Spafford 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 1,588. The town was named after

Horatio Gates Spafford Horatio Gates Spafford (October 20, 1828, Troy, New York – September 25, 1888, Jerusalem) was an American lawyer and Presbyterian church elder. He is best known for penning the Christian hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" following the Great Chicag ...

, a writer and founder of the local library. Spafford is in the southwestern corner of Onondaga County and is 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

Spafford was located within 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 ...

. The first European settler arrived in 1794, the same year Onondaga County was established. The Town of Spafford was formed in 1811 from parts of the Towns of Marcellus, Sempronius and Tully.

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 (16.31%) is water. The western town line is the border of

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Native American tribes in the Iroq ...

, and the southern town boundary is the border of

Cortland County Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention a ...

. Part of the town lies between Skaneateles Lake and Otisco Lake, two of 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 ...

. Spafford's high terrain, between two of the Finger Lakes, provides spectacular scenery. Spafford is largely rural, with only small hamlets, and retains many forested areas, some protected as public preserves.

New York State Route 41 New York State Route 41 (NY 41) is a north–south state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future Interstate 86) in the town of Sanford in ...

is a north–south highway in the town.

New York State Route 174 New York State Route 174 (NY 174) is a state highway in Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, located in Central New York, in the United States. The highway is long and passes through mostly rural regions. Route 174 begins ...

is a state highway in the northern part of Spafford.

Demographics

Although situated in a remote corner of

, somewhat isolated by two of the

, residential development is expanding into the town from adjacent Skaneateles. 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 2000, there were 1,661 people, 631 households, and 485 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,095 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.74%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.18% Asian, and 0.60% 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 0.36% of the population. There were 631 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% 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, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,553, and the median income for a family was $61,250. Males had a median income of $41,515 versus $31,071 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 $24,014. About 4.7% of families and 5.2% 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Spafford

Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. T ...

– The largest

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 ...

in Spafford, located approximately eight miles south of the Village of Skaneateles. * Borodino Landing – A hamlet west on Borodino, located on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, south of Woodland. * Edgewater Park – A small community surrounding Five Mile Point on the eastern lakeside, located on NY-41 in the northeastern corner of the town. * Gifford Hill – An elevation near the southern town line, south of South Spafford. * Jenny Point – A location north of Willow Point on the lake shore. * Pine Grove – A hamlet on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, south of Borodino Landing. *

Ripley Hill Ripley Hill straddles the divide between the Skaneateles Lake and Otisco Lake watersheds, it was once considered to be the highest point in Onondaga County, New York at 1,986 feet, but is now recognized to be slightly lower than the high point o ...

– An elevation in the south of Spafford alleged to be the highest point in Onondaga County. * South Spafford – A hamlet by the southern town line. * Spafford – The hamlet of Spafford is on NY-41 in the southern part of the town. * Spafford Creek – A stream feeding Otisco Lake in the southeastern section of the town. *

Spafford Forest Spafford Forest is an 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 s ...

– An Onondaga County preserve with public trails. * Spafford Landing (formerly "Randalls Point") – located on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, southwest of Spafford village. * Spafford Valley – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town, northeast of Spafford village. * Ten Mile Point – A location south of Pine Grove on the lake shore. * Willow Point – A projection into Skaneateles Lake southwest of Spafford village. * Woodland – A lakeside hamlet south of Edgewater Park.

References

External links

Town of Spafford official website

Spafford history/genealogy
{{authority control Syracuse metropolitan area Towns in Onondaga County, New York Towns in New York (state)