Penfield 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 Monroe County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 39,438 at the 2020 census, up from 36,242 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. The town was incorporated in 1810 by the proprietor

Daniel Penfield Daniel Penfield (1759 – 1840) was an American merchant and Revolutionary War veteran who is best known for founding the Monroe County town of Penfield, New York. Biography Born on April 25, 1759, to Isaac and Esther Hurlburt Penfield in Gui ...

, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who purchased the town lands in 1795 and moved to the area in 1809. Penfield is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Rochester. The town sits along

Irondequoit Creek Irondequoit Creek is a stream in eastern Monroe County, New York that feeds Irondequoit Bay. It begins in rural West Bloomfield in Ontario County, flowing north into the town of Mendon in Monroe County. Accumulating a few small tributaries, ...

, which in the town's early days fueled its economy with mills.

History

The lands that now constitute the town of Penfield were part of the hunting grounds of the

Seneca people The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...

, a member of the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

tribes. There is no evidence of Seneca settlements within Penfield, but the town does include the place now called "Indian Landing". From this landing on the shores of

Irondequoit Bay Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end. On average, the surface of ...

, trails and water routes went throughout the region and beyond. This included a water route with only two

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

s leading from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Following the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the lands that became Penfield were included in the

Phelps and Gorham Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gor ...

. After passing through several hands, Townships 13 and 14 of Range IV of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase were acquired by Daniel Penfield in several transactions during the course of 1795. Penfield's house still stands at 1784 Penfield Road. All settlements in the region that were to the east of the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

became part of the town of Northfield in 1796. Those to the west of the river were organized into Northampton in 1797. As the population rapidly grew both settlements divided. Northfield first became Boyle, from which Penfield split in 1810. The town of Penfield was established in 1810, and the first town meeting was held on April 2, 1811. The town initially consisted of Townships 13 and 14 of Range IV. A portion of the southwest corner went to the town of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

when it was established in 1814, and Township 14 became the town of Webster in 1840. Modern Penfield is, with minor differences, Township 13 of Range IV of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The original Penfield town hall was built in 1895 and was deemed a Penfield landmark in 1981. The building is located at 2131 Five Mile Line Road. In the 1950s the downstairs of the town hall was the library, and when the location of the Penfield town hall was changed, the library took over the entire building. The library has since been moved to Baird Road Community Center. In 1966 the Penfield Town hall was moved to its current location at 3100 Atlantic Avenue. The original building of the town hall is currently a maternity clothing store. The

Horace and Grace Bush House Horace and Grace Bush House, also known as Bush-Fellows Residence, is a historic home located at Penfield, New York, Penfield in Monroe County, New York. It is an 1821 Federal architecture, Federal style structure with Greek Revival architecture ...

Daisy Flour Mill The Daisy Flour Mill is a restaurant and assembly hall located in what was once a flour mill on Irondequoit Creek. It is located on Blossom Road in the town of Penfield, New York, just across the creek from Ellison Park. Originally built in 184 ...

, Dayton's Corners School, Hipp-Kennedy House, Mud House, Penfield Road Historic District, Stephen Phelps House, Samuel Rich House, and Harvey Whalen House are listed 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 ...

Geography

Penfield is in eastern Monroe County and is bordered to the north by the town of Webster, to the south by the towns of Perinton and Pittsford, and to the west by the towns of Irondequoit and

. The town of East Rochester is less than one mile south of the Penfield border. To the east is 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 ...

in Wayne County. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town of Penfield has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.68%, are water.

crosses the southwest corner of the town and then forms part of the town's western border, emptying into

, part of which occupies the northwest corner of the town. Nearly two million years ago, Penfield's topography was formed by melting glaciers. The same forces that created the

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

helped develop interesting terrain in and around Ellison Park. These glacial ice melt carvings left fertile lands which today are used in farming (and from the late 20th century to the present, housing developments). The soil is rich for

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

certain types of apples, cherries, plums, peaches, and pears. Penfield includes a number of parks with a variety of terrain, water features, lodges and shelters, open spaces, and athletic facilities. * Athletic fields * Abraham Lincoln Park * Channing H. Philbrick Park (formerly Linear Park) * Ellison Park * Greenwood Park * Harris Whalen Park * Heritage Park * LaSalle's Landing Park * Lucien Morin Park * Rothfuss Park * Schaufelberger Park * Shadow Pines Municipal Land * Sherwood Fields Park * Veteran's Memorial Park

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 34,645 people, 13,144 households, and 9,634 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 13,673 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.48%

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 ...

, 3.05% Asian, 2.11%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 0.92% 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 1.43% of the population. There are an estimated 2,393 veterans in the town. There were 13,144 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $63,223, and the median income for a family was $74,959. Males had a median income of $52,282 versus $33,365 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 $29,576. About 2.3% of families and 3.7% 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 ...

, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over. The unemployment rate, as of July 2013, was 5.5%. This is below the 7.6% unemployment rate of New York State in July 2013.

Communities and locations

*East Penfield - a hamlet near the eastern town line on Route 441. *Lloyd's Corners - a hamlet at the intersection of Routes 441 and 250. *Panorama - a hamlet at the interchange between Routes 441 & 153, east of the village of Penfield. *Penfield - the hamlet of Penfield is near the western town line, on Route 441 and Five Mile Line Road. *Penfield Center - a hamlet at the intersection of Penfield Center Road, Route 250 (Fairport Nine Mile Point Road), and Route 286 (Atlantic Avenue). *Roseland - a hamlet in the north-eastern corner of the town on Plank Road.

