Skaneateles ( , ) is an affluent

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 the

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 ...

of Skaneateles, in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The village is named after, and located on the shores of,

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" ...

, 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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, the village had a population of 2,450 residents."Skaneateles village, New York"
on "American FactFinder", a webpage of 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 ...

History

Settlers populated the eastern

region rapidly in the 1790s. Water power from the outlet from Skaneateles Lake made the site of the present village attractive. Although it had been thought that the first permanent white settler in the area was John Thompson, further research has shown that Abraham A. Cuddeback was first, arriving in 1794 from

Minisink, New York Minisink is a town located in southwestern Orange County, New York, United States, northeast of the New Jersey border between the Town of Greenville and the Town of Warwick. The population was 4,621 at the 2020 census. The town is located near ...

; Cuddeback died in 1831. Originally part of the town of Marcellus, the town and village of Skaneateles were annexed from Marcellus and Spafford on February 26, 1830, and March 18, 1840, respectively. The old Genesee Road, which connected Utica, Marcellus, Auburn,

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and Avon became the Seneca Turnpike in 1800; the first bridge across Skaneateles Creek was built that year. The Seneca Turnpike, together with the Hamilton and Skaneateles Turnpike, opened in 1826, made the new community more accessible. Isaac Sherwood, founder of the Sherwood Inn, developed a stage coach line through Skaneateles. The village, which incorporated in 1833 and 1855, attracted prominent residents from an early date. In 1803 a major New York State landowner from New York City, William J. Vredenburgh, erected an ambitious mansion. In 1839 Nicholas Roosevelt, "one of the leading industrial entrepreneurs of the period hohad built the big steam engines for the Philadelphia waterwork", also from New York City, retired to Skaneateles with his wife, Lydia Latrobe – daughter of the noted architect,

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

. In the same year, Richard DeZeng, an engineer and canal builder, retired from Oswego, New York to a mansion on the lake. Acquired forty years later by another member of the Roosevelt family, Samuel Montgomery Roosevelt, the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

house became known as " Roosevelt Hall." It may be the work of

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

, the partner of

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at ...

, who designed the house of Reuel Smith, a wealthy Massachusetts importer who retired to Skaneateles. Built in 1852, the architecturally distinguished house, designed in the Gothic Revival style, has been designated to the National Registry; its plans are in the Library of Congress. Many early residents such as James Canning Fuller came from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, largely because of the Quaker community here, giving the early village a cosmopolitan tone. Fuller and his wife, Lydia, maintained an active

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

station at their village home (built 1815, extant at 98 Genesee Street). Fuller was co-founder of the

British-American Institute The British-American Institute of Science and Industry was a school started in 1842 by Josiah Henson near Dresden, Western District, Canada West, Province of Canada, as part of the Dawn Settlement, a community of fugitive slaves who had escaped to ...

, a Canadian school for fugitive slaves, together with the adjoining settlement of Dawn, near

Dresden, Ontario Dresden is an agricultural community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It is located on the Sydenham River. The community is named after Dresden, Germany. The major crops in the area are wheat, soybeans, ru ...

. For more than two centuries Skaneateles has also attracted visitors and tourists. An excursion boat, launched in 1816, probably was the first instance of commercial tourist recreation in the

region.

The Creamery Skaneateles Historical Society

Geography

The village is located at the north end of

, in the eastern end of the

District. According to the

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and (16.28%) is water. The main highway through the community is

U.S. Route 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. S ...

(Genesee Street), which heads out west towards Auburn. US 20 and Skaneateles also serve as the northern terminus of

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 ...

and its suffixed route, New York State Route 41A. It is also the southern terminus of

New York State Route 321 New York State Route 321 (NY 321) is a state highway in Onondaga County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in the village of Skaneateles. It ...

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 2010, there were 2,450 people, 1,094 households, and 674 families residing in the village. 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 . There were 1,190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.84%

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 ...

, 0.12%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

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 ...

, 0.82%

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 ...

, 0.08% 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 1.02% 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 1.14% of the population. There were 1,094 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 35.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. The median household income in the village was $77,456, and the median family income was $117,788. In 2000, males had a median income of $64,524 versus $30,833 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 $49,957. About 3.31% of families and 6.20% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over. In 2006, 164 residential properties in the Town of Skaneateles were assessed at more than a million dollars, compared to only two such properties in all the rest of Onondaga County.

Government

The Village of Skaneateles is governed by a five-person board consisting of the mayor and four trustees, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. On April 1, 2021, Mary Sennett succeeded Marty Hubbard as mayor, the first time a female has held this office in village history. In the late 2000s, the village was involved in a controversy with the trucking industry which uses Route 20 through the village to reduce travel time and bypass tolls on the New York State Thruway. Most of the truck traffic hauls garbage from New York City to a landfill near

Seneca Falls, New York Seneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 8,942 at the 2020 census. The Town of Seneca Falls contains the former village also called Seneca Falls. The town is east of Geneva, New York, in the nor ...

