Clinton House In Ithaca NY
Clinton House In Ithaca NY

The city of Ithaca / Ιθάκη / is a city in central New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in

the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area (which also contains the separate municipalities of the town of Ithaca, the village of Cayuga Heights, the village of Lansing and other towns and villages in Tompkins County). The city of Ithaca sits on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, in Central New York. It is named for the Greek island of Ithaca.

Ithaca is home to Cornell University, an Ivy League school of over 20,000 students, most of whom study on Cornell’s Ithaca campus. Ithaca College is located just south of the city in the town of Ithaca, adding to Ithaca’s “college town” focus and atmosphere. Nearby is Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3). These three colleges influence Ithaca’s seasonal population. In 2010, the city’s population was 30,014, and the metropolitan area had a population of 101,564.

 

Ithaca Diner
Ithaca Diner

History
Early history

The inhabitants of the Ithaca area at the time Europeans began arriving were the Saponi and Tutelo Indians, dependent tribes of the Cayuga Indians who were part of the Iroquois confederation. These tribes settled on Cayuga-controlled hunting lands at the south end of Cayuga Lake as well as in Pony (originally Sapony) Hollow of Newfield, New York, after being forced from North Carolina by European invasion. They were driven from the area by the Sullivan Expedition which destroyed the Tutelo village of Coregonal, located near the junction of state routes 13 and 13A just south of the Ithaca city limits. Indian presence in the current City of Ithaca was limited to a temporary hunting camp at the base of Cascadilla Gorge. The destruction of Iroquois confederation power opened the region to settlement by people of European origin, a process which began in 1789. In 1790, an official program began for distributing land in the area as a reward for service to the Ameri

can soldiers of the Revolutionary War; most local land titles trace back to the Revolutionary war grants. Lots were drawn in 1791; informal settlement had already started.

Partition of the Military Tract

As part of this process, the Central New York Military Tract, which included northern Tompkins County, was surveyed by Simeon DeWitt. His clerk Robert Harpur had a fondness for ancient Greek and Roman history as well as English authors and philosophers (as evidenced by the nearby townships of Dryden and Locke). The Commissioners of Lands of New York State (chairman Gov. George Clinton) followed Harpur’s recommendations at a meeting in 1790. The Military Tract township in which proto-Ithaca was located he named the Town of Ulysses, the Latin form of the Greek Odysseus from Homer’s Odyssey. A few years later DeWitt moved to Ithaca, then called variously “The Flats,” “The City,” or “Sodom,” and named it for the Greek island home of Ulysses (still the surrounding township at the time — nowadays Ulysses is a separate town in Tompkins County). Contrary to popular myth, DeWitt did not name many of the classical references found in Upstate New York such as Syracuse and Troy.

thaca is a major educational center in Central New York. The city is home to Cornell University which overlooks the town from East Hill, and Ithaca College, situated on South Hill. The two schools bring a substantial student population, with about 21,000 students enrolled at Cornell and about 6400 at Ithaca College.[9] Tompkins Cortland Community College is located in the neighboring town of Dryden, New York, and has an extension center in downtown Ithaca. Empire State College offers non-traditional college courses to adults in downtown Ithaca.

The Ithaca City School District, which encompasses Ithaca and the surrounding area, enrolls about 5,500 K-12 students in eight elementary schools, two middle schools, Ithaca High School, and the Lehman Alternative Community School. There are also several private elementary and secondary schools in the Ithaca area, including Immaculate Conception School, the Cascadilla School, the New Roots Charter School, the Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School, and the Ithaca Waldorf School. Ithaca has two networks for supporting its home-schooling families: Loving Education At Home (LEAH) and the Northern Light Learning Center (NLLC).

Ithaca draws students from around the United States and the rest of the world with its various vocational schools and specialty institutes, such as the 1000-hour program at the Finger Lakes School of Massage. Ithaca’s Suzuki school Ithaca Talent Education provides musical training for children of all ages and also teacher training for undergraduate and graduate-level students. The Community School of Music and Art uses an extensive scholarship system to offer classes and lessons to any student, regardless of age, background, economic status or artistic ability.

Cornell University from McGraw Tower
Cornell University from McGraw Tower

Education
Cornell University from McGraw Tower

Ithaca is a major educational center in Central New York. The city is home to Cornell University which overlooks the town from East Hill, and Ithaca College, situated on South Hill. The two schools bring a substantial student population, with about 21,000 students enrolled at Cornell and about 6400 at Ithaca College. Tompkins Cortland Community College is located in the neighboring town of Dryden, New York, and has an extension center in downtown Ithaca. Empire State College offers non-traditional college courses to adults in downtown Ithaca.

The Ithaca City School District, which encompasses Ithaca and the surrounding area, enrolls about 5,500 K-12 students in eight elementary schools, two middle schools, Ithaca High School, and the Lehman Alternative Community School. There are also several private elementary and secondary schools in the Ithaca area, including Immaculate Conception School, the Cascadilla School, the New Roots Charter School, the Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School, and the Ithaca Waldorf School. Ithaca has two networks for supporting its home-schooling families: Loving Education At Home (LEAH) and the Northern Light Learning Center (NLLC).

Ithaca draws students from around the United States and the rest of the world with its various vocational schools and specialty institutes, such as the 1000-hour program at the Finger Lakes School of Massage. Ithaca’s Suzuki school Ithaca Talent Education provides musical training for children of all ages and also teacher training for undergraduate and graduate-level students. The Community School of Music and Art uses an extensive scholarship system to offer classes and lessons to any student, regardless of age, background, economic status or artistic ability.




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