Penn Yan, New York
Penn Yan, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 42°39′36″N 77°3′20″W / 42.66, -77.05556
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Yates
Area
- Total	2.3 sq mi (6.0 km²)
- Land	2.3 sq mi (5.9 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation	728 ft (222 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	5,219
- Density	2,299.7/sq mi (887.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	14527
Area code(s)	315
FIPS code	36-57177
GNIS feature ID	0960144

Vineyard near Keuka Lake, Penn Yan, New York

Penn Yan is a village in Yates County, New York, USA. The population was 5,219 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yates County^[1]. The name is an invention of the early settlers for their community.

The Village of Penn Yan is primarily in the Town of Milo, but a small section is in the Town of Benton.

Penn Yan Airport is south of the village.

Geography

Penn Yan is located at 42°39′36″N, 77°3′20″W (42.660089, -77.055447)^[2]. Penn Yan is at the north end of the east branch of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (5.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.58%) is water.

History

N.E.View of PENN YAN, Yates Co., N.Y. (circa 1856-1860) by John Warner Barber

The first frame dwelling at Penn Yan was built in 1799. The village became the county seat in 1823, when Yates county was created, and was incorporated in 1833.

The first settlers were chiefly followers of Jemima Wilkinson (1753-1819), a religious enthusiast, born in Cumberland Township, Providence County, Rhode Island, who asserted that she had received a divine commission. Wilkinson preached in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Obtaining a large tract (which was called Jerusalem in 1789) in the present Yates county, she founded in 1788 the village of Hopeton on the outlet of Keuka Lake about a mile from Seneca Lake. Many followers settled there, and she herself lived there after 1790. Some of her followers left her before 1800, and then the community gradually broke up.

The name of the village is said to have been contrived from the first syllables of " Pennsylvania " and " Yankee," as most of the early settlers were Pennsylvanians and New Englanders.

Many Amish and Mennonite families are recent arrivals to the area. Beginning in 1974, many Mennonite families moved to Yates County from Lancaster County, PA, seeking cheaper farmland.

The village was the western terminus of the former Crooked Lake Canal.

References

1. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Village of Penn Yan, NY
• Finger Lakes information

• Penn Yan, New York is at coordinates 42°39′36″N 77°03′20″W / 42.660089, -77.055447 (Penn Yan, New York)Coordinates: 42°39′36″N 77°03′20″W / 42.660089, -77.055447 (Penn Yan, New York)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Yates County, New York County seat: Penn Yan Towns Barrington | Benton | Italy | Jerusalem | Middlesex | Milo | Potter | Starkey | Torrey Villages Dresden | Dundee | Penn Yan | Rushville‡ Hamlets Glenora | Lakemont Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties