Perrysburg (town), New York

Perrysburg is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,771 at the 2000 census. The Town is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.

The Town of Perrysburg is in the northeast corner of the county. The town contains a village also named Perrysburg.

History

The Town of Perrysburg was formed in 1814 as the "Town of Perry" from the Towns of Ischua and Olean. In 1818 the town changed its name to "Perrysburgh." Eventually, the spelling became "Perrysburg."

The folk-protest singer Phil Ochs resided in the town for a brief period in his childhood.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.5 square miles (73.9 km²), of which, 28.5 square miles (73.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.

The northern border is Cattaraugus Creek with Erie County on the opposite bank. The western border is Chautauqua County.

New York State Route 39 is an east-west highway through the town.

Adjacent towns and areas

To the west is the Town of Hanover in Chautauqua County. The southern border is formed with the Town of Dayton. The western border is the Town of Persia and the Village of Gowanda. The northern border is formed with the Cattaraugus Reservation and the Town of Brant in Erie County.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,771 people, 685 households, and 487 families residing in the town. The population density was 62.1 people per square mile (24.0/km²). There were 752 housing units at an average density of 26.4/sq mi (10.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.52% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 3.39% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 685 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,212, and the median income for a family was $44,231. Males had a median income of $34,028 versus $23,828 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,453. About 7.1% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Perrysburg

*Cattaraugus Reservation -- A reservation of the Seneca, partially in the town. It regards itself as semi-autonomous and technically not within the jurisdication of the town or the state.
*Perrysburg -- The Village of Perrysburg in the south-central part of the town, located on NY Route 39.
*Versailles -- This hamlet, a former milling community, using the power of Cattaraugus Creek, is located in the northeast corner of the town. The community is east of the junction of County Roads 42 and 58.
*West Perrysburg -- The hamlet is located by the Cattaraugus Reservation on County Road 78 in the western part of the town.

References

External links

* [http://www.rootsweb.com/%7Enycattar/1879history/perrysburg.htm Early history of Perrysburg, NY]