Economy

As with many suburbs of the United States of America, Penfield's workforce co-exists with the major corporations and institutions found in the Rochester metropolitan area. These corporations include

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

, and

Bausch & Lomb Bausch & Lomb (since 2010 stylized as Bausch + Lomb) is an American-Canadian eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intra ...

. Major health, insurance, and educational institutions also contribute to employment and culture, including the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

, and Rochester Regional Health. Major public and private corporations with a geographic footprint in Penfield include

Paychex Paychex, Inc. is an American company that provides human resources, payroll, and employee benefits outsourcing services for small- to medium-sized businesses. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, the company has more than ...

, Nalge Nunc International, Birds Eye Foods, and

Wegmans Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a privately held American supermarket chain. It is now headquartered in Gates, New York, but was founded on January 30, 1916, in Rochester, New York. As of late 2024, Wegmans had 111 stores in eight states (New Yo ...

Education

The town is primarily served by the Penfield Central School District and

Webster Central School District The Webster Central School District is a public school district in New York State that serves approximately 8,800 students in the town and village of Webster and portions of Penfield in Monroe County and portions of Ontario and Walworth in ...

, with relatively small portions of the town served by the East Rochester Union Free School District,

Pittsford Central School District The Pittsford Central School District is a Public school (government funded), public school district in New York (state), New York State that serves approximately 5,980 students in the towns of Pittsford (town), New York, Pittsford, Perinton, ...

and Wayne Central School District. Additionally, there are several privately-run schools: * Bread of Life Christian Academy (grades K–8), non-denominational Christian * The Charles Finney School (grades K–12), non-denominational Christian * Rochester Christian School (grades K–8), Calvinist * Southeast Christian Academy (grades 1–12), Baptist * St. Joseph Elementary School (grades K–6), operated by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Upstate region of New York State in the United States. The bishop of the diocese is currently Salvatore Matano. The metropolitan for the diocese is the archbish ...

* Webster Montessori School (grades pre-K–5), secular

Government

The town is governed by a board consisting of a supervisor and four councilpersons who are elected by registered town voters. Major responsibilities can be grouped into planning and preservation, libraries and recreation, ethics and environment, trails and transportation. Two town justices and one town clerk are also elected. The town court handles approximately 6,000 cases per year, adjudicated by the justices.

Emergency response

There are a few levels of emergency response in Penfield. First-level support is from county and city resources. Second- and third-level support is provided by trained and untrained citizens lending a helping hand. * First-level support is from county and the city resources. Dialing

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

connects the caller to the city of Rochester's emergency communications department center). For the town of Penfield, the Monroe County sheriff's department provides primary

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

for the town's residents. * Second-level support is from trained town and citizen resources. The Penfield Volunteer Emergency Ambulance provides

basic life support Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening condition of cardiac arrest until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians or any ...

with trained

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (often, more simply, EMT) is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and som ...

Advanced life support Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend basic life support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation (breathing). Components Key aspects of ALS level care ...

services are provided by the Southeast Quadrant Mobile Critical Care Unit. The volunteer Penfield Fire Company provides fire protection, rescue, and non-transport emergency medical services to areas within the Penfield Fire District. Northern parts of Penfield receive the same services from the Webster Fire Department. * Third-level support is from within the community.

Notable people

* Josh Bolton, soccer player *

Obadiah Bush Obadiah Newcomb Bush (January 28, 1797 – February 9, 1851) was an American prospector, businessman and ancestor of the Bush political family. He was the father of James Smith Bush, grandfather of business magnate Samuel Prescott Bush, great- ...

, abolitionist and ancestor of the

Bush family The Bush family is an American political family that has played a prominent role in American politics since the 1950s, foremost as the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, during the respective preside ...

Chyna Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016), also known as Joanie Laurer, was an American professional wrestler, fitness model, bodybuilder, actress, adult actress, and television personality. Chyna first rose to pr ...

, former pro wrestler *

Velvet D'Amour Velvet d'Amour (born May 27, 1967) is an American plus-size model and fashion photographer, best known via the worldwide media coverage she received after her appearance in Jean-Paul Gaultier's 2007 Spring/Summer prêt-à-porter collection show ...

, fashion model *

Geoffrey Deuel Geoffrey Jacob Deuel (January 17, 1943 – December 22, 2024) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Dave Campbell in the American soap opera television series '' The Young & the Restless'' from 1973 to 1977. Life an ...

, actor *

Pete Duel Peter Ellstrom Deuel (February 24, 1940 – December 31, 1971), known professionally as Pete Duel, was an American stage, television, and film actor, best known for his starring role as outlaw Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) in the tele ...

, actor *

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), followed ...

, actor *

Lou Gramm Louis Andrew Grammatico (born May 2, 1950), known professionally as Lou Gramm, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as co-founder and original frontman of the rock band Foreigner from 1976 to 1990 and again from 1992 to 2003, ...

, Foreigner frontman * Bud Lewis, soccer player * Joe Mercik, soccer player * Edmund Mann Pope, U.S. military officer and Minnesota state senator *

Almon Brown Strowger Almon Brown Strowger (; February 11, 1839 – May 26, 1902) was an American inventor for whom the Strowger switch, an electromechanical telephone exchange technology, is named. Early years Strowger was born in Penfield, New York, near Roches ...

, inventor of the first

automatic telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

References

External links

*
Penfield Public Library
{{authority control Rochester metropolitan area, New York Towns in Monroe County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1810 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1810

History

Geography

Demographics

Communities and locations

Economy

Education

Government

Emergency response

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links