Hounsfield, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hounsfield is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 3,323 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is from Ezra Hounsfield, a land agent and land owner.
The Town of Hounsfield is in the western part of the county and is southwest of Watertown.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first settler within the town arrived around 1800.
The land comprising the town was purchased by Augustus Sackett in 1801 from a foreclosure of two prior landowners. He took an active part in develping the town and increasing its population.
Hounsfield was formed from the Town of Watertown in 1806. The town and its citizens were deeply involved in the War of 1812, primarily due to the two battles that took place at Sackets Harbor.
In 1814, the community of Sackets Harbor, by Black River Bay, set itself off from the town be becoming and incorporated village.
[edit] Notable people from Hounsfield
- Samuel Guthrie (U.S. physician), one of the discoverers of chloroform, and inventor of the percussion compound for firearms, which superseded flints (1782-1848). See a photo of his house in the Jewettsville section of the town here: [1]]
- Veranus Alva Moore, bacteriologist and pathologist (1859-1931).
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 311.9 km² (120.4 mi²). 127.6 km² (49.3 mi²) of it is land and 184.3 km² (71.2 mi²) of it (59.09%) is water.
The northern boundary is the Black River and the western boundary is Lake Ontario. Mill Creek enters Black River Bay near Sackets Harbor.
New York State Route 3 is a north-south highway in the western part of Hounsfield. Interstate 81 crosses the southeast part of Hounsfield.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,323 people, 1,350 households, and 908 families residing in the town. The population density was 26.0/km² (67.5/mi²). There were 1,839 housing units at an average density of 14.4/km² (37.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.53% White, 0.57% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 1,350 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $42,011, and the median income for a family was $47,742. Males had a median income of $32,464 versus $26,406 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,806. About 7.6% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities and location in Hounsfield
[edit] Communities and inhabited places
- Alverson-- A hamlet north of Sulfur Springs.
- Baggs Corner -- A hamlet on NY-3 at County Road 66, east of Sackets Harbor.
- Boulton Beach -- A location southwest of Sackets Harbor on the Lake Ontario Shore.
- Blanchard's Corners -- A former location in the town.
- Camps Mills -- A hamlet east of Sackets Harbor on County Road 62.
- East Hounsfield -- A hamlet on NY-3 near the eastern town line.
- Field's Settlement -- A hamlet on County Road 63 at the east town line.
- Jewettville -- A location on NY-3 west of Baggs Corner. It was a thriving brick-making community in the early history of Hounsfield.
- Mason Corners -- A location on County Road 63 in the southeast part of Hounsfield.
- Paddy Hill -- A location on NY-12F at the north town line.
- Price Settlement -- A formet location in the town.
- Purpura Corners -- A hamlet south of Sackets Harbor on NY-3.
- Sackets Harbor -- The Village of Sackets Harbor is on the south shore of Black River Bay in the eastern part of Hounsfield.
- Stowell Corners -- A location on County Road 63 in the southwest part of Hounsfield.
- Sulphur Springs -- A hamlet on County Road 62 in the south central part of the town.
- Watertown Muncicipal Airport or Watertown International (ART) -- The airport is in the northwest part of the town.
[edit] Geographical features and other locations
- Bass Island -- A small island offshore of the mainland in Lake Ontario.
- Black River Bay -- A bay of Lake Ontario in the north part of Hounsfield.
- Calf Island -- A small island southwest of Stony Island.
- Campbell Point -- A projection into Lake Ontario by the south town line.
- Galoo Island -- A large island, northwest of Stony Island. far from the mainland in Lake Ontario.
- Gulf Island -- A small island offshore of the mainland in Lake Ontario.
- Horse Island -- A small island offshore of the mainland in Lake Ontario.
- Little Galoo Island -- A small island south of Galoo Island.
- Navy Point -- A point of land in Black River Bay by Sackets Harbor.
- Stony Island -- A large island far from the mainland in Lake Ontario.
- Stoors Point -- The end of a peninsula in the northeast part of Black River Bay.