. As of 2008, the state government was considering imposing restrictions on truck traffic. In November 2008, truckers staged a massive convoy through the Village during its popular holiday-time Dickens Festival. The village lies within the town of Skaneateles, which has its own elected officials and staff. The Town and Village Joint Comprehensive Plan of 2005 examined consolidating the two entities into one government to reduce redundancies and create efficiencies. In 2009, the New York State Legislature passed legislation to ease such consolidations under the premise that they would create efficiencies and reduce tax burdens.

Local attractions

The village consists of a small commercial core with surrounding residential streets; the downtown area sits immediately on the lake. There are three publicly accessible parks on the lake within the downtown area. The main commercial streets in the village are Genesee Street (U.S. Route 20), Jordan Road, and Fennell Street. Genesee and Jordan streets, the core of the

Skaneateles Historic District __NOTOC__ The Skaneateles Historic District is a historic district in the village of Skaneateles, New York that dates back to 1796, includes one building from the 20th century, but is otherwise composed of 19th-century residences and commercial ...

, are noted for their mix of mid-19th and early 20th century retail buildings which today contain a mix of retailers, including restaurants, boutiques, real estate offices, and banks. Fennell Street, which has a more industrial history and was the alignment for the railroad spur that served the village until the mid-20th century, contains more of the village's car-oriented retail stores, including a supermarket, pharmacies, and post office. Village attractions include boat excursions, inns, restaurants and a spa, as well as boutique shopping and art galleries. The summer Skaneateles Festival of music is a seasonal event, as is the annual Skaneateles Antique and Classic Boat Show and the Dickens Christmas in Skaneateles with actors in period costume performing on the streets. The Skaneateles Festival is where famous violinist

Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. She has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemporary classical music, and several ...

played her first concerts as a young girl.

Historic sites

Properties in Skaneateles which are listed in 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 ...

are: *

Brook Farm Brook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and EducationFelton, 124 or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education,Rose, 140 was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s. It was fo ...

Community Place Community Place, in Skaneateles, New York, was built in 1830. It was photographed by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1963 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was a relatively successful Fourierist comm ...

* James and Lydia Canning Fuller House * Hazelhurst * Kelsey-Davey Farm *

* Reuel E. Smith House

Notable people

Frances Julia Barnes Frances Julia Barnes (April 14, 1846 – 1920) was an American temperance reformer. She served as General Secretary of the Young Woman's Branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Early life and education Frances Julia Allis was bor ...

(1846–1920), temperance reformer * Harold Everett Porter (1887-1936), short story writer under the pseudonym 'Holworthy Hall' * Clara Cannucciari (1915–2013), Great Depression cooking show host, author, YouTube personality *

Barry Crimmins Barry Francis Crimmins (July 3, 1953 – February 28, 2018) was an American stand-up comedian, political satirist, activist, author, Air America Radio writer and correspondent, and comedy club owner. Early life Crimmins was born in Kingston, New ...

(1953-2018), American stand-up comedian, political satirist, activist, author, writer and correspondent, and comedy club owner

References

Notes Bibliography * Baer, Christopher T. "Turnpikes" in ''Encyclopedia of New York State''. Syracuse University Press, 2005. * Beauchamp, William
"Notes of other days in Skaneateles, written for the Skaneateles democrat in 1876"
Cornell Library New York State Literature. * Ford, Howard S. ''Sure Signs: Stories Behind the Historical Markers of Central New York''. 2002. * McKee, Harley; Earle, Patricia; and Malo, Paul. ''

Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County ''Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County'' is a 1964 book that surveyed buildings across Onondaga County, New York, and discussed their historical value. Undertaken by the New York State Council on the Arts, and compiled by a group of profess ...

''. Syracuse University Press. 1964. * Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency. ''Onondaga Landmarks''. 1975. * Williams, Paul K. ''The Historic Homes and Buildings of Skaneateles''. Auburn, NY: Topical Review Book Company, 1987. Reprinted 1992. * Williams, Paul K. and Williams, Charles N. ''Skaneateles Lake''. Arcadia - Postcard History series. 2002. * Winship, Kihm
"Living History"
2005. * Woodock, Sue Ellen. ''Skaneateles''. Arcadia-Images of America. 2001.

External links

Skaneateles Chamber of Commerce

Skaneateles Historical Society

Skaneateles History
at RootsWeb * {{authority control Villages in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Villages in Onondaga County, New York Populated places on the Underground Railroad