Eden 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 population was 7,688 at the 2010 census. Eden is one of the interior " Southtowns" of Erie County, lying in the south-central part of the county and to the south of Buffalo.

History

The first settler, Samuel Tubbs, arrived in 1808 along with John Welch, Dr. John March, Levi Bunting and Daniel Webster. The town of Eden was established in 1812 by the partition of the (now defunct) town of Willink. Later, Eden gave up territory to form the towns of Evans and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The town was called "Hill's Corners" until 1822.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Eden has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.17%, is water.

Adjacent cities and towns

* Evans: west *

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

: north *

: east * North Collins: south * Brant: southwest

Major highways

* US 62 (Gowanda State Road), a north-south highway that passes through the town from its concurrency with NY 75 from Hamburg town line to the southwest corner of town into North Collins. * New York State Route 75 (Sisson Highway), the north-south highway through the town from its concurrency with US 62 at the very north of town, south into the town of North Collins.

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 8,076 people, 2,855 households, and 2,235 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,995 housing units at an average density of 29.0 persons/km² (75.2 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 98.33% White, 0.41%

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 ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.20%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.31% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Of the population 1.03% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,855 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% 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, 7.9% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 21.7% were non-families. Of all households, 18.6% were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.17. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $54,940, and the median income for a family was $60,640. Males had a median income of $41,405 versus $28,582 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 $23,060. 2.4% of the population and 1.2% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 1.1% are under the age of 18 and 4.5% are 65 or older.

Communities and locations in Eden

* Clarksburg: A community on NY-75 in the southeast corner of the town. * Eden: The

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 ...

of Eden (formerly, "Hills Corners" and "Eden Center"), located on US-62 in the western half of the town. . * East Eden: A location near the eastern town line. * Eden Valley: A hamlet, formerly called "Tubbs Hollow," located on US-62 near the northern town line. * Eighteen Mile Creek: A stream with forks near Eden Valley.

Additional facts

The Eden Corn Festival is a small annual festival held in Eden. Festivities usually include a craft show, an auto show, a small assortment of rides, a small parade, and local foods (most of which include some form of corn). There are also baseball and softball tournaments and a tractor pull. During summer months, usually around the Eden Corn Festival, a summer concert series is held in front of the Eden Elementary School. Here, local musicians play music for the townsfolk. A factory in Eden, the Original American Kazoo Company, was established in 1916 and currently remains the only metal

Kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

factory in North America. Located along Route 62, the factory contains a gift shop, as well as a museum that shows its history, and step by step Kazoo assembly.

Notable people

* Thomas L. Bunting, former US congressman * Lewis P. Dayton, former mayor of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

* Charles S. Desmond, former Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

* Alex Iafallo,

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

forward * Michael Montes, Composer * Joe O'Donnell, former NFL player * Horace V. Redfield, journalist * Bert Weidner, retired NFL player * William Wurtenburg, former college football coach, born in Clarksburg

References

External links

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