Morris is a town located in Otsego County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 1,878. The town is named after General Jacob Morris. Town of Morris is located on the western border of the county. The Village of Morris is located within the town. It is northwest of the City of Oneonta.

History

The town was settled around 1770. Morris was formed from the Town of Butternuts April 1849. The town was named after General Jacob Morris (the son of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence), who was granted land due to property lost during the revolution. In 1859, a part of Town of Pittsfield was transferred to Morris. Some historical data shows population for 2155 of 1850 in 1855 there were 2038, in 1860 pop 2320, in 1865 a total of 2191, in 1870 pop 2253, and in 1875 there were 2303. After this local population declined the textile mills closed, numbers of sheep plummeted, hops began to give way to dairying, and the local bank failed after speculating in silver mines in New Mexico. There were several projected railroad lines through the vicinity since the mid-19th century. The most promising was a Sidney to Utica trolley line sponsored by Silas Kelsey of Burlington. At the same time Dr. Lewis Morris, who owned the Unadilla Valley Railroad, was sponsoring his own railroad extension from New Berlin through Morris to Oneonta where he intended to have an interchange yard with Delaware & Hudson and Ulster & Delaware railroad lines, land which he donated to Oneonta in 1914, as Neahwa Park. Surveys for both routes were completed and staked but not all of the right of ways given, and the trolley line was built over in the Otego Valley instead. The Morris-Lull Farm, All Saints Chapel and Morris Family Burial Ground, Zion Episcopal Church Complex and Harmony Cemetery, and St. Stephen's Chapel (in the hamlet of Maple Grove) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From 2006–2021, Morris was the primary filming location for the original screenplay Portal Master. The sequel is currently in production.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.1 sqmi, of which 39.0 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (0.23%) is water. According to the 1878 history Morris contained 24,035 acre, assessed valuation $834,276, equalized $502,331. In 1864, Morris had improved 18481 acre, 3081 acre plowed land, 7772 acre pasture, 5727 acre in meadow, by 1875 this had increased to 9368 acre plowed, 8519 acre pastured and 6680 acre mowed. Today the few remaining dairy farms are at least one-hundred cow dairies. New York State Route 23 and New York State Route 51 intersect at Morris village. The western town line is defined by the Unadilla River. Butternut Creek, flowing southward through Morris, is a tributary of the Unadilla River.

Notable people

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,867 people, 737 households, and 529 families residing in the town. The population density was 47.8 PD/sqmi. There were 859 housing units at an average density of 22.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.84% White, 0.64% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.66% of the population. There were 737 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,176, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $28,824 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,427. About 9.5% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

Notable businesses