Otisco 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 ...

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. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

, New York, United States. The population was 2,541 at the 2010 census. Otisco is in the southwestern part of the county, situated at the northern edge of the Appalachian Highlands, where an escarpment declines to the Lake Ontario plain and the city of Syracuse five miles to the north.

History

The town was part of the former

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 T ...

. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1798, but permanent settlement began around 1801. The Town of Otisco was formed in 1806 from parts of other towns:

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, Marcellus, and Tully. Churches in Otisco, New York 06 59 07 589000

The name "Otisco" may have been derived from the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

name for Nine Mile Creek, ''Us-te-ke'', meaning " bitter-nut-hickory". At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as "Ostisco". The name may also have been derived from the word ''ostickney'', meaning "waters much dried away", or from the

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...

word ''ostick'', meaning "the water is low".

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 (4.94%) is water. Otisco is in the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

District of New York and borders

Otisco Lake Otisco Lake is the easternmost of New York's eleven Finger Lakes. The lake is located in Onondaga County, southwest of the city of Syracuse. History Otisco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois name for the lake's outlet, Nine M ...

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 ...

is a north-south highway in the town. A short part of

US 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. ...

crosses the northeastern corner of the town.

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 2,561 people, 922 households, and 693 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 86.4 people per square mile (33.4/km²). There were 1,200 housing units at an average density of 40.5 per square mile (15.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.27%

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 ...

, 0.23%

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 ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.62%

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 ...

, 0.16% 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 1.41% 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 0.47% of the population. There were 922 households, out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,643, and the median income for a family was $49,318. Males had a median income of $39,656 versus $26,463 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 $19,726. About 3.2% 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 t ...

, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Caroline Congdon, poet, long resident in Amber *

R. Walter Riehlman Roy Walter Riehlman (August 26, 1899 – July 16, 1978) was an American businessman and member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Early life R. Walter Riehlman was born in Otisco, New York on August 26, 1899. He was ...

, former US Congressman

Communities and locations in Otisco

* Amber – 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 northwestern part of Otisco by Otisco Lake. * Amber Brook – A

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

flowing into Otisco Lake by Amber. * Bay Shores – A lakeside hamlet north of Rice Grove. * Bear Mountain (the blue hole) – An elevation in the northeast, once known for the number of

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

s; the blue hole is a water hole on the mountain that is known for its swift current and waterfalls. * Case – A location in the northeastern part of Otisco, south of Maple Grove. * Gamble Mill – A hamlet between Otisco hamlet and Rice Grove. * Heath Grove – A location south of Amber. * Maple Grove – A hamlet in the northeastern part of Otisco. * Otisco – The hamlet of Otisco. * Otisco Valley – A hamlet near the town line in the southwestern part of Otisco. * Rice Grove – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town, on Otisco Lake, west of Otisco hamlet. * Williams Grove – A lakeshore hamlet south of Rice Grove.

References

External links

Otisco community website

History/genealogy links for Otisco
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Onondaga County, New York