The town was formed from parts of the towns of Rochester and Woodstock in 1789 before the formation of Delaware County. The area of the original town has been reduced by the formation of new towns.
The summer climate features warm to hot and often humid. Temperatures vary from 80-85°F in the summer. Nighttime temperatures are warm and muggy, expect temperatures from 61-67°F. Winter temperatures feature cold temperatures but not harsh and great skiing conditions unlike parts of the Adirondacks. between 30-35°F. Nighttime are cold but not to harsh, between 18-23°F. For more info, please see Climate of New York page for more information for the rest of the state.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,051 people, 1,672 households, and 1,034 families residing in the town. The population density was 42.0 people per square mile. There were 3,013 housing units at an average density of 31.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 95.11% White, 0.64% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 2.12% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.42% of the population. There were 1,672 households out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couplesliving together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,346, and the median income for a family was $36,818. Males had a median income of $26,418 versus $24,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,635. About 12.6% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
