Byron 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 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 town is named after a famous poet,

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

. It on the northern border of the county, and lies northeast of the city of Batavia. The population was 2,369 at the 2010 census. The local school district, Byron-Bergen Central School District, is shared with the town of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

History

Byron was first settled ''circa'' 1807. The town was incorporated in 1820 from part of the town of Bergen. On January 12, 1919, there was a

New York Central 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 Midw ...

train wreck in South Byron, killing 22. Byron was traditionally a rural area of dairy and vegetable farms.

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 , or 0.19%, is water.

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 2,493 people, 878 households, and 663 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 922 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.75%

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 ...

, 0.28%

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 ...

, 0.64% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.89% from other races, and 1.04% 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 3.77% of the population. There were 878 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.24. There are slightly more livestock, mostly

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

in the township than there are humans In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,722, and the median income for a family was $56,927. Males had a median income of $38,828 versus $24,877 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 $19,825. About 3.7% of families and 5.0% 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 6.2% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Lina Beecher, roller coaster engineer * D. M. Martin, former football coach * Sy Studley, former MLB player

Communities and locations in the Town of Byron

*Byron (previously "Byron Center") – 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 ...

located at the junction of Routes 237 and 262. *Lidke's Hill – A location in the northern part of the town. *Mosquito Point – A location in the northwest part of the town. *Pumpkin Hill – A hamlet north of Byron hamlet on Route 237. It is also called "North Byron". The name Pumpkin Hill comes from a sign with a pumpkin shape at a former hotel. *South Byron (originally "Brusselville") – A community south of Byron hamlet on Route 237. It lies along CSX Railroad's "Chicago Line"(formerly the main branch of the New York Central)

References

External links

Town of Byron website

{{authority control Towns in Genesee County, New York Towns in New York (state)