Solvay, New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solvay is a village located in Onondaga County, New York. USA. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 6,845. The village is named after a chemical process.

The Village of Solvay is located in the southeast part of the Town of Geddes, immediately west of the City of Syracuse behind the NY State Fair Grounds. Its eastern boundary is shared with Syracuse.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Solvay is located at 43°3′26″N, 76°12′53″W (43.057316, -76.214649)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²), all land.

The village is south of the east end of Onondaga Lake and is also south of Interstate 690.

[edit] History

The area was within the former Central New York Military Tract, but Solvay was in a location reserved for members of the Onondaga tribe. The village was initially founded in 1794 by James Geddes and was initially called "Geddesville."

The Village of Solvay was renamed, after 1884, when the Solvay Process Co. built a Solvay process plant to produce soda ash. The Village of Solvay was incorporated in 1895.

The Solvay Process Co. was a joint venture between the Belgians Ernest and Alfred Solvay, who owned the patent rights to the Solvay process, and Americans William B. Cogswell and Rowland Hazard. The Solvay process requires limestone and salt brine, both of which were readily available in this area. The village grew around the plant. Other major businesses included Frazier & Jones, Crucible Steel, Solvay China, and Pass & Seymour. The Hazard family contributed land and resources for the village to grow. Solvay has its own municipal electric company which provides service to the village at one of the least expensive rates in the nation. A typical 3 bedroom home in the village which is completey electric (meaning no natural gas service) sees an average bill of around $100 dollars in the winter and $60 dollars in the summer.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,844 people, 3,030 households, and 1,766 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,611.5/km² (4,164.6/mi²). There were 3,291 housing units at an average density of 774.8/km² (2,002.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.81% White, 0.67% African American, 1.02% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.37% of the population.

There were 3,030 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,084, and the median income for a family was $40,057. Males had a median income of $34,045 versus $23,822 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,441. About 10.6% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.