Spafford 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 ...

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 ...

, New York, United States. The population was 1,686 at the 2010 census. The town was named after

Horatio Gates Spafford Horatio Gates Spafford (October 20, 1828, Troy, New York – September 25, 1888, Jerusalem) was a prominent American lawyer and Presbyterian church elder. He is best known for penning the Christian hymn '' It Is Well With My Soul'' following a ...

, a writer and founder of the local library. Spafford is in the southwestern corner of Onondaga County and is southwest of Syracuse.

History

Spafford was located 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 first European settler arrived in 1794, the same year Onondaga County was established. The Town of Spafford was formed in 1811 from parts of the Towns of Marcellus, Sempronius and Tully.

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 is land and (16.31%) is water. The western town line is the border of

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

, and the southern town boundary is the border of

Cortland County Cortland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland, New York, C ...

. Part of the town lies between

Skaneateles Lake Skaneateles Lake ( , ) is one of the Finger Lakes in central New York in the United States. The name ''Skaneateles'' means ''long lake'' in one of the local Iroquoian languages. The lake is sometimes referred to as "The Roof Garden of the Lakes" ...

and

Otisco Lake Otisco Lake is the easternmost of New York's eleven Finger Lakes. The lake is located in Onondaga County, southwest of the city of Syracuse. History Otisco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois name for the lake's outlet, Nine M ...

, two 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 ...

. Spafford's high terrain, between two of the Finger Lakes, provides spectacular scenery. Spafford is largely rural, with only small hamlets, and retains many forested areas, some protected as public preserves.

New York State Route 41 New York State Route 41 (NY 41) is a north–south state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future Interstate 86) in the town of Sanford in Broo ...

is a north–south highway in the town.

New York State Route 174 New York State Route 174 (NY 174) is a state highway in Onondaga County, located in Central New York, in the United States. The highway is long and passes through mostly rural regions. Route 174 begins at an intersection with NY ...

is a state highway in the northern part of Spafford.

Demographics

Although situated in a remote corner of

, somewhat isolated by two of the

, residential development is expanding into the town from adjacent Skaneateles. 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 2000, there were 1,661 people, 631 households, and 485 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 50.6 people per square mile (19.5/km²). There were 1,095 housing units at an average density of 33.4 per square mile (12.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.74%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.18%

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 ...

, and 0.60% 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 0.36% of the population. There were 631 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,553, and the median income for a family was $61,250. Males had a median income of $41,515 versus $31,071 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 $24,014. About 4.7% of families and 5.2% 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Spafford

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napole ...

– The largest

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 ...

in Spafford, located approximately eight miles south of the Village of Skaneateles. * Borodino Landing – A hamlet west on Borodino, located on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, south of Woodland. * Edgewater Park – A small community surrounding Five Mile Point on the eastern lakeside, located on NY-41 in the northeastern corner of the town. * Gifford Hill – An elevation near the southern town line, south of South Spafford. * Jenny Point – A location north of Willow Point on the lake shore. * Pine Grove – A hamlet on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, south of Borodino Landing. * Ripley Hill – An elevation in the south of Spafford alleged to be the highest point in Onondaga County. * South Spafford – A hamlet by the southern town line. * Spafford – The hamlet of Spafford is on NY-41 in the southern part of the town. * Spafford Creek – A stream feeding Otisco Lake in the southeastern section of the town. * Spafford Forest – An Onondaga County preserve with public trails. *

Spafford Landing Spafford may refer to: People * Belle S. Spafford (1895–1982), American president of the Relief Society * Gene Spafford (born 1956), American professor of computer science at Purdue University * Horatio Spafford (1828–1888), American author o ...

(formerly "Randalls Point") – located on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, southwest of Spafford village. * Spafford Valley – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town, northeast of Spafford village. * Ten Mile Point – A location south of Pine Grove on the lake shore. * Willow Point – A projection into Skaneateles Lake southwest of Spafford village. * Woodland – A lakeside hamlet south of Edgewater Park.

References

External links

Town of Spafford official website

Spafford history/genealogy
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Onondaga County, New York