Fabius 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 ...

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

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 population was 2,006. The classical name of the town was assigned by a clerk interested in the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. The Town of Fabius contains 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 ...

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

. It is in the southeastern part of the county, south 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 ...

History

The region was part of the

Central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment ...

used to pay soldiers of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The town was formed in 1798 from

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

and was one of the original townships in the Military Tract established in 1790. Fabius is named for the Roman general

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (), surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was Roman consul, consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed Roman dictator, dict ...

. Fabius lost territory to the new towns of Tully (1806) and Truxton (1808 on the formation of

Cortland County Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention a ...

). The town of Fabius and some of the town's 1950s landmarks—the Fabius Central School and the famous Shea's General Store—are featured in the novel, ''The Pompey Hollow Book Club'' by Jerome Mark Antil.

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 46.8 square miles (121.2 km²), of which 46.6 square miles (120.6 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.51%) is water. The southern town line is the border of

and the eastern town line is the border of Madison County.

New York State Route 91 New York State Route 91 (NY 91) is a north–south state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is located at an intersection with NY 13 in the Cortland County town of Truxton. I ...

is a north-south highway, which intersects

New York State Route 80 New York State Route 80 (NY 80) is a west–east New York State Route located within Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Otsego, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties in New York. Its western terminus is located at a junction with NY& ...

, an east-west highway at Fabius village.

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 1,974 people, 686 households, and 515 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 779 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.77%

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 ...

, 0.46%

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 ...

, 0.66% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.05% from other races, and 0.71% 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 1.57% of the population. There were 686 households, out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.30. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $52,663, and the median income for a family was $59,167. Males had a median income of $40,745 versus $28,036 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 $21,206. About 4.9% of families and 5.7% 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 ...

, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Fabius

*Apulia – 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 ...

near the western town line on NY Route 80. * Apulia Station – A location west of Apulia on NY-80. *Cowles Settlement – A location at the southern town line, officially in Cortland County. * De Ruyter Reservoir – A small western part of the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

is within the east town line. *

– The Village of Fabius on NY-80 and NY-91. *Gooseville Corners – A location in the southeastern part of the town on NY-80. *

Highland Forest Highland Forest is a county park in Fabius, New York. It is part of the Onondaga County Parks system. Proclaimed the "Adirondacks of Central New York," Highland Forest is the oldest county park in Onondaga County. The park has more than of tra ...

– A county park in the southeastern part of the town. *Keeney – A hamlet at the southern town line, officially in Cortland County. *

Labrador Hollow Unique Area The Labrador Hollow Unique Area is a conservation area located in Cortland and Onondaga counties, New York, and was the first property to be designated as a Unique Area by New York. The area is located adjacent to and between Kettlebail Stat ...

– A state-owned conservation area in the southwestern part of the town. *Vincent Corners – A location near the eastern town line, west of Gooseville Corners.

References

External links

Fabius-Pompey Central School District

History/genalogy of Fabius
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Onondaga County, New York Towns in New York (state)