Wolcott 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 the north-eastern corner of Wayne 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 of the town was 4,453 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Governor

Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott Sr. ( ; November 20, 1726 December 1, 1797) was an American Founding Father and politician. He was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Connecticut, ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The Town of Wolcott is in the northeast corner of the county. There are two villages within the town: Wolcott and Red Creek. The town lies west 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 first white colonist settlement began around 1807. Native Americans settled the land many years before. The Town of Wolcott was formed 1807 from the Town of Junius in Seneca County,

before the creation of Wayne County, but the town was not completely organized until 1810. The land on which the town was formed on was previously inhabited by Cayuga and Onondaga Native Americans, who were exiled for siding with the British by Revolutionary War troops led by General Anthony Wayne and subsequently displaced by white European colonists, but who have been free to return for well over a century. The town was later reduced in size by the formation of new towns in the county:

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Huron Huron may refer to: Native American ethnography * Huron people, who have been called Wyandotte, Wyandot, Wendat and Quendat * Huron language, an Iroquoian language * Huron-Wendat Nation, or Huron-Wendat First Nation, or Nation Huronne-Wendat * N ...

, and

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

, all in 1826. The discovery of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

in the county led to the smelting operation at Wolcott furnace north of Wolcott village from 1821 to 1869.

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 40.2 square miles (104.0 km²), of which, 39.3 square miles (101.8 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of it (2.14%) is water. The town's north border is

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, and the east town line is

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 ...

. The Clinton Formation of red

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

led to the early iron production industry in the town and county. At Red Creek, east–west highway

New York State Route 104 New York State Route 104 (NY 104) is a east–west state highway in Upstate New York in the United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it foll ...

splits off

New York State Route 104A New York State Route 104A (NY 104A) is a northeast–southwest (signed as north–south) state highway in the central portion of New York in the United States. It serves as a northerly alternate route of NY 104, to which it conn ...

, which becomes a north–south highway near the east town line. New York State Route 370 is in the southeast part of the town.

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 4,453 people, 1,732 households, and 1,123 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,273 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.1%

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 ...

, 3.7%

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 ...

, 0.3% 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 ...

, 1.0% from other races, and 1.7% 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 3.9% of the population. There were 1,732 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 20, 5.2% from 20 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,194, and the median income for a family was $46,509. Males had a median income of $39,350 versus $38,587 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 $20,306. About 9.1% of families and 14.1% 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 17.9% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Housing

There were 2,273 housing units at an average density of . 23.8% of housing units were vacant. There were 1,732 occupied housing units in the town. 1,265 were owner-occupied units (73.0%), while 467 were renter-occupied (27.0%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 8.7%. ''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.''

Government

*Town Supervisor: Lynn Chatfield *Town Clerk: Jessica Freer *Town Justice: Roger Misso *Town Justice: Larry Mattle *Councilman: Adam Ellis Jr. *Councilman: Dan Youngman *Councilman: Ray Hauss *Councilman: Jorden Brown *Assessor: Amber Roberts *Superintendent of Highways: Zachary Decker

Communities and locations in the Town of Wolcott

*Blind Sodus Bay – A bay of Lake Ontario in the northeast part of the town. The bay is not open to the lake due to a spit of land that closes it off, forming a fresh water

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. *Desbrough Park – 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 ...

near Lake Ontario on the east side of Port Bay. *Duncans Corners – A location near the east town line on County Road 167. *Furnace Village – A hamlet on the west town line north of Wolcott village. This community was important in the production of iron in the 19th century. *Lake Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area – Three conservation areas in the north part of the town. *North Wolcott – A hamlet in the north central part of the town. *Port Bay – A bay of Lake Ontario north of Wolcott village. * Red Creek – The Village of Red Creek is at the east town line on NY-104. * Wolcott – The Village of Wolcott is near the west town line. *Wolcott Creek – A stream flowing past Wolcott village and Furnace Village into Port Bay. *Yellow Red Corners – A location in the southeast part of the town, now at the present intersection of NY-370 and Ridge Road (County Road 163).

Notable people

* Al Lewis, Actor who played Grandpa on TV's "The Munsters"

References

External links

Early Town of Wolcott historyWolcott Historical Society
{{authority control Rochester metropolitan area, New York Towns in Wayne County, New York Towns in New York (state)