Place:Romulus, Seneca, New York, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Romulus is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 4,316 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the mythical founder of Rome, Romulus, a name assigned by a clerk with an interest in the classics. It is located in the central part of the county, northwest of Ithaca, New York.

The town has a hamlet (and census-designated place), also called Romulus. Government offices for the town are located in nearby Willard.

Romulus is home of the rare Seneca white deer, one of the largest populations of white deer in the world. They are located on the grounds of the former Seneca Army Depot. It is now a private wildlife refuge and conservation center which offers scenic tours.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Before the American Revolution, this area was controlled by both the Cayuga and the Seneca nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). French Jesuit missionaries visited the area in the 17th century. The Sullivan Expedition in 1779 destroyed native villages and drove many of the Native Americans away. Romulus contains the area of Kendaia (Apple Town), a former Iroquois (Seneca) village destroyed by the residents in anticipation of the arrival of the Sullivan Expedition on September 5, 1779.

After the war, this town became part of the Central New York Military Tract, land for veterans of the Revolution. Returning natives were provided with land at the north end of Cayuga Lake. This reservation was partly in the eastern side of modern Romulus. The first non-native settlers arrived around 1789.

The town was formed while still part of Onondaga County in 1794. In 1800, part of Romulus was used to make the town of Fayette. The north part of Romulus was used to form the town of Varick in 1830.

The town also contains the former Seneca Army Depot (1941 - 1990s), built during World War II and finally closed in 2001. It was a major employer for citizens of Romulus and surrounding parts of Seneca County. Seneca Army Airfield, located along N.Y. Route 96A, provided a long runway for transport aircraft.

Willard State Hospital was converted to a state prison drug treatment center in 1995.

The town is home to the Five Points Correctional Facility, a New York state maximum security prison for men.

(Portions of a diary written by Henry McLafferty Jr (1819–1859) are available online from the Rochester Public Library: Romulus Revisited: Extracts from the Diary of Henry McLafferty, Jr. 1856–1857).

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