Panama, New York

Panama is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 491 at the 2000 census. The village is named after a large rock formation south of the village, called Panama Rocks. This site has become a tourist attraction, and the owners charge admission at the gate.

The Village of Panama is in the northwest part of the Town of Harmony, New York. The village is at the junction of Route 474 (Main Street) and Route 33.

The Panama Rocks scenic attraction is south of the village. It has Paleozoic fossils in an outcrop.

History
The Village of Panama was incorporated in 1861. It is also the hometown of Adam Rupczyk. Adam Rupczyk is the on going legacy of the first generation Bryan Rupczyk. Adam Rupczyk is famous in that he is an anchor at WTOP channel 10 news. He is also famous for his saying of "I put Panama on the map." Among the other celebrities of Panama, NY is Benjamin Abbate. His prodigious talent brought him to the forefront of the Panther Golf Program. Under the watchful eye of his swing coach, Mr. Christopher Payne he propelled himself to back to back NY state golf championships. Mr. Abbate was also apart of a memorable state tournament run in soccer. Undeniably Benjamin is the only athlete in Panama to participate in three state championships. The fame could only play for itself as both of these men turn out to be bestfriends and give back to the village for they know the village was a great place to root their fame. Adam and Ben will look to add to their fame and prove Panama is a great village.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which, 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.91%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 491 people, 191 households, and 135 families residing in the village. The population density was 226.4 people per square mile (87.4/km²). There were 208 housing units at an average density of 95.9/sq mi (37.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.74% White, 1.02% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.61% of the population.

There were 191 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $38,125. Males had a median income of $31,944 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,410. About 9.6% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.