Skaneateles ( , ) 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 ...

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 ...

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. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,112. The name is from 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 ...

term for the adjacent ''Skaneateles'' Lake, which means "long lake." The town is on the western border of the county and includes a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, also named Skaneateles. Both the town and village are southwest of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

History

The area was part of the former

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 ...

. On February 26, 1830, the town of Skaneateles was formed from the town of Marcellus, and the town later annexed areas of the Town of Spafford in 1840. Early turnpikes facilitated development. The town was noted for participation in reform movements before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1843, the Skaneateles Community acquired and successfully operated a large farm and developed small industries. It ultimately failed because of internal difficulties, as well as external concern about its unorthodox social practices. Locals sometimes referred to it as "No God," because of the atheistic views of members. The Skaneateles Community published a newspaper, the "Comunitist" between 1844 and 1846 when the community dissolved. Buildings are extant, known as "Community Place," now serving as a bed-and-breakfast. Some Skaneateles men volunteered for the ill-fated

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

(1837) to liberate

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and were imprisoned by the British in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

congregations were involved in

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

activity.

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

sites have been documented in Skaneateles. Although the larger

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Syracuse nearby was known nationally as a center of abolition and Underground Railroad activity, Skaneateles was said (by Beauchamp, an early historian) to have "eclipsed Syracuse as an anti-slavery town." On July 4, 1876, resident

John Dodgson Barrow John Dodgson Barrow (November 24, 1824 – December 7, 1906), primarily known for his landscape paintings and portraits, has been regarded as belonging to the second generation of the Hudson River School. His subjects were frequently Central New ...

delivered the

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

address in Skaneateles recounting the history of the village up to that time. In 1891, he had it printed in Syracuse as a 20-page book. The

Brook Farm Brook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and EducationFelton, 124 or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education,Rose, 140 was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s. It was ...

Community Place Community Place, in Skaneateles, New York, was built in 1830. It was photographed by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1963 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is ...

, and Kelsey-Davey Farm are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 42.7 square miles (87.49%) is land and 6.1 square miles (12.51%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there are 7,112 people and 1,998 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is . There are 3,233 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town is 93.56%

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 ...

, 0.15%

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 American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.25% Native American and

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.96% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 4.46% 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 people of any race also make up 2.31% of the population. It was estimated in 2021 that there are 3,047 households in Skaneateles, with which 20.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% are

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, 30.8% are non-families, and 25.9% are made up of individuals. The average household size is 2.33 and the average family size is 2.87. In 2021, it was also estimated that 21.1% of people in Skaneateles are under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 29.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 51.1 years old. As of 2021, the median household income is estimated to be $90,762, and the median family income is estimated to be $120,667. It is also estimated that 5.1% of the population and 1.9% of families are 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 ...

Communities and locations in the Town of Skaneateles

*Highland Way – A neighborhood just east of Skaneateles village on Onondaga Rd. *Jones Beach – 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 the east shore of Skaneateles Lake on NY-41. *Long Bridge – A hamlet at the north town line, north of Mottville. *Mandana – A hamlet down the west side of the lake. *Mottville, New York, Mottville – A hamlet two miles north of Skaneateles village on Jordan Street and north of Willow Glen. *Shepard Settlement, New York, Shepard Settlement – A farming hamlet. * Skaneateles – A village at the north end of Skaneateles Lake. * Skaneateles Falls – A hamlet northwest of Skaneateles village on Skaneateles Creek. *Thornton Grove – A lakeshore neighborhood on the west shore of the lake south of Winding Way. *Thornton Heights – A lakeshore neighborhood on the west shore of the lake home of the Veggie Stand. *Wicks Corners – A neighborhood on the west town line, northwest of Skaneateles village. *Willow Glen – A neighborhood on Old Seneca Turnpike, north of Skaneateles village. *Winding Way – A neighborhood on the west shore of Skaneateles Lake.

Notable people

(1824–1906), Hudson River School artist * Mary Elizabeth Beauchamp (1825–1903), educator and author * Neilia Hunter Biden (1942–1972), first wife of Joe Biden; mother of Beau Biden, Beau and Hunter Biden * Barry Crimmins (1953–2018), comedian and activist * Clara Cannucciari (1915–2013), web vlogger and author * Sheldon Dibble (1809–1845), missionary * Michelle Feldman (born 1976), former Ten-pin bowling, ten-pin bowler * Searles G. Shultz (1897–1976), lawyer and politician * Marshall I. Ludington (1839–1919), quartermaster general of the U.S. Army * James Reuel Smith (1852–1935), photographer known for his documentary photographs of springs and wells in New York City * Tom Scherrer (born 1970), professional golfer, won PGA’s Kemper Open in 2000 and won 3 times on the Nationwide tour

References

Bibliography

* Beauchamp, William
"Notes of other days in Skaneateles"
Skaneateles Democrat, 1876. Cornell Library New York State Literature * Hamm, Thomas D., ''God's Government Begun: The Society of Universal Inquiry and Reform, 1842-1846''. Indian University Press, 1995. * Hamm, Thomas D. "Skaneateles Community." ''Encyclopedia of New York State'', Syracuse University Press, 2005. * Fogarty, Robert. "Utopian and Intentional Communities," ''The Encyclopedia of New York State''. Syracuse University Press, 2005. * Jay, Gregory S., "America the scrivener: Deconstruction and the subject of literary history." Cornell University Press, 1990. * Smithana, Don. "America—Land of the Rising Sun, 1989 Tokuma Shoten, Tokyo

External links

Town of Skaneateles official websiteHistory, Town of SkaneatelesSkaneateles area Chamber of CommerceSkaneateles Town CourtSkaneateles Underground Railroad Sites
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Onondaga County, New York Towns in New York (state)