Lenox 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 Madison 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 8,768 as of the 2020 census. The town is on the county's northern border and is west of the city of

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

. The

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

is in the town.

History

The first settlement began ''circa'' 1792. The town was formed in 1809 from the town of Sullivan. Some novels of Walter D. Edmonds characterize life in the area at the time of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

construction. The village of

New Lenox, Illinois New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a Southwest suburb of Chicago. The village population was 27,214 as of the 2020 census. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School, Providence Catholi ...

, is named in honor of Lenox.

Geography

The northern town line, defined by the south shore of

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

and by

Oneida Creek Oneida Creek is a small river in New York in the United States. The creek enters the southeastern corner of Oneida Lake at a location known as South Bay, a bay of the lake. The name is derived from the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois. Stockbridge ...

, is the Madison County border with Oneida County. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the town and contains half of the town's population. The village of Wampsville is in the southeast corner of the town. Lenox is bordered to the east by the city of

. The

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

(

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

) crosses the town, with an exit (34) at Canastota. The Thruway leads west to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and east to Utica.

New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...

passes through the southern part of the town, running roughly parallel to the Thruway. Route 5 leads east into Oneida and west to Chittenango. State Route 13 follows Route 5 between Chittenango and Canastota, then turns north to pass through the center of Canastota and lead to Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake. State Route 31 runs along the northern edge of the town, close to the shore of Oneida Lake. It leads east to

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and west to

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

. The

crosses the town from east to west, passing through Canastota village but with a portion filled in at the village center. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town of Lenox has a total area of , of which , or 0.06%, are water.

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 8,665 people, 3,485 households, and 2,359 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,877 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.66%

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 ...

, 0.66%

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 ...

, 0.46% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.24% from other races, and 0.73% 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 0.87% of the population. There were 3,485 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% 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, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,491, and the median income for a family was $46,458. Males had a median income of $34,602 versus $24,922 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 $17,398. About 6.5% of families and 10.6% 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 13.4% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Lenox

*Campbells Corners – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town. * Canastota – An incorporated village in the southern part of the town. *Lenox – The hamlet of Lenox, at the southern town line below Wampsville, mostly within the neighboring town of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. *Lenox Basin – A location along the Erie Canal east of Canastota. *Messenger Bay – A hamlet near the western town line by the shore of Oneida Lake on Route 31. *Oneida Lake Beach East – A hamlet on the shore of Oneida Lake, east of Messenger Bay. * Oneida Valley – A location near the eastern town line. *Quality Hill – A hamlet southwest of Canastota, located on Route 5. *South Bay – A

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

of Oneida Lake. * South Bay – A hamlet on the shore of Oneida Lake by South Bay, located on Route 31. *Union Corners – A location northeast of Canastota. *Walkers Corners – A hamlet southeast of Whitelaw. * Wampsville – The village of Wampsville is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. It is located near the eastern town line on Route 5. *Whitelaw – A hamlet south of Messenger Bay.

References

External links

*
Early Lenox history
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Madison County, New York Towns in New York (state)