Dunkirk 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 Chautauqua 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 1,257 at the 2020 census. The town of Dunkirk is split into two sections, east and west, by the city of Dunkirk, which is a separate entity.

History

The area was first settled ''circa'' 1808. Development was slow until the

New York and Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

established a station in Dunkirk village in 1851. The town of Dunkirk was established in 1859 from the northern portion of the town of

Pomfret Pomfrets are scombriform fish belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of ...

. The village of Dunkirk was incorporated in 1837, becoming a city in 1888. The first naval skirmish in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

began in

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

near the mouth of

Canadaway Creek Canadaway Creek is a stream in Chautauqua County, New York, which empties into Lake Erie in Dunkirk (town), New York, Dunkirk, New York. Non-natives settled on the creek first in 1804, in what was first called "Canadaway" and became Fredonia, New ...

, which is now within the boundaries of the western part of the town. A small marker commemorating the event sits near the intersection of Route 5 and Temple Street.

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 0.85%, is water. 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 ...

(

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 ...

) and NY Route 5 pass through the town. The town of Dunkirk is served by the

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

main lines of both

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

and the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. The town of Dunkirk is split into an east section and a west section by the city of Dunkirk, which is located in the middle.

Adjacent towns and areas

(

Clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

) *

* Sheridan *

; Fredonia *

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 1,387 people, 519 households, and 333 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 602 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.16%

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 ...

, 2.24%

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 ...

, 0.58% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 1.66% from other races, and 1.30% 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 4.33% of the population. There were 519 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.78. In the town, the population was spread out, with 15.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 31.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,553, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $32,692 versus $23,194 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 $19,124. About 7.1% of families and 11.7% 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 19.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Dunkirk

*Canadaway Creek – The

began near the mouth of Canadaway Creek.

References

External links

Town of Dunkirk official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1808 Towns in Chautauqua County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1808 establishments in New York (state)