Sandy Creek 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
Oswego County
Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point at ...
,
New York, United States. The population was 3,939 at the time of the 2010 census. The name is derived from a
creek in the area.
The Town of Sandy Creek is in the northwestern part of the county. The village of
Sandy Creek is located within the town.
History
Champlain passed through the town in 1615, leading a war party of
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
s and soldiers.
The town was first settled around 1803, near Lacona. Sandy Creek was formed from the
Town of Richland in 1825.
In 1835, Sandy Creek resident Thomas Meacham decided to make the world's largest cheese as a gift to president
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. His finished product was 4 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighed nearly 1400 pounds. The cheese was delivered and sat in the White House until February 22, 1836 when the president invited the public to come to the White House and eat the cheese. This event was made famous in an episode of the television show
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
.
The
Holyoke Cottage 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 ...
in 1988.
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 46.5 square miles (120.5 km
2), of which 42.3 square miles (109.5 km
2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11.1 km
2) (9.17%) is water.
The western border of Sandy Creek is
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 ...
and the northern border is
Jefferson County.
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 ...
and
U.S. Route 11 pass through the town (north-south).
New York State Route 3
New York State Route 3 (NY 3) is a major east–west state highway in New York, in the United States, that connects central New York to the North Country region near the Canada–US border via Adirondack Park. The route extends for be ...
runs north to south near the Lake Ontario shoreline.
Communities and locations
*Community Park – A location near the northern town line.
*The Elms – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town at the northern end of North Pond. An 18-hole golf course is located here.
*
Lacona – A village east of Sandy Creek village, located on Route 22.
*North Pond – A pond in the western part of the town. The pond is similar to a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...
by virtue of being isolated from Lake Ontario by low barrier islands. This pond is rather large (approximately two mi wide and four miles long) and much deeper than South Sandy Pond (30+ feet). It has good fishing and generally good water skiing but with considerable more chop than South Sandy Pond. The pond is popular with residents from Syracuse and Rochester, who have small cottages (camps) on water's edge. At the south end of the pond is
Sandy Island Beach State Park.
*Rainbow Shores – A shoreline of Lake Ontario south of South Pond, near the southern town line.
*
Sandy Creek – The Village of Sandy Creek is near the interstate highway.
*Sandy Pond – A hamlet at the southern end of North Pond.
*Sandy Pond Corners – A location east of Sandy Pond, located on
Route 3.
*South Pond (also called South Sandy Pond) – A small pond south of North Pond and north of Rainbow Shores. It is connected to North Sandy Pond by a canal. Many small camps are owned by residents from Syracuse and Rochester.
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 3,863 people, 1,543 households, and 1,064 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 91.4 people per square mile (35.3/km
2). There were 2,607 housing units at an average density of 61.7 per square mile (23.8/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.27%
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 ...
, 0.10%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.36%
Native American, 0.10%
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 ...
, 0.18% 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 0.98% 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 0.47% of the population.
There were 1,543 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were
married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,438, and the median income for a family was $41,089. Males had a median income of $36,205 versus $22,031 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 $17,228. About 11.9% of families and 16.7% 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 23.9% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Clarence D. Clark
Clarence Don Clark (April 16, 1851November 18, 1930) was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician from New York. He participated in the constitutional convention for Wyoming's statehood and was that state's first congressman. He served as ...
(1851–1930), member of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
*
Allen and James Thompson
Brothers Allen Thompson (October 1, 1847 – February 27, 1906) and James Granville Thompson (December 25, 1849 – May 23, 1921) were Union Army soldiers during the American Civil War and recipients of the highest decoration of the Unite ...
, both brothers were awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
for their actions in the Civil War.
References
External links
History of Sandy Creek, New York Historical information on Sandy Creekat Rootsweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandy Creek (Town), New York
Syracuse metropolitan area
Towns in Oswego County, New York