Winfield 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 ...

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

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 2,086 at the 2010 census. The town is named after General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

and is in the southwestern corner of the county, south of Utica.

History

The area was first settled ''circa'' 1789, mostly by people from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. The town of Winfield was formed from parts of Richfield, Plainfield (both in Otsego County), and Litchfield (Herkimer County) in 1816.

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. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.05%, are water. The southern town line and part of the western town line are the border of Otsego County. The remainder of the western town line is the border of Oneida County. The East Branch of the

Unadilla River The Unadilla River is a river in the Central New York Region of New York State. The river begins northeast of the hamlet of Millers Mills and flows generally south to the village of Sidney, where it converges with the Susquehanna River, which d ...

flows from northeast to southwest through the town. Winfield Creek flows into the Unadilla River at West Winfield village. The Unadilla is part of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

watershed. The northeastern corner of the town drains northeast via Steele Creek to the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...

and is part of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

watershed.

U.S. 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. S ...

passes across the southern part of the town and is briefly conjoined with

New York State Route 51 New York State Route 51 (NY 51) is a north–south state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of New York. The highway runs generally in a southwest to northeast direction from NY 8 in the hamlet of Mount Upton to n ...

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,202 people, 821 households, and 614 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 93.1 people per square mile (35.9/km²). There were 871 housing units at an average density of 36.8 per square mile (14.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.73%

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 on ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.27%

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 ...

, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, and 0.68% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 0.59% of the population. There were 821 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $35,588, and the median income for a family was $42,841. Males had a median income of $27,414 versus $21,667 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 $16,809. About 6.4% of families and 8.0% 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 t ...

, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Seth M. Gates Seth Merrill Gates (October 16, 1800 – August 24, 1877) was an American merchant, attorney and politician. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly and as a United States representative from the U.S. state of New York. Early l ...

, U.S. congressman from New York

Communities and locations in Winfield

*Birmingham Corners – A hamlet near the eastern town line on Routes US-20/NY-51. *Cedarville – 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 ...

in the northeastern corner of the town, located at the town line on NY-51. *Cedarville Station – A hamlet southwest of Chepachet on NY-51. *Chepachet – A hamlet southwest of Cedarville on NY-51. *East Winfield – A location east of Hitching Corner on US-20 *Hitching Corner – A hamlet east of West Winfield village on combined US-20/NY-51. *Meeting House Green – A location southeast of North Winfield, located on County Road 172. The

Brace Farm Brace Farm, also known as Pleasant Hill Stock Farm, is a historic home and farm located at Meetinghouse Green in Herkimer County, New York. The Brace farmhouse was built in 1861, and consists of a two-story, three bay, main block and 1 1/2-story ...

and Meetinghouse Green Road Cemetery were 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 artistic v ...

in 2013. *North Winfield – A hamlet at the northern town line on County Road 91. *

Round Top Round Top is an extinct volcano in the Berkeley Hills, just east of Oakland, California. The peak lies entirely within the bounds of Contra Costa County. In 1936, the area surrounding the peak was established as Round Top Regional Park, one of ...

– An elevation located southeast of East Winfield. * West Winfield – The village of West Winfield, located on US-20, is close to the western town line. *Woods Corners – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town, south of West Winfield on NY-51.

References

External links

Town of Winfield official website

Herkimer County Historical Society

{{authority control Towns in New York (state) Utica–Rome metropolitan area Towns in Herkimer County, New York