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
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 ...
,
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 2,203 at the 2020 census. It is in the northwest part of the county. The village of Gowanda is partially in the town.
Name
A question frequently asked is "How did Town of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
get its name?". Newspaper archives and history books do not give a small clue to the origin of the name.
Etymology
From
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''Persia'', from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''Περσίς'' (Persís), from
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
''𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿'' (Pārsa), another name for
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.
History
The area that would become the town was first settled in 1810. The town of Persia was founded in 1835 from the town of Perrysburg.
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 0.46%, is water.
The northern border of the town is partly formed by
Cattaraugus Creek
Cattaraugus Creek is a stream, approximately long, in western New York in the United States.Erie County on the opposite bank, and the east town line is defined by the South Branch of Cattaraugus Creek.
U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) is an east–west United States Highway in the southern and northeastern United States. It runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian b ...
passes through the northwest corner of the town, and
New York State Route 353
New York State Route 353 (NY 353) is a north–south state highway located within Cattaraugus County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New York State Route 417, NY 417 in the Salamanca (cit ...
passes across the south part of the town. Much of the town is served by the north-to-south Broadway Road (County Road 4), which runs from NY 353 into the village of Gowanda, which occupies the northern tip of the town and extends across Cattaraugus Creek into the town of Collins in Erie County.
Adjacent towns and areas
(
Clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fr ...
*
New Albion
New Albion, also known as ''Nova Albion'' (in reference to Albion, an archaic name for Great Britain), was the name of the continental area north of Mexico claimed by Sir Francis Drake for Kingdom of England, England when he landed on the Nort ...
*
Dayton
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
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 for Persia, there were 2,512 people, 961 households, and 602 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,071 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.74%
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 ...
, 0.28%
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 ...
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 0.88% of the population.
There were 961 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% 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, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,675, and the median income for a family was $39,650. Males had a median income of $29,838 versus $26,304 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 $15,590. About 10.6% of families and 13.1% 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 18.6% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Education and language
''Language Spoken at Home (2017)''
''Educational Attainment'' ''(2017)''
List of supervisors
(''Town of Persia Supervisor'');
* Esek B. Nash, 1835-1836
* John Thatcher, 1837-1838
* tEsek B. Nash, 1839
* John Thatcher, 1840-1841
* George W. White, 1842
* Seth Field, 1843
* Esek B. Nash, 1844
* John Thatcher, 1845
* Esek B. Nash, 1846-1848
* Amasa L. Chaffee, 1853
* Levi W. Strope, 1854
* David N. Brown, 1855-1856
* Lemuel S. Jenks, 1857-1868
* Wm. W. Henry, 1869-1870
* A.S. Bennett, 1871-1872
* Charles W. Blackney, 1873-1874
* Silas Vinton, 1875-1877
* Reuben Ross, 1878
* Silas Vinton, 1879-1880
* Ward Hooker, 1881-1882
* Byron L. Kimble, 1883-1884
* Frank C. Vinton, 1885-1887
* Joseph H.Schaack, 1888
* Frank C. Vinton, 1889-1991
* Frank L. Mattock, 1891-1893
* H. Ward Hooker, 1894
* George B. Taylor, 1895-1897
*Irving R. Leonard, 1898-1917
*Robert E. Congdom, 1918-1933
*Stanley Nielson, 1934-1937
*George Lambert, 1938-1955
*Andrew J. Musacchio, 1956-1963
*Charles Deneen, 1964-1969
Annual events
Hollywood Happening
June is the month for the Annual Hollywood Happening. Part of Main Street is closed to vehicle traffic so hundreds of individuals from all over can come to display their motorcycles and take part in the "Harley" Parade on Friday evening. There are vendors, live music, great food, and various activities to partake.
Christmas Lighting
In December, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony is held in Chang Hu Park, sponsored by the Gowanda Chamber of Commerce.
Communities and Locations in the Town of Persia
* Gowanda – Part of the village of Gowanda is located in the northwest corner of the town.
*Persia – The
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 ...
of Persia is located south of Gowanda near the west town line.
*Snyders Corners – A hamlet at the junction of County Road 4 and NY-353 in the south part of the town.
*
Zoar Valley
Zoar Valley is an area of deep gorges along the Main and South branches of Cattaraugus Creek in western New York (state), New York, United States. The valley is located along the border of Erie County, New York, Erie County and Cattaraugus Count ...
Multiple Use Area – A small part of this conservation area is in the north part of the town.