Ovid 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 Seneca 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 2,847 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

poet

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, a name assigned by a clerk interested in the classics. The Town of Ovid contains a village also called

, one of the county seats of Seneca County. The town is in the southern part of the county, extending between Seneca Lake to the west and

Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake (, or ) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and i ...

to the east, and southeast of

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

History

The town was the native land of the part of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. The

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

passed through this area in 1779. The region was part of the

Central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment ...

used to pay soldiers of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Andrew Dunlap, the first settler in the town, is believed to be also the first settler in the county. The town was formed in 1794, while still part of

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

. Part of Ovid was taken in 1802 to form the Town of Hector (now in Schuyler County). In 1817, part of Ovid was used to form the Town of Covert. Ovid was, at times, on the south border of Seneca County as some of the other county towns were assigned to adjacent counties.

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 38.8 square miles (100.4 km²), of which, 30.9 square miles (79.9 km²) of it is land and 7.9 square miles (20.4 km²) of it (20.37%) is water. The west town line, delineated by Seneca Lake is the border of Yates County, and the east town line, delineated by

is the border of Cayuga County. New York State Route 96,

New York State Route 96A New York State Route 96A (NY 96A) is a state highway in Seneca County, New York, in the United States. It is a north–south road between Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake, two of the Finger Lakes. NY 96A is two ...

, New York State Route 414 converge at Ovid village. New York State Route 89 runs north-south along or near the shore of

on the east side of the town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,311 people, 958 households, and 592 families residing in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the town was 97.1%

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 ...

, 0.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% 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 1.6% of the population. There were 958 households, out of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 20, 6.6% from 20 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 31.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,702, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $35,476 versus $35,385 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,015. About 10.9% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of . 20.9% of housing units were vacant. There were 958 occupied housing units in the town. 712 were owner-occupied units (74.3%), while 246 were renter-occupied (25.7%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 8.5%. ''NOTE: It is common for resort communities to have higher than normal vacant house counts. Many are vacation homes which are seasonal and not regularly occupied.''

Civic Groups

Casey to the Rescue Dog Transport is an all-volunteer organization that rescues 600 animals each year and transports them to permanent homes. Friends of the Three Bears preserves the buildings known as the (historic Seneca County) courthouse complex and implements art, music and other educational programs and events.

Communities and locations in the Town of Ovid

*Coan Corners – A location near the south town line on NY-96A. *Gilbert – A hamlet southwest of Ovid village at the junction of County Roads 131 and 132. *Kidders – A hamlet on the shore of Cayuga Lake and County Road 153, south of Sheldrake. *

– The Village of Ovid at the junction of NY-96 and NY-96A. *Scott Corners – A location west of Sheldrake Springs on County Road 139. *Sheldrake – A hamlet on the shore of Cayuga Lake on County Road 153. *Sheldrake Creek – A stream entering Cayuga Lake by Sheldrake. *Sheldrake Springs – A hamlet in the eastern part of Ovid on NY-96. *Simpson Creek – A stream passing by Ovid village and flowing into Seneca Lake. *Starett Corners – A location in the southeast part of the town, south of Sheldrake Springs. *Weyers Point – A projection into Cayuga Lake near the north town line. * Willard – A hamlet at the north town line by Seneca Lake on County Road 132. *Willard State Hospital – A former state mental hospital in the northwest of Ovid. *Willard

Wildlife Management Area A wildlife management area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife. New Zealand There are 11 wildlife management areas in New Zealand: * Horsham Downs Wildlife Ma ...

– A conservation area by Seneca Lake.

References

External links

Town of Ovid (official website)
{{Coord, 42, 39, 21, N, 76, 47, 23, W, source:eswiki, display=title Populated places established in 1794 Towns in Seneca County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1794 establishments in New York (state)