Hector | |
---|---|
Town | |
Location within the state of New York | |
Coordinates: 42°28′23″N 76°47′37″W / 42.47306°N 76.79361°WCoordinates: 42°28′23″N 76°47′37″W / 42.47306°N 76.79361°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
County | Schuyler |
Area | |
• Total | 112.58 sq mi (291.59 km2) |
• Land | 102.37 sq mi (265.13 km2) |
• Water | 10.21 sq mi (26.46 km2) |
Elevation | 1,791 ft (546 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 4,940 |
• Estimate (2016) | 4,973 |
• Density | 48.58/sq mi (18.76/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 14841 |
Area code(s) | 607 |
FIPS code | 36-33073 |
GNIS feature ID | 0979060 |
Hector is a town in the northeastern corner of Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 4,854 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Hector Ely, who at the time was the firstborn son of the town founders. Hector is west of Ithaca, New York.
The area was originally under the dominion of the Iroquois. The region became part of the Central New York Military Tract, land used to pay soldiers of the American Revolution. The area was first settled around 1790, but the first permanent settler arrived in 1791.
The town of Hector was formed in Cayuga County in 1802 from part of the town of Ovid. However, Hector (including the hamlet of Reynoldsville) was part of the adjacent Seneca County from 1804 to 1817.[1] Hector became part of Tompkins County when the county was created in 1817, and then became part of Schuyler County in 1854 in the part contributed by Tompkins County.
The First Presbyterian Church of Hector was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 112.5 square miles (291 km2), of which, 102.5 square miles (265 km2) of it is land and 10.0 square miles (26 km2) of it (8.88%) is water.
The east town line is the border of Tompkins County. The north town line is the border of Seneca County, and the west town line, marked by Seneca Lake is the border of Yates County.