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Lewiston, New York
Location in Niagara County and the state of New York.
Location in Niagara County and the state of New York.
Country United States
State New York
County Niagara
Government
 • Type Town Council
Area
 • Total 41.13 sq mi (106.53 km2)
 • Land 37.12 sq mi (96.14 km2)
 • Water 4.01 sq mi (10.39 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 15,944
 • Density 431.42/sq mi (166.57/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST)
FIPS code 36-063-42158

Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York.

Niagara River, Lewiston NY
Niagara River, Lewiston NY

The Town of Lewiston is on the western border of the county. The Village of Lewiston is within the town.

History

The Town of Lewiston was formed in 1818.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.0 square miles (106.3 km²), of which 37.3 square miles (96.5 km²) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.7 km²) (9.16%) is water.

The Niagara River forms the western boundary of the town, which is an international border with Canada. The Town of Lewiston's southern border is with the City of Niagara Falls, NY, the Town of Niagara, NY, and the Town of Wheatfield, NY. The southern portion of the town also is on the top of the Niagara Escarpment. The eastern border of the town is at Townline Road which separates the Towns of Cambria and Lewiston. The northern border of the town is with the Towns of Porter and Wilson.

New York State Route 104 passes across the town as "Lewiston Road" on top of the Niagara Escarpment and "Ridge Road" below the Escarpment. There are three exits of Interstate 190 in Lewiston. Exit 24 at Witmer Road New York State Route 31, Exit 25A at Military Road New York State Route 265, and Exit 25B for Route 104 and the Robert Moses State Parkway.

Communities and locations within Lewiston

  • Bonds Lake County Park – a park in the northeast corner of the town.
  • Colonial Village – a hamlet by the south town line on Route 31 (Saunders Settlement Road).
  • Devil's Hole State Park – in the southwest corner of the town.
  • Dickersonville – a hamlet in the northeastern part of the town on Route 104 (Ridge Road).
  • Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park – a New York State Park on the eastern edge of the town.
  • Falcon Manor – a location on the south town line, east of Colonial Village.
  • Lewiston Heights – an upscale neighborhood built atop the Niagara Escarpment.
  • Model City – a hamlet on Route 104 (Lewiston Road).
  • Pekin – a hamlet on the eastern town line.
  • Lewiston Reservoir – a man-made 1,900-acre (770 ha), 22-billion-US-gallon (83,000,000 m3) reservoir which stores water before being released into the forebay of the Robert Moses Power Station (also known as the Robert Moses Power Plant Reservoir).
  • Reservoir State Park – a park on the south shore of the reservoir and Route 265 (Military Road).
  • Sanborn – a hamlet originally called South Pekin that was later renamed Sanborn, after Ebenezer Sunburn, in 1866. It is in the southeast corner of the town on Route 429 (Cambria-Lewiston Town Line Road) and Route 31 (Saunders Settlement Road).
  • Tuscarora Reservation – a 9.3 mi² (24.0 km²) reservation for the Tuscarora tribe (members of the Iroquois confederacy), east of the Reservoir, that lies entirely within the Town of Lewiston.
  • Village of Lewiston – a historic village in the western part of the town.

Adjacent cities and towns

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1820 869
1830 1,528 75.8%
1840 2,533 65.8%
1850 2,924 15.4%
1860 3,379 15.6%
1870 2,959 −12.4%
1880 2,768 −6.5%
1890 2,577 −6.9%
1900 2,884 11.9%
1910 2,846 −1.3%
1920 2,750 −3.4%
1930 3,420 24.4%
1940 4,448 30.1%
1950 6,921 55.6%
1960 13,686 97.7%
1970 15,888 16.1%
1980 16,219 2.1%
1990 15,453 −4.7%
2000 16,257 5.2%
2010 16,262 0.0%
2020 15,944 −2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,257 people, 5,882 households, and 4,252 families residing in the town. The population density was 436.2 people per square mile (168.4/km2). There were 6,147 housing units at an average density of 164.9/sq mi (63.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.98% White, 0.92% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.

There were 5,882 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.6% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,819, and the median income for a family was $58,620. Males had a median income of $46,748 versus $26,848 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,275. About 4.3% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Lewiston is the smallest city in the history of The Amazing Race to host the finish line for an edition of the reality show; The Amazing Race 8 was completed there.

