Spencer, NY

Spencer is a Tioga County village in the center of the Town of Spencer, south of Ithaca, where NY 34 and NY 96 split near Catatonk Creek. The first settlement arrived around 1794, and both town and village took their name from Judge Ambrose Spencer. Earlier residents called the village Pumpkin Hook, a name that still gives the place a little local color. The creek, routes, and valley streets make Spencer a point of connection between the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes edge.

Spencer-Van Etten Central School District carries the school calendar, while village and town offices handle meetings, tax rolls, permits, code questions, and the practical work of maintaining a small municipality. A state route bridge over Catatonk Creek has been part of local transportation planning, showing how a single crossing can matter to the whole village. Spencer's scale is easy to grasp: a creek through the middle, two highways at the center, a school district shared with Van Etten, and a long settlement history under the current road map.