The Town of Lodi is in the southwest part of the county and is northwest of Ithaca, New York. The town contains a village also named Lodi. Both owe their names to the Italian city of Lodi.
History
The area was occupied by members of the Seneca tribe until 1779 when the Sullivan Expedition destroyed their villages, including a Seneca orchard at Lodi Point. The town became part of the Central New York Military Tract. The first settler arrived around 1789. In 1799, in the area of Brokaw Road, a group of New Jersey Dutch farmers settled to form a Dutch Reformed community, eventually having two churches. Remnants of one of these churches is the McNeil Cemetery located in the area of Brokaw Road. The New Jersey Dutch settled into the area for several generations and eventually their churches combined with several other churches to form the United Presbyterian Church of Lodi. Descendants of these original Dutchmen reside in the town today.
In 1826, Lodi was set apart from the Town of Covert. The town's post office was established in 1820 and originally used the town name "De Mott's Corners" (after the town's postmaster and shopkeeper) before officially changing to "Lodi" in 1829. It initially shared the "Lodi" name with a community in what is now Collins, New York (which was known as "West Lodi" to differentiate the two) before that community changed its name to Gowanda.
Lodi Point was a popular stop for lake steamboats in the 19th century.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.8 square miles (103.1 km2), of which 34.2 square miles (88.6 km2) is land and 5.6 square miles (14.5 km2) (13.76%) is water.
As of the census[7] of 2010, there were 1,550 people, 633 households, and 421 families residing in the town. The population density was 68.4 inhabitants per square mile (26.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.
There were 633 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 20, 4.8% from 20 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $53,036, and the median income for a family was $55,391. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $26,492 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,812. About 10.7% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
Housing
There were 981 housing units at an average density of 28.7 per square mile (11.1/km2). 35.5% of housing units were vacant.
There were 633 occupied housing units in the town. 545 were owner-occupied units (86.1%), while 88 were renter-occupied (13.9%). The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% of total units. The rental unit vacancy rate was 9.2%.[7]
NOTE: It is common for resort communities to have higher than normal vacant house counts. Many are vacation homes which are seasonal and not regularly occupied.
Communities and locations in the Town of Lodi
Cat Elbow Corner – A location on the south town line.
Caywood – A hamlet in the southwest part of the town near Lamoreaux Landing.
