Colchester is a

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

in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 2,077 at the 2010 census. The town is in the southwestern part of the county.

History

Colchester was formed from part of the town of Middletown in 1792. It was named after

Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...

Geography

The southern town line is the border of Sullivan County. 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. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.80%, is water.

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 2,042 people, 837 households, and 547 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 14.9 people per square mile (5.7/km²). There were 1,587 housing units at an average density of 11.5 per square mile (4.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.53%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.34%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.15%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.10% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.69% from two or more 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 forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.78% of the population. There were 837 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,147, and the median income for a family was $37,895. Males had a median income of $27,143 versus $20,694 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 $15,636. About 8.5% of families and 12.7% 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 t ...

, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Colchester

* Agloe – A fictional hamlet and

copyright trap Fictitious or fake entries are deliberately incorrect entries in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), maps, and directories. There are more specific terms for particular kinds of fictitious entry, such as Mo ...

that served as the inspiration for the 2008 novel

Paper Towns ''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...

* Butternut Grove – A hamlet located northwest of Cooks Falls. * Cooks Falls – A hamlet located southeast of Butternut Grove. *

Corbett Corbett may refer to: * List of Corbetts (mountains), 222 mountains in Scotland between , with prominence over * Corbett, Oregon, a community in the United States * Corbett Award, US award for athletics administrators * Corbett (surname), people w ...

– A hamlet located north of Horton. * Downsville – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and former

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the town. * Little Spring Brook- A small hamlet on the easternmost side of the town of Colchester, New York, located north of Roscoe and south of the

Pepacton Reservoir The Pepacton Reservoir, also known as the Downsville Reservoir, is a reservoir in Delaware County, New York on the East Branch of the Delaware River in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Part of the New York City water supply system, it was fo ...

on NYS Route 206. Population is 15 full-time residents and 35 seasonal residents. Little Spring Brook is the gateway to more than of state-owned land and

Forest Preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which is used for seasonal hunting, snowmobiling and hiking. * Gregorytown – A hamlet located southwest of Corbett. *

Horton Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), ...

– A hamlet located northwest of Butternut Grove. *

– Part of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Water System. * Shinhopple – A hamlet located northwest of Horton.

Notable person

William Elbridge Sewell William Elbridge Sewell (November 16, 1851 – March 17, 1904) was a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander and the 6th Naval Governor of Guam from February 9, 1903, until he returned to the mainland United States for medical treatment on Jan ...

, Governor of Guam, was born here

References

External links

Town of Colchester official website

{{authority control Towns in Delaware County, New York