Stark 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 ...

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer (village), New York, Herkimer. The co ...

, United States. The population was 757 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Revolutionary War general

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Ba ...

. The town of Stark is in the eastern part of Herkimer County.

History

Settlement took place before 1775, but many residents departed during the Revolutionary War. The town was established from part of the town of

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

in 1828.

Notable people

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953)
ac ...

bought property in Van Hornesville to obtain background for her novel, ''The Sojourner,'' and spent time there every year up to her death. * Ray V. Pierce, former US congressman *

Owen D. Young Owen D. Young (October 27, 1874July 11, 1962) was an American industrialist, businessman, lawyer and diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference (SRC) in 1929, as a member of the German Reparations International Commission. He is known for th ...

, founder of the

Radio Corporation of America RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, was a lifelong resident of Van Hornesville.

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 , or 0.01%, are water. The eastern town line is the border of

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, and the southern town line is the border of Otsego County.

Otsquago Creek Otsquago Creek is a river that enters the Mohawk River in Fort Plain, New York. is a Mohawk language word meaning , probably referring to an early bridge of felled trees along the creek, a way of making small bridges. It is also referred to as ...

, a tributary of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, flows across the town from southwest to northeast.

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 2000, there were 767 people, 286 households, and 215 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 334 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.09%

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 ...

, 0.39%

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 ...

, 0.39%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.13% 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 0.26% of the population. There were 286 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,518, and the median income for a family was $34,545. Males had a median income of $27,813 versus $21,042 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 $14,128. About 14.1% of families and 19.9% 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 33.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Stark

*Cramer Corners – A location near the northern town line. *Deck – A hamlet west of Smith Corners. *Smith Corners – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town. * Starkville – A hamlet in the eastern part of the town on Route 80. * Van Hornesville – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town. *Willse Four Corners – A location near the southern town line.

References

External links

Early history of Stark, New York

Herkimer County Historical Society
{{authority control Utica–Rome metropolitan area Towns in Herkimer County, New York Towns in New York (state)