Philadelphia 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 ...

in Jefferson 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 1,947 at the 2010 census, down from 2,140 in 2000. The town contains a village also called

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Both are in the northeastern part of Jefferson County.

History

The area was first settled ''circa'' 1804. A grist mill was built in 1804 on the Indian River, adjacent to the north side of the large waterfall in the village. The town was formed in 1821 from part of the town of Le Ray. In 1872, the community of Philadelphia set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village. In 1959, the Indian River Central High School opened, serving students from the towns of Philadelphia, Theresa, Antwerp, Leray, and Pamelia. The Sterlingville Archeological District was 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 ...

in 1995.

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 , or 0.06%, are water.

Transportation

U.S. Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

is a northeast-southwest highway that crosses the center of the town. New York Route 26 progresses north from Philadelphia towards

Alexandria Bay Alexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, within the town of Alexandria. It is located in the Thousand Islands region of northern New York. The population of the village was 1,078 at the 2010 United States Census. ...

, and south to Vestal. The town had been the junction for several branches of the

Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad that grew, in stages, from Rome, New York to Watertown and then to Ogdensburg, New York and Massena, New York. The original Rome and Watertown Railroad terminated in Cape Vincent, NY on ...

. Branches went north to Clayton, Ogdensburg and Massena Springs, and they went south to Niagara Falls, Syracuse, Rome and Utica. The successor railroad, the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

, last ran passenger trains through the town from Massena to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

in 1964. The New York Central's successor,

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

still transports freight by rail through Philadelphia.

Climate

Philadelphia holds the all-time December record low temperature for New York state at .

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,140 people, 759 households, and 582 families residing in the town. The population density was 56.9 people per square mile (22.0/km²). There were 823 housing units at an average density of 21.9 per square mile (8.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.93%

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 ...

, 4.91%

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 ...

, 0.61% Native American, 1.17%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 2.06% from other races, and 2.24% 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 4.16% of the population. There were 759 households, out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $35,909. Males had a median income of $29,605 versus $21,121 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,555. About 12.2% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 15.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (September 18, 1844 – January 13, 1934) was an American artist, mainly known for his series of paintings ''Dogs Playing Poker''. Known as "Cash" or "Kash" in his family, he often signed his work in the 19th century wi ...

(1844-1934), known today for his famous paintings of

Dogs Playing Poker ''Dogs Playing Poker'', by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, refers collectively to an 1894 painting, a 1903 series of sixteen oil paintings commissioned by Brown & Bigelow to advertise cigars, and a 1910 painting. All eighteen paintings in the overall ...

, was born in Philadelphia and lived there or in nearby

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

for much of his adult life.

Philadelphia cream cheese

When cream cheese first appeared in the United States around 1870, it was produced in small batches by many farmers in New York. Because of its origin, it eventually became legend that Philadelphia brand cream cheese was named for Philadelphia, New York. In actuality, Philadelphia Cream Cheese was named for

, Pennsylvania, because at the time the city was associated with high-quality dairy products.

Communities within Philadelphia

* Fort Drum – The military reservation occupies the southeastern third of Philadelphia. *

(originally "Quaker Settlement") – A village near the center of the town on US-11. *Pine Plains – A location in the southern part of the town, near Sterlingville. *Rogers – A location in the southern corner of the town, south of Strickland Corners on County Road 30. *Shurtleff Corners – A location on the northwestern town line, northwest of Philadelphia village on NY-26. *Sterlingville – A former hamlet in the southern corner of the town. *Strickland Corners – A location in the southern corner of the town on County Road 30, northwest of Sterlingville. *Whitney Corners – A location on County Road 20, west of Philadelphia village.

External links

Town of Philadelphia official website

References

{{authority control Towns in Jefferson County, New York Populated places established in the 1800s