Collins 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 Erie County, New York, United States. The town is on the south border of the county and is considered to be one of the " Southtowns" of Erie County. The population at the 2010 census was 6,601.

History

The area was first settled by Whites in 1811.Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and the Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company, Inc./Gowanda Area Bi-Centennial Committee, Inc. Many of the first settlers were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

,Hosting innovative programming: Gowanda
''Webcitation.org'' from the original at ''Geocities.com'', November 1999, Retrieved March 18, 2014. who intended to assist the local Native Americans. The town of Collins was formed March 6, 1821, from the town of Concord, and was named after the Collins family, a

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

family who lived in and were publicly active in the area.''Historical sketch of the Village of Gowanda, N.Y. in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation'' (August 8, 1898). Buffalo, NY: The Matthews-Northrup Company, Leonard, I.R., reprinted 1998, Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company The town lost land to create the new towns of Brant in 1839 and North Collins in 1852. Because of the concentration of dairy farms, there were once ten cheese and milk factories in the town.

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 0.36%, is water. The south town line of Collins, marked by Cattaraugus Creek, is the county line of Cattaraugus County. U.S. Route 62 runs north–south through the town, and

New York State Route 39 New York State Route 39 (NY 39) is an east–west state highway in the western New York, western portion of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins and ends at intersections with U.S. Route 20 in New York, U.S ...

runs east–west and intersects with north–south New York State Route 75.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,307 people, 1,754 households, and 1,187 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,884 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 66.85%

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 ...

, 22.62%

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 ...

, 3.47% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 6.16% from other races, and 0.69% 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 11.94% of the population. There were 1,754 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 48.6% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 273.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 318.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,444, and the median income for a family was $45,647. Males had a median income of $30,215 versus $26,071 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 $14,082. About 6.2% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and Locations in the Town of Collins

* Babbitch Corners – 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 western part of the town of Collins, at the intersection of NY-39 and Quaker Street. Home to the now defunct McGinty's Millery and the Pibbens' pig farm which has been operational since 1902. * Bagdad – A hamlet northeast of Gowanda. * Black Hills – A hamlet named for the abnormally black soil located in the hills. * Collins Center – A hamlet centrally located in the town at the junction of NY-39 and NY-75. * Collins Correctional Facility – A NYS medium security

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

located right next to Gowanda Correctional Facility separated by Middle Road. * Gowanda - A village partly located in the southwest part of the town. It is located on NY-62. * Gowanda Correctional Facility – A NYS medium security prison located right next to Collins Correctional Facility separated by Middle Road. Middle Road is the border between the town of Collins and the village of Gowanda. Both of the correctional facilities are the former Gowanda Psychiatric Center (also known as the former Homeopathic State Hospital). * Hutzenlaub Hill – A large hill on the outskirts of town which have had several German immigrant families settle there over multiple generations. * McIntosh Woods – Woods located between the town of Collins and the village of Gowanda. It was named due to the now wild McIntosh apple trees which were planted for the former Gowanda Psychiatric Center patients to enjoy. * Seneca Heights – A neighborhood community located at the intersection of Richardson Road and NY-62(Taylor Hollow Road). Seneca Heights is home to the Gernatt Family of Companies. * Taylor Hollow – A neighborhood community in the northeast corner of the town on NY-62. Taylor Hollow and Taylor Hollow Road were named for the 500 acres of land in that area that was the property of the Taylor Family, a dairy farming family, in the early part of the nineteenth century. * Tubtown – Located near intersection of Rt 62 & Rt 39 - A tub making company named Waltz Watermann Tubs built tubs there between 1899 and 1933. A bar was later named Tubtown in its honor in the 1970s. * Whites Corners – A location in the northeast corner of the town on NY-75. Named after Ezekiel White's large farm which was located on the intersection. * Zoar – A hamlet in the southeast corner of the town. * Zoar Valley – A scenic valley formed by Cattaraugus Creek.

Notable people

* Elon Howard Eaton, ornithologist, scholar, and author * Daniel R. Gernatt, Sr. and Flavia C. (Schmitz) Gernatt, co-founders of the Gernatt Family of CompaniesGernatt family of companies celebrate 50 years in materials industry
''Pit & Quarry, 98'' (6), 10, 2005 , Accessdate= October 26, 2013
''The Observer'', Dunkirk, NY: John D'Agostino, January 31, 2010, Heischberger, R.L. , Accessdate= September 11, 2013 * Frank Manly Thorn (1836–1907), lawyer, politician, government official, essayist, journalist, humorist, and inventor, sixth superintendent of the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

(1885–1889), born in the portion of town that later became North Collins.

References

External links

Town of Collins official website

{{authority control Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Towns in Erie County, New York Towns in New York (state)