Pendleton 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 o ...
on the southern edge of
Niagara County
Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of waters''.
Niaga ...
,
New York, United States. It is east of the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
and southwest of the city of
Lockport. The population was 6,397 at the 2010 census.
History
The town of Pendleton was set apart in 1827 from part of the town of
Niagara.
Sylvester Pendleton Clark, one of the first settlers, gave his name to several locations in the town and eventually to the town itself. Clark served in 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 Revoluti ...
and became an innkeeper and postmaster.
Starpoint Central school was established in 1956. It was named Starpoint because the new school system serviced the entire area of Pendleton, parts of Cambria, Lockport, Wheatfield and Royalton. Starpoint is at the center of the 5 point star of municipalities. It is located on Mapleton Road and provides education for grades K to 12. It currently services about 5300 families over a area. Expansion of the schools has taken place in recent years to accommodate an increase of school population.
Up until recently, Pendleton has been primarily an agricultural community. It now is rezoning much of its land area for residential subdivisions and business. The population of Pendleton continues to grow as more residential development takes place.
Pendleton has an all-volunteer fire company serviced by Wendelville Fire company.
In March 2010, Sir Benjamin Ruppert, Esq., of the Western New York Residency Evaluation Committee, nominated Pendleton for "Best Place to Grow Up in America."
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 t ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.95%) is water.
The south border of the town is
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small tributary of the Niagara River in Western New York, United States. After rising in Wyoming County, the stream flows through Genesee County before forming part of the boundary between Erie County and Niagara County. ...
, which forms the border between Niagara County and
Erie County. The
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
passes through the eastern part of the town, where it connects to Tonawanda Creek.
Communities and locations in Pendleton
*
Beach Ridge – 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 ...
by the western town line.
*
Hoffman
Hoffman is a surname of German and Jewish origin. The original meaning in medieval times was "steward", i.e. one who manages the property of another. In English and other European languages, including Yiddish and Dutch, the name can also be spelle ...
– A hamlet on the western town line near Tonawanda Creek.
*
Mapleton Mapleton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region
Canada
* Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County
* Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood
* Maple ...
– A small hamlet in the northwest corner of the town.
*North Buffalo Suburban Airport (0G0) – A small general aviation
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
on the west side of Route 78 (Transit Road) and south of Lockport. It was formerly known as "Transit Airport."
*
Pendleton – A small hamlet located by the southern town line.
*
Pendleton Center – A hamlet centrally located in the town on NY-270.
*
Wendelville – A hamlet near Tonawanda Creek on NY-270.
Adjacent cities and towns
*
Town of Wheatfield – west
*
Erie County,
Town of Amherst – south
*
Town of Lockport – east
*
City of Lockport – northeast
*
Town of Cambria – north
Major highways
*
New York State Route 78
New York State Route 78 (NY 78) is a state highway in western New York in the United States. While it is signed north–south, the southern portion runs in an east–west direction across Wyoming and Erie counties, from its beginning ...
(Transit Rd.), North-South highway that marks the east town line.
*
New York State Route 93
New York State Route 93 (NY 93) is a state highway in western New York in the United States. The route begins at an intersection with NY 18F in the village of Youngstown and runs in a general northwest–southeast direction ...
(Robinson Rd.), East-West highway that borders the north corner of the town from Transit Rd. (NY 78) to the Lockport Bypass which takes NY 93 north of the town.
*
New York State Route 270
New York State Route 270 (NY 270) is a north–south state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs through rural and wooded areas of the town of Amherst in Erie County and the town of Pendleton in Niagara County. T ...
(Campbell Blvd.), North-South highway through the town from the Amherst town line to the Cambria town line.
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 in ...
of 2000, there were 6,050 people, 2,116 households, and 1,724 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was 222.6 people per square mile (85.9/km
2). There were 2,162 housing units at an average density of 79.5 per square mile (30.7/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.5%
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 o ...
, 0.4%
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, 0.3%
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 ...
, 0.00%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.03% 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 0.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
or
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 0.6% of the population.
There were 2,116 households, out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.4% were
married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 14.9% 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 2.85 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,625, and the median income for a family was $63,342. Males had a median income of $46,175 versus $33,466 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 $23,651. About 3.9% of families and 4.7% 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 6.5% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.
Town parks
Pendleton has three town parks.
*Depeau Park – located on Tonawanda Creek Road North at the end of Irish and Oakwood Rds.
*Nine Mile Island – located in Amherst but owned by Pendleton.
*Pendleton Town Park – located in Pendleton Center. This park is located behind Pendleton Town Hall and the Pendleton Historic Society. Baseball diamonds, picnic shelters, and a playground are also located here. On the Fourth of July, the park hosts a popular fireworks show.
Notable people
*
Sylvester Pendleton Clark, founder of Pendleton
*
Richard Crowley
Richard Crowley (December 14, 1836 – July 22, 1908) was a United States representative from New York. He was born in Pendleton, New York. He attended the public schools and Lockport Union School. Later, he studied law, was admitted to the bar ...
, former US Congressman
*
Patrick Higgins,
UTEP Miners
The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...
offensive coordinator
*
Walter Koppisch
Walter Frederic Koppisch (June 6, 1901 – November 5, 1953) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bisons and New York Giants. He attended Columbia University. At 23 years old, Koppisch, a local ...
, former NFL player
*
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third ...
,
domestic terrorist
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
who was convicted for the
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...
. He attended
Starpoint High School
Starpoint Central District is a public schooling system consisting of elementary, intermediate, middle, and high school institutions. The district also offers Universal Pre-Kindergarten through funding from the New York State Education Departm ...
.
*
Joyce Carol Oates, famous writer who was also a resident of Pendleton.
*
Ed O'Neil, retired NFL player, current football coach
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area
Towns in Niagara County, New York