Rushford is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,085 at the 2020 census. Rushford is in the northwest part of Allegany County and is northeast of Olean.

History

The first settlers, Enos Gary and two of his children, arrived in 1808. The town of Rushford was formed in 1816 from part of the town of Caneadea. Part of Rushford was taken to form the newer town of New Hudson in 1825. When Rushford Lake was formed by a dam on Caneadea Creek in 1927, the communities of East Rushford and Kelloggville were flooded by the rising water.

Notable people

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 93.5 km2, of which 91.4 km2 is land and 2.0 km2, or 2.19%, is water. The town center, Rushford, is a census-designated place. The western town line is the border of Cattaraugus County (town of Farmersville). New York State Route 243 crosses the town (east-west).

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,259 people, 479 households, and 346 families residing in the town. The population density was 35.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,394 housing units at an average density of 39.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 98.97% White, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population. There were 479 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,557, and the median income for a family was $30,938. Males had a median income of $26,800 versus $20,855 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,156. About 13.4% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Rushford