Wayland 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 Steuben 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 3,733 at the 2020 census. The Town of Wayland contains a village called Wayland. The town is in the northern part of the county, northwest of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

History

The region was first settled by European Americans around 1806, after the Revolutionary War. In historic times, for centuries it had been territory inhabited by the Seneca Native Americans, one of the powerful five tribes of the

Iroquois Confederacy 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 ...

. The town was formed in 1848 from the Towns of Cohocton and Dansville. Part of Wayland was used to form the Town of Fremont in 1854. The Rowe House is 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 ...

. On August 30, 1943, the Lackawanna Limited wreck, occurred when the ''

Lackawanna Limited ''Phoebe Snow'' was a named passenger train which was once operated by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) and, after a brief hiatus, the Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL). It ran between 1949 and 1966, primarily connecting Buffalo, ...

'', flagship passenger train of the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

sideswiped a local freight that had not cleared into a

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) In rail terminology, a siding is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch lin ...

, killing 29 people near the Gunlocke chair factory.

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 39.5 square miles (102.4 km²), of which 39.0 square miles (101.1 km²) is land and 0.5 square mile (1.3 km²) (1.31%) is water. The northern and part of the western town lines form the border of Livingston County.

New York State Route 21 New York State Route 21 (NY 21) is a state highway extending for about through the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 417 in the village of Andover, ...

is a north-south highway in the town and intersects

New York State Route 15 New York State Route 15 (NY 15) is a north–south state highway located in western New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is officially at Interstate 390 (I-390) exit 3 south of the Wayland (vill ...

and

New York State Route 63 New York State Route 63 (NY 63) is a state highway in the western part of New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for in a generally southeast–northwest direction from an intersection with New York State Route 15 ...

in the village of Wayland.

Interstate 390 Interstate 390 (I-390) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway located entirely within New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Southern Tier Expressway (Interstate 86 in New Yor ...

crosses the town from west to east. Wayland is the northern terminus of the B&H Rail Corp.'s Gang Mills–Wayland Line. Prior to 1956, it was linked to Rochester directly by rail and, prior to 1964, it was directly linked to Buffalo by rail. Both of these connections were removed by order of the ICC following application by the owning railroads. As the Erie Lackawanna Railway's former Lackawanna mainline from Buffalo had a steep grade eastbound from Groveland to Perkinsville that was easily bypassed by the former Erie mainline via Hornell, with far easier grades, the former

mainline trackage between Groveland and Wayland was abandoned and torn-up in late 1963. The Woodcroftery factory, which made wooden bowls and other wooden items, was located at Park St. and 2nd Ave.

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 4,314 people, 1,665 households, and 1,168 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,960 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.47%

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 ...

, 0.86%

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 ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.70% 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 0.86% of the population. There were 1,665 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% 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, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.8% 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 2.56 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,575, and the median income for a family was $46,806. Males had a median income of $33,623 versus $22,439 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 $18,038. About 8.9% of families and 11.0% 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 15.8% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Wayland

* Loon Lake – A

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in the south part of the town. *Patchinsville – A hamlet south of Wayland village on

NY-21 New York's 21st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that is represented by United States Republican Party, Republican Elise Stefanik. On November 11, 2024, President of the United St ...

at the junction of County Road 90 (Patchinville-Perkinsville Road). * Perkinsville – A hamlet southwest of Wayland village and north of Interstate I-390, by the junction of County Roads 90 (Patchinville-Perkinsville Road) and 91 * Wayland – The Village of Wayland in the north part of the town.

References

External links

Town of Wayland, NY, information

{{authority control Towns in Steuben County, New York Towns in New York (state)