Martinsburg 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 Lewis 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 1,433 at the 2010 census. The town is named after its founding father, General Walter Martin. Martinsburg is in the west-central part of the county, south of Lowville, the county seat.

History

Settlers began arriving around 1801. Martinsburg was established from part of the town of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

in 1803. When it was formed the town name was spelled "Martinsburgh". In 1819, the town was augmented by more of Turin. The community of Martinsburg in the town was the county seat for Lewis County until 1864, when it moved to Lowville. The town hall in Martinsburg, built in 1812, is the site of the first county court session, held the same year. In 1839, it was the site of the only execution in the county. The Gen. Walter Martin House and Martinsburg Town Hall are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Notable people

* Walter Hunt, inventor of the safety pin *

Morgan Lewis Martin Morgan Lewis Martin (March 31, 1805December 10, 1887) was an American lawyer, land speculator, Democratic politician, and one of Wisconsin's founding fathers. He was one of the first lawyers in what is now Wisconsin. He represented the Wisconsi ...

, delegate to Congress from the Wisconsin territory

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 0.46%, are water. The eastern town line is the Black River. The western part of Martinsburg is on the

Tug Hill Plateau Tug Hill, sometimes referred to as the Tug Hill Plateau, is an upland region in northern New York state, notable for heavy winter snows. The Tug Hill region is east of Lake Ontario, north of Oneida Lake, and west of the Adirondack Mountains. The ...

New York State Route 12 New York State Route 12 (NY 12) is a state highway extending for through central and northern New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 in New York, U.S. Route 11 (U ...

and

New York State Route 26 New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line south ...

are north-south highways through the town, with NY-12 being the more easterly route.

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 1,249 people, 473 households and 347 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 627 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.00%

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 ...

, 0.48%

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 ...

, 0.48% Native American, 0.24% from other races, and 0.80% 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 0.48% of the population. There were 473 households, of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% 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, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.11. 28.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $31,902 and the median family income was $35,978. Males had a median income of $26,705 compared with $20,682 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 $13,894. About 7.9% of families and 11.9% 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 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Martinsburg

*East Martinsburg – 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 ...

east of Martinsburg village and located on NY-12. *Glendale – a hamlet south of East Martinsburg. * Glenfield – a hamlet east of Glendale on the west side of the Black River. *Graves Corners – a location east of Wetmore. *Martinsburg – the hamlet of Martinsburg is on NY-26 south of Lowville; it was the first county seat of Lewis County. *McGraw Corners – a location east of Wetmore. *Tabolt Corners – a location by the southern town line. *West Martinsburg – a hamlet southwest of Lowville, near the northern town line. The Methodist Episcopal Church of West Martinsburg was listed on the

in 1983. *

Whetstone Gulf State Park Whetstone Gulf State Park is a state park located in Lewis County, New York. The park is on the edge of the Tug Hill Plateau, south of Lowville, on the border of the towns of Turin and Martinsburg. The east end of the park is located near Ne ...

– a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

at the southern town line. * Whittaker Falls Park – a park east of Martinsburg village.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Lewis County, New York Towns in New York (state)