Evans 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 o ...

in Erie County,

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 16,356 at the 2010 census. The town derives its name from David E. Evans, an agent of the Holland Land Company and nephew of land agent Joseph Ellicott. The town is approximately southwest of Buffalo and is a rural community with of waterfront. The town is located close to the major trading centers of the Northeast and is a bi-national gateway for commerce due to the region's border location with Canada.

History

The town of Evans was established in 1821 from part of the town of Eden. The first settler arrived ''circa'' 1804, but there was no permanent settlement until 1808. David Evans was named the local agent of the Holland Land Company in 1827. He was known for his humane management of the company business in relation to the impoverished settlers.

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 th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.08%, is water. The

New York State Thruway , direction_a = South , terminus_a = {{Jct, state=NY, I, 95 at the The Bronx, Bronx–Yonkers, New York City line , junction = {{plainlist, * {{jct, state=NY, I, 287, Parkway, Saw Mill, NY, 119 in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford * {{jct, state=NY, ...

(

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 West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. ...

(Southwestern Boulevard), and NY 5 (Erie Road) pass through the town. The north town line is defined by Eighteen Mile Creek, which is well known for excellent

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

formations.

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

defines the west town line.

Neighboring towns

The town of Brant is to the south,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

is to the northeast, and the town of Eden is to the east.

Communities and locations

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

– A village in the south part of the town. *Angola Lake Shore Addition – A community in the southwest part of the town. * Angola on the Lake – A lakeside community by Lake Erie. *Bennett Beach – A lakeside park west of Evans Center. *Camp Lakeland – A lakeside community by Lake Erie. *Camp Pioneer – A lakeside community by Lake Erie. *

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

– 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 ...

in the northwestern part of the town. *Evans Beach Park – A hamlet on the lake shore west of Angola. * Evans Center – A hamlet on NY-5 north of Angola. * Evangola State Park – A small part of the

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

is at the town's south line. *Grandview Bay – A lakeside hamlet west of Angola. * Highland-on-the-Lake – A lakeside hamlet on NY-5. * Jerusalem Corners – A hamlet in the western part of the town. * Lake Erie Beach – A lakeside hamlet southwest of Angola. * North Evans – A hamlet in the northeastern corner of the town. *

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

– A location near the eastern town line. * Wendt Beach Park – A lakeside park north of Camp Lakeland.

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 14,070 people, 6,639 households, and 4,773 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 420.5 people per square mile (162.3/km²). There were 7,507 housing units at an average density of 179.4 per square mile (69.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.81%

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 ...

, 0.38%

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 ...

, 0.62% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 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 ...

, 0.19% from other races, and 0.78% 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 1.20% of the population. There were 6,639 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% 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 3.11. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,142, and the median income for a family was $50,765. Males had a median income of $39,022 versus $26,698 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 $19,122. About 5.4% 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 ...

, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

The Town's waterfront location has also made it a popular spot for tourism and recreation, especially during the summer months. Bennett Beach and Wendt Beach Park are popular recreation and tourism spots in the town. Sturgeon Point Marina is also a popular recreation spot in the town. A small part of Evangola State Park lies within the town at the south town line.

Government

Evans is served by five

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respon ...

s, which are Highland Hose, North Evans, Evans Center, Angola and Lake Erie Beach. Police services are provided by the Evans Police Department. The Marine Rescue and Recovery Unit of the Evans Police Department responds to calls for assistance in water and ice rescue situations, including drowning or possible drowning, boating accidents, and recovery of property and bodies. The Evans Police have two Humvees for inclement weather and search and rescue operations. The Department acquired these vehicles through the

1033 program The Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) is a division of DLA Disposition Services, a subordinate command of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in the United States. LESO is responsible for operating the 1033 Program or LESO Program, which tra ...

. The Town of Evans Communications Center dispatches Emergency Services for Brant Police and Fire Departments, Towns of Collins, North Collins, Village of North Collins and Seneca Nation Territory. Over all 13 fire companies and two EMS companies.

Education

The town has one

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, one middle school, three elementary schools and an educational center (formerly an elementary school).

Notable people

* Willis Carrier,

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

* Alfred Gray, former Kansas legislator *

Patrick Kaleta Patrick Kaleta (born June 8, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres from 2006 until 2015. He was drafted by the Sabres in the sixth round, 176th overal ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

of the NHL * Christian Laettner, former NBA player *

Nathaniel O. Murray Nanthaniel Orlando Murray (February 7, 1834 – July 27, 1882) was an American steamboat owner and politician. Born in Evans, Erie County, New York, Evans settled in Wisconsin in 1848. He lived in Fox Lake, Wisconsin. In 1855, Murray moved t ...

, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and steamboat owner * Francis J. Pordum, former New York state assemblyman, served as Town Supervisor * A. W. Shepard, former college football head coach, lived in North Evans

References

External links

Town of Evans official websiteTown of Evans Police DepartmentEvans Historical Society and 1857 Museum
{{authority control Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Towns in Erie County, New York