Litchfield 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 ...

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer (village), New York, Herkimer. The co ...

, United States. The population was 1,513 at the 2010 census. The town is named after

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...

, the source of some early settlers of the city. The town of Litchfield is in the southwestern part of the county and is southeast of Utica.

History

Settlement began around 1786 at Wheelocks Hill. The town of Litchfield was established from part of the town of German Flatts in 1796. Part of the town was used to form the town of Winfield in 1816. 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood disappeared from Litchfield in 1993. "Litchfield Penitentiary", a fictional

women's prison Approximately 741,000 women are incarcerated in correctional facilities, a 17% increase since 2010 and the female prison population has been increasing across all continents.Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

''.

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 are land and , or 0.20%, are water. The western town line is the border of Oneida County.

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 1,453 people, 515 households, and 399 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 670 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.62%

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 ...

, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.55% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.48% 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 0.62% of the population. There were 515 households, out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% 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, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,404, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $30,163 versus $23,587 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 $16,431. About 5.3% of families and 9.7% 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 17.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Adelbert Cronkhite Adelbert Cronkhite (January 6, 1861June 15, 1937) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was notable for his command of the 80th Division (United States), 80th Division during World War I. He also served as interim commander of IX Cor ...

, U.S. Army major general * George Gage, member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

* Newton Littlejohn, member of the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

Philo Remington Philo Remington (October 31, 1816 – April 4, 1889) was an American businessman. He was the eldest son of Eliphalet Remington, the founder of Remington Arms. Early life Philo Remington was born on October 31, 1816, in Litchfield, New York, U ...

, president of E. Remington and Sons *

John Curtiss Underwood John Curtiss Underwood (March 14, 1809 – December 7, 1873) was an attorney, abolitionist politician and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Virginia and the United States District Court fo ...

, U.S. District Court judge in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Communities and locations in Litchfield

*Bennett Hill – An elevation located west of Parker Corners. *Cedar Lake – 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 ...

in the western part of the town on County Road 170, north of a small lake of the same name. *Cedarville – A hamlet at the southeastern corner of the town on County Roads 18, 49, and 79. *Cranes Corners – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town on County Road 79. *Days Corners – A hamlet north of Cedar Lake on County Road 107. *Dry Hill – An elevation by the western town line. *Goodiers Corners – A location northwest of Cedar Lake. *Gulph – A hamlet at the northern town line on County Road 171. *Ilion Gorge – A valley in the eastern part of Litchfield, containing Steele Creek. *Jerusalem Hill – A location southwest of Cranes Corners at County Roads 169 and 255. *Kinne Corners – A location at the northern town line at County Roads 27, 79, and 167. *Norwich Corners – A hamlet in the northwestern corner of the town on County Road 59. *Parker Corners – A location near the northern town line on County Road 166. *Steele Creek – A stream near the eastern town line. *Wheelock Hill (formerly Snows Bush) – An elevation north of Jerusalem Hill.

References

External links

Town of Litchfield official website

Herkimer County Historical Society website
{{authority control Utica–Rome metropolitan area Towns in Herkimer County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1786 1786 establishments in New York (state)