Village of Bridgewater To Dissolve on Jan 1, 2015 But It Could Still Remain a Census Geography

While the Village of Bridgewater voted to dissolve itself on Jan 1, 2015, that doesn't mean it has to disappear completely. While the nearly 200 year old village will no longer be an incorporated village, it could still become a Census Designated Place.

Census Designated Places (CDPs) are the statistical counterparts of incorporated villages, and are delineated to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. The boundaries of CDPs usually are defined in cooperation with local officials and generally updated prior to each decennial census. These boundaries, which usually coincide with visible features, have no legal status and may change from one decennial census to the next. There are no population size requirements for CDPs.

So possibly by the next census (2020) a CDP covering the area formerly known as the Village of Bridgewater could be in place, in order to still provide statistical data about that "settled concentration of population".

The village may dissolve but data on that area can continue to be collected and reported if it were to be designated as a CDP!

ACS Community Profile: Introducing the Westmoreland CDP

According to Wikipedia, the Town of Westmoreland was formed in 1792 from the neighboring Town of Whitestown. In 1802, part of Westmoreland was used to establish the Towns of Vernon and Verona. More of Westmoreland was lost in 1855 during the formation of the Town of Kirkland, located to the south of Westmoreland. Since that time the town boundaries have remained relatively stable. While Wikipedia recongnizes some 8 differnt hamlets in the town, only one has current standing with the US Census Bureau, and that would be Westmoreland, the census designated place, or CDP.

The Westmoreland CDP is located around the intersection of Route 233 and Main Street, just south of the local entrance to the NYS Thruway. This newly created CDP represents some three hundred residents, living in about 120 residences. CDPs are meant to represent small unincorporated areas that have some population and are largely recognizable by some commonly shared local name. Often hamlets (which are not incorporated) such as Old Forge in the Town of Webb come to mind when we think of CDPs, but there are potentially hundreds in our region. The hamlet of Westmoreland was one of several that were promoted, as it were, to have CDP status during the last census in 2010. To see a map of the Westmoreland  CDP, or any of the regions CDPs, visit this previous post showing all the regional CDP maps.

What is the advantage of being a CDP? Well, the only true advantage is that census related data, especially data from the decennial census and the American Communities Survey (ACS), are provided for CDP geographies. Becoming a census designated place gives communities a platform for shouting "I'm a somebody!", at least in terms of now getting locally relevant data from the Census Bureau. Such data can be used potentially to "grow" and promote the community by local agencies and policy makers.


Below are links to the four basic profiles from the 2011 ACS Five Year Estimates for the newly formed Westmoreland CDP.

2011 ACS Five Year Estimates Demographic Profile: Westmoreland CDP
2011 ACS Five Year Estimates Social Profile: Westmoreland CDP
2011 ACS Five Year Estimates Economic Profile: Westmoreland CDP
2011 ACS Five Year Estimates Housing Profile: Westmoreland CDP

CDPs: Old Forge Data Available for the First Time

CDPs - or Census Designated Places -  are closely settled, named, unincorporated communities that generally contain a mixture of residential, commercial, and retail areas similar to those found in incorporated places of similar sizes. A full description of this definition can be found in an earlier post on this blog.

A recent request for data about the Old Forge area offers a chance to look at the demographic, social, economic and housing data from the American Communities Survey (ACS) for the new Old Forge CDP. below are links to each of the 2011 Five Year ACS Estimates for Old Forge.

Old Forge CDP Demographic Data

Old Forge CDP Social Data

Old Forge CDP Economic Data

Old Forge CDP Housing Data


To get a view of what the Old Forge CDP actually covers geographically, visit the prior blog post showing all of the region's CDP maps.

Maps of Herkimer and Oneida County CDPs

Ok, so now that we know what CDPs are - Census Designated Places, meaning unincorporated communities such as hamlets, known by a commonly accepted name which have a variety of residential, commercial and retail areas - where exactly are they in our region ?

Well below you will find maps of each of our seven CDPs. The Census Bureau encourages the creation of such entities, so if you know and area that might make for a good CDP in the future, let me know !

Old Forge CDP	Chadwicks CDP	Clark Mills CDP
Durhamville CDP	Verona CDP	Washington Mills CDP
Westmoreland CDP

A Rose by Any Other Name....What IS a CDP Anyways?

Occasionally someone will ask me "What is a CDP anyways?"

CDPs, in the world of the Census Bureau, stands for Census Designated Places. Technically the definition goes something like this - Census designated places (CDPs) are closely settled, named, unincorporated communities that generally contain a mixture of residential, commercial, and retail areas similar to those found in incorporated places of similar sizes. Got it ?

Let's look at this a little more closely. First, they are closely settled, meaning that CDPs have multiple residents that are housed (in some sense) relatively close to one another. Second, they are unincorporated, meaning that they are NOT a village. Villages already get special consideration in the census. Often, CDPs are what might be called "hamlets", although that designation does have a special connotation to it as well in New York. Third, they contain a mixture of residential, commercial and retail areas. This isn't a strict requirement but it would bolster the argument for creating or selecting an area as a CDP.

Probably MOST important in the process is the fact that they are NAMED ! So if you were to say "I'm heading to CDPville," people would know pretty much exactly where you were talking about. The names are something that are commonly used to describe the location in question.

The best example of a CDP (at least since the 2010 census was conducted) is Old Forge in northern Herkimer County. Old Forge is NOT a village - it is not incorporated as such. Yet people know exactly where you mean if you say you are heading to Old Forge. It also has a nice mix of residential, commercial and retail areas. And clearly, it is closely settled. So Old Forge was a perfect spot for the creation of a CDP in order to gain census data about that specific area.

Oh course the devil is always in the details - and specifically that means the details of EXACTLY what you include when you designate the place as Old Forge. For example, should it include Thendara ? Or should it stop on its southern border at the Moose River ? And how far north does it stretch, to say nothing about east and west? Regardless, through conversations with locals and the Census Bureau, a boundary was arrived at. As a result, there is now census data available for the CDP of Old Forge !

You can see 5-Year American Community Survey profiles for ALL of the CDPs in Herkimer and Oneida Counties by clicking on the links below. These include demographic, social, economic and housing profiles for Clark Mills, Chadwicks, Durhamville, Old Forge, Verona, Washington Mills and Westmoreland.

2006-2010 ACS Demographic Profiles for Herkimer and Oneida Counties CDPs

2006-2010 ACS Social Profiles for Herkimer and Oneida Counties CDPs

2006-2010 ACS Economic Profiles for Herkimer and Oneida Counties CDPs

2006-2010 ACS Economic Profiles for Herkimer and Oneida Counties CDPs