Geneseo, New York Jo’néhsiyoh | |
|---|---|
 The Bear Fountain sits in the center of Geneseo village's Main Street. In this picture, it is decorated with flags forMemorial Day. | |
 Seal | |
  Geneseo  Geneseo | |
| Coordinates:42°47′45″N77°48′49″W / 42.79583°N 77.81361°W /42.79583; -77.81361 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| County | Livingston |
| Town established | 1789 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Board |
| • Town Supervisor | William Wadsworth (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 45.14 sq mi (116.92 km2) |
| • Land | 43.95 sq mi (113.82 km2) |
| • Water | 1.20 sq mi (3.10 km2) |
| Elevation | 909 ft (277 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 10,483 |
• Estimate (2016)[3] | 10,726 |
| • Density | 244.1/sq mi (94.24/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 14454 |
| Area code | 585 |
| FIPS code | 36-051-28629 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0978991 |
| Website | www |
Geneseo/ˌdʒɛnɪˈsiːoʊ/ is atown inLivingston County in theFinger Lakes region ofNew York, United States. It is at the south end of the five-countyRochester Metropolitan Area. The population of the town was 10,483 at the2010 census.[4]
The English name "Geneseo" is ananglicization of theSeneca name for the earlier Seneca town there,Jo’néhsiyoh, meaning "Good sand there."[5] Thevillage of Geneseo lies within the western portion of the town. The village and town are known today mainly as the home of theState University of New York at Geneseo.
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Near Geneseo was the largest[clarification needed]Seneca village,Jo’néhsiyoh, a center of power for theHaudenosaunee Confederacy. It was also the confederacy's "bread basket", with orchards, vineyards, and fields of maize and vegetables.
During theAmerican Revolution, the Seneca joined theBritish and theTories against the colonists who were fighting for independence. The alliance's raids from the west were a major threat to the American cause, andGeneral Washington sent theSullivan Expedition to neutralize the Haudenosaunee. As Sullivan's army approached Geneseo with their "scorched earth" policy, the Senecas repeatedly fell back. However, a large Seneca party ambushed one of Sullivan's scouting parties, carried them as prisoners to Geneseo and tortured them to death. When Sullivan's troops arrived and found the savagely mutilated bodies, they became enraged and destroyed anything that could support the Haudenosaunee. No longer able to raid from Geneseo and the surrounding area, about 5,000 Seneca fled to British-heldFort Niagara, where they spent one of the coldest winters on record, with much loss of life, in camps outside the fort with only the small amount of supplies the British could spare.
The town was established in 1789, before the formation of Livingston County. The colonists' settlement of Geneseo began shortly afterJames andWilliam Wadsworth arrived in 1790. The brothers came to theGenesee Valley fromConnecticut as agents of their uncle, ColonelJeremiah Wadsworth, to care for and sell the land he purchased. The Wadsworths were part of the negotiations of theTreaty of Big Tree betweenRobert Morris and the Senecas at the site of Geneseo in 1797.
Geneseo, as well as nearbyMount Morris, was part of theMorris Reserve that Morris held back from his sale of much of western New York to theHolland Land Company.
Geneseo was the birthplace ofEliza Emily Chappell Porter in 1807, a nurse, teacher, school builder, andUnderground Railroad operative during theCivil War. Geneseo was also the birthplace, in 1851, of the swindlerFerdinand Ward.
Geneseo was a background for tales of the law and small town life byArthur C. Train, who lived and practiced law in the town for many years before the First World War. He gave it the name of “Pottsville”, and often used it as one of the settings for his stories of the Yankee lawyer, Ephraim Tutt.
The village of Geneseo became the county seat of Livingston County in 1821 and wasincorporated in 1832. The State Normal School, nowSUNY Geneseo, opened in 1871. In 1991, theUnited States Department of the Interior designated large parts of the village aNational Historic Landmark.
The botanistAlbert Francis Blakeslee (1874–1954) was born in Geneseo.
The valley of the Genesee River is wide and fertile, with some of the best agricultural land in New York, but it was very prone to flooding, and Geneseo suffered several bad floods until theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers' construction of theMount Morris Dam upstream of the community in the 1950s.[6] Agriculture is now a large contributor to Geneseo's economy. Geneseo is also used by many as abedroom community for jobs inRochester, 30 miles (48 km) to the north. The village of Geneseo is governed by a mayor and four trustees.
The town can be roughly divided into three geographies: the village has a small-town atmosphere, much of Route 20A is commercialized, and the majority of the town's area is farmland. One of the main issues faced by the community today isurban sprawl. The increasing presence ofbig-box stores on Route 20A has been welcomed by some residents, who appreciate the convenience of nearby retailers, and discouraged by others, who oppose the suburbanization of the small town.
The Geneseo Airport (D52) is a general aviation airport west of the village, on the Wadsworth farm. It was established during July 1969, and is used for approximately 20 aircraft operations each day.[7] Since 1980, it has hosted groups restoring and operating historic military aircraft—originally the National Warplane Museum, and now the1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum. Anairshow is held annually on the field, during the second weekend in July.
