Preble 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 Cortland County, New York, United States. The population was 1,393 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Commodore

Edward Preble Edward Preble (August 15, 1761 – August 25, 1807) was a United States naval officer who served with great distinction during the 1st Barbary War, leading American attacks on the city of Tripoli and forming the officer corps that would la ...

, a naval hero. Preble is on the northern border of Cortland County and is north of the city of Cortland.

History

Preble is within the former

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 T ...

. The land was first settled around 1796. The town of Preble was organized in 1808, the year Cortland County was formed, from the town of Tully (now in

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

). Preble was one of the original towns of the county when it was formed. The town was reduced in size by the later formation of the town of Scott. In 1865, the town's population was 1,267. The First Presbyterian Church and

Little York Pavilion ''Little York Pavilion, also known as Dwyer Memorial County Park, Main Pavilion, is an historic trolley park pavilion located at Preble in Cortland County, New York. It was built about 1906, with later additions and modifications, and is a two-s ...

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 ...

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 of Preble has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.59%, is water.

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

, U.S. Route 11, and New York State Route 281 extend north–south through the town. The West Branch of the

Tioughnioga River The Tioughnioga River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Chenango River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissected ...

flows southward through the town past the previously mentioned highways. Via this river, most of the town is part of the Susquehanna River watershed. The northwestern corner of the town, however, drains northwest via Bennett Hollow to Otisco Lake, one of 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 ...

and part of the

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

watershed. The northern town line is the border of

(Tully).

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 1,582 people, 615 households, and 437 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 58.7 people per square mile (22.7/km²). There were 703 housing units at an average density of 26.1 per square mile (10.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.85%

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 ...

, 0.70%

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 ...

, 0.70% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.06% 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 0.57% 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 of any race were 0.44% of the population. There were 615 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,908, and the median income for a family was $45,789. Males had a median income of $33,333 versus $25,109 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 $18,983. About 5.2% of families and 7.7% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Preble

*Baltimore – 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 ...

east of Preble village, located on US-11. *Cummings Crossing – A hamlet on Route 11 by the northern town line. *Goodale Lake – A small lake by the southern town line. *Preble – The hamlet of Preble, located west of Interstate 81. *Slab City – A hamlet on US-11, southeast of Preble village. *Song Lake – A small lake by the north town and county lines, southwest of Tully Lake. *Song Mountain – A small mountain located along the northern town and county lines. *

Tully Lake Tully Lake, of Royalston, Massachusetts, is a reservoir and flood control project constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 1949 for 1.6 million dollars. The project prevents flooding of the greater Connecticut River and ...

– A lake at the northern town line and partly in the town. *

Upper Little York Lake Upper Little York Lake is a lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the o ...

– A small lake west of Goodale Lake.

References

External links

Town of Preble official website

{{authority control Towns in Cortland County, New York 1808 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1808