Perry is a town in Wyoming 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 5,813 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was a United States Navy officer from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. A prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace Alexander and Captain Christo ...

. The town is on the eastern border of the county.

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

is also the name of a village within the town. The town is styled "home of the Silver Lake Sea Serpent" after a sea serpent sighting, possibly a hoax, in 1855. The serpent is celebrated by images throughout the town and previously by a summer festival. An artificial serpent was placed by Silver Lake in 2016. The Village of Perry joined

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

in 2017. U.S. Route 20A passes across the town.

History

The Town of Perry was established in 1814 from part of the Town of Leicester (now in Livingston County). It was coincidentally formed at the same time as another town of Perry in

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...

; that town changed its name to Perrysburgh in 1818 after being split up. Parts of the town of Perry were removed later to form new towns.

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...

, the twenty-first President of the United States spent some of his childhood years in the Village of Perry after being born in Fairfield,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Irving C. Tomlinson, a Universalist minister who became a prominent Christian Scientist, was born in Perry in 1860. Edward Austin Sheldon was born and grew up in the hamlet of Perry Center, in what was then Genesee County and later became Wyoming County. Sheldon founded the Oswego Training School, now the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in Oswego, New York. It has a total student population of 6,756 and the campus size is 700 acres. SUNY Oswego offers more than 120 undergraduate, graduate ...

. Landscape artist Lemuel M. Wiles was from Perry and had an art school at Silver Lake. A gallery devoted to his work was donated to Perry Public Library and his work, including some local scenes, can be seen there. His son Irving Ramsey Wiles was a noted portrait artist.

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 2010, there were 4,616 people, 1,872 households, and 1,242 families residing in the town. There were 2,190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.2%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.3% 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 3.3% of the population. There were 1,872 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 4.81% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.2 males. According to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the median income for a household in the town was $51,194, and the median income for a family was $62,625. Males had a median income of $39,151 versus $34,639 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 $24,726. About 11.7% of families and 14.9% 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 21.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

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 36.6 square miles (94.8 km²), of which 36.4 square miles (94.2 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.60%) is water. The east town line is the border of Livingston County. Routes 20A, 39, and 246 pass through the town.

New York State Route 39 New York State Route 39 (NY 39) is an east–west state highway in the western New York, western portion of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins and ends at intersections with U.S. Route 20 in New York, U.S ...

is the village's Main Street.

Community Events

* New York State Puppet Festival, June 2018

Communities and locations in the Town of Perry

* Buffalo Corners – A location on Route 246 north of Perry Center. * Burke Hill – A location west of Buffalo Corners. *

– The Village of Perry in on the south town line. * Perry Center – 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 ...

at the intersection of Routes 20A and 246. * Perry-Warsaw Municipal Airport (01G) – A general aviation airport northwest of Perry village. * Silver Lake – The north end of the lake is southwest of Perry village. * Simmons Corners – A location east of Perry Center on Route 20A. * Sucker Brook – A hamlet west of Perry Center on Route 20A. * West Perry Center – A hamlet on the western town line on Route 20A.

References

External links

* *
iloveperryny.com - Perry's Information Portal, Event Calendar, Business Listings and Image Database
{{authority control Towns in Wyoming County, New York Towns in New York (state)