Chili, New York

Chili
Chili
Town
	Chili town hall
	Location in Monroe County and the state of New York.
	Location of New York in the United States
	Coordinates: 43°06′14″N 77°45′10″W / 43.10389°N 77.75278°W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Monroe
Established	February 22, 1822; 202 years ago
Government
• Type	Council Government
• Town Supervisor	David Dunning (R) Town Council Mark Decory (R); Virginia L. Ignatowski (R); Michael S. Slattery (R); Mary C. Sperr (R);
Area
• Total	39.87 sq mi (103.25 km2)
• Land	39.50 sq mi (102.30 km2)
• Water	0.37 sq mi (0.96 km2)
Elevation	556 ft (169 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	29,123
• Density	729.00/sq mi (281.47/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	14624; 14514 (North Chili)
Area code	585
FIPS code	36-055-15462
Website	http://www.townofchili.org/

Chili (/ˈtʃaɪlaɪ/ CHY-ly)^[3] is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 29,123 at the 2020 census.^[4] It is a suburb of the city of Rochester.

The Town of Chili was established in 1822 from part of the Town of Riga. North Chili was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Black Creek Park is one of many parks in Chili where visitors can make use of nature trails that run along the creek.

History

The Chili area was once the hunting ground of the Seneca Indians. The first white settler was Captain Joseph Morgan who purchased land from Peter Sheffer of neighboring Wheatland.

The area of Chili became part of the newly formed Northampton. With the formation of Monroe County the area became part of the Town of Riga before splitting off into its own Town of Chili on February 22, 1822.

Chili's etymology is disputed. Two popular theories are that it was named after the country of Chile, which was striving for independence at the time, or after the Chiliast faith embraced by some of the early settlers of South Chili.^[5]^[6]

The local government includes Town Supervisor David Dunning (R) and Town Council Mark Decory (R); James Valerio (R); Michael S. Slattery (R); and Mary C. Sperr (R). The appointed Deputy Town Supervisor is Michael S. Slattery. The Chili Mills Conservation Area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.^[7]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.9 square miles (103 km²), of which 39.8 square miles (103 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.48%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	2,010	—
1840	2,174	8.2%
1850	2,247	3.4%
1860	2,205	−1.9%
1870	2,367	7.3%
1880	2,274	−3.9%
1890	2,109	−7.3%
1900	2,099	−0.5%
1910	2,071	−1.3%
1920	1,780	−14.1%
1930	2,493	40.1%
1940	3,392	36.1%
1950	5,283	55.7%
1960	11,237	112.7%
1970	19,609	74.5%
1980	23,676	20.7%
1990	25,178	6.3%
2000	27,638	9.8%
2010	28,625	3.6%
2020	29,123	1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8]^[4]

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 27,638 people, 10,159 households, and 7,558 families residing in the town. The population density was 695.4 inhabitants per square mile (268.5/km²). There were 10,466 housing units at an average density of 263.3 per square mile (101.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.14% White, 5.71% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.

There were 10,159 households, out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $55,097, and the median income for a family was $61,481. Males had a median income of $45,156 versus $29,903 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,887. About 2.0% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Chili is served by the Churchville-Chili Central School District, Gates Chili Central School District, and Wheatland–Chili Central School District.^[10]

Government

The town is governed by a town board consisting of a supervisor and four board members, all elected by registered town voters.

**Supervisors**
Name	Tenure	Name	Tenure
Joseph Sibley	1822-1823	Thomas B. Steckel	1952-1959
Joshua Howell	1824-1825	George K. Lusk	1960-1965
Alfred Scofield	1826-1828	Samuel S. Kent	1966-1971
Isaac Lacey	1829 1840	James J. Powers	1972-1985
Benjamin Bowen	1830	Lorraine Anderson	1986-1987
William Pixley	1831-1832 1836-1837 1852-1853	John Hannah	1988-1989
George Brown	1833-1834	Donald Ramsey	1990-1991
Moses Sperry	1835 1838-1839 1844 1854	Jerome P. Brixner	1992-1993
John T. Lacey	1841 1843 1845-1846	William C. Kelly	1994-1999
Isaac Burritt	1842	Stephen W. Hendershott	2000-2003
William P. Hill	1847-1848 1861-1864 1867 1878 (part year) 1880-1881	Tracy L. Logel	2004-2007
Franklin Cate	1849-1851	David J. Dunning	2008–present
David Starkey	1855-1858
Edward J. Reed	1859-1860
A. S. Litle	1865
Albert H. King	1866 1871
William Voke	1868-1870
Frederick Fellows	1872-1877
William Fellows	1878 (part year)
Edwin A. Loder	1879
Benjamin Fellows	1882-1884
Byron D. Beal	1885-1886
Lewis B. Carpenter	1887-1890 1896-1898
Myron Sperry	1891
John B. Johnston	1892-1895
Arthur A. Sickles	1899-1901
Cornelius A. Nichols	1902-1907
Charles G. Voke	1908-1915
Warren R. Henderson	1916-1929
W. H. Wickins	1930-1935
Gage M. Miller	1936-1949
Oakley Decker	1950-1951

Communities and locations

Chili Center – The centre of town government and the most urbanized portion of the town.
Genesee River – Part of the east border of the town.
North Chili – A hamlet in the northwest part of the town and home to Roberts Wesleyan College.
South Chili – A rural area in Chili running along the New York State Thruway. The first business was located here called the Checker Tavern
West Chili – A small community located just north of Black Creek Park. Originally called Buckbee's Corners.
East Chili - A small community in the eastern part of the town. This does not exist in present day.
Clifton- A small rural hamlet in the southern part of the town. Originally called Hardscrabble, it produced a world award winning type of flour.

Places of local interest

Public library

The Chili Public Library is the public library serving Chili, New York. It is currently located in the recently erected town community enter at 3237 Chili Avenue. Previously, it occupied the town government complex further west on Chili Avenue.

Roberts Wesleyan University

Roberts is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in North Chili. The school enrolls approximately 2,000 students. The school hosts various community events on its facilities, including soccer games, swimming lessons, dance recitals, fireworks, concerts, drama productions and many other events.

In 2022 Roberts was declared a university rather than a college.

American Legion

Occupying the former Grange Hall, Chili American Legion Family Post 1830 at 450 Chili-Scottsville Rd., Scottsville, New York

Black Creek Park

While Black Creek Park is still a relatively undeveloped park, its 1,505-acres has many unique features to offer. The park provides opportunities for hiking, soccer, fishing, horseback riding, sledding, and cross country skiing. It also features a playground located near the Pathfinder Shelter. The park offers five hiking trails, all of which are excellent settings to view nature and animals. If you are going hiking, it is suggested that you print off a map. Each year emergency services are called for a lost or overdue hiker.