| Skaneateles | |
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| — Town — | |
| A home on the west shore of Skaneateles Lake. | |
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Skaneateles
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Onondaga |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Town Supervisor | Terri Roney (R) |
| • Town Council |
Members' List
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| Population (Census 2000)[1] | |
| • Total | 7,323 |
Skaneateles (/ˌskæniˈætləs/, locally /ˌskɪniˈætləs/[2]) is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,323 at the 2000 census.[1] The name is from the Iroquois term for the adjacent lake, which means "long lake." The town is on the western border of the county and includes a village, also called Skaneateles. Both town and village are southwest of Syracuse, New York.
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The area was part of the former Central New York Military Tract. The town of Skaneateles was formed in 1830 from the town of Marcellus. Early turnpikes facilitated development, as mentioned in the article about the village of Skaneateles. The town was noted for participation in reform movements prior to the Civil War.
The utopian Skaneateles Community in 1843 acquired and successfully operated a large farm and developed small industries, but ultimately failed because of internal difficulties, as well as external concern about its unorthodox social practices. Locally it was sometimes called "No God," because of the atheistic views of members. The Skaneateles Community published a newspaper, the "Comunitist" [sic] between 1844 and 1846, when the community dissolved. Buildings are extant, known as "Community Place," now serving a bed-and-breakfast function.
Some Skaneateles men volunteered for the ill-fated campaign (Patriot War, 1848) to liberate Canada and were imprisoned by the British in Tasmania. Quaker congregations were involved in abolition activity. Underground Railroad sites have been documented in the town of Skaneateles. Although the larger city of Syracuse nearby was known nationally as a center of abolition and Underground Railroad activity, Skaneateles was said (by Beauchamp, an early historian) to have "eclipsed Syracuse as an anti-slavery town."
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.8 square miles (126.3 km²), of which, 42.7 square miles (110.5 km²) of it is land and 6.1 square miles (15.8 km²) of it (12.51%) is water.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 7,323 people, 2,881 households, and 2,082 families residing in the town. The population density was 171.7 people per square mile (66.3/km²). There were 3,233 housing units at an average density of 75.8 per square mile (29.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.99% White, 0.10% Black or African-American, 0.10% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 2,881 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,550, and the median income for a family was $69,023. Males had a median income of $51,621 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,624. About 1.8% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
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