Ovid is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in Seneca 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 602 at the 2010 census. The town was named by a clerk interested in the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

(see

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

). The Village of Ovid is within the Town of Ovid, but a small portion is in the Town of Romulus, and is southeast of

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

History

Ovid and the surrounding area was part the lands controlled by 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 ...

. The

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...

of 1779 drove away or killed many of these natives to reduce their raiding in support of the British. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

the village was in 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 Th ...

, used to compensate soldiers. Ovid was the first county seat of Seneca County, and a courthouse was erected in 1806. When adjacent towns were created from Ovid and placed in other counties, Ovid was seen as being too far from the county center, and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

became the county seat. Later, Waterloo itself became located on the northern fringe of the county when new towns created there were assigned to new counties. The ultimate solution was to make both Ovid and Waterloo county seats. The village was incorporated in 1816, but dissolved in 1849, and then re-incorporated in 1852. The

David and Mary Kinne Farmstead David and Mary Kinne Farmstead is a historic home and farm complex located at Ovid in Seneca County, New York. The complex consists of a Greek Revival style farmhouse and seven historic agricultural outbuildings. By family tradition, the house ...

Seneca County Courthouse Complex at Ovid Seneca County Courthouse Complex at Ovid, also known as the "Three Bears," is a historic courthouse complex located at Ovid in Seneca County, New York. The 1845 courthouse, known as "Papa Bear," is a -story, three-by-four-bay, Neoclassical brick ...

, Edith B. Ford Memorial Library and

Aaron Wilson House Aaron Wilson House is a historic home located at Ovid in Seneca County, New York. It is a five bay wide, two story, center hall stone dwelling built about 1835 in the Federal style. Also on the property is a huge, gambrel roofed dairy barn, a m ...

are 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 ...

Geography

Ovid is located at (42.6775, -76.8243). 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 village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²), none of which is covered with water. The village 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, lying between

Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and it is a ...

and Seneca Lake.

New York State Route 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future I-86) in the South ...

New York State Route 96A New York State Route 96A (NY 96A) is a state highway in Seneca County, New York, in the United States. It is a north–south road between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake, two of the Finger Lakes. NY 96A is two lanes wide for most of its ...

, and

New York State Route 414 New York State Route 414 (NY 414) is a north–south state highway in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions of New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 352 in the Steuben County city of Co ...

, along with County Road 139, converge at the village. Simpson Creek flows through the village to Seneca Lake. Image:Three Bears Ovid.jpg,

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 602 people, 251 households, and 145 families residing in the village. 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 1,505.0 people per square mile (547.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.7%

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 ...

, 1.7%

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, 0.8%

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 ...

, 1.2% 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 2.5% 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 2.3% of the population. There were 251 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% 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, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.02. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 20, 7.6% from 20 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $43,750, and the median income for a family was $42,955. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $36,477 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 village was $20,255. About 4.0% of families and 8.5% 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 1.3% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 283 housing units at an average density of 707.5 per square mile (257.3/km²). 11.3% of housing units were vacant. There were 251 occupied housing units in the village. 153 were owner-occupied units (61.0%), while 98 were renter-occupied (39.0%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 8.3%.

Notable people

Silas M. Burroughs (politician) Silas Mainville Burroughs (July 16, 1810 – June 3, 1860) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Biography Born in Ovid, New York, Burroughs completed a preparatory course. He moved to Medina, NY in 1834. He was Village Clerk of Medina, ...

, former US Congressman *

Silas Halsey Silas Halsey (October 17, 1743 N.S. – November 19, 1832) was a United States representative from New York. Born October 6, 1743 (Old Style) / October 17, 1743 (New Style) in Southampton, he attended the public schools and studied medic ...

, former US Congressman

References

External links

Ovid and Waterloo courthouses
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) 1816 establishments in New York (state) Villages in Seneca County, New York