Taughannock Falls Ulysses, New York (1384270058)

Ulysses 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 ...

located in northwest Tompkins County, New York,

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

The population was 4,940 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the hero of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

''. The Town of Ulysses is northwest of the city of

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 is in the northwest part of Tompkins County. Taughannock Falls, the highest waterfall in the state, is in Ulysses in Taughannock Falls State Park. The falls drop , farther than

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, making Taughannock Falls 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 ...

. Much of the town is devoted to dairy farms and fruit orchards, but the proximity to Ithaca has also brought a large number of professionals, academics and artists to the town.

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 ...

, Ulysses has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.48%, is water. The eastern town line is at

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 ...

, 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 ...

. The town's northern boundary line is the border of Seneca County.

New York State Route 89 New York State Route 89 (NY 89) is a north–south state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 13, NY 34, and NY 96 in the Tompkins County city of Ithaca to an i ...

is a north-south highway near Cayuga Lake.

New York State Route 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future I-86) in the Southe ...

is a northwest to southeast highway through the town.

History

Ulysses is located 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 ...

, which was used to pay soldiers of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. It was named by Robert Harpur in 1790 for the hero of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

''. The town was first settled around 1790. The town once contained the towns of

Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

(est. 1803),

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

(est. 1821) and

(est. 1821 and named for Ulysses' home in ancient Greece). Ulysses was organized in 1794 while still a part of

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 ...

. The village of Trumansburg, the main settlement in Ulysses, was started by Abner Treman in 1792.

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 4,775 people, 1,986 households, and 1,314 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 144.8 people per square mile (55.9/km²). There were 2,198 housing units at an average density of 66.6 per square mile (25.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.50%

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 ...

, 1.11%

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.77%

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 ...

, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.38% 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 1.11% 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 ...

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 1.17% of the population. There were 1,986 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. Age demographics show that 24.7% are under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $45,066, and the median income for a family was $54,167. Males had a median income of $36,313 versus $26,810 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 $22,516. About 4.3% of families and 7.0% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Nicoll Halsey, former US Congressman. * J. G. Hertzler, actor in the Star Trek franchise elected to town board. *

Hannibal Goodwin Hannibal Williston Goodwin (April 21, 1822 – December 31, 1900), patented a method for making transparent, flexible roll film out of nitrocellulose film base, which was used in Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope, an early machine for viewing mot ...

, patented an early method for making film roll. *

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. Educ ...

, children's book author

Communities and locations in the Town of Ulysses

*Christian Hill – A location on the south town line by the southeast corner of Ulysses. *DuBoise Corner – 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 ...

near Cayuga Lake in the southeast part of the town. *Halseyville – A hamlet, named after the Halsey family, early settlers, southeast of Trumansburg. The Nicoll Halsey House and Halseyville Archeological Sites 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 1993. *Jacksonville – A hamlet previously named "Harlows Corners" and "Van Cortland Village," prior to being renamed after

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 ...

. It is southeast of Trumansburg on NY-96. *Krum's Corner – A hamlet, named after the Krum family, early settlers, in the southeast part of the town on NY-96. *Perry City – A hamlet founded by The

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

(Quakers), and still home to the original Quaker Meeting House. The community is just past the west town line. *

Podunk The terms ''podunk'' and ''Podunk Hollow'' in American English denote or describe an insignificant, out-of-the-way, or even completely fictitious town.Nick Bacon. "Podunk After Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT." In ''Confrontin ...

– A hamlet named after the sound of water passing over a mill wheel. It is located south of Trumansburg. *Taughannock Creek – A stream flowing through the state park and forming a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

. *Taughannock Falls – (1) One of the highest single-drop waterfalls East of the

, (2) A hamlet southeast of Trumansburg. * Taughannock Falls State Park – A state park in the northeast corner of the town. *Taughannock Point – A projection into Cayuga Lake in the northeast corner of the town. * Trumansburg – The Village of Trumansburg is in the northwest part of the town on NY-96. *Waterburg – A hamlet south of Trumansburg. *Willow Creek – An area surrounding Willow Creek (A stream flowing into Cayuga Lake), which feeds into Cayuga Lake at Goodwin's Point (current site of Taughannock Falls State Park). The 'neighborhood' consists of the entirety of Gorge Road, Kraft Road, Garrett Road, Houghton Road, Albrectson Road, and Willow Creek Road. Also, portions of Duboise Road (from Perry City to Kraft Roads), Krums Corners Road (from Duboise Road to Smith Farm), Agard Road (from Taughannock Blvd. to Jacksonville Road), Jacksonville Road (from Kraft Road to Gorge Road), and Taughannock Blvd (from Garrett Road to Gorge Road). Residents in the neighborhood have held an annual community picnic at Taughannock Falls State Park since 1950.

References

External links

Town of Ulysses official website

Historical map of the town {{authority control Towns in Tompkins County, New York Populated places established in 1790 1790 establishments in New York (state)