Limestone is a

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 ...

(and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) in Cattaraugus 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 389 at the 2010 census. The former village lies in the southern part of the town of Carrollton and is north of the city of

Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Home to an oil refinery, Zippo headquarters and a University of Pittsburgh b ...

. The name is said to derive from the rapid deterioration of some excavated skeletons, which quickly became white dust upon exposure to air.

History

The village of Limestone was incorporated in 1877. In 2008, 187 village residents signed a petition calling for the village's dissolution. It was predicted that as a result of dissolution, both village and town residents would see their taxes decrease, by four and 46 percent respectively. Additionally, the town would receive $750,000 in state aid. The village's incorporation was dissolved following the successful passage of a referendum on October 13, 2009; the dissolution took effect January 1, 2011. Of the village's 229 registered voters, 97 voted, 71 of them in favor of dissolution. The Limestone Central School District (mascot: the Tigers) was headquartered in the village until 1995, when it merged with Allegany Central School to form the current Allegany-Limestone Central School. The school building remained open as an elementary school until 2010, by which point attendance at the building had dropped to 67 students, well below what would have been needed to support it.

Geography

Limestone is located at (42.026029, -78.632983). 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 former village has a total area of , of which , or 0.64%, is water. The hamlet is north of the state line of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Limestone is located on U.S. Route 219, and is on the east side of the

Allegany State Park Allegany State Park is a state park in western New York State, located in Cattaraugus County, New York, Cattaraugus County just north of the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The park is divided into two sections: The Red House Area a ...

Tunungwant Creek Tunungwant Creek is a long fifth-order tributary to the Allegheny River. This is the only stream of this name in the United States. According to a 1792 Reading Howell map of Pennsylvania, the stream was known as Ischunuangwandt. Today, it is l ...

(also known as "Tuna Creek"), a tributary of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

, flows south to north along the village's western side. Nichols Run flows from the east through the center of the hamlet.

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 411 people, 170 households, and 109 families residing in the then-village. The population density was . There were 188 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.08%

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 ...

, 1.22% Native American, and 1.46% 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 0.73% of the population. There were 170 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93. The population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males. The median income for a household was $28,594, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $24,583 versus $18,846 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 ...

was $14,152. About 5.0% of families and 8.8% 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 8.9% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1877 Former villages in New York (state) Census-designated places in Cattaraugus County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Cattaraugus County, New York Populated places disestablished in 2010 1877 establishments in New York (state)