Bombay 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 Franklin 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 1,357 at the 2010 census. The town was named after a major port city in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, now known as

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, by an early landowner whose wife was from

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to t ...

. Bombay is in the northwestern part of Franklin County.

History

Bombay is named for the wife of Michael Hogan, an Irish ship captain who grew wealthy in the

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

trade. He came to the US in 1805 with his wife, whom Hogan said was an Indian princess.Hogan is documented as having married Frances Richardson, the natural daughter of British trader William Richardson, who was based in Bombay, and his mixed-race Anglo-Indian housekeeper. Hogan had a tendency to make grandiose claims; he also said that he gave his New York City estate the name Claremont because of having served as a midshipman with the future king

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. Hogan bought north of the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

, including the Town of Bombay, which was named in honour of his wife's birthplace. Their son, William Hogan, served as

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

, and was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in 1822. In 1829 he was appointed as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Franklin County, and in 1830 he was elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. Settlement of the town began around 1805. The region was known as Macomb's Purchase, related to a massive purchase by a land speculator when New York first put up former

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

lands for sale. The town of Bombay was organized from part of the town of

Fort Covington Fort Covington is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,531 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a War of 1812 fortification. The original name of the town was ''French Mills''. The town is on the cou ...

in 1833. In 1877, the town was devastated by a plague of

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s, which consumed more than half of the field crops.

Geography

The town is in northwestern Franklin County, approximately south of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. The town's neighbors are the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation to the northwest, the town of

to the northeast and east, Bangor at the southeastern corner, Moira to the south, and the town of Brasher in St. Lawrence County to the west. 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 ...

, Bombay has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.35%, is water. The

St. Regis River The St. Regis River (or rivière Saint-Régis in Quebec) is an river in northern New York (state), New York in the United States. It flows into the Saint Lawrence River at the hamlet of Saint Regis, New York, Saint Regis in the St. Regis Moha ...

, a tributary of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, forms the northwestern border of the town. The Little Salmon River meanders from the south to the north through the central part of Bombay. New York State Route 95 is a north/south route, linking

New York State Route 37 New York State Route 37 (NY 37) is a state highway in the North Country of New York in the United States, extending for on a west–east axis. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 11 (US&nb ...

in the north at Bradley's Corners with the town of Moira in the south, where Route 95 ends at

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

is an east/west state highway through Bombay and the Mohawk Reservation, leading west to Massena and east to Fort Covington. New York State Route 37C intersects NY-37 at Hogansburg in the northwestern corner of Bombay and leads south to Helena.

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 1,192 people, 483 households, and 327 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 562 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.89%

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 ...

, 0.42%

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 ...

, 14.85% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 1.26% 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 0.92% of the population. There were 483 households. Out of these, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% 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, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,000, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $27,273 versus $26,029 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 $14,710. About 16.4% of families and 20.9% 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 29.3% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Bombay

*Bombay – 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 ...

in the center of the town on NY-95 near the junction of County Roads 1 and 4. *Hogansburg – A hamlet in the northwestern corner of the town at NY-37 on the bank of the St. Regis River. It was formerly called "St. Regis Mills" and "Grays Mills". *Pike Creek – a stream flowing north to the

. *South Bombay – A hamlet near the southern town line on County Road 32.

References

External links

Town of Bombay official website

{{authority control Towns in Franklin County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1833 establishments in New York (state)