Freetown 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 Cortland 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 757 at the 2010 census. Freetown is in the southeastern part of the county and is southeast of Cortland.

History

Freetown was in the former

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 ...

within a tract township called "Cincinnatus". The region was first settled ''circa'' 1800. Freetown was formed from part of the town of

Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus () was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Modern historians quest ...

in 1818. In 1820, the town was increased in size by an addition from the town of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

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 ...

, Freetown has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.55%, is water. New York State Route 41 crosses the northeastern part of Freetown. The town drains to the

Otselic River The Otselic River (aht-SEEL-ik), formerly known as Otselic Creek, is a tributary of the Tioughnioga River in central New York (state), New York in the United States. It drains a hilly area, mostly forested and agricultural, east of the Finger ...

to the east and the

Tioughnioga River The Tioughnioga River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Chenango River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissecte ...

to the west, but both rivers are outside the town boundaries. The entire town is part of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

watershed.

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 789 people, 267 households, and 206 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 321 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.35%

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 ...

, 0.13%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, and 1.39% from two or more races. There were 267 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,327, and the median income for a family was $36,477. Males had a median income of $26,339 versus $14,946 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 $12,969. About 10.0% of families and 13.3% 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 23.2% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Freetown

*East Freetown – 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 NY Route 41 in the northeastern part of the town *Freetown Corners – a hamlet near the center of the town *Galatia – a hamlet at the southern town line, south of Freetown Corners *Texas Valley – a hamlet near the southeastern part of the town at the town line

References

External links

Early history of Freetown, NY

Town of Freetown

{{authority control Towns in Cortland County, New York Towns in New York (state)