Cazenovia is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the town of Cazenovia in Madison 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. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 2,767. The village lies at the south end of Cazenovia Lake and is within a half hour of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. The village is located on

US Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. ...

and New York State Route 13, and was home to Cazenovia College.

History

Cazenovia was established in 1794 by John Lincklaen, a young Dutch naval officer who purchased the town under the auspices of the Holland Land Company. Some of the first buildings established in Cazenovia were what is now the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

and the company store. The town is named after

Theophilus Cazenove Theophilus Cazenove, or Theophile Cazenove (13 October 1740 – 6 March 1811), was a Dutch financier and one of the agents of the Holland Land Company. Life and career Theophilus Cazenove was baptized in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam as the son of ...

, an agent with the land company. The village was incorporated in 1810 and was the first

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

(until 1817). Many of the village's historic buildings are encompassed by the Albany Street Historic District and Cazenovia Village Historic District. Also 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 ...

is the Lehigh Valley Railroad Depot. The most famous event in Cazenovia's history was the 1850 Fugitive Slave Convention, organized by abolitionist

Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was an American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidate for P ...

and chaired by former slave

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

to consider how to react to the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was a law passed by the 31st United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one ...

, which passed days later. The

Lorenzo State Historic Site Lorenzo State Historic Site is a mansion built by Colonel John Lincklaen, founder of the village of Cazenovia, New York. an''Accompanying 1 photo, exterior, from July, 1970''/ref> Colonel Linklaen was the agent of the Holland Land Company up ...

was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in July 1970. This land, located off Route 13 (Rippleton Road), now belongs to the NY State Historic Trust after being bought from the previous owner, George Ledyard, upon his death. There is a school house, mansion, farmhouse, and a landscaped garden that guests can tour throughout the year by appointment or during regular hours. On March 31, 2021, New York State legalized recreational cannabis. Villages cannot limit a resident's right to possess or consume cannabis, but villages can prohibit retail outlets from selling it. On July 1, 2021, the village board voted unanimously to opt out of allowing retail cannabis sales in the village. It was one of the first villages in the state to opt out.

Geography

Cazenovia village is in western Madison County, in the center of the town of Cazenovia. It sits at the southeastern corner of Cazenovia Lake, a water body. U.S. Route 20 and New York State Route 13 pass through the village. US 20 leads east to Morrisville and west to LaFayette, while NY 13 leads north to Chittenango and south to DeRuyter. NY 92 has its southeastern terminus in Cazenovia and leads northwest to Manlius and to

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the village of Cazenovia has an area of , all of it recorded as land. Cazenovia Lake has its outlet at the western border of the village; the outlet flows into Chittenango Creek, which runs south to north through the center of the village, then continues northward to flow into

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

near

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

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 2,614 people, 943 households, and 522 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,031 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.37%

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 ...

, 2.41%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.27% from other races, and 0.99% 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 2.75% of the population. There were 943 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% 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, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.93. In the village, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 26.1% from 18 to 24, 19.9% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 73.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $43,611, and the median income for a family was $61,750. Males had a median income of $45,662 versus $30,893 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 village was $23,424. About 2.8% of families and 7.0% 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 ...

, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Cazenovia Public Library is the village's public library, located at 100 Albany Street. In its original building it houses specimens and historical artifacts that have been donated to the library. It is part of the Mid-York Library System.

Library history

The first library in Cazenovia was started in 1828 by John Williams, a general store owner and merchant. His library "consisting of 200 vols." were lent to the public for free. It was not until 1886 that the Cazenovia Library Society was formed. Societies like it maintained their libraries "through membership, lending fees, and gifts". In 1890, Robert J. Hubbard purchased and donated a house for the library's use. It had been built in 1830 in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style for John Williams. The ground floor of the house served as the main library building until a modern extension was built in 1996. Hubbard also donated his collection of souvenirs from his 1894 Grand Tour of Europe. One of the most notable artifacts he brought back was an ancient

Egyptian mummy The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods ...

Notable people

* Charles S. Fairchild (1842–1924),

Attorney General of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and head of the Department of Law of the government of New York (state), state government. The office has existed in various forms since ...

, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury * Ezra Greenleaf Weld (1801–1874), daguerrotypist

References

External links

*
''Cazenovia Republican''
weekly newspaper
Cazenovia history links

Cazenovia Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Populated places established in 1794 Villages in Madison County, New York 1794 establishments in New York (state) Cazenovia, New York