Ephratah 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 ...

Fulton County, New York Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It forms part of the state's Mohawk Valley region. Its county seat is Johnstown. At the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 53,324. The county is named in honor of Robe ...

, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2010 census. It is named after

Ephrath Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah () is a biblically referenced former name of Bethlehem, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name. Biblical place A very old tradition holds that Ephrath refers to Bethlehem, as the first mention of Ephrath o ...

, a biblical town in what is now

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The town of Ephratah is in the southwestern part of the county and is west of Gloversville and Johnstown.

History

The region was first settled ''circa'' 1720. The Stone Arabia patent, granted in 1723, comprised much of the southern part of Ephratah. The town name, suggested by earlier inhabitant Anthony Beck, suggests abundance in bearing fruit, in his prophecy of a great city to be built there in the future. The town was formed in 1827 from the town of

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

in Montgomery County, before the creation of Fulton County. On the formation of Fulton County in 1838, part of Ephratah was returned to Palatine.

Notable people

* John Dwight Bullock, Wisconsin State Assemblyman, was born in the town. * Sir William Johnson, colonial official, owned a large tract 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 0.70%, is water. The southern town line is the border of Montgomery County. The northern part of Ephratah is in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

New York State Route 10 New York State Route 10 (NY 10) is a north–south state highway in the Central New York Region, Central New York and North Country, New York, North Country regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for f ...

is a north-south highway that intersects

New York State Route 67 New York State Route 67 (NY 67) is an east–west state highway in eastern New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in the town of St. Johnsville. Its eastern terminus is ...

, an east-west highway in the southern part of the town, at Ephratah village. Route 10 leads north to Piseco Lake in the Adirondacks and south to

Canajoharie Canajoharie (), also known as the "Upper Castle", was the name of one of two major towns of the Mohawk nation in 1738. The community stretched for a mile and a half along the southern bank of the Mohawk River, from a village known as ''Dekanohag ...

on the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

. Route 67 leads east to Johnstown and west to St. Johnsville on the Mohawk.

New York State Route 29 New York State Route 29 (NY 29) is a state highway extending for across the eastern portion of the U.S. state of New York. The western terminus of the route is at NY 28 and NY 169 in Middleville, Herkimer County. The ea ...

is an east-west highway through the middle of the town; it leads east to Johnstown and west to Dolgeville.

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 1,693 people, 625 households, and 473 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 720 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.00%

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 ...

, 0.35%

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 ...

, 0.06% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.47% 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 0.12% of the population. There were 625 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,810, and the median income for a family was $36,324. Males had a median income of $28,566 versus $21,607 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 $14,656. About 10.4% of families and 15.3% 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 20.7% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Ephratah

*Dempster Corners – A location in the northwestern part of Ephratah on County Road 119. *Ephratah – 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 Ephratah was founded and is on NY-10 by Garoga Creek. *Fical Corners – A location in the western part of the town, north of Lassellville on County Road 119. *Garoga – A hamlet in the northern section of the town adjacent to Garoga Creek and on NY-29. *Garoga Creek – A stream running southward through the town from the town of Caroga, north of Ephratah. The creek is a tributary of the

. *Lassellsville – A location in the western part of the town on NY-29. *Rockwood – A location in the northeastern part of the town on Garoga Creek and NY-10. It was called "Pleasant Valley" after being settled around 1800. *Scotchbush – A hamlet in the western part of the town, northeast of Lassellville. *Spook Hill – An elevation by Ephratah village where Beck claims to have seen a great city in the future where the current village existed. *St. Johnsville Reservoir – A small reservoir east of Scotchbush.

References

External links

Town of Ephratah official website

{{authority control 1827 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1827 Towns in Fulton County, New York Towns in New York (state)