Newfane 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 ...

in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 9,666 at the 2010 census. The Town of Newfane is in the north-central part of the county, north of the City of Lockport.

History

The Town of Newfane was established in 1824 by Wesley R. Rupert and others. The Newfane name was selected by early settlers who had roots in Newfane, Vermont. The town was created from portions of the Towns of Hartland,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, and Wilson. The first town meeting was held at the Van Horn Mansion in 1824. The Newfane township consists of six hamlets; Appleton, Burt, the Newfane village, Olcott, Ridgewood and the northern portion of Wright's Corners. The Newfane village was once named "Charlotteville," but renamed Newfane, and Olcott was named Kempville in early times. Its school district includes an early childhood center, an elementary school, a middle school, and one high school. The school's mascot is a panther. In Olcott, there is a monument with a handful of names of soldiers who fought for the Union cause in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In total, 252 Union soldiers came from Newfane, of whom about 55 died during service. Olcott is also home to an original Herschell Carousel. The Carousel was built in 1928 and recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. The town has two properties 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 ...

: the First Baptist Church and the Van Horn Mansion.

Notable people

* Steve Geltz,

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

pitcher * Tom Jolls, TV weatherman and children's show host * Del Mason, former MLB player * Burt Van Horn, former US Congressman * John Beilein, professional basketball coach and college coach at the University of Michigan. * Ron Altbach, musician, King Harvest, Celebration.

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 (3.05%) is water. It also includes Wright's Corners. Newfane's northern border is

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. The town's south border is shared with the Town of Lockport.

Adjacent cities and towns

* Town of Lockport - south * City of Lockport - south * Town of Wilson - west * Town of Somerset - east * Town of Hartland - east *

- north

Major highways in the Town of Newfane

New York State Route 18 New York State Route 18 (NY 18) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the south shore of Lake Ontario for most of its length between Niagara County, New York, Niagara County and ...

(Lake Rd.), east–west highway across the north part of town roughly paralleling Lake Ontario. * New York State Route 78 (Lockport-Olcott Rd.), north–south roadway through the town from the Lockport town line to its northern terminus at Lake Rd. (NY 18) in Olcott, NY. * New York State Route 104 (Ridge Rd.), east–west roadway through the town from the Cambria town line to the Hartland town line. (Runs concurrently with NY 78 a short distance in Wrights Corners.)

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 9,657 people, 3,597 households, and 2,633 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,854 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.76%

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 ...

, 7.15%

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 ...

, 0.54% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 0.85% 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 0.98% of the population. There were 3,597 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% 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, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,438, and the median income for a family was $50,095. Males had a median income of $38,037 versus $25,279 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 $18,311. About 5.2% of families and 6.8% 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 7.9% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Newfane

* Appleton – A hamlet in the northeast part of Newfane. * Burt – A hamlet south of Olcott on Route 78, named after Burt van Horn, an early settler in the region. * Corwin – A hamlet between Newfane and Wrights Corners on Route 78. * Eighteen Mile Creek – A stream flowing northward through the town to Lake Ontario. * Hess Road – A location on the east border of the town, east of Newfane. * Ridgewood – A hamlet southeast of Newfane on Route 104 (Ridge Road). * Newfane – The hamlet of Newfane is on Route 78, centrally located in the town and on the east bank of Eighteen Mile Creek. * Olcott – A hamlet with a small boat harbor on Lake Ontario. *Olcott-Newfane Airport (D80) – A small general aviation airport on the west side of Eighteen Mile Creek and southwest of Olcott. *Woodland Heights – a lakeside hamlet on Lake Ontario. * Wrights Corners – A hamlet on the south town line, partly in the Town of Lockport. The community is located by the fork in Routes 78 and 104. It extends to Wicks Road.

References

External links

Town of Newfane administrative webpage

The Town of Newfane Historical Society
{{authority control Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Towns in Niagara County, New York Towns in New York (state)