The Raquette River in the Stone Valley Recreational Area
Colton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2010 census. The town, originally named "Matildaville", is named after early settler Jesse Colton Higley.[2]
Colton is in the southeastern part of the county, south of Potsdam.
History
The first land patents were issued in 1776. The first settlement took place in March 1824 near Colton village, in the northern part of the town, by Abel Brown and his son, James Brown. Saw mills were established on the Raquette River, in addition to a starch factory built in 1844.
Colton was organized in 1843 from part of the town of Parishville. Additional land from Parishville was added to Colton in 1851, and Colton was increased in 1876 from territory taken from the town of Hopkinton.[3]
Colton has one school district, Colton-Pierrepont Central School. The school had 390 students in 2022.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 254.9 square miles (660km2), of which 242.1 square miles (627km2) is land and 12.8 square miles (33km2) (5.04%) is water.
Colton is the largest town in St. Lawrence County, which in turn is the largest county in New York state. The southern town line is the border of Hamilton and Herkimer counties.
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 1,453 people, 604 households, and 405 families residing in the town. The population density was 6.0 inhabitants per square mile (2.3/km2). There were 1,163 housing units at an average density of 4.8 per square mile (1.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 99.17% White, 0.34% Native American, 0.07% Asian, and 0.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 604 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,875, and the median income for a family was $44,637. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $22,443 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,528. About 10.5% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Colton– The hamlet of Colton is located at the junction of NY-56 and NY-68 by the Raquette River. The community, in the northwestern part of the town, is the location of the first settlement.
Little Trout Pond– A pond located in the southwestern corner of the town, which is partially in the town of Piercefield.
Lows Lake– A lake partly in the southwestern corner of Colton.
Sevey– A hamlet in the central part of the town on NY-56
Sevey Corners– A location in the east-central part of the town on NY-3, south of Sevey.
Shurteff– A hamlet southwest of Sevey on NY-3.
South Colton– A hamlet in the northern part of the Town, south of the hamlet of Colton on NY-56. Sunday Rock was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[10]
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