Perry is a town in Wyoming County, New York, United States. The population was 4,616 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

. The town is on the eastern border of the county.

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

is also the name of a village within the town. Locals often deem Perry the Bowling Capital of the World. The iconic lanes in town boast great talent, so good the lanes have no need for bumpers. The town is styled "home of the Silver Lake Sea Serpent" after a sea serpent sighting, possibly a hoax, in 1855. The serpent is celebrated by images throughout the town and previously by a summer festival. An artificial serpent was placed by Silver Lake in 2016. The Village of Perry joined

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...

in 2017. U.S. Route 20A passes across the town.

History

The Town of Perry was established in 1814 from part of the Town of Leicester (now in Livingston County). It was coincidentally formed at the same time as another town of Perry in Cattaraugus County; that town changed its name to Perrysburgh in 1818 after being split up. Parts of the town of Perry were removed later to form new towns.

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

, the twenty-first President of the United States spent some of his childhood years in the Village of Perry after being born in Fairfield,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Irving C. Tomlinson Rev. Irving Clinton Tomlinson (March 22, 1860 – October 1, 1944) was an American Universalist minister who converted to Christian Science, becoming a practitioner and teacher. For a time, he lived as one of the workers in the household of church ...

, a Universalist minister who became a prominent Christian Scientist, was born in Perry in 1860.

Edward Austin Sheldon Edward Austin Sheldon (October 4, 1823 – August 26, 1897) was an American educator, and the founding president of State University of New York at Oswego (then Oswego Primary Teachers' Training School). He also served as superintendent of sc ...

was born and grew up in the hamlet of Perry Center, in what was then Genesee County and later became Wyoming County. Sheldon founded the Oswego Training School, now the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public college in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York. SUN ...

. Landscape artist Lemuel M. Wiles was from Perry and had an art school at Silver Lake. A gallery devoted to his work was donated to Perry Public Library and his work, including some local scenes, can be seen there. His son

Irving Ramsey Wiles Irving Ramsey Wiles (April 8, 1861 – July 29, 1948) was an American artist, born in Utica, New York. In the early 20th century, Wiles was a popular exponent of American grand manner portraiture as redefined by the work of John Singer Sargent, ...

was a noted portrait artist.

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 4,616 people, 1,872 households, and 1,242 families residing in the town. There were 2,190 housing units at an average density of 57.3 per square mile (22.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.2%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.3% 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 ...

, 1.3% 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 1.4% 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 3.3% of the population. There were 1,872 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 4.81% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.2 males. According to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the median income for a household in the town was $51,194, and the median income for a family was $62,625. Males had a median income of $39,151 versus $34,639 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 $24,726. About 11.7% of families and 14.9% 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 21.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

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 36.6 square miles (94.8 km²), of which 36.4 square miles (94.2 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.60%) is water. The east town line is the border of Livingston County. Routes 20A, 39, and 246 pass through the town.

New York State Route 39 New York State Route 39 (NY 39) is an east–west state highway in the western portion of New York in the United States. It begins and ends at intersections with U.S. Route 20 (US 20) apart. The western terminus of NY ...

is the village's Main Street.

Community Events

New York State Puppet Festival, June 2018

Communities and locations in the Town of Perry

* Buffalo Corners – A location on Route 246 north of Perry Center. * Burke Hill – A location west of Buffalo Corners. *

– The Village of Perry in on the south town line. * Perry Center – A hamlet (place), hamlet at the intersection of Routes 20A and 246. * Perry-Warsaw Municipal Airport (01G) – A general aviation airport northwest of Perry village. * Silver Lake – The north end of the lake is southwest of Perry village. * Simmons Corners – A location east of Perry Center on Route 20A. * Sucker Brook – A hamlet west of Perry Center on Route 20A. * West Perry Center – A hamlet on the western town line on Route 20A.

References

External links

iloveperryny.com - Perry's Information Portal, Event Calendar, Business Listings and Image Database
{{authority control Towns in Wyoming County, New York