Richmond, New York

For the county also known as Staten Island, see Richmond County, New York.
Richmond
Town
Richmond

Location within the state of New York

Coordinates: 42°48′N 77°32′W / 42.800°N 77.533°W / 42.800; -77.533
Country United States
State New York
County Ontario
Government
 • Type Town Council
 • Town Supervisor Nathan E. VanBortel (R)
 • Town Council
Area
 • Total 44.3 sq mi (114.8 km2)
 • Land 42.4 sq mi (109.9 km2)
 • Water 1.9 sq mi (4.9 km2)
Elevation 833 ft (254 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 3,361
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code 36-61544
GNIS feature ID 0978648

Richmond is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,361 at the 2010 census. The town is on the western border of the county, south of Rochester.

History

Richmond was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The area was first settled around 1790. The town was established in 1796 as "Pittstown," but was later renamed "Honeoye." In 1815, the name was changed to "Richmond." More territory was added to Richmond from the Town of Canadice in 1836. Parts of the Towns of Bristol and South Bristol were added to Richmond in 1848, but were returned to the source towns in 1852.

In 1600 the Honeoye Lake Watershed was—apart from clearings made by Native Americans and natural causes such as fire, steep slope landslides, wind or ice—completely forested. The watershed’s primeval forest contained massive trees, some covering as much as a half-acre of ground.

Early settlers found these forests useful. Probably the first product to be transported to market was barrels of potash, made from ashes of the burned trees. As sawmills were erected, lumber from the trees cut from 1830 to 1890 were used in the construction of urban centers such as Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse.

Efforts to bring logs down from the inaccessible area between East Lake Road and Gulick led to the construction of a rail line in the bottom of Briggs Gully. In 1885, maximum deforestation and agricultural land use arrived in New York State, often on lands that would not support these practices. Since 1885, there has been a slow decline of farming in the watershed, accelerated by the Great Depression from 1929 to 1943 and a gradual re-establishment of the area’s forests.

Changes in the character of the Town of Richmond and Honeoye Lake Watershed over the past half century have been significant. The growth in the use of private automobiles and the construction of good roads in the 1920s and 1930s added to the desirability of Honeoye lakefront cottages. By the mid-twentieth century, undeveloped lake frontage had mostly disappeared and summer cottages filled the shoreline.

The years after World War II also signaled the end of agriculture as a principal use of the watershed land and the rapid residential development in the hills of Richmond and Canadice overlooking the lake. The reduction of agriculture resulted in the natural re-forestation of inactive agricultural lands, which was beneficial in reducing erosion. However, increased residential development resulted in the loss of native vegetation and an increase in impermeable surfaces. These historical changes in the watershed have impacted the watershed character and the water quality— both for better and worse.

In 1962, the Honeoye Chamber of Commerce organized a first Winter Carnival. The event became so popular that in 1971 over 50,000 visitors arrived—tying up traffic for miles. After considerable success, the Winter Carnival was discontinued due to lack of tourist infrastructure. Recent studies by the Ontario County Tourism Bureau have documented the major economic benefits of special festivals and occasions to Ontario County communities. The summer population has been estimated at 4,500.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.3 square miles (115 km2), of which, 42.4 square miles (110 km2) of it is land and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2) of it (4.29%) is water.

The west town line is the border of Livingston County. Most of Honeoye Lake, one of the minor Finger Lakes, is inside the town. Honeoye Creek, the lake's outlet, flows northward through the town.

US 20A crosses the town.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18202,765—
18301,876−32.2%
18401,9373.3%
18501,852−4.4%
18601,650−10.9%
18701,622−1.7%
18801,7729.2%
18901,511−14.7%
19001,381−8.6%
19101,277−7.5%
19201,071−16.1%
1930883−17.6%
19408971.6%
19509596.9%
19601,38444.3%
19701,92539.1%
19802,70340.4%
19903,23019.5%
20003,4526.9%
20103,361−2.6%
Est. 20143,315[1]−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[2]

As of the US Census of 2010, Richmond has 3,361 people, 1,421 households, and 968 families residing in the town. There were 1,956 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 98.19% White, 0.2% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.6% Asian, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.

There were 1,421 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56% were married couples living together, 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 19, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 38.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.3 years.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,426, and the median income for a family was $62,039. The per capita income for the town was $27,887.

Government

Richmond operates under a typical New York State municipal government. It has a legislative branch of five town council members, one being the town supervisor, and a judicial branch consisting of two justices. The center of all town government functions is at the Richmond town hall. The town hall is located on 8690 Main St. (US Route 20A) in the hamlet of Honeoye.

Each town council member is elected to serve a four-year term, with the exception of the town supervisor who serves a two-year term. As of January 1, 2016, the town board members for the town of Richmond are:

The town clerk is elected to serve a two-year term. As of January 1, 2016, the Town Clerk for the town of Richmond is:

Town justices are elected to serve a two-year term. As of January 1, 2016, the justices for the town of Richmond are:

The highway superintendent is elected to serve a two-year term. As of January 1, 2016, the Town Highway Superintendent for the town of Richmond is:

Address: 8690 Main Street Honeoye, NY 14471 585-229-5757

Communities and locations in Richmond

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ History of the town of Richmond

Coordinates: 42°48′N 77°32′W / 42.800°N 77.533°W / 42.800; -77.533

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.