Centerville, New York

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Centerville, New York
Town
Sunrise in Centerville
Sunrise in Centerville
Centerville is located in New York
Centerville
Centerville
Location within the state of New York
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Country United States
State New York
County Allegany
Government
 • Type Town Council
 • Town Supervisor Frank Sardina (R)
 • Town Council
Members' List
Area
 • Total 35.5 sq mi (91.9 km2)
 • Land 35.4 sq mi (91.8 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 1,732 ft (528 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 822
 • Density 23/sq mi (9.0/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 14029
Area code(s) 585
FIPS code 36-13475
GNIS feature ID 0978807
Website centerville.wordpress.com

Centerville is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 822 at the 2010 census.[1] The town is in the northwest corner of Allegany County and is named after its principal settlement.

History

Centerville was first settled in April 1808 by Joseph Maxson. Minard describes this first settler in his History of Centerville:

"He was only 18, and came from Otsego Co. Two cents and a few articles of provisions and clothing constituted his wealth. At Pike he took from his feet a pair of new shoes, bartered them for an axe, and pushed on into the wilderness, and in the center of the township near a small stream erected the rudest kind of a hut. For a bed he peeled basswood bark, used some pieces as a floor and others for covering. Not long after he came snow fell six inches deep. He persevered in his labors and passed eight months alone."²

James Ward settled there in the fall of 1808, and a half dozen more families moved there in the following year. Centerville (then spelled "Centreville") was established on January 15, 1819 from part of the town of Pike (a town in Wyoming County).1

In recent years many Amish farmers have bought land in the town.

The Centerville Town Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.5 square miles (91.9 km2), of which 35.4 square miles (91.8 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.13%, is water.[1]

The west town line is the border of Cattaraugus County, and the north town line is the border of Wyoming County.

Sixtown Creek is an important stream in the town.

New York State Route 243 passes through the community of Fairview.

Adjacent towns and areas

Centerville is west of the town of Hume and north of the town of Rushford. The west town line is shared with the town of Freedom in Cattaraugus County, and the north town line is shared with the town of Eagle in Wyoming County.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1820 421
1830 1,195 183.8%
1840 1,513 26.6%
1850 1,441 −4.8%
1860 1,323 −8.2%
1870 1,043 −21.2%
1880 956 −8.3%
1890 911 −4.7%
1900 833 −8.6%
1910 781 −6.2%
1920 668 −14.5%
1930 553 −17.2%
1940 559 1.1%
1950 545 −2.5%
1960 491 −9.9%
1970 526 7.1%
1980 696 32.3%
1990 678 −2.6%
2000 762 12.4%
2010 822 7.9%
Est. 2014 820 [3] −0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 762 people, 253 households, and 195 families residing in the town. The population density was 21.5 people per square mile (8.3/km²). There were 402 housing units at an average density of 11.4 per square mile (4.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.80% White, 0.13% African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 2.10% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.49% of the population.

There were 253 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the town the population was spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,487, and the median income for a family was $31,058. Males had a median income of $25,208 versus $20,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,674. About 22.4% of families and 32.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.4% of those under age 18 and 31.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Centerville

  • Centerville – The hamlet of Centerville is near the town center at the junction of Buffalo, Pike and Hill Roads.
  • Fairview – A hamlet on the town line in the southwest corner of the town on Route 243.
  • Higgins – The hamlet is southeast of Centerville.
  • Welsh Settlement – A former designation for the southwest part of the town, settled in the 1840s by many natives of Wales.

Notable residents

  • Ellen Palmer Allerton (1835-1893), poet[6]
  • Ezra Kendall (1861-1910), actor-comedian, humorist, playwright and author[7]
  • Selma J. Mushkin (1913-1979), public health economist and coauthor of report linking lead poisoning to childhood illness[8]
  • Lucius L. Van Slyke (1859-1831), agricultural chemist[9]
  • Orlando Williams Wight (1824-1898), Universalist minister, medical doctor, author and editor[10]

References

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  6. Willard, Frances Elizabeth, Livermore Mary Ashton Rice -A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches, 1893, p. 21 accessed November 21, 2012
  7. Ezra Kendall Dead. New York Times , January 24, 1910, p. 9
  8. Blaug, Mark-Who's who in economics - 1999, p. 812 accessed November 21, 2012
  9. Gross, Ernie-This Day in American History accessed November 21, 2012
  10. Leonard-Stuart, Charles - Hagar, George Jotham - Everybody's Cyclopedia, 1912 accessed November 21, 2012

1. French, J. H., Gazetteer of the State of New York, Embracing a Comprehensive View of the Geography, Geology, and General History of the State..., Syracuse: R. Pearsall Smith, 1860, view online at: http://books.google.com/books?vid=0pZlamASp7-CUj-AdtbEUK&id=R_zHwh4xByQC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=allegany+county+new+york+history#PPA1,M1 2. Minard, John S., History of Centerville, New York, Alfred, NY, J. A. Fergusson, 1896, view online at http://www.rays-place.com/history/ny/centreville-ny.htm

External links