Everything about Columbia County New York totally explained
» There is also a Town of Columbia in New York.
Columbia County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. As of the
2000 census, the population was 63,094. The
county seat is
Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of
Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal for the name of the
United States of America. Columbia County is part of the
Albany-Schenectady-Amsterdam, NY Combined Statistical Area.
History
The first exploration of Columbia County was in 1609, when
Henry Hudson, an explorer, sailed across the Atlantic, and up the
Hudson River. An accident to his craft forced him to stop at what is now known as Columbia County, and search around for food and supplies. The
Americans that had lived there were the
Mohican Indians. In 1612, a trade was established to colonize regions of the land. This led to the creation of Fort Orange and New Amsterdam, located within the county. This allowed traders to stop along the shores of the Hudson, which led to the growth of small settlements that were intended to supply the trader's ships with supplies.
In 1649, the region of land near Claverack were purchased and in 1667, more land was purchased. This brought the settlement of the Dutch, which led to the development and growth of the regions. In 1664, the English took over New Netherland and renamed it the Provence of
New York. At this time, Fort Orange was renamed
Albany.
A significant settlement developed in 1710, when 1200
Germans were brought to Livingston Manor, which was located in what is now known as
Dutchess County, and is now known as
Germantown. They were brought as indentured servants by England's Queen Anne and New York's Governor Hunter to make tar from the pine trees in the Catskill Mountains.
Geography
Columbia County is in the eastern part of New York State, southeast of
Albany and immediately west of the
Massachusetts border. The western border is the
Hudson River.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 648
square miles (1,679
km²), of which, 636 square miles (1,647 km²) of it's land and 13 square miles (32 km²) of it (1.93%) is water.
The terrain is gentle, rolling hills, rising sharply into the
Taconic and
Berkshire Mountains along the state line.
The highest point is on the
Massachusetts state line near the summit of
Alander Mountain, at approximately 2,110 feet (643 m) above sea level, in the town of Copake. The lowest point is at or near sea level along the Hudson.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 63,094 people, 24,796 households, and 16,588 families residing in the county. The
population density was 99 people per square mile (38/km²). There were 30,207 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.09%
White, 4.52%
Black or
African American, 0.21%
Native American, 0.80%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.90% from
other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 2.53% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 17.2% were of
German, 14.7%
Italian, 14.5%
Irish, 9.0%
English, 6.3%
Polish and 6.1%
American ancestry according to
Census 2000. 94.0% spoke
English and 2.1%
Spanish as their first language.
There were 24,796 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were
married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,915, and the median income for a family was $49,357. Males had a median income of $34,702 versus $25,878 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $22,265. About 6.40% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.
Cities, towns, and villages
Ancram (town)
Austerlitz (town)
Canaan (town)
Chatham (town)
Chatham (village)
Claverack (town)
Claverack-Red Mills
Clermont (town)
Copake Lake
Copake (town)
Gallatin (town)
Germantown (town)
Ghent (town)
Greenport (town)
Hillsdale (town)
Hudson (city)
Kinderhook (town)
Kinderhook (village)
Livingston (town)
Lorenz Park
New Lebanon (town)
Niverville
Philmont (village)
Stockport (town)
Stottville
Stuyvesant (town)
Taghkanic (town)
Valatie (village) » => labels in parentheses indicate official political designation.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Columbia County New York'.
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