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.