Caton 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 ...

Steuben County, New York Steuben County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,584. Its county seat is Bath. Its name is in honor of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian general who fought on the American si ...

, United States. The population was 2,046 at the 2020 census. The town is named after

Richard Caton Richard Caton (1842, Bradford – 1926), of Liverpool, England, was a British physician, physiologist and Lord Mayor of Liverpool who was crucial in discovering the electrical nature of the brain and laid the groundwork for Hans Berger to disco ...

. The Town of Caton is in the southeast part of the county, south of Corning.

History

Caton was formed in 1839, as the "Town of Wormley" from the Town of Corning (then known as the Town of Painted Post). In 1840, the town name was changed to "Caton" after an act to change it was passed. Caton also sent the most men to the Civil War than any other town in Steuben County. According to ''Pioneer History & Atlas of Steuben County, NY'', the first electric chair was manufactured by George Davis in a chair factory in West Caton, though there no other sources confirming it.

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 (0.47%) is water. The first permanent settler arrived ''circa'' 1819. The southern town line is the border of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

( Tioga County) and the eastern town boundary is the border of Chemung County (

Town of Southport The Town of Southport was a local government area in South East Queensland, Australia. History On 11 November 1879, the Nerang and Coomera Divisions was created as two of 74 divisions within Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' ...

). New York State Route 225 passes through the northeast of the town.

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 2,097 people, 770 households, and 595 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 819 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.90%

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 ...

, 1.00%

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 ...

, 0.29% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.48% 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 0.72% of the population. There were 770 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% 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, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $45,875, and the median income for a family was $50,052. Males had a median income of $33,594 versus $27,391 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 $19,612. About 6.1% of families and 7.5% 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 8.5% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. The 1890 population was 1,445.

Communities and locations in the Town of Caton

*Brownstown – 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 southwest part of the town. *Caton – The hamlet of Caton is on NY-225 at the junction of County Roads 32 and 120. *Caton Creek – A stream flowing northward past Caton village. *West Caton – A hamlet in the northwest part of the town.

Notable people

Deacon White James Laurie "Deacon" White (December 2, 1847 – July 7, 1939) was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sport's professional era. The outstanding catcher of the 1870s during baseball ...

, born in Caton,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

manager and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

player. White was the first batter to come to the plate in the National Association. * Elmer White, born in Caton, Major League Baseball Catcher. Elmer was the first recorded professional baseball player to die. *

Will White William Henry White (October 11, 1854 – August 31, 1911) was an American professional baseball pitcher and player-manager from 1875 to 1889. He played all or parts of 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds (1876 ...

, born in Caton, Major League Baseball pitcher, brother of

. * Lucien Grant Berry, Brigadier General who served in 3 wars. Born in Caton in 1863.

References

External links

Caton history/links
{{authority control Populated places established in 1839 Towns in Steuben County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1839 establishments in New York (state)