Alma 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 ...
in
Allegany County,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, United States. The population was 785 at the 2020 census.
The source of the town name is uncertain. One source credits it to Charles Wyvell's interest in the
Battle of the Alma
The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Sept ...
, while another attributes it to Stephen O. Alma, first manager of the Newbold Lumber Company of Shongo.
The Town of Alma is on the southern edge of Allegany County and is southwest of the
Village of Wellsville.
History
The area was first settled ''circa'' 1833. The Town of Alma was established in 1854 from part of the
Town of Willing.
From 1881 to January 1893, several of the settlements in the Township (most notably Allentown) were on the Wellsville-Eldred Main Line of the Bradford, Eldred & Cuba Railroad (BE&C). The BE&C was a 36" narrow-gauge railroad built to serve the Allegany County oil boom. With the end of the boom and loss of the passenger and freight traffic therefrom, the railroad entered receivership (bankruptcy) and was abandoned. Today, the railheads for Alma Township are Wellsville and Friendship.
Remnants of the railroad bed for the BE&C can be seen in the village of West Clarksville between the village and Dodge Creek behind the Clarksville store. James E. Lewis, a resident in West Clarksville from 1936-1950.
Alma's
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, ZIP code 14708, operated from 1850 until 1996.
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 (0.25%) is water.
Alma Hill, the wide rise which dominates the southern half of town, is at 2,548 feet (777 m) not only the highest point in Allegany County but the entire western half of the state.
The section of Alma Hill Road that runs near the summit is, at approximately , the highest free paved public road in the state outside of the
Catskills
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
.
The south town line is the
Pennsylvania border.
New York State Route 417 (NY 417) crosses the north part of the town.
Demographics
At the 2000
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 ...
,
there were 847 people, 322 households and 243 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 533 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.99%
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 ...
, 0.12%
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 ...
, 0.35%
Native American, 0.24%
Asian, 0.24% from
other races, and 1.06% from two or more races.
There were 322 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% 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 2.99.
26.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,063 and the median family income was $35,833. Males had a median income of $31,023 compared with $17,778 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 $13,061. About 8.0% of families and 12.0% 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 16.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
Communities and locations in Alma
*Alma – The
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 ...
of Alma at the junction of County Routes 18 (Petrolia Road) and 38 (4 Mile Road) in the southwest corner of the town.
*
Alma Hill – A mountain located northeast of the hamlet of Alma.
*Allentown – A hamlet by NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road) in the northwest corner of the town. The community was once an oil boom town. It was a station on the Eldred-Bolivar-Wellsville Main Line of the Bradford, Eldred & Cuba Railroad 1881-January 1893.
*Honeoye Creek – A stream flowing through the south part of the town past Alma village.
*Knight Creek – A stream in the northern part of the town by NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road).
*Pikeville – A hamlet in the west part of the town on County Route 18 (Petrolia Road).
*Vosburg – A location on the west town line on NY 417 (Bolivar-Allentown Road).
References
External links
Alma history Additional historical informationEpodunk - Alma NYTown website
{{authority control
Towns in Allegany County, New York
Towns in New York (state)
1854 establishments in New York (state)