Freeville is a

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 ...

in Tompkins 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 498 at the 2020 census. The Village of Freeville is in the Town of Dryden and is east of Ithaca. It is the only incorporated municipality in the United States named Freeville.

History

Freeville 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 ...

. It was first settled by Daniel White, a Revolutionary War soldier who cleared land along Fall Creek and built a cabin there around 1798; by 1802 White had established a grist mill at the site. In the early 1870s, Freeville was transformed from a quiet mill town into an important regional railroad junction when the Southern Central Railroad and the Utica, Ithaca & Elmira Railroad (acquired in 1884 by the newly created Elmira, Cortland and Northern Railroad) extended their lines through the village. Both lines were acquired in the mid-1890s by the

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad in the Northeastern United States built predominantly to haul anthracite, anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to major consumer markets in Philadelphia, New York City, and ...

, which maintained passenger service at Freeville through the 1930s and freight service until the 1970s. The Village of Freeville was incorporated in 1887. George Junior Republic, a youth center, originally called the Freeville Junior Republic, was founded just outside of the village in 1895; the name was changed in 1909.

Geography

Freeville is located at (42.513, -76.346). 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 village has a total area of , all of it land. New York State Route 38 intersects New York State Route 366 in Freeville.

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 505 people, 210 households, and 118 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 224 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.03%

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 ...

, 0.59%

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 ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.40% Asian, and 1.78% 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 1.39% of the population. There were 210 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% 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, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.03. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $39,643, and the median income for a family was $44,688. Males had a median income of $31,500 versus $27,500 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 village was $17,910. About 7.3% of families and 9.3% 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 9.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dryden Village is in the Dryden Central School District.
Text list
/ref> The zoned comprehensive high school is Dryden High School.

Notable people

* Amy Dickinson, NYT bestselling memoirist ('' The Mighty Queens of Freeville'') and author of the syndicated advice column '' Ask Amy'' * Woody Erdman, sportscaster, television producer, and businessman; served as chairman of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

* Tim Gallagher, author and wildlife photographer * Lonnie Park, three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning record producer, composer, and musician

References

External links

* {{authority control 1887 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1887 Villages in Tompkins County, New York Villages in New York (state)