Editing Otisco, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Otisco, New York
| settlement_type = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
| nickname = 
| motto = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline = OTISCO RIDGE HOUSErev.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| image_caption = Otisco countryside
| image_flag = 
| image_seal = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map = Onondaga County New York incorporated and unincorporated areas Otisco highlighted.svg
| mapsize = 260px
| map_caption = Location in [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga County]] and the state of [[New York (state)|New York]].

<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type = [[Town Council]]
| leader_title = [[Town Supervisor]]
| leader_name = Glenn R. Hall ([[United States Republican Party|R]]) <ref>{{cite web | url=https://townofotisco.com/directory/town-board/ | title=Town Board – Town of Otisco }}</ref>
| leader_title1 = [[Town Council]]
| leader_name1 = {{Collapsible list
 |title       = Members' List
 |frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
 |title_style = <!-- (optional) -->
 |list_style  = text-align:left;display:none;
 |1           = • Teal Trendowski ([[United States Republican Party|R]])
 |2           = • Steven Loetterle ([[United States Republican Party|R]])
 |3           = • H. Stanley Edinger ([[United States Republican Party|R]])
 |4           = • George O. Cook ([[United States Republican Party|R]])
}}
| established_title = 
| established_date = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_36.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref>
| area_magnitude = 
| area_total_km2 = 80.71
| area_land_km2 = 76.49
| area_water_km2 = 4.22
| area_total_sq_mi = 31.16
| area_land_sq_mi = 29.53
| area_water_sq_mi = 1.63

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total = 2368
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->| timezone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset = -5
| timezone_DST = EDT
| utc_offset_DST = -4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m = 445
| elevation_ft = 1460
| coordinates = {{coord|42|52|N|76|14|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code = 13159
| area_code = [[Area code 315|315]]
| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info = 36-55651
| blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info = 0979328
| website = {{URL|https://townofotisco.com/|Town website}}
| footnotes = 
}}
'''Otisco''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 2,368. Otisco is in the southwestern part of the county, situated at the northern edge of the Appalachian Highlands, where an escarpment declines to the Lake Ontario plain and the city of [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] five miles to the north.

== History ==
The town was part of the former [[Central New York Military Tract]]. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1798, but permanent settlement began around 1801. The Town of Otisco was formed in 1806 from parts of other towns: [[Pompey, New York|Pompey]], [[Marcellus (town), New York|Marcellus]], and [[Tully (town), New York|Tully]].

[[File:Churches in Otisco, New York 06 59 07 589000.jpeg|left|thumb|Two of the three or more historic churches in hamlet of Otisco]]
The name "Otisco" may have been derived from the [[Iroquois]] name for Nine Mile Creek, ''Us-te-ke'', meaning "[[Carya cordiformis|bitter-nut-hickory]]". At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as "Ostisco".<ref name=Beauchamp_1893>{{cite book|last1=Beauchamp|first1=William Martin|title=Indian names in New-York, with a selection from other states, and some Onondaga names of plants, etc.|date=1893|publisher=H.C. Beauchamp|location=Fayetteville, NY|page=54|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924020345876#page/54/mode/2up|access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref> The name may also have been derived from the word ''ostickney'', meaning "waters much dried away", or from the [[Onondaga people|Onondaga]] word ''ostick'', meaning "the water is low".<ref name=Beauchamp_1907>{{cite book|last1=Beauchamp|first1=William Martin|title=Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108)|date=1907|publisher=New York State Education Department|pages=148–149|isbn=9781404751552 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBQTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA148|access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|31.2|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|29.6|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|1.5|sqmi|km2}}  (4.94%) is water.

Otisco is in the [[Finger Lakes]] District of New York and borders [[Otisco Lake]].

[[New York State Route 80]] is a  north-south highway in the town.  A short part of [[U.S. Route 20 in New York|US Route 20]] crosses the northeastern corner of the town.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1820 = 1726
| 1830 = 1938
| 1840 = 1906
| 1850 = 1804
| 1860 = 1848
| 1870 = 1602
| 1880 = 1558
| 1890 = 1326
| 1900 = 1202
| 1910 = 1066
| 1920 = 914
| 1930 = 871
| 1940 = 873
| 1950 = 975
| 1960 = 1188
| 1970 = 1470
| 1980 = 2112
| 1990 = 2255
| 2000 = 2561
| 2010 = 2541
| 2020 = 2368
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 2,561 people, 922 households, and 693 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|86.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 1,200 housing units at an average density of {{convert|40.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 97.27% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.23% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.31% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.62% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.16% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.41% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.47% of the population.

There were 922 households, out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,643, and the median income for a family was $49,318. Males had a median income of $39,656 versus $26,463 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $19,726.  About 3.2% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Caroline Congdon]], poet, long resident in Amber
*[[R. Walter Riehlman]], former US Congressman

== Communities and locations in Otisco ==
* Amber &ndash; A [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|hamlet]] in the northwestern part of Otisco by Otisco Lake.
* Amber Brook &ndash; A [[stream]] flowing into Otisco Lake by Amber.
* Bay Shores &ndash; A lakeside hamlet north of Rice Grove.
* Bear Mountain (the blue hole) &ndash; An elevation in the northeast, once known for the number of [[bear]]s; the blue hole is a water hole on the mountain that is known for its swift current and waterfalls.
* Case &ndash; A location in the northeastern part of Otisco, south of Maple Grove.
* Gamble Mill &ndash; A hamlet between Otisco hamlet and Rice Grove.
* Heath Grove &ndash; A location south of Amber.
* Maple Grove &ndash; A hamlet in the northeastern part of Otisco.
* Otisco &ndash; The hamlet of Otisco.
* Otisco Valley &ndash; A hamlet near the town line in the southwestern part of Otisco.
* Rice Grove &ndash; A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town, on Otisco Lake, west of Otisco hamlet.
* Williams Grove &ndash; A lakeshore hamlet south of Rice Grove.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.otisconewyork.com Otisco community website]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyononda/OTISCO/OTISCO.HTM  History/genealogy links for Otisco]

{{Onondaga County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Syracuse metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Towns in Onondaga County, New York]]
[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]