Greenwood 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 Steuben 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 771 at the 2020 census.

History

A pioneer road was cut through the town in the 18th century, but no settlers remained in the town. The first permanent settlers arrived around 1820. Salt production was an early industry. The main industry today is deer hunting, for which the town claims to be the top deer-take town in New York State. Greenwood was formed in 1827 from the towns of Canisteo and Troupsburg. Part of Greenwood was used to form the Town of West Union in 1845, but territory was regained from the Town of Jasper in 1848. From November 16, 1896, through June 1936, Greenwood was served by the New York & Pennsylvania Railway (and predecessors) as part of its Canisteo NY to Ceres NY (via Greenwood NY, Genesee PA, Oswayo and Shinglehouse PA) main line. Following severe floods in July 1935 the railroad was partially out of service and its abandonment in June 1936 was readily approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission which from an early date approved railroad abandonment to promote highway truck use. The loss of railroad service did much to promote the economic withering of the Greenwood area. By the early 20th century, agriculture had established itself as the primary economic activity in the town. Farming has since declined significantly, as in many parts of rural America, and forest cover has largely returned to many areas. Also contributing to Greenwood's decline was the decision, when the

Southern Tier Expressway New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and runs east as a limite ...

( New York Route 17, now Interstate 86) was being planned in the 1960s, to route the road through the

Hornell Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...

Arkport Arkport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. It is located in the town of Hornellsville, and is north of the city of Hornell. The population was 844 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the barges used to ship products t ...

area, as it was considered to have more potential for development than

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

-Greenwood. The former road is now New York Route 417. In 1967, Harold Mason, a librarian and antiquarian bookseller, founded (in Greenwood) the Greenwood Press, specializing in the reprinting of out-of-print books. The company was sold in 1969, and Mason left it in 1973. It is now the

Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...

, part of ABC-CLIO/Greenwood. It has had no connection with the town of Greenwood since the 1970s. In 2004, Greenwood's schools merged with the larger, adjacent Canisteo school system.

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 , all land.

New York State Route 248 New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

(north-south) and

New York State Route 417 New York State Route 417 (NY 417) is an east–west state highway located in the Southern Tier of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at exit 20 of the Southern Tier Expressway (Interstate 86 (east), Inters ...

intersect north of Greenwood village.

Adjacent towns

The northern border is the Town of Hartsville and Town of Canisteo, and the southern border is the Town of West Union and the Town of Troupsburg. The western border is the Town of Andover in Allegany County, and the eastern border is the Town of Jasper.

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 849 people, 325 households, and 231 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 439 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.23%

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 ...

, 0.24%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.35% from other races, and 1.06% 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 0.24% of the population. There were 325 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% 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, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,750, and the median income for a family was $37,841. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $18,750 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 $13,578. About 19.0% of families and 19.5% 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 28.6% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Greenwood

*Bennetts – A hamlet on State Route 248 at the north town line. *Bennetts Creek – A tributary of the

Canisteo River The Canisteo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Tioga River in western New York in the United States. It drains a dissected pl ...

, flowing northward through the middle of the town. *Greenwood – 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 Greenwood is at the junction of State Routes 417 and 248 in the eastern part of the town. *Rough and Ready – A hamlet south of Greenwood village near the south town line. *West Greenwood – A hamlet on State Route 417, west of Greenwood village and near the west town line.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1820 1820 establishments in New York (state) Towns in Steuben County, New York Towns in New York (state)