| Official Name: | Hopewell, New York |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | New York |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of New York |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ontario |
| Government Type: | Town Council |
| Leader Title: | Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Ted Bateman (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 92.45 |
| Area Land Km2: | 92.40 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.05 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 35.70 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 35.68 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.02 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 3931 |
| Population Density Km2: | 42.54 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 110.19 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 254 |
| Elevation Ft: | 833 |
| Coordinates: | 42.8936°N -77.1961°W |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-35551 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0979074 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2022 |
| Pop Est Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Est: | 3921 |
Hopewell is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,931 at the 2020 census.[2]
The Town of Hopewell is in the north central part of the county, east of the City of Canandaigua.
Significant portions of this section is sourced from Conover, Chapter XXV.
The Seneca Indian village of Onnaghee (or Onaghee, aka Snyder-McClure village) was located in Hopewell. It was abandoned sometime before 1750, and the former residents likely founded the newer village at Canandaigua.[4] [5]
Settled beginning in 1789, the town of Hopewell, New York, was originally part of a tract of land first called "District of Easton" and then "Lincoln" and was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788.
The original settlers in the area were former New Englanders. According to The History of Ontario County New York, some of the earliest pioneers included "Daniel Gates, Daniel Warner, Ezra Platt, Samuel Day, George Chapin, Israel Chapin, Jr., Frederick Follett, Thomas Sawyer, Benjamin Wells and Mr. Sweet, all of whom were from Massachusetts, while William Wyckoff who was another pioneer, was from Pennsylvania."
In 1807, the name of the town was changed again, this time to "Gorham," in honor of Nathaniel Gorham. The Town of Hopewell was formed out of the northern section of the Town of Gorham on March 29, 1822.[6]
On April 17, 1823, the first town meeting was held and the first town officers were elected. They were:
Between 1830 and 1890, the population of Hopewell ranged from 2,202 (1830) to 1,655 (1890).
In 1825 the County Board of Supervisors purchased farmland in the southeastern part of the town and established a home for the county poor. That land today is still owned by Ontario County and is used to house the County Health Facility, County Historian and Archives Center and other County facilities.
In 1844 members of the Fourier Society of the City of Rochester established the Ontario Union, a utopian community based on the works of French socialist Charles Fourier, in Hopewell. According to a Fourierist newspaper, the Ontario Union was located at Bates' Mills, about five miles from the main city of Canandaigua, and was home to "chairmakers, carpenters, wheelrights, millwrights, edge tool makers, blacksmiths, machinists, carriage trimmers, &c."[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.7sqmi, of which 35.6sqmi is land and 0.04sqmi (0.06%) is water.
New York State Route 21 intersects New York State Route 488 in Chapin. The NY 5/US 20 concurrency runs through the southern part of the town.
Hopewell is near the northeastern end of Canandaigua Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 3,346 people, 1,244 households, and 888 families residing in the town. The population density was 93.9sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,342 housing units at an average density of 37.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 97.97% White, 0.78% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.
There were 1,244 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $41,604, and the median income for a family was $46,452. Males had a median income of $30,575 versus $23,354 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,899. About 4.0% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Hopewell has no school district of its own, and a number of school districts cover the town. These include:
Conover, George S., Ed. History of Ontario County New York. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., 1893.