Editing Town Line, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name          = Town Line, New York
| settlement_type        = [[Census-designated place]]
<!-- Images -->
| image_skyline          = Townline-the last confederacy.jpg
| image_caption          = 
| image_flag             = 
| image_seal             = 
| nickname               = 
| motto                  = 
<!-- Maps -->
| image_map              = Erie County New York incorporated and unincorporated areas Town Line highlighted.svg
| mapsize                = 260px
| map_caption            = Location in [[Erie County, New York|Erie County]] and the state of [[New York (state)|New York]]
<!-- Location -->
| coordinates            = {{coord|42|53|6|N|78|33|30|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| 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      = [[Erie County, New York|Erie]]
| subdivision_type3      = [[Town (New York)|Towns]]
| subdivision_name3      = [[Alden, New York|Alden]], [[Lancaster, New York|Lancaster]]
| established_title      = 
| established_date       = 
| government_type        = 
| government_footnotes   = 
| leader_title           = 
| leader_name            = 
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref              = Imperial
| area_footnotes         = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2         = 11.98
| area_land_km2          = 11.97
| area_water_km2         = 0.01
| area_total_sq_mi       = 4.63
| area_land_sq_mi        = 4.62
| area_water_sq_mi       = 0.00
| elevation_footnotes    = 
| elevation_m            = 229
| elevation_ft           = 751
<!-- Population -->
| population_footnotes   = 
| population_total       = 2334
| population_as_of       = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_density_km2 = 194.99
<!-- General information -->
| timezone               = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset             = -5
| timezone_DST           = EDT
| utc_offset_DST         = -4
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
| postal_code_type       = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code            = 14086, 14004, Formerly 14165
| area_code              = [[Area code 716|716]]
| blank_name             = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info             = 36-75121
| blank1_name            = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info            = 0967704
| website                = 
| footnotes              = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 504.98
}}
'''Town Line''' is a [[hamlet (New York)|hamlet]] and [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Erie County, New York|Erie County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States. The population was 2,367 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=https://www.census.gov| title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Town Line CDP, New York| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]| access-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref> It is part of the [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]&ndash;[[Niagara Falls, New York|Niagara Falls]] [[Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The community is located on the boundary between the towns of [[Lancaster, New York|Lancaster]] and [[Alden, New York|Alden]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730041300/http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece|url-status=dead|title=Secessionist hamlet takes stroll down memory lane - City & Region - The Buffalo News|access-date=2011-09-08|archive-date=2012-07-30}}</ref> Town Line is notable for having held a nonbinding vote to secede from the United States in 1861, and for having held a ceremonial vote to rejoin the United States in 1946.

== History ==
According to Town Line oral lore, in 1861, 125 men gathered in an informal meeting at a local schoolhouse and passed (85 to 40) a resolution to secede from the United States.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/civil-war-secession-new-york-town|title=This New York Town Seceded from the Union...for 85 Years|first=Christopher|last=Klein|website=HISTORY}}</ref> Because Town Line was never an [[Administrative divisions of New York|incorporated municipal entity]] in the first place and had no well-defined boundaries, the resolution had no legal effect; neither the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] nor the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] ever formally recognized the action.<ref>Federal Writers' Project, ''New York: A Guide to the Empire State'' (1940) p 436</ref> Alden Historical Society archivist Karen Muchow has stated that there are no written records of the action.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/northern-town-celebrates-status-as-last-confederate-holdout--131527733/163655.html|title = Northern Town Celebrates Status as Last Confederate Holdout}}</ref> According to Muchow, several members of the [[German American|German-American community]] fled to Canada and twenty residents fought for the [[Union Army]].<ref name=bn9711>{{cite news
 |last        = Kwiatkowski
 |first       = Jane
 |date        = September 7, 2011
 |newspaper   = [[The Buffalo News]]
 |url         = http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece
 |title       = Secessionist hamlet takes stroll down memory lane; Hamlet of Town Line marks its unique role in the Confederacy
 |access-date = September 7, 2012
 |url-status     = bot: unknown
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20120730041300/http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece
 |archive-date = July 30, 2012
}}</ref> While the reason behind the vote is unknown, author Daren Wang and others have opined that Town Line residents—some of whom had emigrated from Germany to avoid conscription—were motivated by opposition to a potential military draft being necessitated by the Civil War.<ref name=bn9711 /><ref name="auto"/>

Town Line held a ceremony on January 24, 1946 to "rejoin" the Union. Hollywood celebrity [[Cesar Romero]] participated in the festivities. On that day, residents voted, 90 to 23, to rescind the 19th-century secession vote.<ref name=bn9711/>

==Geography==
Town Line is located at {{Coord|42|53|6|N|78|33|30|W|type:city}} (42.884974, -78.558428).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|4.6|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=American FactFinder}}</ref> of 2000, there were 2,521 people, 906 households, and 759 families residing in the CDP. The population density was {{convert|543.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 925 housing units at an average density of {{convert|199.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.29% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.20% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.16% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.04% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], and 0.32% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.44% of the population.

There were 906 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.2% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% 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 3.05.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,548, and the median income for a family was $57,054. Males had a median income of $36,589 versus $30,000 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the CDP was $21,957. About 3.6% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

==See also==
*[[Dade County, Georgia]] - voted to secede (unrecognized) from the state of Georgia, and from the United States, rejoined in 1945.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Erie County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Erie County, New York]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Secession crisis of 1860–61]]