Hartwick, New York

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The Town of Hartwick is located in central Otsego County, New York, just south of Cooperstown. As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of 2,203. Hartwick, New York is the largest Hartwick in the world in terms of population.

It was named after Lutheran Minister John Christopher Hartwick (1714–1796), an early landowner of the town. Hartwick had bought the area that now constitutes the township from the Mohawk Indians in 1763. Discontent with the sparsely settled communities of Palatine Germans in the Mohawk Valley to the north, which Hartwick believed made people immoral, he bought the original Hartwick Patent with the intent to build a "New Jerusalem." This did not occur as Hartwick stipulated conditions in his lease that residents look to him as their religious superior, and by the 1790s the shrewd land speculator William Cooper had sold most of Hartwick's land against his wishes.

Instead of a New Jerusalem, Hartwick requested in his will that a Lutheran seminary be opened with his estate. Upon Hartwick's death in 1797, efforts to do this started but were complicated by the fact that Hartwick left his estate to Jesus Christ. Fifteen years later, Hartwick Seminary - the oldest Lutheran Seminary in the United States - opened in 1812. The seminary closed in the 1920s, and the proceeds were used to open Hartwick College in nearby Oneonta in 1925.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 104.5 km² (40.3 mi²). 104.0 km² (40.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.45%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,203 people, 850 households, and 601 families residing in the town. The population density was 21.2/km² (54.9/mi²). There were 1,098 housing units at an average density of 10.6/km² (27.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.96% White, 0.41% African American, 0.73% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.

There were 850 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,764, and the median income for a family was $38,889. Males had a median income of $28,529 versus $21,111 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,473. About 9.9% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

	Otsego County, New York
County seat	Cooperstown
Cities	Oneonta
Villages	Cherry Valley | Gilbertsville | Laurens | Milford | Morris | Otego | Richfield Springs | Unadilla
Towns	Burlington | Butternuts | Cherry Valley | Decatur | Edmeston | Exeter | Hartwick | Laurens | Maryland | Middlefield | Milford | Morris | New Lisbon | Oneonta | Otego | Otsego | Pittsfield | Plainfield | Richfield | Roseboom | Springfield | Unadilla | Westford | Worcester
Communities/CDPs	Schenevus | West End