Whitestown is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

, United States. The population was 18,667 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from Judge Hugh White, an early settler. The town is immediately west of Utica and the

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

(

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

) passes across the town.

History

The town, part of the Sadaquada Patent, was settled in 1784. The Town of Whitestown was formed in 1788, before the creation of Oneida County, with a size of . Whitestown was founded by Hugh White after he scouted the land in 1784 by way of traveling the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

. On June 5, 1784, White and his family came upon the mouth of the Sauquoit Creek and settled in the forests that would become Whitestown. White was also the forerunner for the creation of Oneida County in the 1790s. Whitestown is known as the "Mother of Towns" because of the many towns and counties formed from its expanse. The Town of Paris and the Town of Steuben were formed from Whitestown in 1792. The Town of Cazenovia was formed in 1793. The Town of Augusta was formed in 1798. Utica was formed in 1817. The Town of New Hartford was formed from Whitestown in 1827. The

Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute ( ) was a short-lived Presbyterianism, Presbyterian school in Whitesboro, New York, United States, that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. Existing from 1827 to 18 ...

, the first racially integrated educational institution in the United States, operated in Whitesboro from 1827 to 1843. Although the old Whitestown Town Hall is in the village of Whitesboro, the current town offices are in the town of Whitestown outside of Whitesboro.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.04% is water. The town is west of the City of Utica and the northern border is defined by the

. Oriskany Creek flows northward through the town to the Mohawk River.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 18,635 people, 7,544 households, and 5,024 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 7,945 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.27%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.18%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.28% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population. There were 7,544 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,084, and the median income for a family was $49,798. Males had a median income of $36,553 versus $24,942 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,507. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% 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 14.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Places of interest

Mohawk Airlines Mohawk Airlines was a local service carrier operating in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, mainly in New York and Pennsylvania, from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972. At its hei ...

, until its dissolution, had its headquarters on the grounds of

Oneida County Airport Oneida County Airport was a public airport in Whitestown in Oneida County, New York, northwest of downtown Utica. The airport covered and had two runways. Oneida County closed the airport in January 2007 and transferred operations about ...

in Whitestown. *''Summit Park'', A theme park located in Oriskany, New York. It had rides, circuses, and animals; but once people had greater means to travel to other theme parks, like Sylvan Beach; the park closed in 1926.

Communities and locations in Whitestown

Villages of Whitestown

Below are the villages and hamlets of Whitestown. * Oriskany – The Village of Oriskany is near the northern town line. * New York Mills – The Village of New York Mills is southeast of Yorkville, adjacent to Utica. * Whitesboro – The Village of Whitesboro is in the eastern part of the town, south of the Thruway. * Yorkville – The Village of Yorkville, located on Route 5A, lies between Utica and Whitesboro. *Walesville – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town. *Coleman Mills – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

south of Oriskany and north of the Thruway. *Dunham Manor – A location south of Whitesboro. *Glenhaven – A location by the southern town line. *Herthum Heights – A location northwest of Whitesboro. *Herthum Hills – A location west of Whitesboro. *Sunset Manor – A location northwest of Whitesboro.

References

External links

Town of Whitestown, NY
{{authority control Towns in New York (state) Utica–Rome metropolitan area Towns in Oneida County, New York