Romulus 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, United States. The population was 3,203 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the mythical founder of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

, a name assigned by a clerk with an interest in the classics. It is part of the Seneca Falls, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls Combined statistical area. The town has 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 ...

(and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

), also called

. Government offices for the town are located in nearby Willard.Town of Romulus, New York
Retrieved May 28, 2015. Romulus is home of the rare Seneca white deer, one of the largest populations of white deer in the world. They are located on the grounds of the former Seneca Army Depot. It is now a private wildlife refuge and conservation center which offers scenic tours.Seneca White Deer
Retrieved April 19, 2018.

History

Before 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 ...

, this area was controlled by both the Cayuga and the Seneca nations of the

Haudenosaunee 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 ...

(Iroquois). French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries visited the area in the 17th century. 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 ...

in 1779 destroyed native villages and drove many of the Native Americans away. Romulus contains the area of Kendaia (Apple Town), a former

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 ...

(Seneca) village destroyed by the residents in anticipation of the arrival of the

on September 5, 1779. After the war, this town became part of the Central New York Military Tract, land for veterans of the Revolution. Returning natives were provided with land at the north end of Cayuga Lake. This reservation was partly in the eastern side of modern Romulus. The first non-native settlers arrived around 1789. The town was formed while still part of Onondaga County in 1794. In 1800, part of Romulus was used to make the town of Fayette. The north part of Romulus was used to form the town of Varick in 1830. The town also contains the former Seneca Army Depot (1941 - 1990s), built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and finally closed in 2001. It was a major employer for citizens of Romulus and surrounding parts of Seneca County. Seneca Army Airfield, located along N.Y. Route 96A, provided a long

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

for transport aircraft. Willard State Hospital was converted to a state prison drug treatment center in 1995. The town is home to the Five Points Correctional Facility, a New York state maximum security prison for men. (Portions of a diary written by Henry McLafferty Jr (1819–1859) are available online from the Rochester

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Romulus Revisited: Extracts from the Diary of Henry McLafferty, Jr.
1856–1857).

Geography

The town lies between Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake at latitude 42° 45' 8" N. and longitude 76° 50' 2" W. at an altitude of 705 ft (214 m). 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 (26.45%) is water. Romulus is in the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

district of New York and lies between Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake. New York State Route 89, 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 ...

, and New York State Route 414 are all north-south highways 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 2010, there were 4,316 people, 821 households, and 576 families residing in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the town was 66.5%

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 ...

, 29.2%

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 ...

, .5% Native American, .3% Asian, 2.8% from other races, and .7% 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 9.2% of the population. There were 821 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.2% under the age of 20, 13.0% from 20 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 264.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 324.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $56,705, and the median income for a family was $63,676. Males had a median income of $37,177 versus $30,313 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 $13,396. About 3.8% of families and 6.3% 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 7.8% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 1,101 housing units at an average density of . 25.4% of housing units were vacant. There were 821 occupied housing units in the town. 571 were owner-occupied units (69.5%), while 250 were renter-occupied (30.5%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 12.2%. ''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.''

Communities and locations in the town of Romulus

* Cayuga Lake - The longest of the Finger Lakes at just under 39 miles in length. *Dean's Cove Boat Launch - A New York State boat launch site (including power boats) with fishing access located on the west shore of Cayuga Lake just south of the Varick/Romulus town line. *Elm Beach – A location on the west shore of Cayuga Lake, south of Poplar Beach and just north of the Romulus/Ovid town line on NY-89. * Five Points Correctional Facility – A maximum security state

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

in the town south of the hamlet of Romulus on NY-96. *Hayts Corners – A hamlet in the southeast of Romulus at the junction of County Roads 129 and 130. * Kendaia – A hamlet located on NY-96A near the Sampson State Park, built on the site of a former Seneca village. *Marsh Corner – A location in the eastern part of the town, east of the hamlet of Romulus.
NY State Veterans Cemetery
(formerly Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery) - The first New York State veterans cemetery, occupying 162 acres on the east shore of Seneca Lake adjacent to Sampson State Park. *Pontius Point – A projection into Seneca Lake north of the state park. *Poplar Beach – A location on the west shore of Cayuga Lake, north of Elm Beach on NY-89. *

– The hamlet of Romulus is by the north town line on NY-96. It was originally called "Romulusville." *Romulus Center – A location in the central part of the town, near the junction of NY-414 and NY-96. * Sampson State Park – 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 ...

on the east shore of Seneca Lake. It is on the site of the former Sampson Naval Base (used during

) and the former Sampson Air Force Base (used during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

). * Seneca Army Depot – The south half of the former US Army supply location is in the town. The land is being re-converted to other uses. The white deer — a genetic quirk that developed naturally on the 7,000-acre, fenced-in expanse — have thrived, even as the depot itself has transitioned from one of the most important Cold War storehouses of bombs and ammunition to a decommissioned relic. It is now home to the Seneca White Deer wildlife refuge and conservation center. * Seneca Lake – The deepest of the Finger Lakes at 618 feet at its deepest point. *Tannery Corners – A location in the southeast of Romulus, south of Poplar Beach. * Willard – A hamlet in the southwest corner, on the shore of Seneca Lake and County Road 132. *

Willard Drug Treatment Center Willard Drug Treatment Campus was a specialized state prison in Seneca County, New York, United States. The prison focused on treatment of drug-addicted convicts. Willard Drug Treatment Campus was located in Willard, a community in the Town o ...

– A former state mental hospital that was taken over by the state prison system. The Willard DTC was closed by the state in March 2023.

Notable people

* William Watts Folwell, the first president of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

was born in Romulus in 1833. * Mary Catherine Judd, educator, author, and peace activist, was born in Romulus in 1852. * Jeptha Wade, industrialist and founding member of Western Union, was born in Romulus in 1811.

References

External links

Town of RomulusRomulus Revisited: Extracts from the Diary of Henry McLafferty, Jr. 1856 - 1857

Deer Haven Park, LLC

Seneca White Deer, Inc.
{{authority control Populated places established in 1794 Towns in Seneca County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1794 establishments in New York (state)