is also home to the main campus of

Monroe Community College Monroe Community College is a public community college in Monroe County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college has two campuses; the main campus in the town of Brighton, and the Downtown Campus in the City of Ro ...

and auxiliary campuses of Empire State College,

Medaille College Medaille University is a private university in Buffalo, New York. The Sisters of St. Joseph founded Medaille in 1937. Medaille serves roughly 1,600 students from Western New York and Southern Ontario. Campuses Medaille's main campus is in Buff ...

, and the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

Government

Brighton is governed by an elected town board, consisting of a supervisor and four town board members. The supervisor is elected to a two-year term and serves as the CEO of the municipality and chairperson of the town board. The board members serve four-year terms. Voters also elect two town justices and a town clerk. Town justices serve a four-year term, and the clerk is elected to a two-year term.

Notable people

Charles August Charles J. August (January 28, 1919 – November 3, 2009) was an American businessman who founded Monro Muffler Brake. Biography August's career in automotive maintenance and repair began as a Midas Muffler franchisee in 1957 in Rochester, Ne ...

, founder of

Monro Muffler Brake Monro, Inc. is an automotive services company founded and headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S. As of 2021, Monro has 1,288 locations making them the second-largest automotive services company in North America after Driven Brands by number o ...

Al Cervi Alfred Nicholas Cervi (February 12, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). One of the strongest backcourt players of ...

, Basketball Hall of Famer * Ernie Clement, Baseball player * David Diamond, composer of classical music *

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

(1818–1895), social reformer, orator, writer, statesman, leader in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

* Winston Duke, actor (''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'' and '' Avengers: Infinity War'') * Dana Fox,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

(''

The Wedding Date ''The Wedding Date'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Clare Kilner and starring Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, and Amy Adams. Based on the 2002 novel ''Asking for Trouble'' by Elizabeth Young, the film is about a single ...

'') *

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

(1892–1969), "Golf's Greatest Showman", World Golf Hall-of-Famer, won 11 Majors. *

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American cla ...

, composer *

Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...

(1916–1965), author of '' The Lottery'' *

David Cay Johnston David Cay Boyle Johnston (born December 24, 1948) is an American investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting. From July 2011 until September 2012 he was a ...

, Pulitzer Prize winning ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reporter * David T. Kearns, former

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (having moved from St ...

CEO, former Deputy

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Robert L. King Robert L. King (born December 27, 1946) is an American higher education leader and former Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. He previously served as president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecond ...

, former assemblyman, former Monroe County executive, former chancellor of the State University of New York * Heidi "Hudson" Leick, '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' actress, played "Callisto" *

Jenna Marbles Jenna Nicole Mourey (born September 15, 1986), better known as Jenna Marbles, is an American former YouTuber. Over the span of ten years, her YouTube channel has accumulated approximately 1.7 billion video views and over 20 million subscriber ...

, YouTube personality, entertainer * Linda Sue Park, Newbery award-winning author * Arthur Schneider, four-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning television editor *

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...

, actress (''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' and '' Bridesmaids'')

References

External links

Brighton town websiteBrighton-Pittsford Post
mdash;local newspaper {{authority control Rochester metropolitan area, New York Erie Canal 1814 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1814