Ovid

History

The town was the native land of the part of the Iroquois. The Sullivan Expedition passed through this area in 1779. The region was part of the Central New York Military Tract used to pay soldiers of the American Revolution. Andrew Dunlap, the first settler in the town, is believed to be also the first settler in the county. The town was formed in 1794, while still part of Onondaga County. Part of Ovid was taken in 1802 to form the Town of Hector (now in Schuyler County). In 1817, part of Ovid was used to form the Town of Covert. Ovid was, at times, on the south border of Seneca County as some of the other county towns were assigned to adjacent counties.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 38.8 square miles (100.4 km2), of which, 30.9 square miles (79.9 km2) of it is land and 7.9 square miles (20.4 km2) of it (20.37%) is water. The west town line, delineated by Seneca Lake is the border of Yates County, and the east town line, delineated by Cayuga Lake is the border of Cayuga County. New York State Route 96, New York State Route 96A, New York State Route 414 converge at Ovid village. New York State Route 89 runs north-south along or near the shore of Cayuga Lake on the east side of the town.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  5,970
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,884
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,447
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,133
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,704
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,367
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  4,354
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,288

Most recent

• M 2.59 — 2007-04-11
  6 km NNE of Sodus Point, New York
• M 2.59 — 2005-10-31
  7 km NNW of Ontario, New York