Seneca Falls (village), New York
Seneca Falls is a
village in
Seneca County,
New York,
United States. The population was 6,861 at the 2000 census.
The
Village of Seneca Falls is located in the
Town of Seneca Falls.
Seneca Falls is located at (42.908713, -76.797986). According to the
United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 11.9
km² (4.6
mi²). 11.5 km² (4.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (3.28%) is water.
The village was named after a 40-foot waterfall on the
Seneca River which drains
Keuka Lake,
Seneca and
Cayuga Lakes of the
Finger Lakes. The river has been
canalized for navigation, to connect Seneca and
Cayuga Lakes with the
Erie Canal, bypassing the falls.
The falls were also the cause of the village's existence, providing
water power for
mills,
distilleries,
tanneries and other
factories. By the mid
19th Century, Seneca Falls was the third largest
flour milling center in the world, after
Rochester and
Oswego. There is still a small
hydroelectric power generating station a little upstream.
A young man Birdsall Holly moved to Seneca Falls from
Auburn to work as a mechanic in one of these mills. His son
Birdsall Holly Jr. was entranced by the water power, studying
hydraulics and
mechanics until he became one of the foremost American
inventors. He became a partner in the Silsby Company, also called "The Island Works." While working for this company he obtained his first
patent, which was for a rotary
water pump. He later removed to
Lockport, New York, where he continued inventing, but his work with pumps was continued by
Seabury S. Gould Sr. who cast the first all-metal pump and founded
Gould Pumps a worldwide pump
manufacturer, which still maintains its headquarters and a major
factory in Seneca Falls.
While working for the Silsby Company, Holly also developed the rotary steam engine. This technology was married to the pump technology and was utilized in making the first successful steam fire engine. The Silsby Company eventually moved to Elmira, New York and became American LaFrance, famous for its fire engines.
The Village of Seneca Falls is prominent in the
Women's Rights Movement. It was the residence of
Amelia Bloomer, who popularized a dress reform in her newspaper The Lily which became known as bloomers. Early Feminist leader
Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized The first Women's Rights Convention, also known as the
Seneca Falls Convention, here in 1848 at the
Wesleyan Chapel which is commemorated by the Women's Rights National Historical Park in the village today. The
National Women's Hall of Fame was established in Seneca Falls in 1969. It honors American women for their contributions to society.
The first woman Village Administrator was Janet L. Enos, appointed 1998.
The first woman mayor of Seneca Falls was Diana M. Smith, elected 2004.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 6,861 people, 2,870 households, and 1,813 families residing in the village. The
population density was 598.0/km² (1,550.2/mi²). There were 3,136 housing units at an average density of 273.3/km² (708.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.43%
White, 0.73%
Black or
African American, 0.25%
Native American, 1.34%
Asian, 0.35% from
other races, and 0.90% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.
There were 2,870 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the village the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $36,543, and the median income for a family was $49,280. Males had a median income of $35,911 versus $24,268 for females. The
per capita income for the village was $18,520. About 7.5% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.
*
1848 Women's Rights Convention
