Minerva 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 Essex 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 773 at the 2020 census. The town is named after

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, the Roman goddess of wisdom. The town has a highly irregular polygonal shape. It is located in the southwestern corner of the county. By road, it is north-northwest of Queensbury, southwest of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, south of

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding (and separately in ...

, north of Albany, and south of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec.

History

The town was first settled around 1804 in the southeast part of Minerva, which has remained the center of the town's population. The town was formed from part of the Town of Schroon in 1817. Part of Minerva was part of the Town of Newcomb until 1828. In 1870, Minerva was increased with territory taken from the Town of Schroon.

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 2.2%, is water. The northern part of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

forms part of the southwestern boundary of the town. The western town line is the border of Hamilton County, and the southern town line is the border of Warren County. The Indian River and Boreas River flow into the Hudson in the southwestern part of Minerva.

New York State Route 28N New York State Route 28N (NY 28N) is an east–west state highway in the North Country of New York in the United States. It extends for through the Adirondack Mountains from Blue Mountain Lake to North Creek. The route is a northerly ...

, the Roosevelt Marcy Memorial Highway, is a north–south highway which passes through Minerva and is the only road of significance in the town.

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 796 people, 321 households, and 225 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 648 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.86%

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 ...

, 0.25%

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 ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.13% Asian, and 2.51% 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 0.13% of the population. There were 321 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% 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 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,903, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $28,523 versus $19,688 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 $15,531. About 11.3% of families and 13.6% 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 16.4% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Minerva

*Aiden Lair – A location near the northern town line on NY-28N. *Lake Balfour – A lake south of Aiden Lair. *Camps Baco and Che-Na-Wah – brother/sister camps located on Lake Balfour in the summer *Boreas River – A hamlet in the northeastern corner of the town on Route 2. *Chain Lakes – A number of connected lakes at the western town line. *Hewitt Pond – A lake east of Alden Lair. *Irishtown – 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 ...

on County Road 24. *Leonardsville – A hamlet due east of Minerva on the Trout Brook Rd. *Loch Muller – A hamlet northeast of Minerva. *Minerva – The hamlet of Minerva is in the southern part of the town on NY-28N. It is primarily a resort village for tourists. *Minerva Lake – A small artificial lake east of Minerva village, formed ''circa'' 1932 by damming Jones Brook. *Mink Lake – A small lake near the southern town line. *Moose Pond – A small lake in the northwestern part of Minerva. *Moose Pond Club – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town. *Morse Corners – A former community in Minerva, near Minerva village. *Northwoods Club – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town, by Mink Lake. * Olmstedville – A hamlet southeast of Minerva village on County Road 29. Minerva Central School and station of Minerva Fire & Rescue are located there. *Pudding Hollow – A hamlet northwest of Minerva village on NY-28N. *Stillwater – A hamlet southeast of Moose Pond Club.

Notable people

Solomon Northup Solomon Northup (July 10, — ) was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir '' Twelve Years a Slave''. A free-born American of mixed race from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and a free woman of color. Northup ...

(1808 – c. 1863), a free-born African-American kidnapped and sold into slavery for 12 years before regaining his freedom, was born here and attended local schools. His

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

about his experiences was published in 1853, adapted in 1984 as a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

movie directed by

Gordon Parks Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, and filmmaker, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particularly ...

, and again in 2013 as a

feature-length film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

directed by

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

. *

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

, nineteenth-century painter, was a summer visitor for several years. *

Grace Hudowalski Grace Dolbeck Leach Hudowalski (February 25, 1906 – March 13, 2004) was an American hiker, the first woman (and ninth person overall) to hike all 46 high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Early life and education She was born in Ticonderog ...

, ninth person and first woman to climb all 46 of the

Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's bo ...

, grew up in Minerva.

References

External links

Town of Minerva official website

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