Varick 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
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 1,656 at the 2020 census.
The town is named after
Richard Varick
Richard Varick (March 15, 1753 – July 30, 1831) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who has been referred to as "The Forgotten Founding Father." A major figure in the development of post-Independence New York City and the ...
, an officer in 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 ...
, mayor of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and uncle of the first Town Supervisor, Anthony Dey.
The Town of Varick is located in the central part of the county and is southeast of
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
.
There is no post office in the Town of Varick. The primary postal district covering the area is
Zip Code 14541 for
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 ...
.
[United States Postal Service (Romulus, New York Post Office)](_blank)
Retrieved June 3, 2015.
History
The land that is now the Town of Varick was occupied by the
Cayuga and
Seneca tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy before European settlement.
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 ...
s made missionary visits from 1656 to 1684.
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 ...
of 1779 passed through the town to destroy villages of the
Cayuga and
Seneca tribes. After 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 ...
, most of the current Town of Varick was placed in the
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
...
(1788), land reserved for veterans, with an eastern part in the Cayuga Indian Reservation (1790 until 1795). White settlement followed.
The town was formed from the
Town of Romulus in 1830.
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 ...
, a large part of the town was appropriated by the US Government to form the
Seneca Army Depot
The former Seneca Army Depot occupied between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in Seneca County, New York. It was used as a munitions storage and disposal facility by the United States Army from 1941 until the 1990s. The property was transferred t ...
(1941–2001), which was a major employer and the only large industry.
Over the years since 1985, Varick has become home to five wineries, all closer to the eastern end of the town, along Cayuga Lake. From north to south, the five are Swedish Hill Vineyard, Cobblestone Farm Winery, Lakeshore Winery, Knapp Winery and Vineyard Restaurant, and Goose Watch Winery. (All but Lakeshore Winery are participating members of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, and while the Seneca Lake Wine Trail certainly runs through Varick, none of its stops quite fall within its town lines.)
The
Simon Ritter Cobblestone Farmhouse was 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 ...
in 2008.
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 (29.95%) is water.
The eastern town boundary, defined by
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake (, or ) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and i ...
, is the border of
Cayuga County. The western town line, at
Seneca Lake is the border of
Ontario County on the western shore of Seneca Lake. The town 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 ...
Region of New York.
New York State Route 89
New York State Route 89 (NY 89) is a north–south state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New York State Route 13, NY 13, New York State Route 34, NY 34, and New York ...
,
New York State Route 96
New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 86 (Pe ...
,
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
New York State Route 414 (NY 414) is a north–south state highway in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New York State Route 352, N ...
are all north–south highways in the town.
New York State Route 336 is a short east–west
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
mostly on the north town line.
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 1,857 people, 676 households, and 460 families residing in the town. The population density was . The racial makeup of the town was 95.2%
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 ...
, 2.5%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian, 0.0%
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 ...
, 0.1% from
other races, and 1.8% 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 1.1% of the population.
There were 676 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% 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, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.5% under the age of 20, 4.0% from 20 to 24, 17.4% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57.841, and the median income for a family was $66,667. Males had a median income of $46,406 versus $40,714 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 $27,821. About 5.9% of families and 11.8% 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 23.3% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
The farmland in the eastern part of the town is now largely worked by
Amish
The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
farmers, and in the northern part by
Mennonite
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
farmers. Farmland on the eastern slope to
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake (, or ) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and i ...
is largely devoted to wine grapes.
Housing
There were 888 housing units at an average density of ; 23.9% of housing units were vacant.
There were 676 occupied housing units in the town, of which 570 were owner-occupied units (84.3%), while 106 were renter-occupied (15.7%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 18.9%.
''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 Varick
*
East Varick – A hamlet on the shore of Cayuga Lake and NY-89. (153 residences on Cayuga Lake, of which approximately 20 are considered East Varick.
[http://www.varickny.com/CompPlan/FayetteVarickCPC.html Land Use Overview in Fayette Varick Comprehensive Plan]
*Fayette – A hamlet straddling the Fayette town line on NY-414 (56 residences, one bar, one church).
*Kings Corners – A location situated north of McDuffie Town.
*MacDougall – A former hamlet on the northern town line on NY-336. (7 residences, one former bar)
*McDuffie Town – A location near Cayuga Lake on County Road 128. (8 residences, one church)
*
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 hamlet straddling the Romulus town line on NY-96. (73 residences, two churches, convenience store, post office, Romulus Central School)
*
Seneca Army Depot
The former Seneca Army Depot occupied between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in Seneca County, New York. It was used as a munitions storage and disposal facility by the United States Army from 1941 until the 1990s. The property was transferred t ...
– The northern part of the former army supply depot is an institutional residence for youth.
*Varick – A location at NY-96A and County Road 127 near the former Seneca Army Depot. (26 residences, fire department)
*Yale – A former railroad station on Yale Station Rd (CR 126), now farmland.
*East Lake Road – A densely developed residential area along the Seneca Lake shoreline (187 residences)
Notable people
*
Suessa Baldridge Blaine (1860-1932), writer of temperance pageants
References
External links
Town of VarickHas extensive demographic and land use information, as well as detailed maps of development and resources.
{{authority control
1830 establishments in New York (state)
Towns in Seneca County, New York
Towns in New York (state)