Ontario, New York

Ontario
—  Town  —
Motto: A Community of Good Neighbors
Ontario
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates:
Country United States
State New York
County Wayne
Area
 • Total 32.3 sq mi (83.7 km2)
 • Land 32.2 sq mi (83.4 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation 377 ft (115 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 9,778
 • Density 303.5/sq mi (117.2/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 14519
Area code(s) 315
FIPS code 36-55013
GNIS feature ID 0979313

Ontario is a town in the northwest corner of Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 9,778 at the 2000 census, and 10,136 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Great Lake on its northern border.

Contents

History

The first settler was Freeman Hopkins who arrived in 1806. He built a small log cabin that had to hold his nine children, wife and himself. Heavy timber and swamps made life difficult for the first settlers.

The town of Ontario was created in 1807 as the "Town of Freetown" from a part of the town of Williamson. Soon after, the name was changed to Ontario. Part of Ontario was used to form the town of Walworth in 1829.

In 1811 iron ore was discovered and a thriving smelting operation arose that lasted until past the end of the century.

In 1874, the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad (now the R., W. & O.) was opened.

On June 1, 1970, the Robert E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant started commercial operation on the shore of Lake Ontario within the town, just past the Monroe County line.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.3 square miles (84 km2), of which, 32.2 square miles (83 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.37%) is water.

The north town boundary is Lake Ontario, and the west town line is the border of Monroe County. The town is east of the City of Rochester.

New York State Route 104 is an east-west highway that intersects north-south highway New York State Route 350 at Ontario Center.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 9,778 people, 3,617 households, and 2,698 families residing in the town. The population density was 303.5 people per square mile (117.2/km²). There were 3,814 housing units at an average density of 118.4 per square mile (45.7/km²).

There were 3,617 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $51,399, and the median income for a family was $61,281. Males had a median income of $41,771 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,511. About 3.1% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Ontario

Nearby towns

References

External links