Alfred (town), New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alfred is a town in Allegany County, New York, USA. The population was 5,140 at the 2000 census.
The Town of Alfred has a village named Alfred in the center of the town.
Alfred University and Alfred State College are located in the Village of Alfred.
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[edit] History
The Town of Alfred was formed in 1808 from part of the Town of Angelica. Subsequently, other towns were formed from parts of Alfred. The Village is the home to three schools of higher education.
Because of the existence of these three schools there are more buildings of larger stature than might normally be found in a small rural Village. The downtown of Alfred is quite historic with many fine examples of architecture. One of the traits of many houses are the terra cotta tile roofs on them that were made using local clays.
[edit] Higher Education
Alfred is home to three prominent institutions which are Alfred University, Alfred State College, and The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
Alfred University was started in 1836 as part of the Alfred Select teacher's college and is considered one of the oldest coeducational institutions in the US. Alfred University is a smaller school with generally about 2,000 graduate and undergraduate students.
Alfred State College started as the New York State College of Agriculture at Alfred University in 1908. In 1948 the state legislature formed the State University of New York system and Alfred College of Agriculture and Technology, or Ag-Tech, was one of its founding members. Alfred State College has about 3,400 undergraduate students in many areas of study including Nursing, Surveying, Court Reporting, and Web Development.
The New York State College of Ceramics is a statutory college of the State University of New York operated by Alfred University on behalf of the SUNY Board of Trustees. It was founded in 1900 as the New York State School of Clay-working and Ceramics at Alfred University.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 81.8 km² (31.6 mi²). 81.7 km² (31.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.19%) is water.
New York State Route 244 passes across the town and terminates at New York State Route 21 near Alfred Station.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 5,140 people, 996 households, and 468 families residing in the town. The population density was 62.9/km² (163.0/mi²). There were 1,134 housing units at an average density of 13.9/km² (36.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.79% White, 3.46% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 2.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.26% of the population.
There were 996 households out of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town the population was spread out with 8.3% under the age of 18, 66.8% from 18 to 24, 9.7% from 25 to 44, 10.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 135.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 138.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,067, and the median income for a family was $57,159. Males had a median income of $28,667 versus $29,821 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,785. About 2.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities and locations in the Town of Alfred
- Alfred -- The Village of Alfred in located in the north-central part of the town.
- Alfred Station -- A hamlet northeast of Alfred village on Route 244.
- Alfred Center -- A former hamlet on Whitney Valley Creek.
- Dykes Creek -- an important stream in the town's south that flows to Andover and then to Wellsville where it joins the Genesee River.
- East Valley -- The Valley to the east of the Railroad Valley. This leads all the way to Andover and is mostly parallel to Railroad Valley separated predominently by Ben Socer Hill.
- Five Corners -- A hamlet west of Alfred village on Route 244 where County Roads 10 and 11 intersect Route 244 and the Town Roads of Hanneman Rd and Moland Hill Rd.
- Jericho Hill -- A hill south of the Village of Alfred. Alfred University maintains a playing field for soccer and another for football on this hill top.
- Pine Hill -- An hill [elevation] east of Alfred village.
- Railroad Valley -- The next valley to the east of the Village of Alfred which contains Tip Top
- Tip Top -- An area southeast of Alfred village on Route 21 known as the highest point along the old Erie-Lackawana Railroad.
- Tinkertown -- A location northeast of Alfred village on Route 244. Known for its strip of stores and houses in a tight valley.
- Whitney Valley Creek -- An important stream in the north of the town that flows eventually into the Canisteo River and then into the Susquehanna River basin.
[edit] External links
- Alfred New York - Information about local non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and businesses. Also includes calendars of local sporting events and community activities
- History of Alfred, NY
- History of NYS College of Ceramics
- Town/Village of Alfred history
- Village and Town of Alfred
| Municipalities and Communities of Allegany County, New York (County Seat: Belmont) |
|
|---|---|
| Towns | Alfred | Allen | Alma | Almond | Amity | Andover | Angelica | Belfast | Birdsall | Bolivar | Burns | Caneadea | Centerville | Clarksville | Cuba | Friendship | Genesee | Granger | Grove | Hume | Independence | New Hudson | Rushford | Scio | Ward | Wellsville | West Almond | Willing | Wirt |
| Villages | Alfred | Almond | Andover | Angelica | Belmont | Bolivar | Canaseraga | Cuba | Richburg | Wellsville |
| CDPs | Friendship | Houghton | Stannards |
| Reservations | Oil Springs Reservation |
