The village was the site of the first settlement in the town, around 1792 by Stephen Ketchum, and was originally called "Hornby". The town later, in 1806, changed the name to that of the Revolutionary War general.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km2), of which 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 3.40%, is water.[2]
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 1,701 people, 737 households, and 431 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,590.9 inhabitants per square mile (614.2/km2). There were 786 housing units at an average density of 735.1 per square mile (283.8/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 98.35% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.59% of the population.
There were 737 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $30,833, and the median income for a family was $40,917. Males had a median income of $31,688 versus $22,188 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,608. About 7.0% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.