Covert 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 Seneca 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 2,135 at the 2020 census. The Town of Covert is located in the southeast corner of the county and is northwest of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. Government offices for the town are located in

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

.Town of Covert, New York
Retrieved June 1, 2015. The primary postal district covering the Town of Covert is ZIP Code 14847 for Interlaken.United States Postal Service (Interlaken, New York Post Office)
Retrieved June 3, 2015.

History

Covert was in the

Central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment ...

. The town was first settled around 1797. The town was set aside from the Town of Ovid in 1817 as part of

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice Preside ...

, but was returned to Seneca County in 1819. The Town of Lodi was taken off the western part of Covert in 1826. In 1904, Interlaken became incorporated

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 ...

. The community was previously known as "Farmer."Town of Covert, New York - History
, Retrieved June 1, 2015. The Covert Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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, of it is land and of it (16.31%) is water. The south town line borders Schuyler County, New York, to the southwest and

to the southeast and the east town line is defined by

Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake (, or ) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and i ...

, one of the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

. The town of Lodi is to the west and the town of Ovid is to the north.

New York State Route 89 New York State Route 89 (NY 89) is a north–south state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New York State Route 13, NY 13, New York State Route 34, NY 34, and New York ...

and

New York State Route 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 86 (Pe ...

are north–south highways in the town.

New York State Route 96A New York State Route 96A (NY 96A) is a state highway in Seneca County, New York, in the United States. It is a north–south road between Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake, two of the Finger Lakes. NY 96A is two ...

joins N.Y. Route 96 at Interlaken.

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 2010, there were 2,154 people, 879 households, and 596 families residing in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the town was 96.6%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 879 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 20, 4.8% from 20 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,612, and the median income for a family was $64,893. Males had a median income of $43,929 versus $37,344 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 $26,088. About 6.8% of families and 11.4% 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 11.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 1,284 housing units at an average density of . 31.5% of housing units were vacant. There were 879 occupied housing units in the town. 716 were owner-occupied units (81.5%), while 163 were renter-occupied (18.5%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 7.7%. ''NOTE: It is common for resort communities to have higher than normal vacant house counts. Many are vacation homes which are seasonal and not regularly occupied.''

Communities and locations in the Town of Covert

*Bergen Beach – 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 ...

on the shore of Cayuga Lake. *Cold Springs – A hamlet on the lake shore south of Bergen Beach. *

Covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

– The hamlet of Covert is south of Interlaken on NY-96. The Covert Historic District was listed on the

in 1980. *Dawson Corners – A location southeast of Covert on County Road 142. *

Finger Lakes National Forest The Finger Lakes National Forest is a United States National Forest that encompasses of Seneca and Schuyler counties, nestled between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of the State of New York. It has over 30 miles (50 ...

– Part of the Finger Lakes National Forest is located in southwestern Covert. *Frontenac Point – A projection into Cayuga Lake in the southeast part of the town. *Halls Corners – A location south of Interlaken on County Road 143. *Holton Beach – A lakeshore hamlet north of Bergen Beach. *

– The Village of Interlaken in the north part of the town on NY-96. *Interlaken Beach – A lakeshore hamlet near the north town line. *Little Point – A small projection into Cayuga Lake south of Cold Springs. *Osgood Landing – A lakeshore hamlet in the southeast part of the town. *Six Corners – A location west of Covert village. * Taughannock Falls State Park – A

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

, mostly in Tompkins County, by the shore of Cayuga Lake at the south town line. *Taughannock Point – A projection into Cayuga Lake at the south town line.

References

External links

Town of Covert

Interlaken Historical Society

{{authority control Populated places established in 1797 Towns in Seneca County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1797 establishments in New York (state)