Ischua ( ) is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census.

The town had several telephone prefixes during the party line days shared with nearby communities such as Franklinville, Allegany and Cuba and including 557- that it shared with Hinsdale. The town had its own post office, in the early days known as West Hinsdale, then Rice, and finally Ischua (ZIP code 14746) until the early 1990s, when the ZIP code was abandoned and postal services merged with Hinsdale's.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.06%, is water.

The east town line is the border of Allegany County. The surface of the town is a broken and hilly upland, the highest summits reaching above sea level, about above the valleys. Ischua Creek, which flows south through the center, is the principal stream, having formed the Ischua Valley. The head waters of Five Mile Run are in the south-west part. The soil is chiefly clay, with a thin surface of mold and some gravelly loam.

The town of Ischua bought the Ischua Dam area, the property located on Route 16 and Farwell Road, that houses the spillway and dam, from Cattaraugus County, for the purpose of development of this site as an educational area, because of its historical aspect and the possibility of creating a recreation area. Also on the property is one of Ischua's one-room schoolhouses, built in 1881, that houses the Town of Ischua Historical Society.

For many decades there was an A-framed house that stood next to it, the town tore it down in 2015, disrupting the historic canal site with heavy equipment and causing destruction to the remains of the Dam's earthen structure.

Notable person

  • U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Timothy Kellner, regarded as one of the top snipers still active in the U.S. Army, with 139 confirmed kills during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 895 people, 345 households, and 245 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 496 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.21% White, 0.45% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.89% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.

There were 345 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,926, and the median income for a family was $38,173. Males had a median income of $28,155 versus $19,306 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,414. About 9.9% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

  • Early history of Ischua, NY
  • Town of Ischua