Pittsford, New York

Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States and is an affluent suburb of Rochester. The population was 29,405 at the 2010 census.

The Town of Pittsford (formerly part of the town of Northfield) was incorporated in 1827. It was named by Colonel Caleb Hopkins, Pittsford's first town supervisor and War of 1812 hero, for the town of his birth, Pittsford, Vermont.

The Erie Canal passes through the town.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.4 square miles (60.6 km²), of which, 23.2 square miles (60.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.81%) is water.

The Town of Pittsford is located in the southeastern portion of Monroe County approximately eight miles from the city of Rochester, New York. The Town of Mendon lies to the south, the Town of Perinton to the east, the Towns of Henrietta and Brighton to the west, and the Towns of Brighton and Penfield to the north.

History

The early history of the town is marked by the punitive Marquis Denonville expedition against the Seneca tribe in 1687.

In 1788, Massachusetts abandoned its claim to this region in favor of New York. The District of Northfield was formed in Ontario County in 1792, which became the Town of Northfield in 1796. As Northfield was subdivided in the following years, a final split formed the towns of Pittsford and Henrietta in 1814.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 27,219 people, 9,448 households, and 7,341 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,173.7 people per square mile (453.2/km²). There were 9,709 housing units at an average density of 418.6 per square mile (161.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.61% White, 1.60% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 4.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population.

There were 9,448 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.4% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $109,344, and the median income for a family was $119,509. Males had a median income of $70,780 versus $39,336 for females. The per capita income for the town was $42,723. About 1.5% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Pittsford has the highest average household income in New York State, North of the New York City metropolitan area.

Education

Public schools are administered by the Pittsford Central School District.

The District has received the New York State Governor's Excelsior Award for quality. It costs $13,900 per year to educate a Pittsford student. Barker Road Middle School and Calkins Road Middle School have also received an award in 2006 and 2009 as one of the national "Schools to Watch".

Sutherland plays its athletics as the Knights while Mendon is known as the Vikings. The two schools have a combined football team, known as the Panthers. The two schools have a long-standing rivalry in basketball, culminating with the annual Rainbow Classic game held at the University of Rochester. Adding to the many successful sports teams in Pittsford, NY, the Pittsford Mendon Vikings soccer team has a strong tradition, holding the New York State record of seven state championships .

The District has renovated many of its schools and built some entirely new facilities. In 2006, it completed work on Calkins Road Middle School, a middle school for students that will be attending Pittsford Sutherland High School.

Pittsford also has two colleges within five miles of its town center: Saint John Fisher College and Nazareth College.

Industry and commerce

Pittsford's access to the Erie Canal was the main driver of commerce in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the old buildings and barns on the canal have been converted into restaurants, cafes and shops. Concerts, boat tours and other events highlight this area in the warmer months.

Two large malls, Eastview Mall in Victor, and The Marketplace Mall in Henrietta, and Pittsford Plaza, a large shopping center located on NY 31 on the west side of the town are important commercial areas. Pittsford is the home of one of the largest Wegmans stores in the state. The Pittsford store is both the flagship store and a major test center for the company, as it is used to test out new ideas, such as mini-restaurants and small pet stores attached to the main building.

A golf tournament on the LPGA tour has been held each June at Locust Hill Country Club, on the border of Pittsford and Henrietta, since 1977. In 2010 this event was elevated to one of the four women's major golf championships as the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans.

Oak Hill Country Club, located in Pittsford, hosted the 1995 Ryder Cup; the 1956, 1968 and 1989 United States Opens; and the 1980 and 2003 PGA Championships.

The NFL Buffalo Bills have their summer training camp at St. John Fisher.

Once the home of many family-owned farms, much of Pittsford's farms have become suburban housing developments. A notable exception is the Knickerbocker family farm, located on Knickerbocker Road in the southeast part of town. The farm has been growing corn, wheat and other crops for 150 years. Pittsford is one of the few communities to have a Town-wide Green plan which attempts to conserve farm and park land for the future.

The town supervisor is William Carpenter and Commissioner of Public Works is Paul Schenkel.

Emergency response in Pittsford

Pittsford town hall

Access to emergency services is obtained by dialing 9-1-1, which connects the caller to the City of Rochester's Emergency Communications Department (9-1-1 Center). The Monroe County Sheriff's Department provides primary law enforcement for the town.

The Pittsford Fire Department, staffed by volunteers, provides fire protection, rescue, and non-transport emergency medical services for the town.

The Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance provides Basic Life Support with trained Emergency Medical Technicians. Advanced Life Support services are provided by the Southeast Quadrant Mobile Critical Care Unit (SEQ MCCU).

Sports

Professional golf regularly comes to Pittsford. The PGA Championship and the US Open have been held at Oak Hill Country Club, as was the 1995 Ryder Cup. The Xerox Classic Tournament on the Nationwide Tour comes every August. The Wegmans LPGA tournament is yearly in June at Locust Hill Country Club. The 2013 PGA Championship is scheduled to be played at Oak Hill Country Club.

Notable residents

• Charles August - Businessman and founder of Monro Muffler Brake
• Tyson Beckford - Model and actor, attended Pittsford Mendon High School
• Nicole Fiscella - Isabel Coates on Gossip Girl
• Steve Gadd - Jazz drummer, born in Irondequoit, New York; attended high school in Pittsford
• Teddy Geiger - Pop musician and songwriter
• Mike Jones - Major League Baseball player
• Christopher Lasch - Historian, moralist, and social critic
• Henry Lomb - co-founder of Bausch & Lomb Company
• Chuck Mangione - Jazz musician
• Pamela Melroy - Astronaut, lived in Pittsford as a child
• Cathy Morse - Professional golfer
• Adam Podlesh - Professional football player, punter for the Chicago Bears
• Joy Tanner - Nora MacDonald on Disney's Life With Derek
• Abby Wambach - Soccer player grew up in Pittsford
• Leehom Wang - Mando-pop singer-songwriter previously lived in Pittsford
• Mark Kloser - Financier, Trader Alert superstar.

Communities and locations in the Town of Pittsford

• Pittsford – The Village of Pittsford.

External links

• Pittsford Chamber of Commerce
• Town of Pittsford website
• Historic Pittsford website