Fenton is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

Broome County Broome County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when B ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The population was 6,441 at the 2020 census. The town was named after Reuben Fenton, a governor of New York. The town is in the northeastern part of the county and is northeast of

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

History

The area was first settled around 1788. The town of Port Crane was formed from the town of Chenango in 1855. The larger town of Fenton was established in 1867. Port Crane has remained as a hamlet within the town of Fenton. The former

Chenango Canal The Chenango Canal was a towpath canal in central New York in the United States which linked the Susquehanna River to the Erie Canal. Built and operated in the mid-19th century, it was 97 miles long and for much of its course followed the C ...

(1834–1876) passed through the west side of the town, following the

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

. The town developed and prospered with the advent of the canal. While the canal was supplanted by the railroads, the town was bypassed by the trains. When the canal was gone, the prosperity in Port Crane left with it.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.77%, is water. The north town line is the border of Chenango County, and the west town line is marked by the

. Interstate 88 crosses the southern part of the town, with access from Exits 2 and 3.

New York State Route 7 New York State Route 7 (NY 7) is a state highway in New York in the United States. The highway runs from Pennsylvania Route 29 (PA 29) at the Pennsylvania state line south of Binghamton in Broome County, New York, to Ve ...

parallels the interstate.

New York State Route 369 New York State Route 369 (NY 369) is a state highway located entirely within the town of Fenton in Broome County, New York. It begins at NY 7B south of the concurrency of Interstate 88 and NY 7 in the hamlet of Port ...

is a north-south highway in the town and intersects

New York State Route 79 New York State Route 79 (NY 79) is a east–west state highway in the Southern Tier of New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at the intersection with NY 414 near the southern end of Seneca Lake ju ...

at North Fenton.

Adjacent towns and areas

To the east is the town of Colesville, to the west is the town of Chenango, and to the northwest is the town of Barker. The towns of Kirkwood and Dickinson are on the south side. The town of

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

in Chenango County borders Fenton to the north.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 6,909 people, 2,763 households, and 1,947 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 210.1 people per square mile (81.1/km²). There were 2,941 housing units at an average density of 89.4 per square mile (34.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.52%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.87%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. There were 2,763 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $39,622, and the median income for a family was $45,869. Males had a median income of $37,800 versus $25,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $19,780. About 4.6% of families and 6.8% 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 5.9% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and other locations in Fenton

Chenango Valley State Park Chenango Valley State Park is a state park located in Broome County, New York in the United States. The park is located adjacent to the Chenango River in western part of the Town of Fenton. The park includes the 18-hole Chenango Valley State ...

– A state park adjacent to the

, known for its wooded golf course and scenic glacial topography. *Chenango Lake – The larger of two scenic wooded lakes in the Chenango Valley State Park, used for swimming and boating. *Fenton – A location on NY-369 near the state park. * Hillcrest – A suburban residential community east of the Chenango River neighboring Chenango Bridge and Port Dickinson. *Lily Lake – The smaller of two lakes, north of Chenango Lake, known for its scenic beauty and good fishing. * North Fenton – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

at the junction of NY-79 and NY-369 by the north town line. It was originally called "Ketchums Corners." *Pleasant Hill – A hamlet in the southern part of the town on County Road 193. *Port Crane – A hamlet near the Chenango River and the southern town line, near the intersection of NY-369, NY-7, and I-88. It was formerly a port on the now-defunct Chenango Canal and was named after Jason Crane, a canal engineer. It remains as a hamlet within the larger town of Fenton. *Quinneville – A hamlet at the northern town line on NY-79. *Wyman Corner – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town.

Notable person

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

, baseball legend, second baseman and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

manager; operated and lived on a farm in Port Crane after retiring. It was on that road where his fatal car accident occurred on Christmas Day in 1989.

References

External links

Town of Fenton official website

{{authority control Binghamton metropolitan area Towns in Broome County, New York