Homer 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, United States of America. The population was 6,405 at the 2010 census. The name is from the Greek poet

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

. The town of Homer contains 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 ...

called

. The town is situated on the west border of Cortland County, immediately north of the city of Cortland.

History

The region was part of the Central New York Military Tract, from which the cash-poor New York government granted land to soldiers of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

to pay them for their service. "Homer" was the name of one of the townships in the Military Tract, this name being assigned by the state surveyor's office. The area was settled in 1791. The Town of Homer was established when Onondaga County was formed in 1794. Cortland County was subsequently formed from Onondaga County in 1808. In 1835, the village of Homer set itself off from the town by incorporation.

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 0.91%, is water. The western town line is the border of Cayuga County.

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

, U.S. Route 11, and New York State Route 281 are north-south highways. New York State Route 41 and New York State Route 90 converge on Homer village from the west. New York State Route 41A converges on NY-41 in the northwest quadrant of Homer. New York State Route 13 cuts across the southeast quadrant. The East Branch and West Branch of the Tioughnioga River flow southward through Homer. Lower and Upper Little York Lakes are fed and drained by the West Branch. All of the town except for its western edge 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. The westernmost part of the town drains west to Fall Creek, part of the Cayuga Lake watershed that ultimately drains north to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

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 6,363 people, 2,446 households, and 1,746 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,603 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.11%

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 ...

, 0.41%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 0.68% 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 0.85% of the population. There were 2,446 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $41,321, and the median income for a family was $51,968. Males had a median income of $34,873 versus $23,656 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 $20,145. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% 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 16.7% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Homer

*East Homer – a hamlet east of Homer village, located on NY-13 *East River – a hamlet southwest of East Homer *

– the village of Homer is on the southern border of the town, north of Cortland on US-11 and NY-281; Homer is next to the West Branch of the Tioughnioga River *Little York – a hamlet north of Pratt Corner on NY-281 *Pratt Corners – A hamlet north of Homer village on NY-281.

Notable people

* Isaac Atwater — jurist * Alexander O. Babcock — politician * Horatio Ballard — lawyer and politician * Sarah E. Beard — medical researcher * Catherine Bertini — public servant * Amelia Bloomer — newspaper editor, women's rights and temperance advocate * George W. Bradford — physician and politician * Francis Bicknell Carpenter — painter * Meriva M. Carpenter — painter * Patrick Conway — bandleader * Erastus Milo Cravath — pastor * Dale Dorman — disc jockey * Milo Goodrich — U.S. representative * Adin P. Hobart — politician * William H. Hurlbut — politician * Albert Keep — railroad official and financier * Asa Kinney — businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer * Linda A. Mason — charity executive * Manly Miles, zoologist and agriculturalist * George L. Otis — lawyer and politician * Arthur C. Sidman — vaudeville performer and playwright * William Stoddard — journalist, inventor, and author * Eugene A. Tucker — attorney and politician * Eleazer Wakeley — lawyer, politician, judge, and pioneer of Wisconsin and Nebraska * Solmous Wakeley — legislator * Andrew Dickson White — co-founder of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and a U.S. ambassador * Orrin T. Williams — judge, lawyer, and politician

References

External links

Town of Homer official website

at Cortland County website
Homer Central School District

{{authority control Towns in Cortland County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1794 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1794