Trumansburg is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in
Tompkins County
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice Preside ...
,
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 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several different ways; "Truman," however, was not one of them. The village's application for a post office established the present spelling. The Village of Trumansburg is located within the
Town of Ulysses and is northwest of
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...
.
History
The village was incorporated in 1872, in 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 village was originally named "Tremaine's Village", after an early settler, Abner Tremaine (Tremain, Treman), who was granted the land for his service in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The village was built around a cascade on the creek that provided power for grain mills.
In the 19th century Trumansburg was dominated by Col. Hermon Camp, an officer in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
who settled in what was to become the village. For many years he was the local postmaster, and founded a bank, now the
Tompkins Trust Company, the largest bank in the county. His imposing and elegant Greek Revival style house remains the largest in the village. The
Hermon Camp House 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 1973.
Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the
First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses,
William Austin House,
Indian Fort Road Site, and
Second Baptist Society of Ulysses.
In the latter half of the 20th century, as the quality of the road between Trumansburg and Ithaca improved and "country living" became more fashionable, the village became home to many faculty and staff at nearby
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and ...
, as well as many musicians. Between 1961 and 1970,
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
built electronic music equipment including
Theremins
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
and his famous
synthesizers
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
in a downtown storefront.
From 2004 to 2007, the mayor was
John R. Levine, the original author of ''The Internet for Dummies''.
The life of the village
Trumansburg was a milltown and commercial center for the agricultural community from its inception until the Second World War. Since the late 1940s it has become a combination of a bedroom suburb for
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
and a modest tourist destination, with restaurants, and antique stores. Since 1991, the
Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance has taken place each July at the village fairgrounds and is hosted by nationally popular Trumansburg-based band
Donna the Buffalo. The village is also located along th
Cayuga Wine Trailand is close to
Taughannock Falls
Taughannock Falls State Park () is a state park located in the town of Ulysses in Tompkins County, New York in the United States. The park is northwest of Ithaca near Trumansburg.
The park's namesake, Taughannock Falls, is a plunge waterfall ...
.
Other cultural resources include th
Ulysses Philomathic Library, a member of the Finger Lakes Library System, th
Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts which offers concerts and music lessons, the Ulysses Historical Society Museum, with collections of local historical material, and th
Trumansburg Central School District Foundation which provides financial support for local educational programs.
Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches are located within the village, with a Baptist church and a
meetinghouse of the
LDS Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...
located just outside the village limits.
Th
Trumansburg Central School Districtconsists of the Elementary School, Russel I. Doig Middle School, and
Charles O. Dickerson High School, all of which share a campus at 100 Whig Street. School and local athletic teams use the nickname the Blue Raiders.
Geography
Trumansburg is located at (42.540447, -76.660121).
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 th ...
, the village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and 0.83% is water. The village is located on the Trumansburg Creek (also known as Frontenac Creek) which arises on the ridge west of the village and empties into
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and it is ...
at Frontenac Point. Trumansburg is in the northern part of Tompkins County with its northern boundary bordering
Seneca County. It is approximately 12 miles north of
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...
on the west side of Cayuga Lake. The sceni
Taughannock Falls State Park featuring one of the highest waterfalls east of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
, is located just southeast of the village at the edge of Cayuga Lake.
Climate
Trumansburg has cold, snowy winters and enjoys warm, pleasant summers. The average annual temperature is , and the average annual precipitation is .
Transportation
Trumansburg is bisected by
NY Route 96, a state highway, enlarged and re-routed in 1961, that runs north to
Waterloo and south to Ithaca
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit(TCAT) (Route 21) provides local bus service to Ithaca with connections to long-distance bus and air service there.
In the 19th century, Trumansburg had a port at Frontenac Point, at the mouth of the Trumansburg Creek on Cayuga Lake. The lake is connected at its north end to the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...
via the
Cayuga-Seneca Canal. The docks, warehouses and hotels that made up the port have long since been torn down or have burned. Only scattered pilings remain, and the site is now a camp owned by the local Boy Scout council.
The
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, ...
ran through Trumansburg between 13 September 1873 and October 1962, when the portion south to Ithaca was abandoned and most of the easements sold to the New York Gas & Electric Company (NYSEG). The portion north to Geneva was abandoned in 1967. In the last 15 years the state park system has bought back much of the right-of-way and is in the process of constructing a biking and hiking trail along the portion south to Ithaca. It is called the Black Diamond Trail, after the Lehigh Valley's premier passenger train that ran between New York City and Buffalo along the line (although not stopping in Trumansburg).
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 inc ...
of 2000, there were 1,581 people, 682 households, and 424 families residing in the village. 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 RosenberPopu ...
was 1,309.5 people per square mile (504.5/km
2). There were 715 housing units at an average density of 592.2 per square mile (228.2/km
2). The racial makeup of the village was 96.52%
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 ...
, 0.76%
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 ...
, 0.06%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.57% from
other races, and 1.39% 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 for ...
or
Latino of any race were 2.09% of the population.
There were 682 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% 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 ...
living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,423, and the median income for a family was $58,194. Males had a median income of $41,167 versus $26,429 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 village was $22,773. About 5.0% of families and 6.5% 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 ...
, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Nicoll Halsey
Nicoll Halsey (March 8, 1782 – March 3, 1865) was an American politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1833 to 1835.
He was the son of Silas Halsey and brother of Jehiel Howell Halsey.
Biography
Born in Sou ...
, former US Congressman
*
Hermann Biggs
Hermann Michael Biggs (September 29, 1859 – June 28, 1923) was an American physician and pioneer in the field of public health who helped apply the science of bacteriology to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. He was born in ...
, public health pioneer
*
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
, engineer and pioneer of electronic music
*
Karl E. Weick
Karl Edward Weick (born October 31, 1936) is an American organizational theorist who introduced the concepts of " loose coupling", " mindfulness", and "sensemaking" into organizational studies. He is the Rensis Likert Distinguished University Pro ...
, organizational theorist
*
John R. Levine, internet author
*
Ruth Stiles Gannett
Ruth Stiles Gannett Kahn (born August 12, 1923) is an American children's writer best known for ''My Father's Dragon'' and its two sequels—collectively sometimes called the My Father's Dragon or the Elmer and the Dragons series or trilogy.
Edu ...
, children's book author
*
Edward Ormondroyd
Edward Ormondroyd (born 8 October 1925) is an American writer of children's books. He is best known for '' David and the Phoenix'', a fantasy novel. His time travel novel ''Time at the Top'' was filmed for television in 1999.
Ormondroyd was bo ...
, children's book author
*
John Gurche
John Gurche is an American artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and sketches of prehistoric life, especially dinosaurs and early humans. Gurche is currently an Artist in Residence at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York.
Gurche stu ...
, artist
*
Sandra Steingraber
Sandra Steingraber (born 1959) is an American biologist, author, and cancer survivor. Steingraber writes and lectures on the environmental factors that contribute to reproductive health problems and environmental links to cancer.
Early life
Stei ...
, biologist, author
*
Alfred E. Kahn
Alfred Edward Kahn (October 17, 1917 – December 27, 2010) was an American economist and political advisor who specialized in regulation and deregulation. He was an important influence in the deregulation of the airline and energy industrie ...
, economist, political advisor
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1872 establishments in New York (state)
Populated places established in 1872
Villages in Tompkins County, New York
Villages in New York (state)