Milan, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Milan is a town in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The Town of Milan is in the northern part of the county.
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[edit] History
The area that comprises Milan today was the western part of the Little Nine Partners Patent of 1706. The area was first settled around 1760 when Johannes Rowe, the son of a Palatine immigrant, bought 911 acres from Robert Livingston. He built a stone house around 1766 which remained just under 200 years and is now gone (see photo to right and exeternal links).
Milan was established from part of the Town of North East on March 6 (sometimes shown as March 10) 1818. The session laws stated that the first town meeting would be held the first Tuesday of April and was at the home of Stephen Thorne who was elected Town Supervisor along with John F. Bartlett, Town Clerk.
Milan was largely a farming town.
But population peaked in 1840 at 1,745 residents and went into decline until 1930 with only 622 residents. It was the influence of the railroad and the move to river cities and the west that caused the decline. Also, Milan's soil was hilly and rocky and tough to farm. Then from 1930 the population grew again, due in part to the construction of the Taconic Parkway which ended in Milan at the time, and then the post World War II boom. The 1840 population level was reached again in 1980, some 140 years later.
From the 1980's to the turn of the new century population has grown rapidly.
Sources: US Federal Census Records; "History of Dutchess County New York," James H. Smith, 1882, D. Mason & Co. publisher; "History of Little Nine Partners," Issac Huntting, 1897.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 94.0 km² (36.3 mi²). 93.5 km² (36.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.52%) is water.
The north town line is the border of Columbia County, New York.
The Taconic State Parkway passes along the eastern part of the town.
[edit] Demographics
The 2000 Census was corrected due to an error in the total population count of Milan. Corrected counts are a result of the Count Question Resolution Program. Milan's total population in 2000 was 2,356, not 4,559 as reported. Some of the demographics cited here are also incorrect.
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 4,559 people, 882 households, and 612 families residing in the town. The population density was 48.8/km² (126.3/mi²). There were 1,090 housing units at an average density of 11.7/km² (30.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 60.63% White, 27.22% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.87% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.68% of the population.
There were 882 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 14.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 49.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 299.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 364.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $54,491, and the median income for a family was $65,250. Males had a median income of $26,473 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,002. About 2.8% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
The 2000 Census was corrected due to an error in the total population of Milan. Corrected counts are a result of the Count Question Resolution Program. Milan's total population in 2000 was 2,356, not 4,559 as reported. Some of the demographics cited here are also incorrect.
[edit] Communities and locations in Milan
- Jackson Corners -- In the northeast part of town on the Roeliff Jansen Kill. Jackson Corners Post Office ran from 1835 to 1860 and 1862 to 1930. In 1840 had one Church and 25 houses.
- Lafayetteville -- A hamlet east of Milan village, formerly called Lafayetter Corners. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited the area in 1824. The Post Office ran from 1849 to 1903.
- Milanville -- Location of the "Milan" Post Office from 1818 to 1908 and located at the junction of Salisbury Turnkpike and Milan Hollow Road this area is now known as "Case's Corner" after Rensselaer Case.
- Rock City -- A hamlet west of Milan village had a grist and saw mill and 20 houses in 1840. It was formerly Travers Mill. Post Office ran from 1835 to 1904.
- Shookville -- A former community in the northwest part of the town founded by Jacob Shook. Post Office ran from 1827 to 1835.
