The town was first settled around 1773. The town was formed from parts of three other pre-existing towns: Addison, Cameron, and Woodhull in 1856.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which, of it is land and 0.083% is water. The Canisteo River flows through the town past the communities of Cameron Mills, Derby Switch, and Rathbone. County Road 119 follows the course of the river.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,080 people, 307 households, and 291 families residing in the town. The population density was 29.9 people per square mile. There were 461 housing units at an average density of 12.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.06% White, 0.09% African American, 0.37% Native American, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population. There were 370 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couplesliving together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.16. In the town, the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,143, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Of full-time year-round workers, males had a median income of $25,875 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,102. About 13.2% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.9% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Derby Switch - A hamlet in the southeast part of the town.
Rathbone - The hamlet of Rathbone on County Road 21. The Northrup Hill School District 10 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Tracy Creek - A tributary of the Canisteo River entering the river by Rathbone village.