Bergen ( ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Genesee 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 1,176 at the 2010 census. The village lies on the eastern edge of the town of Bergen. The village is north of the junction of Routes 19 and 33.

History

''See also Bergen (town), New York''. The Bergen area was opened up in 1801 when a road was hacked through the thick "Northwoods" from LeRoy to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. (In its early days of settlement, Bergen was called "Northwoods".) Bergen was first settled in 1801 by Samuel Lincoln. In the same year George Letson, William Letson, Benajah Worden, Richard Abbey, Solomon Levi, Jesse Leach, James Letson, Gideon Elliott, and David Scott settled in town. A colony of 60 families from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

settled the area along Route 19 from Fort Hill (near Parmalee Road) to Black Creek from 1805 to 1810. The first store was a mile south of Route 33 on Route 19 on the east side of the road. The first group of stores was located from the intersection of Lake Road (Route 19) and Route 262 to the intersection of Route 19 and the Scottsville Road (Route 33A). This area was called "Buell's Corner", later "Bergen Corners" or "High Bergen". The first church organization was established in December 1807. The

Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

was founded January 25, 1808. Harry Kelsey, a graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, taught the first school. The first frame house in the town was erected by Levi Ward, a pioneer physician. Jared Merritt built the first sawmill. Dr. Ward was proprietor of the first store, in 1808. The first inn was opened in 1809 by Samuel Butler. Colonel W.H. Ward was the first postmaster. After the railroad came through in 1836, an area was laid out around the intersection of Lake Road (Route 19) and the railroad for businesses and houses. It was called "Wardville" after the Levi Ward family who laid it out. It was also called "Cork", after the Irish who settled there while and after the building of the railroad, and "Lower Bergen". The two areas were soon connected by residences and churches. Fire initially destroyed the business area around the railroad tracks in 1866. This area, along with the surrounding residences, was incorporated in on March 5, 1877, as the Village of Bergen. The village is near the center of the eastern boundary line, on the

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

. Fire destroyed the business area around the railroad tracks again in 1880. The Village Board passed an ordinance requiring that all structures in this area should be built of brick, stone, or wrought iron. The west side of the district south of the railroad is on the National Register as the Lake Street Historic District due to its 1880 wrought-iron storefronts, transom windows and probably, also, because of the famous family who founded "Wardville". Some of the family went on from Bergen to the Rochester area and were primary developers of that area. Due to better building material and firefighting equipment, another fire in 1906 destroyed only some of the buildings on the west side of the street. A fire in 1932 leveled some of the buildings on the east side of the street. Since then, fires in individual buildings have caused some alteration of their facades.

Geography

The village of Bergen is located in northeastern Genesee County at (43.083388, -77.941754), on the eastern side of the town of Bergen. New York State Route 19 passes through the village center as Lake Avenue, leading north to Brockport and south to Le Roy. New York State Route 33 passes along the southern and eastern edges of the village, leading northeast to Churchville and to Rochester. To the southwest NY 33 leads to Batavia. New York State Route 262 leads west to

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

. Interstate 490 passes just southeast of Bergen village, with access from exit 2 (NY Route 33A); I-490 leads northeast into Rochester and southwest to

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 ...

, 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 ...

. 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 village has a total area of , all land. The village area drains north to Black Creek, an eastward-flowing tributary of the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

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 1,240 people, 466 households, and 317 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 477 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.32%

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 ...

, 0.56%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.97% from other races, and 1.94% 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 1.45% of the population. There were 466 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.23. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $51,016, and the median income for a family was $54,327. Males had a median income of $35,909 versus $26,364 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 village was $19,689. About 2.2% of families and 3.6% 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 4.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links