The Association for the Preservation of Geneseo (APOG) is a civic organization dedicated to preserving, improving, and restoring the places of civic, architectural, and historic interest to Geneseo and to educate members of the community to their architectural and historical heritage. Additional aims and purposes are to encourage others to contribute their knowledge, advice, and financial assistance.[8]
Sweet Briar and theWadsworth Fort Site are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[9]
TheGeneseo Central School District encompasses Geneseo andGroveland, and consists of Geneseo Central School, which graduates approximately 75 students each year.[10]
The school mascot is the Blue Devils and wear blue and white, with a gray accent color. Past accent colors included red and black.
In 1933, the school moved to its own building on School Street and in 1963 added a wing. In 1974 it moved into a new building at its present location on Avon Road.[11]
SUNY Geneseo is inside the village of Geneseo. There are approximately 5,000 undergraduate students.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 45.1 square miles (116.9 km2), of which 43.9 square miles (113.8 km2) are land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), or 2.65%, are water.[12]
TheGenesee River defines the western town line, andConesus Lake is on part of the eastern town line.Interstate 390 andU.S. Route 20A pass through the town, along with State Routes39,63, and256.
Geneseo has a mild climate; summers typically bring temperatures between 60–80 °F (16–27 °C), while winters average 15–35 °F (−9–2 °C).
| Climate data for Geneseo, New York | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 72 (22) | 84 (29) | 91 (33) | 92 (33) | 95 (35) | 99 (37) | 97 (36) | 94 (34) | 83 (28) | 77 (25) | 71 (22) | 99 (37) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 32 (0) | 34 (1) | 42 (6) | 55 (13) | 68 (20) | 77 (25) | 81 (27) | 79 (26) | 71 (22) | 60 (16) | 48 (9) | 37 (3) | 57 (14) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24 (−4) | 26 (−3) | 34 (1) | 46 (8) | 58 (14) | 66 (19) | 71 (22) | 69 (21) | 62 (17) | 51 (11) | 40 (4) | 30 (−1) | 47.2 (8.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 16 (−9) | 16 (−9) | 24 (−4) | 34 (1) | 45 (7) | 55 (13) | 59 (15) | 57 (14) | 50 (10) | 39 (4) | 32 (0) | 22 (−6) | 37 (3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −24 (−31) | −13 (−25) | −9 (−23) | 11 (−12) | 29 (−2) | 35 (2) | 45 (7) | 37 (3) | 28 (−2) | 21 (−6) | 11 (−12) | −7 (−22) | −24 (−31) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.57 (40) | 1.42 (36) | 2.20 (56) | 2.48 (63) | 3.00 (76) | 3.75 (95) | 3.78 (96) | 3.18 (81) | 3.20 (81) | 2.56 (65) | 2.45 (62) | 1.93 (49) | 31.52 (801) |
| Source: The Weather Channel[13] | |||||||||||||
The town includes a number ofhamlets on the western shore of Conesus Lake. From north to south along NY 256 (West Lake Road), they are:[14]
All of the listed hamlets are part of the largerConesus Lakecensus-designated place.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 1,598 | — | |
| 1830 | 2,675 | 67.4% | |
| 1840 | 2,892 | 8.1% | |
| 1850 | 2,958 | 2.3% | |
| 1860 | 3,002 | 1.5% | |
| 1870 | 3,032 | 1.0% | |
| 1880 | 3,340 | 10.2% | |
| 1890 | 3,534 | 5.8% | |
| 1900 | 3,613 | 2.2% | |
| 1910 | 3,188 | −11.8% | |
| 1920 | 3,007 | −5.7% | |
| 1930 | 3,135 | 4.3% | |
| 1940 | 3,133 | −0.1% | |
| 1950 | 3,782 | 20.7% | |
| 1960 | 4,337 | 14.7% | |
| 1970 | 7,278 | 67.8% | |
| 1980 | 8,673 | 19.2% | |
| 1990 | 9,178 | 5.8% | |
| 2000 | 9,654 | 5.2% | |
| 2010 | 10,483 | 8.6% | |
| 2016 (est.) | 10,726 | [3] | 2.3% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] | |||
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,654 people, 2,523 households, and 1,303 families residing in the town. The population density was 219.6 inhabitants per square mile (84.8/km2). There were 2,698 housing units at an average density of 23.7 persons per square kilometre (61 persons/sq mi). The town's racial makeup was 93.91%White, 1.48%African American, 0.11%Native American, 2.61%Asian, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 0.69% fromother races, and 1.15% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino residents of any race were 2.19% of the population.
There were 2,523 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.92.
11.9% of the town's population was under age of 18, 51.3% was from age 18 to 24, 15.2% was from age 25 to 44, 13.2% was from age 45 to 64, and 8.5% were age 65 or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 72.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.4 males.
The town'smedian household income was $40,660, and the median family income was $62,206. Males had a median income of $42,218 versus $25,969 for females. The town's per capita income was $15,303. About 8.7% of families and 29.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under the age of 18 and 5.5% ages 65 or older.
Municipalities and communities ofLivingston County, New York,United States | ||
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