Ontario 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 the northwest corner of Wayne County,

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 9,778 at the 2000 census, and 10,136 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Great Lake on its northern border. The town has 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

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

), also called

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Government offices for the town are located there.

History

The first settler was

Freeman Hopkins Freeman Hopkins (1779 - 1856) was a Quaker and the first settler of Ontario, New York. He was a 5th generation American. His 4th great grandfather was Stephen Hopkins, a passenger on the Mayflower along with his son Giles, who was his 3rd great ...

, who arrived in 1806. He built a small log cabin that had to hold his nine children, wife and himself. Heavy timber and swamps made life difficult for the first settlers. The town of Ontario was created in 1807 as the "Town of Freetown" from a part of the town of Williamson. Soon after, the name was changed to "Ontario". Part of Ontario was used to form the town of

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

in 1829. In 1811,

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

ore was discovered and a thriving smelting operation arose that lasted until past the end of the century. In 1874, the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad (now the R., W. & O.) was opened. On June 1, 1970, the Robert E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant started commercial operation on the shore of Lake Ontario within the town, just past the

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

line.

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 is land and (0.37%) is water. The northern town boundary 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. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, and the western town line is the border of

. The town is east of the City of Rochester.

New York State Route 104 New York State Route 104 (NY 104) is a east–west state highway in Upstate New York in the United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it follows ...

is an east-west highway that intersects north-south highway New York State Route 350 at Ontario Center.

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 2010, there were 10,136 people, 3,960 households, and 2,898 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 303.5 people per square mile (117.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.7%

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 ...

, 1.2%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.0%

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 ...

, 0.4% 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 1.0% 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 1.6% of the population. There were 3,960 households, out of which 32.2% 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, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 20, 4.7% from 20 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $65,472, and the median income for a family was $74,589. Males had a median income of $53,917 versus $34,732 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 $30,559. About 2.3% of families and 5.2% 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 8.3% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 4,145 housing units at an average density of 128.3 per square mile (49.5/km²); a total of 4.5% of housing units were vacant. There were 3,960 occupied housing units in the town, of which 3,329 were owner-occupied units (84.1%), while 631 were renter-occupied (15.9%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 7.3%.

Communities and locations in the Town of Ontario

*Bear Creek — A lakeside

on County Road 101 that was once the port for loading iron ore from the county. *Fruitland — A location west of Ontario Center on NY-104. *Furnaceville — A hamlet near the eastern town line on County Road 110, where one of the last major iron furnaces was located (1825 – 1887). *

Ginna Nuclear Generating Station The Robert Emmett Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, commonly known as Ginna ( ), is a nuclear power plant located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, in the town of Ontario, Wayne County, New York, United States, approximately east of Rochester, N ...

— A

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

generator on the shore of Lake Ontario. *Lakeside — A hamlet on Route 104, north of Fruitland on County Road 102. In spite of its name, it is not located on the shore of a lake. *

— The hamlet (and

) of Ontario is on NY-104 and County Road 110 in the southeastern part of the town. It was first settled around 1807. The Brick Church Corners

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

was 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 1973. * Ontario Center — A hamlet by the NY-104 and NY-350 junction. The

First Presbyterian Church of Ontario Center First Presbyterian Church of Ontario Center is a historic Presbyterian church located at Ontario Center in Wayne County, New York. It was built in 1914 and is a Tudor Revival style concrete block church cast to resemble rusticated masonry. It ...

was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. *Ontario-on-the-Lake — A lakeside hamlet in the northwest corner of the town on County Road 101. * Union Hill — A hamlet by the west town line on NY-104. It also extends into Monroe County.

Nearby towns

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

* Williamson *

References

External links

Town of Ontario

{{authority control Rochester metropolitan area, New York Towns in Wayne County, New York 1807 establishments in New York (state)