Economy

Affluence rating

In 2015, the Town of Lewiston was ranked the most affluent community in Niagara County and the eighth overall in Western New York. This ranking was based on raw statistics that came from the five-year version of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2013 American Community Survey, the latest source of official data at the local level. The categories ranged from basic measures (per capita income, median house value) to less familiar indicators (households with interest or dividend income, adults with advanced degrees).

Lewiston home to various business, sporting and entertainment venues, including:

  • New York Power Authority's Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. This complex contains a 65-acre (260,000 m2) raised reservoir, a pump-generating plant, and the hydroelectric power plant
  • Niagara Falls Country Club, a private country club and golf course, is located in the Lewiston Heights neighborhood of Lewiston, New York.
  • Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park, a 172-acre state park located in the Village of Lewiston that is a venue for summer musical entertainment, in addition to offering picnic tables and pavilions, fishing, hiking, nature trail, a performing arts theater, recreation programs and cross-country skiing.
  • Edwin Mellen Press, a Lewiston-based publishing house founded by religion scholar Herbert Richardson

Additionally, Lewiston has three museums:

Education

Universities

Public schools

The Towns of Lewiston and Youngstown are predominantly served by the Lewiston-Porter Central School District, located on Creek Road. As of June 2015, Lewiston-Porter enrolled 2,077 students in K-12 and had district expenditures of $42,234,808. In 2014 Lewiston-Porter Central School District was the highest ranked school district (including both public and private high schools) in Niagara Country, and 9th overall in Western New York, in terms of overall academic performance. In 2015, Lewiston-Porter was rated 10th best in Western New York and 2nd in Niagara Country, behind Starpoint Central School District.

Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District also serves the Town of Lewiston with Niagara-Wheatfield High School, Edward Town Middle School, Colonial Village Elementary School, and West Street Elementary School all physically located in the Town of Lewiston.

Private schools

Within the Town of Lewiston, there are also several private schools:

Infrastructure

Healthcare

There are several health-care facilities in the town. The Catholic Health-run Mount Saint Mary's Hospital (formed in 1907) is a six-floor facility that offers many differing kinds of high-level healthcare. It also includes the "EmStar" emergency health facility. Adjacent to Mt. St. Mary's is the Our Lady of Peace nursing home.

Transportation

  • I-190.svg Interstate 190 This interstate runs in the southwest part of town, from the Town of Niagara to its northern terminus in the Town of Lewiston at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge which marks the Canada–US border, the highway continues as Ontario Highway 405.
  • NY-18.svg New York State Route 18 (Creek Road), East-West (North-South Direction) Highway across the town roughly paralleling the Niagara Scenic Pkwy. from the Porter town line to its southern terminus at Lewiston Rd. (NY 104) just outside the Village of Lewiston.
  • NY-18F.svg New York State Route 18F (Lower River Road, Center Street (village)), North-South roadway through the town from the Porter town line through the Village of Lewiston to its southern terminus at NY 104/NY 18. This route roughly parallels the Lower Niagara River north of the Village of Lewiston north to the Town of Porter.
  • NY-31.svg New York State Route 31 (Saunders Settlement Road), East-West Highway across the southern part of town from the Cambria town line to the Niagara town line just before the routes junction with Military Rd. (NY 265).
  • NY-61.svg New York State Route 61 (Hyde Park Boulevard), North-South Roadway mostly in the City of Niagara Falls, but has a short distance in the southwest corner of town where the route has its northern end at Lewiston Rd. (NY 104).
  • NY-265.svg New York State Route 265 (Military Road), North-South roadway through the town from the Niagara town line past the New York Power Authority Generating Plant to its northern terminus at Lewiston Rd. (NY 104).
  • NY-429.svg New York State Route 429 (Townline Road, Buffalo Street), North-South roadway from the Wheatfield town line to its northern terminus in the town at Ridge Rd. (NY 429).
  • Niagara Scenic Pkwy Shield.svg Niagara Scenic Parkway, North-South highway through the town from the Niagara Falls city line to the Porter town line.

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lewiston (Nueva York) para niños

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