Westfield (town), New York

Westfield is a town in the western part Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2000 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town.

History

The area was first settled in 1802 by James McMahan, formerly of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. McMahan established a mill near the mouth of Chautauqua Creek, where it empties into Lake Erie. The mill was later dismantled in advance of the War of 1812 to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Today some of the millstones from McMahan's mill rest outside the [http://www.pattersonlibrary.info/ Patterson Library] in the Village of Westfield.

The Town of Westfield was established in 1823 from parts of the Towns of Portland and Ripley.

The Barcelona Lighthouse was constructed in 1829 to overlook Barcelona Harbor and aided sailors on Lake Erie until being deactivated in 1859. It was the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by natural gas.

In 1897, the founder of Welch's Grape Juice, Charles E. Welch, moved his company to Westfield from New Jersey to take advantage of the ideal climate for the cultivation of grapes, particularly of Concord grapes. The region soon became noted for the growing of grapes for both wine and grape juice.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 47.3 square miles (122.4 km²), of which, 47.2 square miles (122.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.13%) is water.

urrounding towns or areas

(Clockwise)
*Lake Erie
*Portland; Chautauqua
*Sherman; Mina
*Ripley Notes: Chautauqua Creek serves as much of the boundary between Westfield and Chautauqua. Westfield and Mina touch at only one point.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 5,232 people, 2,075 households, and 1,419 families residing in the town. The population density was 110.8 people per square mile (42.8/km²). There were 2,493 housing units at an average density of 52.8/sq mi (20.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.98% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 1.30% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.64% of the population.

There were 2,075 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% 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 2.98.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,534, and the median income for a family was $43,156. Males had a median income of $30,203 versus $23,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,738. About 8.8% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The New York State Thruway (Interstate 90), US 20, NY 5, and NY 394 pass through the town.

Economy

The economy of the town is primarily agriculture, and the major crop is grapes. The Welch Grape Juice Company, which has ties to this region, was founded on a method of producing the unfermented grape juice by pasteurization.

References

External links

* [http://www.townofwestfield.org/ Town of Westfield]
* [http://www.westfieldny.com/ Westfield Community Webpage] .
* [http://www.co.chautauqua.ny.us/municipal/westfield_list.htm Town of Westfield government]
* [http://history.rays-place.com/ny/chau-westfield.htm Early Westfield history]
* [http://www.concordgrapebelt.org Concord Grape Belt Heritage Association]